Scarlett
Well-Known Member
Morning all...
I have a TB who had his shoes removed in January as he was having some time off, he's never had shoes put back on and thus is responsible for converting me to barefoot
He's super sound, jumps, hacks, schools, goes on all surfaces and in all going without issues. Honestly he's some kind of barefoot TB poster boy
However.... this is where I need some help/opnions/experiences. When his shoes were removed his legs, especially his fronts, did weird things. The veins got very prominant and his legs looked swollen in different places on different days, some days he looked like he had 2 bowed tendons, some days it was on the inside of the cannon, some the outside, some one leg, some all 3. It was horrifying and astonishing at the same time. My vet assured me that it was the circulation returning to his feet after the shoes had been removed - bit of an eye opener to how shoes restrict the feet I must say and the catalyst to me becoming pro-barefoot - and that it would pass. He was never lame at any point, occasionally a bit pottery coming out the stable which my vet put down again to the blood flow restoring and would always walk it off and be striding out on his walks out in hand. Eventually it stopped, his feet started growing, he had a month in a field (as had always been the plan as I got him straight from racing) and came back with hard, cold legs and has been in work since (April incase it matters).
Last night however he came in from the field with a swollen leg. My initial panic was that he'd pulled something, but now I'm not sure. One foreleg was hot and swollen down the inside of the cannon, and it branched out over the fetlock and down the pastern and the hoof was hot... I cold hosed and put him in. This am both legs are like that, and his veins are all prominant again. It's the same as it looked in January/Feb when his shoes came off, but without him having shoes to have come off!
His diet hasnt changed and is b/f friendly. He does get Saracen Re-leve mix in a base of Speedibeet and Alfa A oil with his linseed and vits and minerals but he's been getting that for a while and previously in bigger quantities. He has haylage as I struggle to get hay. Our grazing is wet, muddy and sparse at the best of times, there has, however, been a grass flush and the little grass there is in the field is bright green.
So, my question is has anyone had a similar experience? Could a flush of grass, (combined with current diet/haylage?) cause such a reaction?
I've tried calling my vet but the one who is 'b/f friendly' is off today and the the other won't answer my question, I think he is a little bemused by the idea... They are going to try and get hold of my vet and get him to give me a call.
Some feet pics from last week when I took a few pics to show a friend that his growth line from his shoes coming off has got to the ground 9 months to the week of him having them pulled. Not the greatest pics, sadly, but you get the idea. His feet self trim.
All thoughts - except ones involving putting shoes back on - appreciated...
I have a TB who had his shoes removed in January as he was having some time off, he's never had shoes put back on and thus is responsible for converting me to barefoot
He's super sound, jumps, hacks, schools, goes on all surfaces and in all going without issues. Honestly he's some kind of barefoot TB poster boy However.... this is where I need some help/opnions/experiences. When his shoes were removed his legs, especially his fronts, did weird things. The veins got very prominant and his legs looked swollen in different places on different days, some days he looked like he had 2 bowed tendons, some days it was on the inside of the cannon, some the outside, some one leg, some all 3. It was horrifying and astonishing at the same time. My vet assured me that it was the circulation returning to his feet after the shoes had been removed - bit of an eye opener to how shoes restrict the feet I must say and the catalyst to me becoming pro-barefoot - and that it would pass. He was never lame at any point, occasionally a bit pottery coming out the stable which my vet put down again to the blood flow restoring and would always walk it off and be striding out on his walks out in hand. Eventually it stopped, his feet started growing, he had a month in a field (as had always been the plan as I got him straight from racing) and came back with hard, cold legs and has been in work since (April incase it matters).
Last night however he came in from the field with a swollen leg. My initial panic was that he'd pulled something, but now I'm not sure. One foreleg was hot and swollen down the inside of the cannon, and it branched out over the fetlock and down the pastern and the hoof was hot... I cold hosed and put him in. This am both legs are like that, and his veins are all prominant again. It's the same as it looked in January/Feb when his shoes came off, but without him having shoes to have come off!
His diet hasnt changed and is b/f friendly. He does get Saracen Re-leve mix in a base of Speedibeet and Alfa A oil with his linseed and vits and minerals but he's been getting that for a while and previously in bigger quantities. He has haylage as I struggle to get hay. Our grazing is wet, muddy and sparse at the best of times, there has, however, been a grass flush and the little grass there is in the field is bright green.
So, my question is has anyone had a similar experience? Could a flush of grass, (combined with current diet/haylage?) cause such a reaction?
I've tried calling my vet but the one who is 'b/f friendly' is off today and the the other won't answer my question, I think he is a little bemused by the idea...
They are going to try and get hold of my vet and get him to give me a call.Some feet pics from last week when I took a few pics to show a friend that his growth line from his shoes coming off has got to the ground 9 months to the week of him having them pulled. Not the greatest pics, sadly, but you get the idea. His feet self trim.
All thoughts - except ones involving putting shoes back on - appreciated...
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