Am I right thinking this is foot soreness

Haphazardhacker

Haphazardhacker

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Hello,

I don't own my own but I ride my friends a 14.2 cob . She used to wear shoes but has been barefoot for a good few years now (she is 21). We were at a different yard last summer (hacking was mostly on softish mud).

We we moved to another yard with access to hacking in woods that I used to ride her in when she was a youngster.

We moved in October and for the first few rides (I'm only riding her once a week tops and the owner is not riding due to injury) all was well , but I noticed that she would not trot on certain parts of the hack . The worse bit is a chalk/slightly stony track and when we first moved there she was happy to have a trot. This is a track we always used to trot along and she used to with great enthusiasm .

Now she has gone from not trotting on this track to getting nappy and insisting on walking either side of the track where the ground is leaf litter or soft mud. She has ended up dragging me through trees to avoid this path and got so close to a tree she made my kneecap almost dislocate. She does the same on other paths in the woods unless they are very soft mud. If I get off and lead she does the same and will walk through anything to avoid some paths. Also have an additional problem that she shouldn't go in deep mud as she has had two tendonocsopies in the past. :-/

If you make her walk on this track she stumbles and is very footy. At first I rested her for just over two weeks and she had improved but now she has gone downhill .

I have told her owner but I don't think she can fully appreciate the problem as she isn't riding her, hopefully she will be soon .

I am happy to pay for whatever she needs especially as I pay nothing to ride her and I am the only one riding her , below are causes/solutions I'm thinking of.

1. She has soft feet in all this wet weather- would hoof hardener help?

2.She needs metal shoes- she always used to wear them, they were removed as she wasn't being ridden much . Would putting them on be a backstep? Not sure if her owner would agree to metal shoes (even if I paid for their maintenance) as she said a while ago that now she is an old lady she wants the mare to live as naturally as poss .

3.She needs hoof boots- I have seen cavallo ones. Has anyone had experience of them and would they be suitable for 1-2 hacks a week on a variety of surfaces, and the odd longer (sponsered type ride).

I really want to get her comfortable as she used to love hacking and I want her to be not be held back by pain, she is a typical 21 year old who still thinks she is 4 and I want to help her get her mojo back as I know she is not happy :-(

any advice will be very much appreciated
 
Yep poor old girl sounds footsore! I am the master of this atm as my boy is struggling too :( What is she getting fed? She really needs a good vit and min supplement to help her feet grow. I would definitely look into hoof boots, Roski has Cavallos and they improve his striding amazingly. They would be suitable for what you mentioned, just be careful on slippy mud as they don't have the most grip x
 
She is a very good doer so just has hay and some happy hoof , (the irony!) If I go the hoof boot route are they well tolerated ? She is fine with tendon boots and overreach boots so I'm hoping horsey trainers won't be a bridge too far. Although think I'll stick to black rather than baby pink ;-).
 
She probably needs additional vits and mins as all her hay won't be providing that. Happy hoof contains sugar and ideally barefoot horses should have a low sugar diet. Take a look at progressive earth on ebay, their Pro Balance balancer is a good all round one. Yeah my gelding took a few tentative steps the first time he tried his on but then realised they were sooo comfy and was striding out in no time! Join 'Hoof boots for sale or exchange UK' on facebook you might be able to pick up some second hand.
 
Yeah nutrition is definitely the BIGGEST factor in keeping your horse sound. If you don't provide her with the necessary components to grow fab feet then she won't - simple! Micronised linseed is also really good for hooves. As well as making them shiny! A few changes and she'll be back to her old self! Also check for thrush, that can make them very sore. My gelding also has that. Overall his feet are rubbish atm :( Can't wait for the land to dry out!
 
Happy hoof actually contains molasses so not actually good for their feet at all! People be much better off with something like hifi unmollased with a vitamin supplement such as pro balance (from eBay). Also as mentioned above micronised linseed will do her good as well although I'd prob start off with the unmollased chaff and vits and see how she goes from there :)

If she has any thrush that would also make her uncomfortable and I would recommend the red horse products for getting rid if that,they've been fab for my boy who has thrush that just wouldn't budge! They're very helpful too
 
I second that, cannot wait for the land to dry out, we have got off very lightly compared to other poor souls.
So hifi lite with pro balance would be fine. She has no signs of thrush but will keep an eye out for it , and will probably get some micronised linseed as it cant hurt and will give her a nice shine :)
 
Re hoof boots, best thing to do is measure her just after she's been trimmed, the manufacturer websites all have size guides. Cavallos might not be the best fit so worth also having a look at Easycare, Renegade, etc. I use Easyboot Epics when I need to boot, never had any problems with them, they've done some serious mileage and still in good condition.
 
Ah ok, I will find out when she is next due a trim and ill measure her just after. Ive been looking at a few brands, wondering if any are more secure as she does like a good gallop! She dishes if that makes any difference. Also this may be a silly question but in the same way that a lot of horses are just metal shoed on the front, do people just put boots on the front? Or all round?
I think she is sore on all four so will be getting two pairs but just wondered . :-)
 
Never a silly question! Some manage fine with just fronts, my boy had good back hooves and has never needed boots on them (touchwood) so you could always start with front boots and see how you get on.
 
Thank you everyone for the advice :). I think with the boots ill start with her fronts, and see how she goes. Think i will rest her for a couple of weeks especially after how sore she was yesterday and by then i will hopefully have her measured up properly for boots (after a trim) and ordered some, as well as getting her on a more suitable food and good supplements for feet. Feel good that i have a plan of action :).

Still feel terrible that when she first started napping at this chalk track (its a spot she always used to nap at when she was younger) , i couldn't read that it was pain rather than her being a diva. I honestly thought she was telling me that she has had enough and wanted to be retired, until of course she reached the soft mud of the canter fields and she was nearly back to her old self :) .

I will let you all know how it goes :)
 
If you do end up looking at boots I can highly recommend the equine fusion ones. Easy to get on and off in that you don't need any special tools (straps are a tad fiddly though) and I've never had one twist or fall off on me either on roads on thick mud. Only thing I will say is they have no grip on very wet, slippy grass and mud (don't think anything aside from an unshod foot can do much in those conditions though) and they're a pain to clean when they get caked. I've had a horse bolt down a road with me in these and they stayed in place and horse stayed upright. Have completed hacks up to a couple of hours in them with no issues.
 
Haphazardhacker said:
Now I do feel that comment warrants a photo :-)
Click to expand...

I was not lying. Brace yourself...

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*sorry about supersize photos. I am a fail at technology!
 
One of the biggest problems I have with my clients is making sure their horses get enough Magnesium.
Please check that you are giving the horse enough.
It helps so much in the production of tissue especially the periople (skin that covers the hoof)
You will find that when the periople is healthy and covers a high percentage of the outer wall, it helps towards having good hard water-resistant feet.
By the way don’t confuse pain with sensitivity, if the horse is being sensitive due to the conditions underfoot, it is reacting to sensors under the frog and sole which are simply telling the horse to be aware of the going.
This may help to explain:
http://www.rockfoot.com/lameness.html
 
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