‘Rehabing’ After Hoof Imbalance?

[aimeehorses]

Hi everyone, looking for some opinions on bringing my horse back into work after a minor hoof imbalance. My mare went slightly lame around 6 weeks ago, the vet xrayed and found a minor hoof imbalance. She was sound on nerve block from the hoof and nothing else showed in the xray, so we know this is what was causing the pain. A month of bute and box rest later she was sound, and the vet allowed us to bring her back into work. I’m looking for anyone with experience of this, how long did it take for your horse to be back in ‘normal work’? Our vet has advised 1 week walk and trot, followed by 1 week of canter up to 5 minutes, which I am happy with, and I’m going to follow. Just would like to hear other peoples experiences with this.
Thanks

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

Hi Im rehabbing after foot imbalance and very minor laminitis episode on one hoof.

I am doing three weeks longlining in walk before getting on gradually increasing the sessions. The it will be walk hacks with perhaps the odd short trot for another week before introducing trotting for a bit longer. I probably won't be introducing canter until about 7/8 weeks to make sure he's fit enough and thr feet are standing up to it.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I wouldn't be trotting in the first week and what the vet has advised is not really rehab, but I find alot of vets want the horses doing things far too quickly after time off.

I would be just walking for a few weeks and doing ground work sessions some days, then introducing short bursts of trot.

If your horse had been on field rest it would be different but with box rest the muscles and all the soft tissue needs building up slowly or they can pull something and get sore tired muscles.

 

[sbloom]

Being in a stable is like bed rest for humans, everything falls away. We need to think of carrying a rider as carrying a rucksack while doing pretty high intensity work, we'd be building up very gradually to that, and specifically building the muscles needed to carry that load. This means posture and I'd be making my decisions on a daily weekly basis based on what I can see in front of me and how the horse finds the work (horses tire much faster than we realise and then start using themselves incorrectly). So groundwork but not just for fitness/strengthening but for posture as well...and of course making sure that I have great hoof care going forwards.

 

[aimeehorses]

Hi Im rehabbing after foot imbalance and very minor laminitis episode on one hoof.

I am doing three weeks longlining in walk before getting on gradually increasing the sessions. The it will be walk hacks with perhaps the odd short trot for another week before introducing trotting for a bit longer. I probably won't be introducing canter until about 7/8 weeks to make sure he's fit enough and thr feet are standing up to it.

Thanks for your reply

 

[aimeehorses]

Thanks for your reply

I wouldn't be trotting in the first week and what the vet has advised is not really rehab, but I find alot of vets want the horses doing things far too quickly after time off.

I would be just walking for a few weeks and doing ground work sessions some days, then introducing short bursts of trot.

If your horse had been on field rest it would be different but with box rest the muscles and all the soft tissue needs building up slowly or they can pull something and get sore tired muscles.

Thanks for your reply. Box rest is probably a bit harsh on my end, she has been in a large paddock with her 2 friends through the day, 9-5pm and I bring her in at night when I finish work

 

[aimeehorses]

Being in a stable is like bed rest for humans, everything falls away. We need to think of carrying a rider as carrying a rucksack while doing pretty high intensity work, we'd be building up very gradually to that, and specifically building the muscles needed to carry that load. This means posture and I'd be making my decisions on a daily weekly basis based on what I can see in front of me and how the horse finds the work (horses tire much faster than we realise and then start using themselves incorrectly). So groundwork but not just for fitness/strengthening but for posture as well...and of course making sure that I have great hoof care going forwards.

Thanks for your reply. Box rest is probably a bit harsh on my end, she has been in a large paddock with her 2 friends through the day, 9-5pm and I bring her in at night when I finish work
I should have included that in my post!!

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Thanks for your reply. Box rest is probably a bit harsh on my end, she has been in a large paddock with her 2 friends through the day, 9-5pm and I bring her in at night when I finish work

Thats not box rest that is field rest so totally different but I would probably still walk for a week and get your physio out because the compensation from feet can have a huge impact on the body.

 

[Highmileagecob]

And be prepared for lameness to reappear. If the lameness was caused by changes to structures inside the hoof, it is likely that rest has started the process of reversing the changes. Is your horse shod or unshod?

 

[aimeehorses]

And be prepared for lameness to reappear. If the lameness was caused by changes to structures inside the hoof, it is likely that rest has started the process of reversing the changes. Is your horse shod or unshod?

Thanks for your reply. She is shod, and unfortunately wouldn’t be able to go unshod at the moment

 

[aimeehorses]

Thats not box rest that is field rest so totally different but I would probably still walk for a week and get your physio out because the compensation from feet can have a huge impact on the body.

Yes I had my physio treat her the week after her first remedial shoeing. She had quite a sore back from being lame, but having that worked off she is much better in terms of body now

 

[Highmileagecob]

You might be interested in reading Pete Ramey's articles on his Hoof Rehab site concerning navicular changes.

 

[ycbm]

You don't say whether she was sound without bute immediately the balance was fixed, which it's really vital to know in order to plan the rehab. Do you know why bute was prescribed? It isn't, imo, usual in the case of minir lameness caused by foot imbalance. It's probably clouded the issue a bit as far as rehab goes.

Foot lameness isn't usually caused by the hoof imbalance. The lameness is usually caused by repetitive strain injury to the tendons and/or ligaments which are being pulled in the wrong direction by the hoof imbalance.

In view of the fact that they are probably treating a tendon and/or ligament injury, (your need an MRI to know for sure) I think your vet is advising too much work too soon.

If I wanted to be certain of the best outcome I would be walking for a month, trotting only when sound on a curve and even then keeping to straight lines for a month, then introducing big curves in trot and canter on straight lines in month 3. I wouldn't canter on curves for at least 3 months or jump at all until fully sound in full work for 3 months.
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