flat feet.............

S

sallypops

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 May 2007
Messages
1,332
Visit site
abby is still on box rest because of the bruising on her feet. the vet says its because of how flat her feet are but doesn't think the silicone pads would be the best thing for her
frown.gif
where ever we ride its gonna be stoney and rocky what are we gonna do??

does anyone else have a horse with very flat feet and not use pads?? how do u tackle the problem??

farrier is comin to see her soon to see what he thinks, since vet doesn't like the idea of pads but wanna see what all you guys do
smile.gif
 
A fairly radical solution - How about taking her barefoot to improve her foot condition and using boots with pads over stony ground until she improves?

My old horse is now getting some concavity, after 20+ years with flat feet!
 
I have an arab with flat feet and it always get worse during the summer when his feet are growing fast. I have tried silicone and found it helped a little but not a huge amount. He also lost the silicone in the 6 week period between shoeing!

My experience to date has been that it is best to stick to less stony tracks and more road work. Unless your horse has very strong hooves I think taking off the shoes would make the problem worse.

I took my horse up a stony track last week he unbalanced me and as a result I took a heavy tumble as he tends to panic if you become unabalanced. I know his feet caused the problem but can any body suggest how I give him more confidence if I become slightly dislodged?
 
If you trust your farrier I would go with what he thinks is best, I'm not sure why the vet would think the pads wouldn't work, they seem to be quite popular with horses prone to bruised soles.

The hoof boots are great long term but there's the period between shoes coming off and her feet harding that can be a nightmare. I considered it as my girl is very footie on stones but I don't think I could bear to see her sore walking in and out to the field every day until her feet got stronger.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I have an arab with flat feet and it always get worse during the summer when his feet are growing fast.

I know his feet caused the problem but can any body suggest how I give him more confidence if I become slightly dislodged?

[/ QUOTE ]

My girl is an Arab and she's the same, she has fallen on her knees/fetlocks before due to stoney ground, it's a bit of a nightmare. I keep her off stoney tracks as much as possible but with this lovely weather even the dirt tracks are becoming a bit of a mine field!

Re the building his confidence, you should try changing seat position when you're riding on good ground. Try moving your weight forward or backward and see if this upsets him, is it maybe that he panics due to the fact he thinks he might fall on the hard ground?
 
my TB had the silicone pads on a couple of years ago and they crippled him, his feet aren't badly flat but he couldn't cope with the constant pressure on his soles, it took a few months for his feet to heal fully.. i suspect this is why your vet doen't think they will suit.. as always though, what suits one may not suit another..

i would see what your farrier thinks when he comes out. my farrier said that taking Andy's shoes off for a year would do him the world of good but he does not think that A would cope without shoes, he is too sensitive. like Silverspring said, i could not bear to see him sore all the time so he will always have shoes on.
when i am hacking i just try and stick to the less stoney tracks or keep on the road.
 
My horse has pretty flat feet and she's had heartbar shoes fitted to give her a bit more height and to try and encourage the feet to grow the way we want them to. Tis not a cheap option though as you need a remedial farrier to fit them correctly.
 
if i could keep off stoney track i would but where i live theres no other option, i so wish we had long bridle paths and grassy trails to go on but we don't, to get to a road i hav to go up a horrible stoney track, i do ride on the verges as much as possible tho
 
Hi sallypops, this is something that is very close to my heart at the moment. my horse has just been in Rossdales for lameness issues - he has flat TB feet, my farrier always did a fantastic job but they can only do what they can see. My boy has just had xrays of his feet done and they found that his soles were so thin that if a stone had gone through his foot it would have entered the bones in his feet. No foot no horse! so he has now had pads put on his front feet with normal shoes, under the pads are gel or something squidgy and on his back feet he has eggbars. He will continue to have these until they have enough foot to angle the feet in the direction that he needs. Strange your vet said no to pads without diagnosis, if you can afford it, it would be best to have his feet xrayed so that your farrier can actually see what he is dealing with underneath. Good luck xx
 
My TB has totally flat feet, I use a remedial farrier and aluminium racing plates as we have found that the lightness of these helps the quality of his feet.
I make sure I do not canter/gallop on hard ground take it slow on stoney ground, sticking to the verges when possible.
I have used pads when he has had a corn or a bruise but luckily these have been very few and far between and have found them to be excellent and as a result he has not been out of work.
Personally I really trust my farrier and would take his advice on feet over my vet. I don't think you have anything to loose by trying the pads.
Good Luck
Pilib X
 
vet says that they are really bad for causing abseses and stuff, i agree about going with what the farrier says tho, we hav a super farrier trust his judgement
 
Lochpearl - I think we must own the same horse! My TB's xrays showed exactly the same and he now has pads.
Sallypops I'd definitely talk to your farrier. The whole point of silicone pads is to prevent flat soles becoming bruised so I don't see how a horses feet can be too flat for them?
Another (very radical) idea is Cyteks. Personally not a fan having tried them but they did keep my horse sound for five months. They come with associated problems and they are either a love or hate thing. Farrier must be specifically trained to shoe Cyteks. Unlike a normal shoe they cover pretty much the whole of the sole except the frog. After the initial few shoeings the idea is to leave it as long as 10 weeks between shoeings giving the hoof time to grow and recover. I swapped back to natural balance but mainly because I was also dealing with ligament problems. As I said they are a radical idea but thought I'd throw it out there.
 
I suppose I see their point if something worked it's way through the pad. I haven't experienced that and to be honest I can see it being any more risky than normal. I think the gel is breathable and has a mesh under it for it to fix to.

I don't think you have anything to loose by having a go. I think you will still need to be careful on the stoney/hard ground though.

X
 
my appolossa has real flat feet all i do is paste his feetm in ecuocliptis (sorry dont know how to spell that) and where boots in stead of shoes i think that is the way foward!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top