Advice of his feet please

[Meowy Catkin]

If you look back through my old posts about my chesnut mare, you will see that I have had a terrible time with her due to a bad farrier and me not sacking him sooner. She has been off for nearly a year, she lives out and apart from a supplement, she doesn't have a special diet. However she has gone from nearly being PTS to a bright future.

It actually makes me really upset (for you). Has your farrier never mentioned the flare? I wouldn't be surprised if your horse was sounder once his hooves were a better shape (not to be pretty, but so that they can function properly).

I was ignorant about hooves. I payed a professional to do his job, but I found that as an owner, I need to know about hooves because the professional was not doing his job. My new farrier always makes sure that I understand everything that he wants to do, before he does it. I am now totally involved and what he says matches up very closely with what the BF people on here say.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

He does have sensitive soles which seem to bruise easily

Are his soles concave at all?

 

[Montys_Mum]

Not at all they are really flat but the back feet have started to not be so flat. i dont think he has mentioned the flair but i have noticed that they look horrible from the front because of it and are obviously not right and tbh i have completely put my trust in my farrier thinking he will do exactly what is best for my horse

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I think that you need a second opinion. In my case I had three 'second opinions' and it was only when her hooves were horrendous that someone (a Vet) actually said, 'yes, her hooves are awful, get a new farrier.'

 

[trina1982]

Hi Montys_Mum
I'd agree with others that your boys feet aren't as good as they could or even should be.

Something needs to change and i think the recommendation of second (farrier) opinion and a barefoot opinion is an excellent. Then you can take stock and go from there.

All of your boys issues are mentioned in this video. It explains how a lot of body issues are shown up in the feet and i wonder if there is a connection? Personally, I would be looking at shoes off and getting a good body worker in too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpXq04194Do&list=PL077CFBAAA030D852&index=1&feature=plcp

Hope this helps a bit (be warned, the video is long so make yourself comfy )

Trina x

 

[Nickles1973]

Montys mum you have my sympathies. I too have a TB with challenging hoof issues. I have had on, off lameness issues which have been attributed to solar bruising and abcesses which would never materialise. I recently had x rays and my vet has diagnosed a medial imbalance in his ns front pedal bone. Plus he also has under run heels. As a result my vet and farrier have decided that remedial shoeing with straight bar shoes will address his problems and for my part I am doing my best to give him the best diet to grow stronger hooves.
I have given much thought to the suggestion of trying him barefoot...but...like you I am unsure that I have what it takes to get him through the transistion. I have seen him unable to weight bare on his hoof when he's pulled a shoe. How can I do that to him on purpose?? Plus I can change his diet only so far, the idea of not turning him out on grass is not an option for us. Here are pictures of his ns front taken the day after his first set of new front shoes were fitted. I'm interested in what other people make of my farriers handy work.

I will follow this thread with interest to see where you go with your horse as it sounds like we have very similar issues to deal with.

 

[maggiesmum]

Montys_mum - He does;t have disgusting feet but they're not the healthiest of hooves and could do with some help. Having a barefoot horse doesn't mean banning grass, there are a few that really can't cope with grass at all but many can be managed with either restricted grazing or turning out overnight and bringing in during the day.
Road work is fantastic for bare feet, contrary to popular belief they don't actually wear away to bloody stumps!

But he's your horse and its for you to decide whether he's shod or not, I would certainly take a long hard look at his diet, what he's getting contains more sugar and starch than is necessary or healthy for growing better hooves. I would start with the emergency diet..


The Emergency diet is used when it all goes wrong.

Too often when a horse is footy, or showing other signs of distress, we add things to the diet thinking that if a little is good then more must be better.
But often the best approach is to do an exclusion approach. Go back to basics and start from there.

- Soaked Hay
In the bucket:
- Plain unmolassed chaff - preferably plain oat straw.
- Linseed meal
- Teaspoon salt
- Tablespoon Magnesium Oxide
- Brewer's Yeast
It may be best to simply use soaked hay for 3-5 days to see if there is an improvement in symptoms, before reintroducing anything a bucket.

 

[Angua2]

Right, i didnt actually realise his feet were this bad but by everyones reaction i appear to own a horse that has absolutly disgusting feet and im now confused. I find the barefoot advice very interesting and their diets helpful but im not really interested in taking his shoes off as i know it would take so long for him to then become sound again and not hobble around the yard for a year. He would also need shoes anyway as he does alot of hacking and roadwork due to where we live.

I also dont like the idea of him not having any turnout (no grass) and the fact it may be very expensive to get him to have no shoes on and not practical.
So i take it his current diet is not a good one? and if i didnt mention its - 3 scoops of dengie healthy hooves per day, handful of pony nuts in his feed ball, 1/2 - 1 scoop of D&H pasture mix and 1 haynet of haylege and 1 haynet of hay (both good quality)

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150251165478499.322548.570168498&type=1&l=57cde9cc83

This album contains my photos of taking my flat footed, long toed, collasped heeled TB barefoot.

We are at livery, she goes out in the field most days.

I took the backs off first and then once she was sound and happy then did the fronts. Took about 6 weeks for her to cope on the most stony ground, but on tarmac and concrete she was almost imediatly sound. Within 3 months she was stomping around as if everything was tarmac!

I reduced all the sugar out of her diet as much as I could, and she is on unmollased HIFI, pony cubes, carrots, unmollased sugarbeet and adlib haylage. She is on a good vitamin and mineral supliment and additional magnesium oxide.

We do lots of roadwork and her growth is balanceing the wear, in the early days we did need hoof boots (cavellos @ £70 = 1 set of shoes and they last longer)

cost of a trimmer..... the one I had was £40.... my farrier was £65.

I haven't changed much, apart from reduce the added sugar in feeds to around or less than 10%.... and it isn't costing me a fortune. Not only does the healthier diet suit the feet but Horse seems less moody and her cribbing has reduced.

 

[pines of rome]

Great to see you are doing so well,I also have a T.B with similar feet but also navicular, I am currently trying to take him barefoot and I am on a livery yard which is far from ideal, but I am going to really try even if it takes longer!
Great photos, such a difference!

 

[LucyPriory]

Agree with general theme. Hooves are not healthy. I'd look at diet and have a good scrutiny of white line when the shoes next come off.

 

[TallyHo123]

I would be looking for another opinion and a different farrier. I would contact my vet too. I'm lucky to have a fab trustworthy vet, dentist, saddler and farrier but I know the feeling of having no person to ask.

 

[Oliviaandsparrow]

Its quite sad to see 'typical tb' feet. They're not typical, they're just common! And theyre only common because we've made them common by incorrect management of tbs.
OP, whilst I know you dont want to take shoes off, I just want to say it might not be as hard as you think.
I am a student with no student loan. I am poor! Therefore my horses dont have extensive pairs of hoof boots, 4 weekly trims etc etc. They live now just as they did when they had shoes on, except they eat different food which infact probably works out cheaper than going through a bag of feed a week.
It is perfectly possible to have a barefoot horse out on grass, mine (including my exracer tb!) lives out 24/7 on UNDERGRAZED grass. Its green and there's lots of it! He doesnt get ridden during the week as Im away mon-fri. He does just fine, goes xc schooling, hacks for a couple of hours at weekends(including lots of roadwork) etc.
Yes its taken since september to get him this good, but he's always been rideable. He hasnt even started his minerals yet.
You dont have to have a specifically desgined yard/surface/routine to do it.
The lack of shoes hasnt stopped me doing anything with him at all, its just improved his feet no end, and saved me £75 every 6 weeks.
Oh and I had them taken off because I could bend the hoof wall and bend the sole with my finger (I have a very weak hand, nerve damage!) and they were rubbish.
Please dont have images of your horse hobbling about for a year, it really doesnt have to be like that!
His feet are no where near perfect, but they are working fine for him just now And Im hoping they will continue to get better.
Just so you can see, these pics show mid september to 22nd january. Theyre better still but latest photos arent on photobucket yet