Pictures Concerned about these feet....

ownedbyaconnie

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Just spoken to the vet. They have the photos via email, they will take a look and advise from there. Provisional app booked for Friday and they've said not to cancel farrier til the ring me this evening.
Seriously, this is all just my bloody luck :(

Can you let us know what the vets say? Will be interesting to see what they think.
 

Polos Mum

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I hope in your young horse it's not the same but mine with the same flare was bilaterally lame with the arthritis in both hocks - on an initial look he looks sound because it's the same in both legs so is even and balanced (although very short in stride). He won unaffiliated dressage repeatedly while (IMHO) being very lame in both back legs, it wasn't obvious to a number of different 'respected' dressage judges.

If you can trot him on concrete in a circle for the vets they can look at how he moves too (on video obviously)
 

AdorableAlice

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Hopefully the vet will simply ask you to review your trimming intervals, it will take a few trims to balance him, and your vet may want to speak to your farrier, especially if it is the same farrier who has dealt with the horse previously. A good caring farrier will actually tell the owner he should be seeing the horse more frequently. Some horses will need attention as frequently as 4 weeks. I bred a foal that needed help, she was trimmed 4 weekly right up to a 2 year old due to having a slightly clubbed foot.

Having a horse that a farrier failed to balance over an 8 month period (new farrier, after mine retired), left me with a 7 year old lame horse. Maybe it was my fault for not noticing the gradually increasing flare and angle changes, but when you pay a professional you generally expect a decent service. The horse was in full feather, which OP, is something you need to consider with your lad. Wrap his feather up in vet wrap and look at the whole limb. A good farrier dealing with a feathered horse should ask for the feather to be wrapped up.

The picture below shows the mess my horse was in, it was taken just before x rays were taken. The following picture shows the first round of correction with a specialist farrier.

It doesn't take many months for a horse to go wrong with poor farriery, especially the big horses. Ponies might get away with it for slightly longer, but the weight of a big horse standing over an unbalanced foot and limb will soon create a problem.

31758137_10214609670049580_7463481188426973184_n.jpg31913592_10214609750571593_150468239275589632_n.jpg
 

TotalMadgeness

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Mine developed a flare like that on his left fore (which also has a splint behind the knee). He was eventually referred by the vet to a specialist farrier and this was a few years ago now. Horse was later diagnosed with bone spavin so we suspect he was badly balanced and using his front half to compensate for the painful back half! (sorry VERY non technical). Anyway after both things treated he moves a hell of a lot better, his muscles are much more even on his body (his right side had muscle wastage) and he doesn't drag himself along on the forehand.
 

Tiddlypom

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The horse was in full feather, which OP, is something you need to consider with your lad. Wrap his feather up in vet wrap and look at the whole limb. A good farrier dealing with a feathered horse should ask for the feather to be wrapped up.
Or just clip the feather off, it makes everything much easier to see. You could let it grow back later. I was growing the late maxicob’s feathers out over winter which concealed the poor foot balance underneath. I should have been on top of it, but my then farrier should have been, too - he came every 6 weeks.

Still not sure if the poor foot balance led to the ringbone, or the ringbone led to the poor foot balance...
 

Firefly9410

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Just throwing this into the mix could be a coincidence. I moved yards in winter and horse lost weight no big deal good doer too fat in summer usually. The saddle needed changing but never mind spring is here and will fatten up in a few weeks. But no. Grazing poorer so continue to lose weight so then I feed to stop weight loss and fetch out a smaller saddle. I had front hooves like yours towards when farrier due but not so bad and only one trimming interval of three months. Two weeks after farrier wonky again. Farrier due again now and hooves have worn themselves level like they used to be since I changed the saddle. So my guess is horse was walking funny because of the weight loss affecting saddle fit.
 

Mari

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You need to get them trimmed more frequently than 9-10 weeks. My 3 equines are not shod & have the farrier every 6 weeks. Their feet are in great condition.
 

ycbm

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Just throwing this into the mix could be a coincidence. I moved yards in winter and horse lost weight no big deal good doer too fat in summer usually. The saddle needed changing but never mind spring is here and will fatten up in a few weeks. But no. Grazing poorer so continue to lose weight so then I feed to stop weight loss and fetch out a smaller saddle. I had front hooves like yours towards when farrier due but not so bad and only one trimming interval of three months. Two weeks after farrier wonky again. Farrier due again now and hooves have worn themselves level like they used to be since I changed the saddle. So my guess is horse was walking funny because of the weight loss affecting saddle fit.


And this horse has in the meantime also been broken to ride, after a known one- sided body balance. Far too soon to panic about any serious issues going on, imo.

.
 

SatansLittleHelper

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Ok thanks for all of the replies. Two of the vets discussed the photos and called me back. Basically he just needs a good trim in their opinion but they are coming out to my friend's horse on Friday so will take a look. Advised not to go for x-rays at this point as he isn't showing any lameness or pain etc. Trim every 8 weeks and take advice from farrier tomorrow. If needed we can do x-rays in a few months if there is no improvement and/or and lameness issues. Vet also said that, as he lives out and the ground has gone from very soft to rock hard that, coupled with being started under saddle and being a big lad, his body is undergoing various changes and not to panic yet.
Farrier still going ahead tomorrow and go from there.
ETA: the horses have been on an 8-10 week routine for ages and there has never been as issue until now. I try to do every 8 weeks but depends on weather etc.
 

SatansLittleHelper

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Just throwing this into the mix could be a coincidence. I moved yards in winter and horse lost weight no big deal good doer too fat in summer usually. The saddle needed changing but never mind spring is here and will fatten up in a few weeks. But no. Grazing poorer so continue to lose weight so then I feed to stop weight loss and fetch out a smaller saddle. I had front hooves like yours towards when farrier due but not so bad and only one trimming interval of three months. Two weeks after farrier wonky again. Farrier due again now and hooves have worn themselves level like they used to be since I changed the saddle. So my guess is horse was walking funny because of the weight loss affecting saddle fit.

Discussed this with the vet too and he thinks there is a possibility that this is also an issue.
Over all he wasn't particularly concerned but will take a look Friday anyway.
 

SatansLittleHelper

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Just an update.
Farrier came today and has done a trim. He isn't overly concerned about the hoof growth and has said we will try an 8 week on the dot trimming plan for him.
I have been over him with a fine tooth comb, so to speak, to day and he literally has no uneven muscle wastage or discrepancies, he's not lame at all and farrier said his feet are good. We may need to go for shoes on the front when he's doing alot of roadwork but otherwise all good. I'm still going to have the vet take a look just to be sure but I'm feeling a bit less stressed out now ??
 

Mari

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Well not necessarily. My other connemara had his shoes off in Feb and hasn't been seen by a farrier since. He's self trimming, there is nothing to trim.
Farriers do more than just trim off any excess growth, well mine does, they check the hoof balance, horn / sole / frog / heels condition & anything else a farrier is trained to see. My knowledge is limited as I am not a farrier but I know when their heat are good & when they are not.
 

Michen

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Farriers do more than just trim off any excess growth, well mine does, they check the hoof balance, horn / sole / frog / heels condition & anything else a farrier is trained to see. My knowledge is limited as I am not a farrier but I know when their heat are good & when they are not.

Well of course, but if your horse is self trimming likely you are wanting them to find their own balance.
 

ILuvCowparsely

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I took these of Rex's feet tonight as I'm concerned about how they are growing. Farrier is coming at the end of the week.
Rex is unshod, never worn shoes. His feet are clearly overdue a trim (11 weeks since last trim, not done by my farrier but by the one the trainer uses. They are normally done every 8-10) and this is the first time I've really seen them like this. Both are on his off side,pic 1 is the fore and 2 is the hind.
He saw the physio 13 weeks ago who said he showed a slight weakness on that side but nothing to write home about.
He has an old splint on near fore and Capped his hock on the near hind 11 weeks ago but was never lame and it's gone down significantly.
Obviously I will get the physio out for another look st him too.
It's almost as though he must be standing on the outside of his hooves on that side..??? He showed no problems under saddle.
Thoughts/advice at all please..????
View attachment 48127View attachment 48128
My laminics feet were like that, in fact worst, than this. My boys feet were terrible after 2 bad farriers, who caused him to be totally unbalanced had his inside higher than the outside by his trimming, he walked like a cowboy
but he never went like this, these look a laminics feet.
 

SatansLittleHelper

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I've managed to get an appointment for Tuesday lunchtime for Rex, vet coming out with the portable x-ray machine. Hopefully this will show up any problems in the fetlock and pastern area.
Supremely stressed out about it now and imagining alsorts of scenarios ???
 

Apercrumbie

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I've managed to get an appointment for Tuesday lunchtime for Rex, vet coming out with the portable x-ray machine. Hopefully this will show up any problems in the fetlock and pastern area.
Supremely stressed out about it now and imagining alsorts of scenarios ???

What has caused the sudden stress? I agree that those photos are not good, but it sounded like your farrier/vets weren't overly concerned and that he just needed more regular trimming. Sorry if I've missed something obvious!
 

SatansLittleHelper

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What has caused the sudden stress? I agree that those photos are not good, but it sounded like your farrier/vets weren't overly concerned and that he just needed more regular trimming. Sorry if I've missed something obvious!

I had the physio out and Rex is showing signs of tightness and uneven muscle development. Also she could hear and feel clickin in his fetlock joint. Given the hoof there has abnormal growth as well I'm starting to stress that it's something more sinister. I am definitely a pessimist when it comes to things like this though ??
 

SatansLittleHelper

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Hi Satan'sLittleHelper I hope Rex is ok now. Do you have an update on what the cause is? :)

Hi, Rex has always been OK as such...it's me that gets stressed out ??
Farrier came this week and has carefully sorted the flare. He is still very much of the opinion that the appalling wet weather we had over winter is a contributing factor.
There are 5 equines in total on the farm.
1) Very elderly pony in bare paddock, stays pretty dry even in the worst weather
2) Shitland, was in big wet field, now in with elderly pony
3) Big cob, lived in wet field over winter
4) Big young horse lived in wet field over winter
5) Little cob, only been here a couple of months

These are the facts at hand:
* H1 doesn't have any foot flare or rings, trimmed by our farrier
* H5 not really relevant as not been here long
*H2, H3 and H4 all have varying degrees of foot flare, all have weird wonky hoof rings at the same point in growth
* H3 trimmed by different farrier before flaring was really noticed while away being started under saddle
* Vets and farrier not overly concerned about any of the above except H5 who is a different case (White Line Disease which he came with)
* H2, H3 and H4 all have normal, healthy looking hoof growth from the last 5-6 months

So all in all I am now more relaxed but cautious and will be keeping a close eye on Rex's feet, he will see physio again in September to see if the more frequent trimming is helping. If there are still concerns then I will liase with vets about doing further investigation.
 
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