Foot / lameness/ heel- Help Please *long*

Darkly_Dreaming_Dex

Darkly_Dreaming_Dex

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Hi, we have a 17hh middleweight horse, purchased 8 weeks ago. He had been left unshod all summer (credit crunch) so had very flat feet, toes very long and was walking on his heels.
Farrier has done a great job of gradually rebalancing the feet but we have a problem with his heel on one fore leg. The heel has a deep cleft (hoofpick doesnt quite reach the bottom) from the heel and going into the frog. Farrier and vet are happy that all his issues will resolve with time as the foot rebalances but he keeps going lame with (surface)heel pain throughout the cleft. Xrays of the foot (taken to help with rebalancing) are clear barring a little sidebone which vet feels is unrelated.
When we got him the Vet had NB shoes fitted but the Farrier was concerned that they were allowing flexion through the heel so he put him on heartbar shoes to support the heel (3 weeks ago). They seemed to really help as we were not having to poultice the bulbs of the heel for 3 to 4 days after hunting.
Came down this morning and he is very sore- usual place in the heel, fat leg with strong digital pulse and lame. I poulticed it and bandaged his leg which made him more comfortable. Phoned the vet (who has been several times to look but done nothing) who reiterated that there is nothing he can do beyond advising to continue poulticing.
Anyone got experience or advice please?
*thanks for reading my essay*
 
I may be wrong but I think the problem with your horses heel is actually called sheared heels and is due to incorrect foot balance due to poor farriery previously. www.thehorse.com has quite a bit of info on this if you put sheared heels in the search engine, or google it for extra info. Myhorse had this condition and he also had a 'broken back foot pastern axis' which is due to long toes and low heel - the typical problematic foot. If one side of the hoof wall is longer than the other side of the same foot then the heel will be pulled in differing directions, hence the crack, hence infection, hence lameness. This can be corrected by good farriery which sounds like you have for your horse. Here is some quick info from a website:

Sheared heels are usually related to an abnormal limb landing pattern and added stress is applied to joints in and above the hoof. This stress can lead to lameness from chronic joint damage.

The cause of sheared heels in the first place can be incorrect trimming when trying to correct a gait deficit. The heel on the affected side usually develops a sheared heel because the hoof is landing on that side of the foot first and this heel is receiving a greater load. Also, the hoof wall on the sheared side usually becomes straighter and taller. Treatment of the condition involves slow corrective trimming by decreasing the height of the affected hoof wall over time and leveling the foot. Eventually, the foot should be leveled so both hoof walls are the same height. It is recommended to use a wide web straight bar shoe to increase the surface area of the foot. If you find your horse has a sheared heel, contact your vet for treatment advice.
 
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Sorry read it wrong!!

If the horse is suffering sheared heals then i would be removing the bar shoes, supporting with a longer, bolder shoe and treating the sheared heals.. Sounds like he's got an infect..

Agree with Amy.. Dont hunt.

Lou x
 
The history you have for the horse sounds dubious I'm afraid
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Unless you definitely know otherwise I think the horse may have a history of lameness and that's why he was turned away and unshod.

I wouldn't hunt it, nor would I even ride it until you can get it properly and consistently sound. I think x-rays would be the place to start to see what's going on and they'd also assist your farrier in knowing what he needs to do to assist the horse best.
 
Thanks Applecart! very informative! Also Nailed for your post, he was in longer wider shoes but the farrier felt they didnt support enough.

To answer others posters:
We have known the horse for 6 months. Friends (previous YO) have known the horse for 2 years with no lameness problems. There was a very VERY sad and real reason why the horse was turned away but would rather not post the full story on a public forum.
The vet has had several good "poking" sessions as has the farrier and they dont think its a deep rooted infection-more surface irritation- he said similar to a paper cut- it hurts but is only shallow and he wouldnt prescribe antibiotics or bute. Both the vet & farrier are happy with the work we have done with him- if they wanted box rest then thats exactly what he would get.

Remember we are a largely woodland pack so most meets are no faster than a normal hack and we dont stay out all day.

The horse has had xrays to help the farrier with foot balance so we know there is nothing nasty lurking. He has been out 7 times now but only came unsound after 3 outings- the other 4 he was fine after. You only have to poke the heel with your finger to get a reaction when its sore.

It isnt a problem to turn him away to help things settle-he isnt our only horse. I just wanted another POV to the vet & farrier.
 
yes but, its all well and good wacking some bar shoes on but if your preventing an infection from draining or access to the infection then your causeing more harm than good...

Id have him in, on a dry bed, i would not be hunting him.. forest hunting is going to make no odds in this, he has sheared heels and hunting is not going to help.

Lou x
 
He is in and is already sound again- vet will come monday for another look as i am fed up of him saying there isnt an infection when you concur with my feeling that there is a problem.
I only kept him in work as the vet and physio want him schooling/hacking/hill work to get him going forwards, using his hocks, to get him off his very heavy forehand which has been compounding the problem. I have stuck to my vet and farriers advice to the letter and feel frustrated and confused that this sheared heel has not been mentioned by either of them- if i had known about this condition then he would not have been in full work. We learn something every day and i am grateful for everyone's advice on this matter
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Mine had sheared heels when I first bought him, I had a very good farrier who spent alot of time on him every 4 weeks (and often popped in to check progress inbetween), he was in eggbars (but will access to the shear in order that I can clean it ) .. I religously scrubbed all 4 feet every day for the first 6 weeks or so.. for the first week I used a preparation I got from the farrier/vet (not sure of the English name.. but was extremely strong smelling and I needed to use gloves!) after the first week, I washed with an iodine solution/scrub daily then as it improved scrubbed out once a week or as required.

Be prepared to be patient, it took my boy 12 months before 3 of his frogs were normal again, and probably another 2 months before the worst front one was ok.
I am sure that it took so long because it took that long to get his foot conformation improved, and his heels leveled up.

I agree with the others about the hunting though....although it took a long time for my boys feet to get sorted, I did not work him very hard for the first couple of months - I upped the work when the shear started to become smaller and we were seeing no 'set backs'
 
perhaps a long shot, but would the blue teramycin antibiotic spray off the vet help harden the area? weve had some good results with it, applying every day for a week, then weekly. make sure you get it right into the cleft tho, it really does a good job if theres any infection there and also hardens the frog / bulbs nicely so they arent as sore. if you have bar shoes on its ideal because its so hard to clean underneath, with this you can give it a good spray!
 
IF its "sheared heels", and that is an "IF", they're caused by the foot contracting so much that the centre of the frog squeezes up together so much that there is a deep crease, which then moves up to the heels if not addressed.

The only way to open these heels up again is to take the shoes off and apply dressings and pads, inside boots so that the horse is comfortable enough to move. The movement will make the foot decontract over time, but it'll take ages and the infection in the crevice has to be managed the whole time or the horse will become very sore.

Partial decontraction can be achieved in the right shoes, but not a whole recovery.
 
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