Barefoot/being stabled, why does it make a difference?

[thatsmygirl]

My barefoot tb has in the last few weeks really progressed and walking out down the roads bare and moving fab I couldn't be happier.
He's spent the last few weeks on 24/7 turnout and has done him the world off good. Before that he was in by day/out by night.
Yeserday I brought him in by day to sort out fencing and when I brought him back out he was footy.
I know horses should be out moving as much as poss but he has to be stabled in winter as I'm not allowed 24/7 turnout during bad weather so how am I going to manage? This horse is lame in shoes ( box rest/bute) so that's not a option.
And why should 12 hrs in make him go footy? He's on rubber matting.
I know he won't be moving so not keeping things going but to go footy that quickly? What chance do I have of getting through winter

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Perhaps the cause of the footiness is whatever horse was eating during those 12hr in the stable?

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Or stress at being stabled/routine being altered, that can bring on lami? (tho food more likely)

 

[Miss L Toe]

What is he fed, in and out.
What are the state of his feet, does he have arthritis?
Is grass stalky and are you feeding sweet hay or haylage when stabled?
Pictures of grass, feet , haylage if possible.

 

[tallyho!]

MissLtoe is dead right you know, what you feed comes out in the feet!

 

[Equilibrium Ireland]

I just recently went bare with 2. They are in at night now due to ground. They both walk out great in the morning. I would definitely blame feed or something he eats, but arthritis can be a culprit too.

Terri

 

[Jericho]

Agree that possibly increase in sugars in what he was fed whilst he was in may be the culprit (trying soaking his hay for 24 hrs) or just stiffness, or maybe lack of circulation in hooves from lack of movement although that seems a bit extreme reason for being footy!. Or maybe he had been standing on a soft bed and just the transition to hard stony ground may have just given him an ouchy moment? I think I was once told that standing in on rubber matting for many hours isn't good for unshid hooves but I am not sure what reason for this was, maybe because they need the stimulus whereas the matting is good for shod hooves because it lessens the concussion effect if there is a lack of bedding.

 

[criso]

I have issues with mine when he is stabled alot but in his case it's because he is so dirty. His feet always seem to be full of poo when he is in. You can go in and there is only one poo in the box as I have just mucked out but he will still manage to have got some in all four feet.

I find mats are worse as I use straw (shavings allergy) and the wet seems to just sit on the mats.

 

[cptrayes]

Are you sure this is footiness and not stiffness? If your horse was lame in shoes then it is very likely that he has tendon/ligament damage inside his foot.

Standing in for 12 hours will make those injuries stiffen up and maybe that is what you are seeing in the morning. They appear to hobble, almost. I wouldn't worry about it too much as long as it wears off quickly when he walks around.

Eventually the injuries should heal, as long as he is flat or heel first landing and you will no longer see this.

I know it is worrying. I had it in the two horses I did first, and I was completely unaware at that time that either of them actually had any internal problems with their feet. In my case, the horses were "stabled" in a 90 ft long barn that allowed them constant movement, so if you have to use a stable I would expect the morning stiffness in a horse recovering from shoe-caused lameness to be quite severe at first.