Am I just panicking? Feet Problems =(

Caz89

Caz89

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Ok I am having a serious melt down today. I'm really starting to panic about my boy :( I will try and explain as easily as I can !

Basically after a few months of taking my horse back from a share agreement he showed up lame and upon poking around with his feet thrush in the central sulcus was diagnosed. I have been scrubbing and keeping the feet as dry and clean as possible. There is no longer infection and he hasn't been lame or senstitive to preassure for months now..... His frogs were trimmed and shoes slightly bigger fitted to allow the foot to spread as his heels are very contracted (splits up the heel deep enough for a hoof pick metal to fill) nothing appears to have happened though. I have tried plugging the splits with cotton wool, hoof stuff, stock holm tar .etc. etc. nothing seems to work.

Yesterday he came in from the field and it appeared there was blood in the frog in the central sulcus... I cleaned and plugged the foot but this made him soo sore he was just putting his toe on the floor and not his heel :( So I took the cotton wool out and left them empty but clean and dry.
His heel was really sensitive to pressure and was violently snatching his foot away and looking at me as if to say "it hurts mummy"

Well basically I have been reading up and I'm really starting to panic about things like Navicular... I don't know alot about this but after reading about it i'm starting to worry. Recently I have noticed him tripping which really isn't like him and his front feet are worn at the front... he also doesnt like walking down hills and takes like mini steps like its sore for him. Do you think this could just be due to the contracted heels from shoeing or something worse? :(

Pic below isnt of my horse but it's looks similar... mine boys arn't dirty or as bad but the cracks go as high as those

S2400141.JPG


What would you do? Do you think he needs to go barefoot?
 
1. STOP PANICING!!
2. Arm yourself with some Red Horse products
Sole Cleanse - http://www.red-horse.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=53&Itemid=70
Hoof Stuff - http://www.red-horse.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=72&Itemid=58
3. Try to keep dry and clean as much as you can.

Clean the deep sulcus with the Sole Cleanse first - get your finger in there if need be and rinse it out, then pack with Hoof stuff - pack it in really tight with a hoof pick if you need to. Repeat daily.

Within 2-3 weeks you should see a massive difference!
 
My navicular horse had heels and frogs like that, he has been barefoot for over a year now, and his heels have widened, all the contraction gone, quite remarkable, i doubt you would get such acheivements being shod tbf.

I packed his sulcus with sudocrem everyday, that did the job a treat.
 
Has the thrush/infection caused the heel to split? My sister has a pony who has had WLD and an abscess at/near the heel and that heel has split like those in the pic but higher. Sorry to hijack your thread Caz89 but it's the first time I've seen cracked heels...
Also, should trimming be as usual for the heels?
 
Not a great fan of gunks and creams like Sudocreme - they tend to attract the grit and mud.

I'd give it a soak in dilluted milton, then take a gauze strip and "floss" the central sulcus (I use hibiscrub on the gauze)

Then let the whole lot dry out in a clean stable and let it get on with it.

These bacteria need areas closed off from the air - so creams and things often just make things more stubborn imho.

Infected/inflamed succus can be quite painful for a horse. May be that you've had an abscess that has come out there, and that might account for the blood.

If in doubt, then vet.
 
I would have to strongly disagree with you here brucea lol! Nothing personal, but i have had quite remarkable results with sudocrem, on this horse and another with very sore frogs.
 
To each their own gunks!

I go through a lot of sudocreme - it is very effective on my pink skinned pony who has somthing a bit like nappy rash between his back legs and it works very wekk.

I guess you could use that as a flossing medium too for central sulcus problems. I just find hibiscrub up to the job.
 
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Daisychain said:
I would have to strongly disagree with you here brucea lol! Nothing personal, but i have had quite remarkable results with sudocrem, on this horse and another with very sore frogs.
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brucea said:
To each their own gunks!
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lol - brucea is quite right with this!

I'd agree with the sentiments about avoiding sudocream here though - it is quite greasy so stops air getting to the site of infection and so will encourage a lovely environment in which bacteria love to live - so will aid rather than fix the problem.

This area when inflammed does get immensely painful IME too, so you may find some bute helps.

As others have said though - stop panicking, especially about navicular! It doesn't sound like this is likely here and is actually an uncommon diagnosis as a rule :o

Start sorting out problem one - the heel soreness first - you may need help from your vets here to get some bute and tips on the best managment as they will actually see your horse; then worry about the tripping, toe wear etc. A lot else other than navicular can be to blame here!

Hope that helps.
Imogen
 
Each to his own. But basically you need to manage the infection.

I take the middle road :-) having cleaned the foot thoroughly I then stuff cracks with sudocrem balls. This is very effective because it protects the sulcus from the damaging effects of the pee and poo so many of our horses find themselves standing in. But it won't work if you use sudocrem on top of disgusting necrotic tissue and gunk.

Hygiene, hygiene, hygiene. And yes I am old enough to tut at folk who don't get this. (OH take note, the bread board is not meant for engine parts, and not it is not ok for the dog to lick its privates and then your face..........) And yes OH is a fair bit younger than me...... :-)

And when treating thrushy feet don't forget to wash your hands properly afterwards.

Ok - I'll dig out the zimmer frame now and make myself a nice ovaltine...........
 
Thanks everyone. When I went down this evening his feet were actually alot better. I got a few piccies which I will post tomorrow.
 
Wow he could really do with some barefoot, to open those heels up....

Trouble is it would be quite along proccess.

It took my gelding near on a year to get rid of heels like that.
 
Ohhh poo bums :( if it's gotta be done though it's gotta be done! I had his back shoes off before for about 4 months and he was soooo sore in the end I had to put them back on... his hinds are no where near as bad as his fronts though. maybe this is why. I have the vet coming out on Friday again so I shall let you know what's said
 
Caz89 said:
Ohhh poo bums :( if it's gotta be done though it's gotta be done! I had his back shoes off before for about 4 months and he was soooo sore in the end I had to put them back on... his hinds are no where near as bad as his fronts though. maybe this is why. I have the vet coming out on Friday again so I shall let you know what's said
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I'd agree that contracted heels are certainly not helping here...:( Good luck and great photos BTW!
LucyPriory said:
Each to his own. But basically you need to manage the infection.

I take the middle road :-) having cleaned the foot thoroughly I then stuff cracks with sudocrem balls. This is very effective because it protects the sulcus from the damaging effects of the pee and poo so many of our horses find themselves standing in. But it won't work if you use sudocrem on top of disgusting necrotic tissue and gunk.

Hygiene, hygiene, hygiene. And yes I am old enough to tut at folk who don't get this. (OH take note, the bread board is not meant for engine parts, and not it is not ok for the dog to lick its privates and then your face..........) And yes OH is a fair bit younger than me...... :-)

And when treating thrushy feet don't forget to wash your hands properly afterwards.

Ok - I'll dig out the zimmer frame now and make myself a nice ovaltine...........
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Lucy - this made me smile a lot - how I feel...and to clarify I can see the use of cream here as you described, it makes sense. However, all too many people skip the CLEANING and HYGIENE part and head directly to sudocream...=mess.
:)
 
Just like to point out that no-one actually reccommended sudocreme! Brucea just said he doesn't like it and other gunk and creams.
 
Caz89
Can you look at them from home - they're not my pictures to post directly.
I'm just an owner and in no position to tell anyone what to do ;) I had Frankie rehabbed barefoot because he was hopping lame with soft tissue damage and nothing was working. It was his last chance.

A break from shoes may well help your horse's feet and this is quite a good time of year to do it but do your research first. Get advice on nutrition and exercise and look into hoof boots if he is sore. Talk to your vet and farrier, it's easier if you have supportive professionals.

Having said that my vet and farrier thought I was mad at the time but in hindsight they agree he's better barefoot.
 
I keep posting this "6 month after shoes off" picture and will make no apologies for it, because it tells an important story.

These are still contracted, but there has also been a lot of progress.

DSCF0381.JPG
 
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oo, ouch. Very first thing on seeing your picture of the heels was '****, they must be sore. And SOOOOOO contracted :eek: '

Look at the difference between the two feet even - the right one's not great but it's so much better than the left!

You probably could sort it with shoed on (wide wed, wide heel poss?) but I wouldn't know where to start. But it WILL improve with going barefoot.

If the horse is sore without shoes on (being careful over stones is normal, actually sore is not) then you need to look at diet first. And get some boots. Being sore is not accpetable and will not help the horse at all - they don't move properly if they're sore and their feet don't heal if they don't move properly.

This is my Standardbred's feet after years and years of shoeing (and before I got into 'barefoot') He had 'goof feet' when shod.....

First picture is a day or so out of shoes. Picture beside it is a week or so later later. Last picture is just a month or so later. Still had a way to go but they improves so so much. They're not an as severe case as your horses but just look at the different in the distance between the heel bulbs in such a short time:

comparefeet.jpg


Brodierighthindfoot.jpg
 
Wow Kallibear the difference in just a month is amazing! I'm really starting to sway towards him going barefoot. How long did it take for your horse not to be foot sore once the shoes came off?
 
Looking at your pics OP I would definately say that your horse has had an abscess blow out of the heel - can you see there is a 'slit' in the heel bulb on the right of the picture? That would probably explain why he was so tender.

I am afraid that I would personally recommend barefoot for at least a little while with your horse as I perosnally believe that it is really the only way to 'decontract' the heels. The back of the foot needs to be able to move and in some horses with shoes on they can't and, therefore, they start to contract like yours. I am not saying it would be easy, but if you can get a very good trimmer (there are a few about depending on where you are!) then I think that would be your best bet, to allow the foot to start functioning properly again and return health to the back part of the foot.

I wouldn't necessarily be concerned about Navicular, etc at the moment - it is far more likely that the deep central sulci are what is causing the pain (although the knock-on effects from severely contracted heels can obviously lead to more long term soundness issues as they will affect the health of the internal structures). Also, please try and avoid any work in a sand school as this would be extremely painful as the little bits of sand can get in the central sulcus and really make them very sore.

As for creams etc, I love the Red Horse products, but I would say not to use the Hoof Stuff for the moment as IMO it would be too abrasive - once the heels have started to open up a bit and not be so sore, then it can actually be very useful as it gives a little bit of stimulation, but at the moment I would go with something smoother like Field Paste - give them a really good clean with something like Hibiscrub and when perfectly dry fill them full of Field Paste and try and leave them alone as long as the Field Paste stays in. I personally wouldn't want to keep scrubbing them and getting them wet and with the Field Paste it means you can leave them alone but also know that the Field Paste will help to keep any infection at bay. Once it starts to come out then repeat the process, but ultimately I am afraid that you are better off at least going for a period of shoeless, to prevent anything worse happening, like sheared heels.

Hope that helps :-)
 
Thanks Naggy. I am 100% going to have his shoes off when the farrier is next out (2 weeks) He is kept on the Ashdown forest so heaps of off road hacking but there are stoney and concrete tracks which I can take him on to harden up the sole also when he isnt as sore .

Anyone got any tips for the transition period from shoes to barefoot?
 
Two or more posts on my blog

http://barefoothorseblog.blogspot.com/search/label/transition to barefoot

http://barefoothorseblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/ouchiness-several-hours-post-shoe.html

There are over two hundred posts - mostly of transitioning feet, but the two above might be helpful

And this one has shots of an incredibly hard foot to transition - but they made it and the horse is now bouncier and happier than ever http://barefoothorseblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/shoe-should-fit-foot.html

and this one is useful for peeps who want to transition a horse prone to lami or other 'metabolic' conditions
http://barefoothorseblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/for-people-considering-transitioning.html
 
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Also get the book by Nik Barker called 'Feet First'

This is an absolute must in preparing and transitioning to barefoot.

You can get it off the internet/ebay/amazon easily enough. :)
 
Note to self and others.... never use anti bac :( I have never been kicked so hi into the air and far across the yard in my life :mad: Bruised kne is coming up a goodun!

Lucy thanks for the posts! I will take a look once at home. Cheers all for your help! Will keep you updated
 
Caz89 said:
Note to self and others.... never use anti bac :( I have never been kicked so hi into the air and far across the yard in my life :mad: Bruised kne is coming up a goodun!

Lucy thanks for the posts! I will take a look once at home. Cheers all for your help! Will keep you updated
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Infected central sulci can be incredibly painful - I always warn owners to be very careful. Some horses will cope - others will launch.

I hope the posts will be helpful. I noted someone mentioned a year for the heels to open up. Doesn't have to be - every horse is different and it can be a matter of weeks. There a lot of factors in play.

http://barefoothorseblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/contracted-heels.html

and your horse in shoes looks half way to one I deshod the other week.

http://barefoothorseblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/tripping.html

Good luck with your journey and all the best to your horse
 
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