False sole on barefoot hoof?

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PonyIAmNotFood

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My mare has been barefoot for 2 or 3 months now after 20 years in shoes with her prev owner. She is doing really well, frogs are widening and she's sound on most surfaces just a bit footy if it's really stoney/hard surface with big, sharp stones loose on top.

Her soles aren't getting much more concavity though have deep collateral grooves and pronounced bars. The sole looks a bit grey and seems to be chipping away at the point of frog? Does this sound like a false sole?

Farrier is out tomorrow, but I like to go into appointments knowing a bit about what is possibly happening, so I can discuss this with farrier.
 
It might be, it will shed when it is ready, Frank is doing a bit of sole/bar shedding at the moment!
 
Not so much false sole, but concavity forming. Concavity begins in that little halo area around the apex of the frog and emanates out from there. When you have concavity all the way to the walls, then you have arrived. More like the sole getting its ducks in order, reforming, shaping and thickening. Where the sole is flat before the walls, is thin sole yet.

At the back of the foot, where the more pronounced bars are and deep groove, is excessive bar. If you look at the bar coming up out of the groove, it will give a much better sense of just how tall that bar is. Bars like this are retaining walls for false sole. They hold the sole in and not allow for development, sloughing off of sole. This is what holds the dirt in the hoof also and prevents self-cleaning. (the heel pillar should be back to the widest part of the frog, the bars should emerge from sole halfway back of the frog and ramp straight up to the heel pillar height to meet it dead on.)
The bar ramp, which starts halfway back on the frog also ends right there. If there is impact going down the length of the bar, when it hits the end and there is still excess material in front of the ramp, there will be worse impact there, because the ramp is no longer there to support it...straight into the heart of the corium and where many abscesses are born.
Excessive bars are constantly fighting a war with sole. If a tall retaining wall, it will hold false sole and pack it in there tight, filling in the quarters and taking that function away. Won't let the heel come back, messes with medial/lateral balance. If that tall retaining wall decides to smush outwards, it will do it 2 ways: it will remain a retaining wall and push the sole outward, leaving dead air behind it by the groove or it will smush over top of the sole like a bumpy blanket that bruises. This is when the sole is losing the battle. When it wins, that tight packed material doesn't allow the bar (read growth) emanate out from the groove, is trapped in the groove, grows forward past the ramp end and then puddles and looks like a cow paddy sitting in the groove by the apex. Sometimes that excess bar can do a U turn and smash right into the frog at a 90 degree angle. Both these instances, you won't see the groove clear at this spot. The bar has bridged under the frog and created hard bar under the frog, jamming up into the heart of the corium again. I always pay attention to the bars at every trim. There are so many different ways they can cause pain.
 
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Sole will slough out, but not bars. They are tough. They have to wear out and if your horse is not moving enough to wear them out, then they need to be attended to. If you take a tiny slice each of sole and bar material and bend it between thumb and forefinger, the sole will break readily, the bar, bends, snaps back and not even close to breaking.
 
Must be another Strasser influenced trimmer.

The bars are there for a reason - leave them alone unless they are overlaid and trapping dirt or have big splits. Don't let anyone carve away at the sole - if there is false sole then it will peel off in its own time when it is ready. Seen them peel and leave a lovely concave hoof behind if left to themselves. Carving will only make your horse footsore - depth of sole s there for a reason. Good walk on abrasive surfaces will do way more good.
 
brucea said:
Must be another Strasser influenced trimmer.

The bars are there for a reason - leave them alone unless they are overlaid and trapping dirt or have big splits. Don't let anyone carve away at the sole - if there is false sole then it will peel off in its own time when it is ready. Seen them peel and leave a lovely concave hoof behind if left to themselves. Carving will only make your horse footsore - depth of sole s there for a reason. Good walk on abrasive surfaces will do way more good.
Click to expand...


Each to their own but I have seen excellent results from a range of horses using this method. Have tried the other styles with no luck change of style and trimmer and like magic (obviously not straight away) foot issues resolved.
 
I see a few of these trim the bar posts, am not convinced, I would just leave these things alone, walk out on tarmac to self trim and toughen the feet.
 
I decided to let Frank choose for himself about the bars situation. He has little concavity and often quite pronounced bars. We tried taking them back= a footy pony for 7-10 days post trim and they grew back pretty quickly!

So he keeps them, they are interesting to observe, they become much bigger when he is shedding his frogs, and once they finish they shrink back again. I think they make up for some of the other imperfections his hooves have.
 
I have been away on holiday so just came back to this and it's all very interesting! Farrier has been and didn't touch her feet, said she was fine and to walk her out. It will be interesting to see how they develop! Her hinds are very concave already, fronts appear flat with deep collateral grooves. Need to get recent pictures!
 
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