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Hi Sarah - that Icelandic sounds like a neat horse. I hope she works out
for you. We visited my husband's aunt while in Denmark and across from
her is a horse farm with all Icelandics. The woman does trail rides for
tourists. All the horses, at least in the summer, are kept in a not very
big corral, maybe 30 horses. They are not mistreated, it is just crowded
and it is amazing how well they get along.
As to the founder, I unfortunately have some experience, with
Morgans. When your farrier comes, he will probably pinch her sole with
testers and if her feet feel good, there will be no reaction. Of course,
the definitive look is an xray to see if the coffin bone has rotated and
if so how much. Other factors come into play, like how thick the horse's
soles are. The thicker the better. The vet's seem to give about 12 - 13
degrees of rotation as a cut off point, but there are individuals I know
who "recover" from that (no pain but limited use) and others who are
chronic with less than that. My gelding has shoes and pads on all 4 feet,
expensive, but protective.
Then there is the issue of why did she founder in the first
place, and what do you have to change so it won't happen again. I am sure
you have read about rich grass, pre-Cushing's, grain etc. Sometimes
laminitis and then founder happens with an illness, like my mare's EPM.
Good luck with her!
Valerie
