Heel pain, help needed please read

T

thatsmygirl

Well-Known Member
Joined
22 May 2010
Messages
4,341
Visit site
Long story so will try to keep it short.

I bought a ex racer and have given him the winter off and recently brought him back into work. He's been on and off lame for a few weeks now, very lame after being stabled and pottery walking down hills and on the turn but will trot up in a stright line sound. ( very long toes, under run heels, complete wrong axle with heel on the ground)
the lameness started when my farrier tried to correct the lack off heel support by setting shoes further back to provide the support, the horse went very pottery after these shoes were put on and didn't seem to be able to walk in them at all. ( I'm thinking complete different feel for him with aching muscles!!! I get that after wearing heels off any kink) so put normal shoes back on him and he's returned to normal apart from when he was stabled for a day due to bad weather and he walked out very lame and couldn't walk down hill but sound again after a day in the field.
Since than iv had thermal imaging done on him which showed up problems in all 4 feet and he thought it was navicular. I thought the same but was hoping he would say different. So iv contacted my local vet who wants to nerve block first before she goes down the x ray route ( tbh iv be happy just to x ray front feet) but it's now a waiting game until he's lame again to nerve block. Been sound a week now but he's in normal shoes which are not helping his feet in any way at all but how can I get supportive shoeing under the heel if he can't take it? My taking to my farrier next week to discuss options.
Sorry for spellings etc but I'm on my phone and can't even re read what iv wrote so I hope it all makes sence :)
 
First off well done for getting an ex racer......as for the heel pain to behonest id get xrays done anyway, my lami is lame on a 5 meter circle on hard ground and slightly sore down hill but sound straight line with heat round the corranet band and up the paston Vet wants nerve blocks and xrays as she thinks ringbone but i cant afford both at the mo so have said just xrays....it might be worth doing the same. Just have xrays done first as they will xray anyway if he comes sound with the nerve blocks and it will give your farrier the right picture to help shoe your horse.

Hope ive helped abit.

Hugs xx
 
TBH I would request going straight to x-rays, you can't change the shoes to make him lame, because that could be half the problem, sounds like it is. And after the x-rays you can think about your options with shoeing depending on the outcome ofcourse :)
 
Thank you, I would like to x ray first, I'm 99% sure it's foot and nothing else but the vets won't!!! They want to nerve block and lameness work out first which iv said I'm not happy with, ( feel they are just trying to make money) so iv rung another vet
and I'm waiting a call back
Monday but he's happy just to x ray which is what I'm after. He's sound now but I know there is something wrong. Just feel if I x ray first I could save money in the long run.
 
I have had similar problems lately with one of mine. Mine is a horse who naturally has quite long toes, and have always thought that they were too long and the farrier wasn't taking them back quite as much as he could. Farrier then started to shoe with 2 toe clips on the front in order to move the breakover point further back and all was fine for quite some time, until farrier decided to start using natural balance type shoes and brought the breakover point back even further. Horse went short in front after shoeing and definitely was not happy.

Fortunately as it had happened straight after shoeing (and he had been perfectly fine the day before) I put 2 and 2 together and realised what the problem was and asked farrier to remove the shoes, even though he insisted that it wasn't them causing the problem and he even suggested that it could be navicular. I left the shoes off for two weeks and have now had "normal" shoes put back on the front with just one toe clip and "touching wood madly" he seems totally back to normal. Have heard today of another horse which had exactly the same problem.

I'm not sure if this helps at all, but I think you do have to ask your farrier to have a look at what he's doing. I do have an excellent farrier and I know that he was really trying to help my horse in the way that he was shoeing him, but horse was obviously telling me differently!;)
 
Oofadoofa that's very helpful and sounds just like my lad, very long toes and normal shoes won't provide the heel support, the natural balance type shoe was one he used on mine, square toe set back off the toes to provide the heel support and yes changes the breakover, these he couldn't walk in so after x rays we may try normal shoes with side clip with extra long support at the back and slightly wide. Iv also got a good farrier and I know what he's trying to do but yes the horse is saying different but something needs to be done to help his feet long term.
Tbh you have just discribed what's happening to me :)
 
It's always good to know that someone else is having exactly the same problem as you isn't it! Yes, I think the normal shoes with side clips sound like the best plan. I know that your farrier is trying to do his best for the long term with the natural balance type shoes, but if the horse isn't happy in them, then it's not really that much use is it? That's my thinking anyway! Do let me know how you get on.
 
Oh also what supplement would be best to support hoof growth? He's been on pro feet for about 5 months but still no growth at all.
He's feed topline cubes, linseed and a handfull off unmolassed alfa a with a vit/min supplement. So do I add just biotin with the vit/min supplement or stop that and add formula 4 feet? Iv started rubbing cornacresine into his coronet band
 
I'm afraid I sound like a stuck record on this one. :o I have found with my tb, long toes/under run heels and generally splatty hooves, that diet is crucial to getting her hooves under control, ie. stopping the toes running forward which pulls the heels forward as well.

Getting dietary sugars as low as possible and then supplementing appropriate (as far as is possible) minerals in a low sugar basic feed such as speedibeet is imo the way to go.

My girl is currently yarded during the day out at night when it's mild. She has soaked hay with a small amount unsoaked hay when yarded and a small feed of speedibeet with mineral mix, salt, extra magnesium and ground linseed. Her hooves are continuing to improve following a major collapse early last year following 24/7 turnout.
 
I don't think his diet is that bad? His weight is just right now so I'm happy with that but could do with some good growth happening soon
 
It's certainly worth trying a low sugar diet to see if it affects the horse.
Take out all coarse mix and cubes and replace with unmolassed Alfafa speedibeet and oats with micronised linseed Magneseium oxide and brewers yeast .
When I feed my horses farriers formula I definatly saw a significant increase in hoof growth but it is expensive.
You need to get as quickly as possible to what is making the horse lame and take it from there.
 
I would stop panicking if I were you, can we just recap a min, the farrier applied rather a radical shoe, (natural balance shoes are not for all feet ) horse was sore after. shoes were removed and ordinary shoes were replaced and as the inflammation settled down the horse improved and now has had a period of soundness. You could spend a fortune on diagnostic up to £2000 pounds, I would be fairly sure from your initial description that you dont have bone changes, just sore feet. Can I just ask about the thermal imaging, we had a bloke round here who bought one, he had no horse experience, no training on image interpretation and was offering diagnosis on pathology based on the images, seemed he panicked a few horse owners and charged them plenty for it.
So just relax and see how it goes, it was as likely the feet didnt like the shoes and nails rather than the change of angle.
 
Im with A Guilding - there is an article somewhere on the tiny amount of space farriers hve to get nails in, which i cant currently find grr, but its tiny so altering that angle for your horse could well have meant nails going into live tissue.

You dont see much hoof growth in shod horses as their feet arent getting the stimulation nature intended them to have. They have a fixed rigid object on the end of the hoof which is designed to flex outwards as they put weight on it, think of how your toes splay as you walk.

Rubbing cornucresine into the coronet band is going to achieve absolutely nothing apart from prevent the pores of the hoof being able to breathe because you are bunging it up with chemical laden tar.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top