Barefoot vs shod help please with pics

Erray

Erray

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 November 2005
Messages
282
Location
Isle of Mull Scotland
www.mullponytrekking.co.uk
Hi my horse went lame with an abcess last November he has been very slightly lame on and off since. He had quite a hole in his foot under the shoe and I had been advised by both vet and farrier that he was just sensitive where the hole was and he would come right. After months of this in desperation I asked my local EP to come and have a look and she thought that the abcess had caused white line disease or seedy toe which had infected right up the hoof wall. This made sense as a crack had appeared at the top of his hoof and now as you can see he has 2 cracks.
Anyway his shoes have been taken off and he had the cleantrax treatment and I have been riding him lightly and he does so far seem sound.
However I was talking to my farrier and he said that without shoes on everytime the horse puts weight on the foot it opens up the hole and prevents it healing.
I would love to know what other people think as I don't know whos advice to take. I do trust both and both are highly experienced and have completely different views.

The first photos taken about 4 weeks ago with shoes still on
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These 2 were taken tonight after having shoes off for about 3 weeks
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last week i was asking people about abscesses after my boys burst out first in sole then after farrier put shoes back on up at his coronet band.now hes coming on leaps and bounds as he is no longer sole tender and is keeping it all pumping by himself .good luck
 
To be honest i wouldnt have much faith in a farrier who put shoes on like that..sorry but just being truthful.
The second pics are of a much more balanced hoof and given time without shoes these feet will repair themselves.
All the shoes has done so far is mask a problem and then make it worse..I find it diabolical that a vet and farrier would not have advised you to take the shoes off to start with and get rid of any infection before it spread.
I would keep cleaning out this hole and maintaining a nice roll on the outer hoof wall..get the ep back out and if needs be cut a little of the infection away..this is hard to explain but I done it with a horse with seedy toe caused initially by the toe clips and because farrier told me nothing and the toe clips covered it..the infection spread upwards inside the white line.
usually this type of infetion just needs to bekept clean but also need air so shoes are not really a good option.
have a look at some of the barefoot sites too before you decide.
Good Luck
 
Those feet have been shod very, very badly.
Personally I would leave the shoes off for a while and clear up any infections/issues in there.
I would choose to re shoe him after (new farrier of course) because, IMO, nothing can sort out bad feet like good farriery.
 
How about old macs...? I have heard that shoeing your horse while it has problems can actually contain the infection and can cause more problems sometimes...
I use Old Macs and they are brill...my horse slipped and I swore not to use iron shoes again...the old macs are like a trainer for the horse and are great for adding support and comfort...also you dont need iron shoes...the horse wears them bear footed and you can ride for miles in them...in fact I believe that horses wear them who do alot of trekking in the USA to help add support and comfort for the long miles...
quite expensive but you can buy them second hand...
 
I'm not qualified to say anything about that.

The shoe itslef looks like it has been fitted beautifully. It is the hoof that looks all wrong.
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It is hard to tell off of one photo.

That is why I suggested a Farrier forum so you could ask those who are qualified to do so.

I can not think of any of the top of my head. I used to have one on my favorites but I have lost it. Do a google search for "farrier forum". Something will come up
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[ QUOTE ]
Just wondering what exactly you think is wrong with the way he's shod? Just out of interest.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was interested in that too, my personal observation being that the shoe was too far forward and the back looked unsupported
 
A good rule of thumb is one that my vet told me when I took my horse to be xrayed. He had gone lame.... The vet showed me the xray and said (imagine viewing the leg from the side) if you draw a line down the centre of the horse's leg to the floor, you should have the same amount of shoe in front of the line and behind it (to support the heel).

I know the angle your picture has been taken isn't great but if you imagine that line, you clearly see the the toe is far too long. This means that the shoe is not providing any support to the rear half of the foot. The heel as a consequence is also running away too.

The problem is that because the toe is so long, if you set a shoe with longer bars to help support the heel whilst being rehabilitated, the bars would have to be unreasonably long.

It may be that you want to shoe again some time but it makes sense to keep the foot bare whilst the foot is being resculpted.

Which is a more wordy version of what the Watcher said!
 
Thanks I posted it on www.horseshoes.com and have got some great advice so far.
I see exactly what you mean about the toe being too long, thought there might be something else I was missing.
Thanks for all your advice, I will definately leave the shoe off and the EP is coming to give him a trim soon.
I feel alot bette about it now.
Thanks again!
 
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