Barefoot Rehab Questions

[barefootbeginner]

Hi there,

I've read some old threads about reverse rotations/barefoot rehab/feet issues with some comments from user cptrayes that were very useful for a situation I'm in with a horse of mine. However, I have some questions and was wondering if anyone knows of a way I could contact them - they seemed open to giving advice which I would be the extremely grateful recipient of! They appear to have last used the forums in 2019 and I can't find a way to message them from here.

Thank you in advance!

 

[dogatemysalad]

She's still around so hopefully you may hear from her or a very similar poster with equal experience. Good luck.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Still here, different username .

 

[Shady]

I'm sure she'll see this and pm you. She really is very good

 

[barefootbeginner]

She's still around so hopefully you may hear from her or a very similar poster with equal experience. Good luck.

Thank you!

 

[barefootbeginner]

I'm sure she'll see this and pm you. She really is very good

That's hopeful, thank you, I certainly got that impression from her comments.

 

[ester]

I'm sure she will turn up in her new guise but in the meantime we dealt with some reverse rotation barefoot.

 

[Chinchilla]

She's about and really knowledgeable. So is ester.

 

[Shady]

She's about and really knowledgeable. So is ester.

Agree. Ester is also excellent !

 

[barefootbeginner]

I'm sure she will turn up in her new guise but in the meantime we dealt with some reverse rotation barefoot.

Oh, fab, if you'd be happy to offer any advice I'd be most grateful then? Sorry for the upcoming essay! My rising 6 year old Warmblood/Irish homebred gelding was diagnosed with mild reverse rotations on his hinds and flat on his fronts after some slight loss of performance in his training. He never went lame, physio felt he looked ever so slightly footy on his hinds barefoot, vet agreed so wanted shoes on. Solved it short-term but two cycles later back with same niggles at which point x-rays of feet taken and diagnosis given. Vet and farrier made a plan for remedial shoeing 3 cycles ago (changing angles and offering more heel support). Re-xrayed last week and still reverse rotated, this time some slight suspensory inflammation found behind as a secondary issue. Plan made to get suspensories settled as the most urgent response and then feet to be approached as the priority from there (next shoeing).

Having done lots of reading and research (and finding the threads here) this week, the thing that resonates with me the most as a long-term solution is taking him barefoot - the digital cushion explanation by cptrayes clicked with me 100% as from his x-rays I don't see how this can be at anywhere close to a sufficient level of development to support those bones and structures properly and the reverse rotation seemed inevitable in him when considered that way. The difficulty is I'm a total newbie to barefoot in performance horses (his mum and my mum's two retired horses are kept barefoot but this fellow is hoped to showjump) and it seems that there is so much to learn. I am fairly adept at picking up science up to a point but am not at all mechanically minded so some of the boot etc discussions I've found down this rabbit hole are blowing my mind!

Both the vet and (open-minded) farrier have told me he has brilliant quality feet with lots of sole and none of the typical issues associated with reverse rotations - underrun heels, long toes - so that seems hopeful for the barefoot journey? He doesn't have any complicating factors in his conformation either. Though all four of his feet are small for his size.

Whilst I imagine this will be an ongoing learning process, my most pressing questions are: cptrayes talks about the rehab for this needing "the right work on the right surfaces" (or equivalent wording) so what is the right work and the right surfaces? Are there any other words of wisdom you could offer to get me started, ester?

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

I’ve messaged her for you. I think ester is also very smart with this area (and many others)

 

[barefootbeginner]

I’ve messaged her for you. I think ester is also very smart with this area (and many others)

Thank you ever so much!

 

[Goldenstar]

Bet you anything you like suspensories are the driver for the issue behind .

 

[ester]

I'm not great shakes but logical and look at too many hooves lol

Do you have photos ( rockley blog style so down on the floor) and sole pics?
Does he have any bullnosing with the reverse rotation.

Suspensories might be a bit chicken/egg, what is the plan with them, and is he cleared for SI/hock issues that so often go along with the suspensory situ.

 

[barefootbeginner]

I'm not great shakes but logical and look at too many hooves lol

Do you have photos ( rockley blog style so down on the floor) and sole pics?
Does he have any bullnosing with the reverse rotation.

Suspensories might be a bit chicken/egg, what is the plan with them, and is he cleared for SI/hock issues that so often go along with the suspensory situ.

Not at present but I will get some over the next few days. I do have the x-rays if they'd be helpful so I can try and work out how to attach them? To my eye, no noticeable bullnosing.

The main symptom that intiated the investigations (reducing enthusiasm for true forwardness and remaining properly in front of the leg) went when his feet were blocked. Had hocks x-rayed clear and SI palpated as very much pain free by vet and physio.

 

[ester]

This site can only handle small file sizes for photos which tend to either be screenshot from phone or you can add them from an external host (mine are on facebook) and use image tags so they show.

 

[DabDab]

In terms of the right work on the right surfaces, it is quite a big subject if you're talking about a whole conditioning plan, but as a starting point plenty of walking on good 'non-challenging' surfaces is the best way to build initial conditioning into hooves. Good surfaces would be things like even turf, arena surfaces and particularly good is tarmac. Steer clear of stones, hard ruts etc for a while unless horse is well booted.

 

[Chinchilla]

Alternatively there's an app called "photo and picture resizer" which you can use to shrink photos on your phone to fit

 

[ycbm]

I've no idea where you got 2019 from, I was banned as cptrayes in 2014 ?

Happy to help but please can we have. Side on photo of the whole horse stood up as square as possible.

Side on photo of the feet (one each foot) with the camera bottom scraping the dirt.

Picture of the lifted foot from the heel bulbs.

The x rays.

.

 

[ycbm]

That sounds like good news on the hocks and SI but it's very worrying that remedial shoeing has resulted in more suspensory inflammation?

DD is spot on re surfaces, and if he was mine the shoes would be off and he would be gently walking in hand on smoothish tarmac, starting with 10 minutes, until the inflammation was gone, then ridden as long as he was landing flat or heel first on all 4 feet.

There are lots of people around now with as much knowledge as I had back then. The mystery is why so many vets are still advising remedial shoeing for problems which have clearly been shown to recover better and more often barefoot (no treatment is 100%, sadly).

 

[barefootbeginner]

This site can only handle small file sizes for photos which tend to either be screenshot from phone or you can add them from an external host (mine are on facebook) and use image tags so they show.

Thank you, I'll try the screenshots and failing that work out a way to get them linked this evening.

 

[barefootbeginner]

In terms of the right work on the right surfaces, it is quite a big subject if you're talking about a whole conditioning plan, but as a starting point plenty of walking on good 'non-challenging' surfaces is the best way to build initial conditioning into hooves. Good surfaces would be things like even turf, arena surfaces and particularly good is tarmac. Steer clear of stones, hard ruts etc for a while unless horse is well booted.

Thank you, that's a starting point I can work to at least - arena surface and good tarmac I have access to immediately and turf from spring weather permitting. Stones and hard ruts fully avoidable too.

 

[ycbm]

Can you start a new thread with something like "barefoot rehab" in the title. It will attract much better attention than my name Or ask admin to change the title of this one, that will work.

 

[Chinchilla]

To ask admin to change the name click report under the first post then in the explanation box say why and what you wish it to be changed to

 

[Chinchilla]

Sorry if I sound patronising. Not meant to be, I just found navigating these things quite tricky when I first joined

 

[barefootbeginner]

Hopefully screenshots attached now of x-rays. All taken nearly 5 weeks into shoeing cycle (of five weeks).

I shall get the photos requested as soon as I can and will attach them as I get them, thank you all for your generous help!

 

[ycbm]

Is there any reason why he appears to be shod so short in the heels on the front? Does he pull shoes off?

 

[Tiddlypom]

Gosh, yes, those front shoes are short. His heels seem to be spilling out over the end of them.

 

[ycbm]

Title done! Thanks admin.

 

[barefootbeginner]

Sorry if I sound patronising. Not meant to be, I just found navigating these things quite tricky when I first joined

I much appreciate the technical help, not taken as patroninsing at all, very new navigation wise as you say.