Corns... Tell me all you know

[lyndsayberesford]

Long story short, my horse has been lame for a few days, thought he was going to abscess but didn't so vet out today and he has corns! I've never experienced corns or come across them before so tell me all you know about cure,prevention in future, causes etc! Feel such a numpty as didn't even know what they were till I googled it!!!

I have a niggle that it could have happened last year also! Do they come and go like normal types of bruises? Or can they be a long term thing that harder ground brings out? Once they have had corns are they more prone to corns/abscesses etc?

The farrier commented that he has low heels also (much better than they were 6 months ago due to change in farrier) but to prevent reoccurrence heart bar shoes have been suggested? Should this be long term or just short term while he has corns? Or long term to prevent corns occurring again?

Can a drastic change in diet cause softness to the hoof to make him more sensitive on the heel/horn area to cause the corn? As he has just gone into summer paddocks 24/7 on quite lush grass!

Got my farrier coming out on Monday to put heart bar shoes on so will have discussions with him about it all but want to know as much as possible before he comes...

Got a show in 2 weeks (british novice 2nd round) that I really would like him right for... Is there any hope that he might come right in time? Obviously not a chance I'd take him if not as his well being is far more important than any show!

Are there any supplements that would help his hoof/feet even a little bit from bruising/corns??

Help me please

 

[be positive]

Corns usually happen if the horse is shod with the heels of the shoe too short, so there is too much pressure on the seat of corn, often attempting to prevent horses pulling shoes off or sometimes if they are left too long between shoeing, so the toes become long and pressure is put on the back of the shoe/ heels.
They are normally fairly quickly resolved by trimming out the affected area and carefully balancing the foot, they usually come sound reasonably quickly once the pressure is off the area, I have never had hearbars on to deal with them in the few time they have happened to horses in my yard.
A good diet will help with hoof quality generally, keep to low sugar/ starch with a well balanced supplement .

 

[lyndsayberesford]

Thanks for that! Could be due to the fact that he does indeed pull shoes off regular so perhaps has been shod a bit shorter in the heel.
Shoe is off now for three days and has poultice and padding on.
Will grass affect it at all? Ie make him more prone?
He is shod every 5-6 weeks so not left too long considering x
Thanks for answer

 

[be positive]

5-6 weeks should be fine but shoeing short to reduce pulling shoes off is probably the cause of the corns and will not help if he is already low in the heels, I would not be happy if my farrier shod short to prevent them pulling shoes off , be aware that if he is shod in heartbars he is very likely to pull them off as there is more to catch the hind toe on and they need to be set well back to be effective, invest in a few pairs of over reach boots.

I don't know if grass will make them more prone, I have rarely had corns but guess that if the foot is growing very quickly or the quality is poor they will be more prone to problems generally so it is worth looking at his diet and maybe restricting the grass if you can.