Customer Reviews

The Lame Horse

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Great to study and to familiarize oneself with everything that is inside the equine foot and lower limb. Easier then doing dissections yourself!

James Rooney is one of my favorite authors. I highly recommend this book to farriers, veterinarians, trainers, and even horse owners. It is very well written and very easy to understand. Dr. Rooney has been a long time contributor to the body of scientific knowledge in hoof care industry and a big favorite among farriers who specialize in lameness and therapeutic horseshoeing.

If you are having trouble decidng whether or not to buy this book, you may want to check out the author's web site:

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I recently checked this book out from my library and have been thoroughly enjoying it. Many of the strange words often heard associated with the horse world are now coming together more firmly in my mind. The book explains the anatomy and physiology of the horse. It is divided into 3 sections: the front limbs, the rear limbs, and the back. The anatomy of each limb is described in detail and is sketched in simple drawings. The author then describes a list of problems that occur with that limb starting near the top and working down. Terms like "splints" "bucked shins" "sweeny" and "epiphysitis" are explained in the book. I highly reccommend it for every horse owner so that they can have a basic working knowledge of their horse, to help figure out what is wrong with it shall it ever become lame (they all do at some point or another), and to be able to discuss the lameness more clearly with their vet.

That being said this is not a "fun" read, it is not a novel, it reads like a textbook so you will not be able to sit down and breeze right through it. The book requires careful thought and attention as the reader has to at least somewhat memorize the terms (bones, muscles, ligaments, and tendons) to have a clue what the author is describing or they will quickly find themselves skimiming along and not learning much. Also there was a few parts of the book that I personally disagreed wtih that the author mentioned. For example saying that ringbone, navicular disease, and founder are chronic and untreatable conditions is just plain wrong. With today's modern medicine many horses with these problems are being successfully rehabilitated. (Then again I am reading the 1974 edition- perhaps modern renditions have been edited.)

Overall, I feel that the book offers a wealth of information to the reader and describes why problems occur and shows how one can prevent them. The majority of the books suggestions can be summed up with what the author hates: that being shoes, hard ground, low heels, long toes, unlevel feet, unlevel ground, overworking the young horse, and fat horses. That being said this is definitely not a "barefoot" book (for those of you aware of the current shoeing - barefoot controversy). It is just a classic that I assume would be mandatory reading for any farrier, vet, or horse owner wanting to familiarize themselve with the lame horse.

I've owned the first edition of this book since it first came out. It has been a constant resource to me in my equine Rolfing practice. I purchased the latest edition to take advantage of Dr. Rooney's latest thinking.
If you read my book Equine Structural Integration you'll definitely see Dr. Rooney's influence on my thinking. The diagrams illustrating the biomechanics of the horse's limbs are probably the most valuable to me. If you are a visual learner, like me, then this book is one that you will resonate with.

I liked Dr. Rooney's book a lot. But I have to agree with the reader who wrote that Dr. Rooney's opinion on chiropractic isn't qualified. I gave it five stars because 99 per cent of the book is extremely useful. The 1 per cent on chiropractic can be overlooked. Still an "A" effort.

Dr. Rooney's, "The Lame Horse" is one of my favorite horse books. It's extremely informative, and readable. But he confuses opinion with fact. Dr. Rooney wrote a comment about chiropractic that simply isn't true--that is--the horse's vertebrae don't move and can't move with spinal manipulation. Dr. Rooney points to his "post-mortem" proof and defies the reader to move a dead horse's vertebrae even in the absence of muscle spasm. Well, what about rigormortus? True, a dead horse's spine cannot be moved, but a live one could--same holds true with a person. So, Dr. Rooney, stick to horse lameness. You're good at that. But leave your opinions about chiropractic at the gate--or at least do your homework. Unqualified statements made in a book puts a cloud on the stuff that is qualified.