Deperate and demoralised wwyd

confusedmum

confusedmum

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will try to keep this as short as possible my 15 year old warmblood has suffered with severe infection in his feet due to poor foot conformation
I have spent 18 months travelling 200 miles to liphook equine hospital for remedial shoeing and also he has had surgery to cut infection out of his feet despite this he still cant grow decent frogs
I spend hours q tipping the cracks in his feet to keep them clean and dry as despite everyones amazing efforts he is still not 100 % and sadly never will be but hes not lame and thanks to an amazing farrier I actually got to start competing him again which he loves so much the horse shakes like a jelly when he know hes going !!

I was just resigning myself to the the fact that this was as good as it was going to get and enjoying him when he started feeling not right

anyway he has suspensory ligament issues in both hinds !! box rest shockwave limited exercise again maybe surgery still waiting to hear

I just don't know if I can do this to him all over again the poor horse has been boxed for 18 months and only just started going out because it is so dry for an hour we had our first decent hack the other day when I didn't have to worry about wet and mud and he was so happy
he is the most amazing horse I have ever had in my life and I have and would continue to do anything for him but his quality of life has been limited to put it mildly and is about to take a turn for the worse also his feet are going to deteriorate as he needs the frogs constantly working to keep them even slightly healthy they peel off and keep growing new ones but never get big enough to
do what they should so he ends up with these little white baby frogs
this horse has put up with everything that life has thrown at him with quiet gentle acceptance he has walked in school for weeks with no shoes bored witless hes done roadwork when we got shoes back endlessly to get him fit hes never complained been nasty and never failed to throw himself at a jump as soon as he got the chance ! I am so upset for him he doesn't deserve this and I really don't know what to do any advice would be very much appreciated
 
I'm wondering why you shod for the roadwork? Smooth tarmac is a brilliant surface for work barefoot/unshod and one of the upsides of not having the frogs lifted off the ground by the shoes is that they get plenty of stimulation to encourage growth.

I do understand that you case isn't straight forward, but generally speaking if you get the diet right, get rid of any thrush and then stimulate the hooves through work, the hooves (horn quality, heel bulbs, frogs, concavity, hoof angle etc...) improve.

Have you ever read the Rockley Farm (hoof rehab place) blog?
 
that's what we were hoping for !! he couldn't cope with the road he was very bruised and all the frog he grew again peeled off they believe the issue is underlying we have tried absolutely everything he is massively better than he was !! you make it sound so easy I know you are only being helpful but he is on low sugar diet we got rid of the infection hes been barefoot he has been up at 2 weekly intervals for trimming and his bed is pristine it is not a straightforward case if it was I wouldn't be so depressed for him
 
Have you considered hoof boots?
Are you feeding balanced vits and mins (eg forage plus, pro earth)?

There is also the option of having your grazing analysed and having bespoke vits and mins done (I believe forage plus offer this).
 
cant get hoof boots to fit him his feet are too long and narrow everyone tried really hard yes his diet is really good this horse has had everything possible tried for him conventional and unconventional no one has been too proud to ask query question and experiment the sole ambition of vet and farrier has been to get him right they could not have done more
 
I'd be really interested to see some pics, when you say he had surgery to cut out infection what part of the hoof was that exactly? What remedial shoeing options have been tried? Has an easyshoe or similar been used to keep the back for the hoof engaged and active or say these? http://www.equinefootclinic.co.uk/Collapsed_Heels.html
 
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It does seem like it's a complicated case and it is beyond my experience. I do think that it would be worth trying bespoke forage plus vits & mins (there was a horse on here a while back that was completely transformed by them) and maybe try talking to Nic from Rockley. If your Vet was willing to refer the horse to her if she thinks that she can help (once the suspensories are healed), that might be a way forwards for you?

Do they think that his hoof issues contributed to the suspensory damage?

I really do wish you and your horse well and hope that there is a positive outcome for you both.
 
I know you said you can't find hoof boots to fit his long / narrow feet, but just in case, have you tried Cavallos Trek in Slim fit? These are the only boots that fit my horse's long narrow feet. On his front feet we had to go up a size to fit the length, which theoretically made them too big, ( and one flew off first time on in a sedate canter). However you can overlap the flaps and Velcro to make them tighter and we have not had one come off since then.
https://www.equine podiatry supplies.co.uk/product/cavallo-trek-single-boot/
Also I would suggest getting these thick hoof pads which will support, stimulate and keep him comfy.
https://www.equinepodiatrysupplies.co.uk/product/pair-eps-7lb-pads/
They look very thick but they compress and mould to his feet.

Good luck
 
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