Footy walking over gravel...

biggingerpony

biggingerpony

Well-Known Member
Joined
8 March 2009
Messages
899
Visit site
My 20 year old TB mare has been without shoes for 6 months now and has been doing fab. This is our first spring and its been an eye-opener, she was on restricted grazing but then kept on jumping out :) typical...... shes now on more grass and has been footy walking up the gravel drive, she tends to stumble a bit on it and is obviously not comfortable, on the road and on grass she is fine. Shes on a low sugar diet (apart from her current grass) she gets a handful of fast fibre, multi vit, salt, devils claw with 2 small handfuls of calmer chaff with magnesium. Bringing her in is not an option as she tends to fret if there's no other horses or people about its a quiet small yard. But I do bring her in for an hour or two a day when I ride her. Another thing that has made me worry was today she was spotted lying down in the field with the other pony, I know this is probally paranoid owner syndrome but I have never seen her lie down before, and thought it could be because her hooves are sore? Or she could just be having a relaxing morning? I really want to do more hacking but want her to be comfortable, what would you HHO gurus suggest I do?
 
They were all lying down yesterday chick. Check her hooves for any heat, digital pluses etc and if there are any signs of probs you can restrict her grass a bit more. You'd know if her hooves were sore when you were bringing her in / picking her feet out etc.
 
agree - check for heat / pulse and maybe have a word with your farrier? See if they've noticed any changes in her feet - is she due to be trimmed and maybe tripping as toe is a bit long?
 
Lying down wouldnt be a worry, so long as the horse feels safe in its environment it should be lying down for a sleep and to rest its legs anyway.

A laminitic stance of rocking however would be a concern.

I think you already know its the grass thats the problem, so youve got a couple of options. Grazing muzzle to restrict the amount she gets. Track system around the edge of the field to encourage movement which stimulates the hoof more.

Does your calmer chaff have mollasses or molglo in it? Also you dont have anything such as Pro Hoof (ebay) or mineral analysis - vitamins they get from the sun and grass they dont need supplementing where as minerals tend to be more the problem where hooves are concerned.

Boots for def for hacking :)

Edit - does your farrier trim the soles/frogs? If so that will make her footy as the callous she puts down to protect her feet is being cut off.
 
It's the grass and it's high sugar content. I have the same problem as you in that restricting her grazing isn't an option because she would go nuts in her stable. She hates being in there at the best of times. My girl isn't too bad at the moment because she's still in her winter field which contains hardly any grass but in the coming weeks I know I will notice a difference when she goes to the summer field. I find that she does settle down aft a couple of weeks but the only thing I would suggest is that you either pick up a grazing muzzle so she has it on during the day when the sugar content in the grass is higher or as already suggested, get some hoof boots. I don't tend to ride too often (do ground work more) so I just walk her out on the roads in hand when she's sensitive like that and then get riding again when she seems better.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top