Feet again - help please.

[Surbie]

Last spring the walls of my cob's feet came off round the nail holes. He'd been in a very wet field with long grass almost 24/7 and both vet and farrier said that might have caused it.

His turnout's been changed, I've added the supplements they recommended and have been applying the dressing the vet recommended (Farrier's Finish). I had all 4 feet x-rayed and they came back clear.

On Saturday there was a small crack on his right fore. On Sunday afternoon it looked like this. It looks like something got in at the nail holes. Again.

Thankfully it's only one foot with this appearing, he was due for shoeing and farrier is coming out first thing on Weds morning. But I'm at my wits' end. I am doing everything I have been told to do & conditions have been opposite to when it happened before. Any pointers?

 

[Tiddlypom]

I’m not one of the foot experts, but those nails look to have been placed in rather low down in the hoof wall.

Too high is bad, because you can prick the horse, but too low isn’t optimal, either.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I agree with above nail holes look odd and in general the shape of that hoof does not look healthy, the heals look really high and the front looks at a strange angle, although the picture is not straight so hard to get a proper look, I would be interested to see good side and front on pictures of all the hooves.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

How many weeks have those shoes been on?

 

[Gloi]

Sadly the broken nail holes are the least of this foot's problems

 

[Red-1]

I agree that this is either a really weird angle. or these feet don't get shod every 5 weeks or so, or there is something going on medically, or the farrier is doing something I don't understand.

If I had charge of a horse with feet this shape, I would remove the shoes and do a rehab over winter, re-shoeing in summer f the horse doesn't cope.

If the shoe has been on longer than 5 weeks, it will have been carried forwards and there will be unnatural forces that could quite easily pull the walls apart. But, in that case I would be more concerned with what the unnatural forces were doing to the ligament, tendons and bones.

If the shoe is carried forwards on a too long shoeing cycle, it takes a while barefoot to correct and bring the heels back. It can't be done in one shoeing.

It looks like the toes are aggressively shortened, but the heels are long (which happens when the shoe is carried forward). But that could simply be a weird photo angle. It would help if you took 3 pictures of each foot. The first from the floor, directly at the side, the second from the floor, directly at the front. The third showing the sole from directly above.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Can you put up the x rays? The pic was taken at an odd angle (presumably to show the nail holes), but that foot balance looks weird.

 

[Surbie]

Thanks for taking the time to reply, I want to get this right.

It's a crap photo from above and to the side, sorry. I tried to get it so it showed the hoof wall. I'll get better ones tomorrow. Will also dig out the x-rays.

He was shod 5 1/2 weeks ago - shoeing cycle is 5-6 weeks. His feet have never grown much at all. His toes were too long and have been taken back once so far, part-way through the shoeing cycle - partly on advice from here.

I can't take him barefoot, I'm not allowed to by his owner after a bad experience in a previous loan home.

 

[Gloi]

Thanks for taking the time to reply, I want to get this right.

It's a crap photo from above and to the side, sorry. I tried to get it so it showed the hoof wall. I'll get better ones tomorrow. Will also dig out the x-rays.

He was shod 5 1/2 weeks ago - shoeing cycle is 5-6 weeks. His feet have never grown much at all. His toes were too long and have been taken back once so far, part-way through the shoeing cycle - partly on advice from here.

I can't take him barefoot, I'm not allowed to by his owner after a bad experience in a previous loan home.

If you can't take him barefoot are you allowed to use a different farrier?

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I would look into a different farrier

 

[paddy555]

He was shod 5 1/2 weeks ago - shoeing cycle is 5-6 weeks. His feet have never grown much at all. His toes were too long and have been taken back once so far, part-way through the shoeing cycle - partly on advice from here.

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not sure I understand this. Toes too long and taken back partly on advice from here. It was good advice whoever gave it but surely the farrier should have been concentrating on this aspect at every shoeing. Very aggressive rasping of the hoof wall. I wonder how the long toes were taken back?

Possibly the pic is very poor and and a white elephant but I would be looking for a better farrier. If you cannot take the horse barefoot can you take it barefoot with boots? at least that way you could get the feet sorted better.