Another hoof cc - pretty please!

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Gorseyhorsey

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Hi, I hope to get some ideas on whats going on with my girls tootsies. She's rising six, never been shod, has a reasonable 'barefoot friendly' diet but has been less and less comfortable over the last six-ish months - probably at least partly due to the wet but I don't think that is all that is going on. Anyway here goes - off fore:

a8bd07b2-92c0-4d08-b1cf-9c4ab3387dfe_zpsb00f5953.jpg

67385df8-7b5e-493e-9f1f-30be7ebfb65d_zps7c867f81.jpg

Near fore:
nf1_zps623389bb.jpg

nf2_zps68b653b3.jpg

Off hind:
oh1_zpsdf48a860.jpg

nh2_zpse48d1318.jpg

Near hind:
nh1_zps15dd8c98.jpg

oh2_zps65c6e641.jpg

Sorry about the big ones - photobucket!!
I don't feel that they are looking or performing as they should so all ideas gratefully recieved.
 
The fronts have contracted quite significantly. At a guess I'd say toe first landing. Imo the key to these hooves will be in discovering why the horse is not engaging the back of the foot.

First things first, what's the diet specifically?

I would certainly start treating for thrush.
 
TwoStroke said:
The fronts have contracted quite significantly. At a guess I'd say toe first landing. Imo the key to these hooves will be in discovering why the horse is not engaging the back of the foot.

First things first, what's the diet specifically?

I would certainly start treating for thrush.
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I have a million quid that horse isnt landing toe first!!!!!!!!!
 
Diet is Alpha A oil, linseed, pro balance (only since christmas) yeasacc, salt and a bit extra magox. Currently toe first on anything but smooth tarmac or soft - thats in front.

A. Guilding are you talking about the hinds, I haven't really studied how she lands on them recently but she doesn't feel great on them.
 
Gorseyhorsey said:
Diet is Alpha A oil, linseed, pro balance (only since christmas) yeasacc, salt and a bit extra magox. Currently toe first on anything but smooth tarmac or soft - thats in front.

A. Guilding are you talking about the hinds, I haven't really studied how she lands on them recently but she doesn't feel great on them.
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Its landing heel first on the right and flat on the left front. You have the right hind and left sole shot, left hind and right sole shot.
 
Currently better on the right rein but doesn't want to really take a contact on the right. Saddlers are a very rare breed round here.

Come on - explain what you see - please!
 
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Gorseyhorsey said:
Currently better on the right rein but doesn't want to really take a contact on the right. Saddlers are a very rare breed round here.

Come on - explain what you see - please!
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His feet are good, he just has a kinked way of going, You wont cure that. He is a bit unusual as he dosent exactly follow a pattern, He has a high low heel in front, left foot lower and right higher. He does the usual with the right hind where he moves it to the midle of the body, however there is a slight issue with that foot, the heels look a bit blocked, you can see the coronary band decending in an arc at the back of the foot compared with the left hind. Be nice to see the horse but thats what I see on the photas. Some one will be along to tell you how to feed it in a min.
 
Thanks A Guilding, The high / low thing doesn't really surprise me - anything we can do about it?

I get where you're coming from with the rest too, I have been having some problems schooling recently - she is normally a left bend horse but recently wants to bend right and not take the contact on the right. I had her teeth looked at the other day - not sharp but some diastemata.

Could some of what you are seeing be recent developments as I don't recall that bend to the hairline on the right hind or the ridge around the point of the frog on the right fore.
 
I would definitley treat for thrush. One of mine had had a bad dose of it this winter and his front frogs have gotten much smaller and he is a little footy on sharp stones which is unusual for him, you can see the damage to your horses frogs and how they are all 'torn'.
 
I'm another who would hit hard for thrush and if he will tolerate it start with a cleantrax soak. Then Red Horse products which appear to be very effective. Have a look at equine podiatry supplies for products.
 
I agree about the thrush, I've been trying but never seem to totally get on top of it. I use iodine - not more than a couple of times a week, sometimes eucalyptus oil, occasionally peroxide solution on squidgy bits and sudocreme balls in the central sulcus when necessary - that really helps. What do you reccomend?
 
I posted my thoughts above. The other thing with thrush is mineral status and sugars in forages. A high spec balancer will help if forage testing is out.
 
Gorseyhorsey said:
I agree about the thrush, I've been trying but never seem to totally get on top of it. I use iodine - not more than a couple of times a week, sometimes eucalyptus oil, occasionally peroxide solution on squidgy bits and sudocreme balls in the central sulcus when necessary - that really helps. What do you reccomend?
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I added extra copper and zinc to my feeds and have seen an improvement since using Horsewear Hypocare spray daily. The added copper definitley made the biggest difference, I was adding copper going into winter and we had no thrush, it only started after the copper had ran out and I didn't replace it quickly enough.

NY Dry is good too, and we were using Red Horse field paste daily before turning out. Red Horse products are good but not always the most user friendly (Field paste gets everywhere when I'm trying to do his feet in smart clothes before work!), found NT Dry and the Hypocare easier to use and effective.
 
Thanks Amandap - I'll have a look at the Red Horse Products.

I was hoping the Pro Balance might help but it hasn't yet and she hates it! I'm sure our land is high, probably very high, iron (ferruginous sandstones) but I don't know what else.

She is on hayledge but I'm thinking of swapping to hay for a bit because of the diastemata. The grass if it ever grows is poor and the land very dry.
 
Gorseyhorsey said:
Thanks Amandap - I'll have a look at the Red Horse Products.

I was hoping the Pro Balance might help but it hasn't yet and she hates it! I'm sure our land is high, probably very high, iron (ferruginous sandstones) but I don't know what else.

She is on hayledge but I'm thinking of swapping to hay for a bit because of the diastemata. The grass if it ever grows is poor and the land very dry.
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Excess iron affects the uptake of copper iirc - our land is the same - which is why we decided to add extra.
 
I'd second the cleantrax suggestion.

A Guilding - I specified that I thought the horse is landing toe first in front, not behind, and the OP agrees with that (having actually seen the horse move).

OP, you could also try a higher spec mineral supplement; check out the forage plus ones. I would also swap the alfalfa - it made my TB quite footy, so may not be helping.

What's your grass like & what's your turnout routine?
 
TwoStroke said:
A Guilding - I specified that I thought the horse is landing toe first in front, not behind, and the OP agrees with that (having actually seen the horse move).
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I was referring to the front as well. And you would be wrong.
The op was a little ambiguous really about how it lands
" Currently toe first on anything but smooth tarmac or soft - thats in front."
Please feel free to interpret the above. If I read the above correctly it only lands toe first when not on a smooth surface or the soft! that doesnt leave a lot.

It is a high low heel horse, it will land heel first on the high (right) heel and flat on the low heel (left).
In all truth in a room full of people the other day looking at vid footage of a horse we had a quiz to see in reel time the order of the hoof landing, most or all got it wrong. When viewed in slow motion on a high speed camera the effect was considerable different to peoples perception.

Please feel free to give me your rationale for toe first?
 
My rationale is that there has to be a reason for a barefoot to contract like that, and if the horse was getting sufficient exercise (not box resting) and landing correctly it is unlikely the heels would contract.

Heel first landings are not dictated only by whether the horse is high - low or not; if the back of the foot is not comfortable then the horse will not land on it. Hence treating for thrush (which OP has also said she's been struggling with).

What would be your explanation for the contraction (which is present in both feet - even the one you claim is landing heel first).
 
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