bruised soles, any advice appreciated

0ldmare

0ldmare

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I posted a few days ago re my mare who had suspected low level laminitus. Anyway she has been treated for laminitus for the last 2 weeks but showed no real improvement

I had the vet again and they took x-rays which showed zero rotation in one front foot and the very slightest rotation in the other. But what it also showed was that she has wafer thin soles. I'm really unhappy about this as, when the farrier came last time, he removed LOADS of horn from the underneath. So much so that I questioned him and he said she had excess and that it needed removing. She was quite footie when she went out but seemed sound again when she got on grass and I forgot all about it.

She is unshod as she's retired and hasn't had shoes on for about a year.

Anyway it now seems likely that the majority of her problems relate to badly bruised soles. The vet has strapped giant sponge things to her front feet which give her the look of wearing platform shoes :D and she is much happier. She's also on danillon and acp as also treating her for laminitus in case she has it as well.

The farrier I had is not my usual and mine is long term sick. Obviously I will be looking for another one!

My questions are, how long do bruised soles take usually to resolve? Will she grow thicker soles again? And would you have her shod in front with gel pads maybe once she's sound?

I'm gutted my poor old girl is suffering and feel I've let her down :(
 
My boy went from unshod to shod in front with gel inserts but he is in work.
In your case I'd see if you can get away with the pads and or maybe boots and wait for her soles to thicken up. Perhaps a good farrier or your vet can tell you if that's possible and roughly how long it would take?
My retired chap has front shoes on just for the summers hard ground, have just had them taken off and he's fine so hasn't become dependant on them, so you might also get away with with shoes and pads for a couple of shoeings then go back bare foot?
 
Ouch, your poor mare!

From your description it sounds as if this is the farriers doing and her soles were fine beforehand? The best thing for stimulating the sole to thicken is movement along with a good diet and proper trim, with no trimming of the bottom of the foot. It does seem as if your mare has had issues with the grass if she has had some rotation.

Personally I wouldn't shoe, but use I'd use hoof boots initially, possibly with pads, to get her over the discomfort. I know that bruising can take quite a while to resolve, but I'm sure that if her diet is monitored and her feet protected until they thicken and heal then she should be fine. Fingers crossed she feels better soon.
 
Thanks very much for the info, yes certainly most - if not all - her problems seem to related to the over zealous farrier. Whether she also has a small degree of laminitus is less clear as the degree of rotation is tiny. Its also the leg that she has ringbone in - talk about a horrible combination, ringbone, bruised soles and maybe laminitus!

She's a lot happier in her platforms and I will definitely be changing farrier!!

How long do badly bruised soles tend to take? The vet is coming back in a fortnight to see her so am hoping she will be much better by then... She's already had a fortnight in the school and so it will be a month by the time the vet revisits
 
We have a 4* horse who has week soles and flat feet, so we have to do everything to prevent him bruising his soles. The best thing we find is purple spray, especially the spray recommended for sheep feet. This hardens the sole, there are other products that you can brush on to the sole as well to harden it. If it works for us I'm sure your horse would appreciate is as well!! We always keep shoes on him as this keeps the sole off the floor. Do you have a farrier that the vet can recommend for remedial work? We did that as well, makes a huge difference when you have a really good remedial blacksmith, they don't make you feel so innadequate!
 
trick123 said:
We have a 4* horse who has week soles and flat feet, so we have to do everything to prevent him bruising his soles. The best thing we find is purple spray, especially the spray recommended for sheep feet. This hardens the sole, there are other products that you can brush on to the sole as well to harden it. If it works for us I'm sure your horse would appreciate is as well!! We always keep shoes on him as this keeps the sole off the floor. Do you have a farrier that the vet can recommend for remedial work? We did that as well, makes a huge difference when you have a really good remedial blacksmith, they don't make you feel so innadequate!
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I use Keratex, but it is very expensive when you knock a bottle over!

Re. the purple spray, do you use that every day?
 
Can take up to a couple of weeks at least, depending on how bad it is.

I've always been advised to completely box rest horses with bruised feet as it helps resolve it quicker as they aren't walking about on their (already sore) feet. Kaolin poultices may help draw out the bruising as well as hot and cold tubbing, but if you already have pads in place that may not be easy!

Gel/Impact/ normal pads can be helpful for horses that are susceptible to bruising, however my horse had them fitted once and they made him worse as the pads were compounding the bruising by pushing into his sole which he didn't like- but then each horse is different!- so nothing lost by giving it a try, even if you get the Farrier to put the pads on and not completely clench the shoes up so you can see what your horse is like first when trotted up.

Hope that it's not mild laminitis as that can cause bruising sometimes too- maybe you could ask your vet for Farrier recommendations as well, if you are stuck.

Good luck with everything.
 
I've only experienced it once, with my mare who I think bruised her foot in the field.

As has been said by other people, Kaolin poultices were really good for my horse (they smell gorgeous too). From what I can recall, it was a couple of weeks before the shoe could go back on, then she was mildly lame for a couple of days after that and then came sound again.

Poor girl - hope she is more comfortable soon!
 
Keratex is really good but I also find stockholm tar very effective too.... it might also be worth feeding a hoof supplement to help her grow some new hoof too. I used D&H surefoot which I found very effective and not too pricey.
 
Thanks, I'll definitely get some Keratex for when the 'platforms' come off. I'd try anything to be honest. Also interesting about the purple spray. I'm not supposed to remove the pads for 2 weeks, but will get lined up with everything to use after that.

I'm going to ask the vet for farrier recommendations and also what she things re shoes v no shoes. My own feeling is that shoes would help as it would lift her soles off the ground

Thanks for your replies
 
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