Footsore

[flips]

I had the shoes taken off my 4 year old ex racehorse on Wednesday as he's not going to be in proper work till spring time. He's deffinatley looking a bit footsore. How long would you expect it to take him to toughen up a bit?

 

[maggiesmum]

Depends on the state of his feet, but he will start to improve soon, its only been a couple of days. Imagine trying to walk up the street without your shoes. Stick with it, he'll get there.

 

[hadfos]

Can take a long time,especially being tb and having flat soles,have tried to take fronts off my lad before(many yrs ago),had them put back on,he just didnt come right in front without them,behind he is fine as are most,tbh maybe buy some keratex hoof hardener to apply to his feet which will help

,winter can be good in the sense they have soft ground atm,but when the ground freezes he will feel it alot more!
See how he goes,if it really not working then get fronts put back on!

 

[flips]

Thanks, I'll tell him tomorrow that he's got to tough it out a bit longer before the farrier comes back to give him his shoes back. Lifes just a bit shocking as far as he's concerned, firstly no clippers near him since he arrived 6 weeks ago (arrived clipped out off the race track), secondly he's allowed to eat as much as he likes, thridly he's going out in the field even if it's raining and then to top it off I steel his shoes! I'm sure he'll grow to love it all soon!

 

[hadfos]

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks, I'll tell him tomorrow that he's got to tough it out a bit longer before the farrier comes back to give him his shoes back. Lifes just a bit shocking as far as he's concerned, firstly no clippers near him since he arrived 6 weeks ago (arrived clipped out off the race track), secondly he's allowed to eat as much as he likes, thridly he's going out in the field even if it's raining and then to top it off I steel his shoes! I'm sure he'll grow to love it all soon!

[/ QUOTE ]
lol,you horrible mummy,how dare you give him the opportun ity to be a real horse

,lmao....stick with it,you will know if you fighting a losing battle with the footsoreness

good luck with him

Do we get pics??

 

[Collytown]

My TB lost his shoes during the summer (had major problems with getting farrier out) apart from the abscess he ended up with he was footsore for about 2 weeks on each foot after loosing a shoe.

I thought he had terrible feet before, very crumbly, but since he was without shoes for a while must say his feet have improved and new farrier thought for a TB he had great feet.

 

[Kallibear]

If you're serious about sorting his feet out (just whipping his shoes off and hoping for the best is a distaster waiting to happen), get some hoof boots and do some conditioning.

Sort out any thrush (many horses have it) with daily frog scrubbing with hibiscrub (cheap and easy to do) and a once weekly soaking (whilst he stands eating his dinner's easiest) in milton will sort out any hoof infection (again, most shod horses have some).

Then as much walking with boots and frog support pads as you can manage will improve his feet no end. Seriously, you won't beleive the difference a half hour walk will makes. If you're planning on educating him to see the world a bit, take him out as much as you can with his boots on everyday, for a short walk (inhand or under saddle).

However, if your farriers just done a quick foot chop and not addressed any underrun heels, long toes or long heels (which more ex-racers have) then even that won't help. Maybe consider getting a good equine podietrist in for a one-off to advise - it costs less than a set of front shoes!

If you don't put a bit of work in, and his feet are as ruined as most TBex racers I've seen (shoeing from 18months old cripples their feet

) then he's never likely to 'toughen up'

My friend did spend a lot of time and effort on her 4yr old TB's feet and he's gone from appaling feet full of cracks, chips and inability to hold shoes to lovely feet a native would be proud off. Now he's shod again he never looses shoes.

 

[Ladylina83]

If he's out quite a bit his feet will be a bit softer due to all this rain we've been having , My TB x has no shoes on still feels a stone underfoot but nothing major. Kallibear is right the exercise increases blood flow to the foot and improves horn quality + the more rough surfaces he gets to feel the less sensative he should become - He's had shoes on for a long time he will have forgotten what feet feel like ! But if he stays in the feild 24/7 for example the soft grass/mud will feel a lot different to the gravel track- good luck with him, he sounds like he has found a good home x

PS my feet are killing me today from the shoes I wore last night ouch - but how could I resist that 70's style flashing dancefloor

 

[Selkie]

My 2 have been barefoot for over a year now and are sore if they stand on a stone but otherwise are ok. We sprayed the feet with cider vinegar for the first few weeks to help them harden. The TBx took longer than the cob to for her feet to harden. We used hoof boots for the first few months, as most of our riding is on the road, but dont need them now

 

[cptrayes]

Ditto the exercise and care described above but you also need to sort out his diet which is absolutely crucial for foot health. Many barefoot horses do poorly on a diet high in carbohydrates and sugars (molasses etc) and very well on a diet high in fibre. 25g per day of magnesium oxide is also very effective, though no-one is able to explain why but plenty of us have seen the effects. Brewers Yeast is another favourite 50g per day but that's obvious as it contains very digestible b vitamins (biotin is vitamin b7) plus chromium and selenium that are not available in a readily absorbable form commercial supplements. If that lot doesn't do the trick add seaweed or linseed or both. If you are feeding Brewers Yeast don't feed any commercial supplements. Lots of people have found commercial supplements, (particularly ones designed for feet!), very unhelpful! Chemical wormers can also be a challenge to a barefoot horse so watch for increased footiness after worming.

If you'd like some friendly support, log on to uknhcp.myfastforum.com

ps Selkie your horses should not be "sore" standing on stones after more than a year, especially in winter when the grass has gone. Did I misinterpret "sore" or do you have their environment, feed and work right?