Bad Feet / Shoeing Issues?

T

TexmexVI

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 March 2009
Messages
101
Location
South
Visit site
I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on my horses feet / shoeing.... Have also posted in CR, i think this is the correct place also!

I brought him last year, he passed his 5 stage vetting, but at the bottom of the sheet there was a comment on his feet but with corrective shoeing, this would be resolved.

TBH they didnt look at all bad when i viewed him, so i got him home and he pulled a back shoe off so my farrier came up and took both back ones off as a quick favour he came out the following week and shod him - no problems.

I then moved to another stables and he was due his second shoeing, i wasnt there (mum was) i got him in that night and when he turned to the right he seemed short, so trotted up and he was sound, and carried on to be sound at all times up until the next set of shoes, where i brought it up with my farrier, who stated because he had no foot growth on his right front on the inside this is why he was looking short on circles (only on hard surface can i add), there was also bruising on this (weaker hoof) side, so he fitted a pad. He has always had a small crack up the middle of this side, which has got alarmingly worse and then the one on the left developed.. i am at my wits end with worry!
frown.gif


Anyway - not sure what i am trying to get at, as i know he has really bad feet, and the weather hasnt helped but these are pictures of him 4weeks after being shod. I know you need to have complete trust in your farrier, but what does this look like to you? Touchwood he has never pulled a shoe with me (only the back one when i first got him and he was due anyway).
Here are the pics....

Picture219.jpg

FrontLeft.jpg

front left ^
FrontRight.jpg

front right ^
Picture225.jpg

side view of front right ^
Picture227.jpg

front view of right with crack ^
Picture229.jpg

front left ^
Picture230.jpg

with pad ^

I am so worried about this - his supplements are Horse First's, Hoof First i apply cornucresin every day! So what else can i do, i also run the risk of upsetting my farrier with a second opinion (he is family
blush.gif
) so what is there i can do, if there is anything?!

Thanks in advance x
 
To put it bluntly his feet are crap.

By looks of things its been a while since he was shod? How long?
He needs shoeing.
The shoes on the fronts fit, but he could do with being fitted longer and wider to support the heels (not possible if he overreaches)

His fronts are quite boxey to be honest.


If this horse was mine i would be feeding him Profeet by NAF and would be putting NAF hoofmoist onto the hoof twice a day.

Loux
 
Yes i am well aware they are sh*te!

Sorry, i did put in my post that these are pics of him 4 weeks being into shod, so he is due next week - although, have got farrier up tomorrow to look at, as IMO they need doing! I think they are shod to tightly behind on the fronts to? But i am not a farrier! Its so hard!

I dont think i have tried the NAF products yet - will give it a go thanks!

K x
 
I am no expert but as I have a horse with foot problems I am becoming more knowledgeable!

I would say his toes are too long and his heels are contracted. The condition of the hoof wall is very poor. His feet need completely re-balancing - get yourself a new farrier!

Also, a good farrier will never fit a pad in just one foot - it's like putting a bandage on one leg!
 
Agree with CPW about having a pad in only one foot being pointless, either both fronts of neither should be done.
Having had a lot of problems with my boys feet I'd say swap farriers. A good farrier should be able to make a noticeable difference whereas your horses feet seem to be getting worse. Personally I'd take action quickly as poor foot conformation can lead to a whole host of other problems.
 
Thanks all....

For some reason i have just sighed of relief at the fact of getting a new farrier..... Just needed some extra input, thank you. Its funny when you get an inkling something is not quite right...
As for the pad, i have thought that from day one.. sooo frustrating!!

How do i go about finding a new farrier and what do i say to the current one?!
 
Have a look at this website http://www.farrier-reg.gov.uk/
This is the governing body for farriers so just put in your location and it should bring them up.

Also, try and find out who shoes at your local horsepital, these are often the best practices in the area.

Word of mouth is often reliable too.

Good luck!
 
My advice to you would be to speak with your vet about the horses lack of soundness - as I have just been through something similar.

X-rays identified rotated pedal bones in both front feet, as well as thin soles. With the help of the x-rays the farrier was able to shoe my horse to support these problems and to start improving the situation.

My horse suddently went terribly lame - but had had the odd incidence of lameness on a circle as you describe yours does.

He is now shod with heartbars and gel pads and is 110% better.

Like you I had been concerned about the standard of farriery my horse was receiving. However, my vet assured me that he had been shod very well indeed. But obviously underlying problems were causing an issue. And it was only the x-rays that picked these up.
 
Texmex, noticed you are in kent, who is your farrier? I'm not going to comment on the feet as I am by no means an expert, but if he was my horse I wouldn't be happy with them. I do however find it bizarre that he has only put a pad on one foot....
 
Hiya,

Alsxx, yes i am!

oh i dont want to say?! Sorry, but dont want to get into that side of things! Can PM?
No, i agree - i am not happy with them either.....its so difficult.

AmyMay - thank you for this, can i ask was your ned constantly lame? As Tex only seemed to be the day after he was shod, he *toucheswood* hasnt been lame on a circle for a good 8 months now? i still think i might get x-rays done when i find a new farrier, to start from fresh.
 
The front feet are utterly terrible, you have collasped heels, over long toes, and dry stressed horn. Check the x-rays that you had done during the vetting - I bet that the angles of the pedals bones are different in each foot - the heels have been propped up to release some of the pressure on the suspensory ligaments - the long toes are pulling on all the other ligaments that attach to the coffin joint etc.

You need to find a specialist vet who does the wet trim - it means all shoes off for about three weeks then a nasty trim in accordance with the true wear pattern of the foot, you go on like this until Mother Nature grows that foot back into the position she intended. It could take six months but you will have a sound horse. Chris Ginnett at Cinderhill Vets Clinic is the only person I know down south who does this - he has rectified two of my top horses - so good luck and remember horses are not born with bad feet - they are made that way by bad farriers
 
[ QUOTE ]
AmyMay - thank you for this, can i ask was your ned constantly lame? As Tex only seemed to be the day after he was shod, he *toucheswood* hasnt been lame on a circle for a good 8 months now? i still think i might get x-rays done when i find a new farrier, to start from fresh.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh, no - he wasn't constantly lame, far from it. However, the soles of his feet do bruise very easily, and he would ocassionally take the odd 'lame' step. Especially on a circle. When he went terribly lame 3 weeks ago I called the vet who immediately suspected a problem with his feet. He was nerve blocked and x-rayed that evening - and remedial shod the next day.

I think it's very easy to point fingers at our farriers, however until your horses lameness issues are assessed by the vet, I think it unfair to do so.

Your horse doens't have great feet - so not a good canvass to work from in the first place. And if there is an underlying issue I would suspect that only x-rays are going to identify these for you. That is the point I would discuss how good a job your farrier has been doing (or not) - with another professional.
 
[ QUOTE ]

You need to find a specialist vet who does the wet trim - it means all shoes off for about three weeks then a nasty trim in accordance with the true wear pattern of the foot, you go on like this until Mother Nature grows that foot back into the position she intended. It could take six months but you will have a sound horse. Chris Ginnett at Cinderhill Vets Clinic is the only person I know down south who does this - he has rectified two of my top horses - so good luck and remember horses are not born with bad feet - they are made that way by bad farriers

[/ QUOTE ]
That's interesting but also sounds a bit "kill or cure". Plus I have to disagree with your last point, some horses do inherit sh!t feet, not enough emphasis is placed on breeding for good feet. Farriers do not deserve the blame for this, they can only work with what they've got!
 
I had a TB X with totally odd feet, one of which was boxy and similar to your Horse. He frequently went mildly lame and his feet cracked a lot. I tried Cytek which I have to say helped a lot but I still wasn't totally happy. In the end I got all his shoes taken off and had him barefoot, then never looked back. His feet stopped cracking and he never had lameness issues again. There was no invasive trimming at all. I never bothered with supplements, just fed him on a balancer and that in itself did a lot to improve his hoof quality after I got him. Took about 9 months to see it properly, but you could see the better hoof growing down!!

That aside I have to agree that I would be looking for a new farrier. His feet are way too long and his heels look collapsed. Issues I had with mine were farriers trying to make his feet match.....which was never going to work. Barefoot is just one of many options, doesn't work for some but does for others. I hadn't done it before....or since.

I also agree that bad feet can be heriditory. But it can also be caused (unfortunately) by poor showing.
 
I don't actually think they look too bad, just in need of a good trim!! The whole foot is a bit too long, but I don't think the heels look collapsed. I think with a good trim and possibly a bit of time without shoes the feet would look good. If you do shoe again immediately, you would want a shoe with a much more supportive heel than the one in the picture, but hopefully your new farrier would do this anyway. I have three TB-types who are now barefoot all the time and the quality of their horn has improved no end, would recommend at least a period of time unshod to anyone (with regular trims of course).
 
[ QUOTE ]
would recommend at least a period of time unshod to anyone (with regular trims of course).

[/ QUOTE ]

It really doesn't suit every horse - and certainly the only benefit my horse had from shoes off last summer was bruised feet.
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
would recommend at least a period of time unshod to anyone (with regular trims of course).

[/ QUOTE ]

It really doesn't suit every horse - and certainly the only benefit my horse had from shoes off last summer was bruised feet.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agree with you Amymay, my horse cannot go without shoes at all, in fact my very good farrier, says she is one horse that should always have all 4 shoes on! she doesn't cope at all without them, bruised soles are her problem
cool.gif
 
Don't go barefoot without support. My tb had little wraps on his feet (like the casts a human would have on a broken arm but not fibreglass). Soles thickened really quickly and no longer bruise. Also please check x/rays. My boy was given a death sentence but I demanded x-rays first. No drop of pedal bone in spite of low heels and slow growth. Going barefoot saved his life! Google applied equine podiatry.
 
I don't think the shoeing looks too bad really- yes more heel support would help but you may lose shoes if he steps on them. Is there a particular reason he has side clips? They restrict the foot quite a bit in front and can contribute to cracking and boxiness.

You might want to get your vet first and then you can always use the vet as an excuse to change farrier if it comes to it- they may have a remedial farrier that they recommend. The hoof quality is poor too, maybe you should have a look into what you are feeding in more depth? I'd be inclined to stop the supplements and get a decent balanced diet going (Not meaning to insult you in any way, you're obviously doing a good job with him!)

Best of luck!
 
Agree with you Amymay, my horse cannot go without shoes at all, in fact my very good farrier, says she is one horse that should always have all 4 shoes on! she doesn't cope at all without them, bruised soles are her problem
Click to expand...

That's an interesting quote myhorses4ever. I feel the need to ask this question when folks say that to me -

"Does your horse need shoes becuase she has poor feet, or does she have poor feet because she has always had shoes?"

That's not taking a pop at you - it is just a way of looking at it. In the end of the day poor quality hooves and soles cannot be made, or resolved with shoes - they can only be grown. That sounds trite doesn't it? It's really not meant to.

Underlying that comment in italics above, lies the huge difficulty and challenge in managing horses barefoot - creating the right environment, diet and support to get the right growth to allow these senitive soles/souls to recover and grow a better foot.

The other conceptual problem I have is - if the sole is thin and sensitive - how can keeping it in a bridging role (as when supported on the periphery by a shoe help? Surely it must be better for the sole to share the load and be in a supporting role (with adequate padding using boots etc., if needed)?

peripheral%20loading.jpg

even%20loading.jpg


Which one looks better?
 
Which one looks better??? You cannot compare them. One is on soft ground where the hoof has partially penetrated the surface and therefore supporting the whole foot, whilst the other shod picture is on hard ground. An unshod horse on hard ground would still give the same picture as the shod one on hard ground & vice-versa.


One of my horses HAD to be shod every 4 weeks or his feet would look that bad. A combination of better quality feed, NAF biotin & applying hoof heal has made a huge difference. No more cracks, no more lost shoes, no more poor condition.
 
For the horses who get sore without shoes even in the field and therefore can't be without them, how did they get through their first three or four years? Were they shod from birth?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top