Help/ opinions please

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NellRosk

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Scenario: horse has been bare behind for a good 6 months now. His backs are perfectly shaped, wide open frogs, good concavity, self trimming and great over the stoniest of tracks.

Fronts have been bare for 4 months and we're really struggling. Boot for every hack we go on (he's fine in boots) but his frogs are small and undeveloped and his heels are still contracted and he's really footy. Physio came out today and said his short front striding was due to footiness. So now he's footy on a soft arena surface.

Can anyone advise me as to why his backs are so great yet he's really struggling with his fronts? Horse gets pro balance linseed, speedo beet and ad lib hay. No signs of thrush. He has white feet and he has a few pink spots on so signs of bruising. :(

At the point where I'm thinking of ringing farrier on Monday and getting fronts put back on but I want to know why his fronts just aren't coping. I feel like I'm failing and there must be a reason but I just don't know what it is!

Thanks. :)
 
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I think you've said what the problem is (or at least a big part of it) - the front hooves are not healthy (contracted, weak frogs etc...).

What is the arena surface? Sand? Rubber? I ask because sand is an easier surface than rubber.

How is he on smooth tarmac without boots? That's also an easier surface and it is the surface that caused the most positive changes to my mare's hooves, but she was OK on it without boots.

How's he in the field? Do you ride in the arena with him wearing his boots?

If you do decide to shoe, keep a really close eye on the heels etc... the last thing you want is further contraction.
 
Faracat said:
I think you've said what the problem is (or at least a big part of it) - the front hooves are not healthy (contracted, weak frogs etc...).

What is the arena surface? Sand? Rubber? I ask because sand is an easier surface than rubber.

How is he on smooth tarmac without boots? That's also an easier surface and it is the surface that caused the most positive changes to my mare's hooves, but she was OK on it without boots.

How's he in the field? Do you ride in the arena with him wearing his boots?

If you do decide to shoe, keep a really close eye on the heels etc... the last thing you want is further contraction.
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I have no idea why they're not healthy though!

The arena is sand/ rubber mix. I don't ride in the arena in boots, they're quite clumpy.

He's really short in front on smooth Tarmac which leads me to think he's uncomfortable.

In the field he just stands in the gateway or mooches about because there's no grass.

No idea why his fronts are so crap :( would a change in feeding help? Maybe feed mag ox and change to a forage plus balancer?
 
For sure a change is required, it does sound like mineral imbalance, exactly how much grub does he get, how much linseed, how much minerals? How much hay/haylage.
What weight is he, and any other info?
You may need to get forage analysis, but while thinking about it I would ask pro earth for advice.
 
I have the same problem my mare has never been shod behind, shes 13, goes hunting everything not a problem but the fronts are terrible always have cracks and cannot manage without shoes. Shes does have mild pedalostitis but even turning her out in the summer with fronts off for 5 months does not help the situation, its like the front & back belong to two different animals.
 
You can't just turn a horse out (unless you have a trach like the one at Rockley) and expect the hooves to improve. You have to get the diet right and stimulate the hooves with work on surfaces that the horse is comfortable on.
 
MrsD123 said:
For sure a change is required, it does sound like mineral imbalance, exactly how much grub does he get, how much linseed, how much minerals? How much hay/haylage.
What weight is he, and any other info?
You may need to get forage analysis, but while thinking about it I would ask pro earth for advice.
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He gets a scoop of pro balance, a mug of linseed and a sprinkling of grass nuts and dampened with speedi beet. He's on ad lib hay at night, goes out from 8-5 in a field with hardly any grass so just mooches about picking at it.

He weighs approx 610kg, can't think of any other conditions he has that would affect his feet.

I couldn't really get a forage analysis because fields get swapped quite regularly and hay/ haylage is always changing due to different suppliers.
 
irishdraft said:
I have the same problem my mare has never been shod behind, shes 13, goes hunting everything not a problem but the fronts are terrible always have cracks and cannot manage without shoes. Shes does have mild pedalostitis but even turning her out in the summer with fronts off for 5 months does not help the situation, its like the front & back belong to two different animals.
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Exactly the same with R, his backs are great and a perfect shape and his fronts are just a mess and I can't understand why!
 
I would stick my neck out and say 90% of horses can go barefoot or unshod behind with no issue - the issue in front is why? Because most of the weight work is done from the front end, so this is where horses struggle the most. People assume that because they can go confortably bare behind they will in front also which is not true.
 
YasandCrystal said:
I would stick my neck out and say 90% of horses can go barefoot or unshod behind with no issue - the issue in front is why? Because most of the weight work is done from the front end, so this is where horses struggle the most. People assume that because they can go confortably bare behind they will in front also which is not true.
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I thought if diet was correct and there were no underlying metabolic issues the majority of horses could also go bare in front?
 
NellRosk said:
I thought if diet was correct and there were no underlying metabolic issues the majority of horses could also go bare in front?
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I disagree with that. And it depends what you term as 'diet is correct' - I would not be prepared to have my horses off grass albeit my paddocks are not lush in order to achieve bf in front. I also think it depends very much on workload and the horses conformation.

There are too many factors in my opinion to be able to state that the majority of horses could go bf comfortably. That said I am of the opinion that every shod horse needs a few months break form shoes every year.
 
YasandCrystal said:
I disagree with that. And it depends what you term as 'diet is correct' - I would not be prepared to have my horses off grass albeit my paddocks are not lush in order to achieve bf in front. I also think it depends very much on workload and the horses conformation.

There are too many factors in my opinion to be able to state that the majority of horses could go bf comfortably. That said I am of the opinion that every shod horse needs a few months break form shoes every year.
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Well he's on a low sugar diet, not getting any grass but that's purely because there isn't any in the fields and not me restricting it. His workload isn't high at all and he's always been complimented on his conformation when I showed him.
 
I believe for a horse to be truly comfortable bf you need to be exposing it to a variety of surfaces on a regular - probably daily basis. That cuts out a good deal of the 'lighter ridden' leisure horses unless their owners set up a true track system on their land. Natives seem to fare well bf - I have a Dales youngster and he is course unridden as yet, but his feet are lovely and tough and I would expect him to manage bf. My Wb is currently being rehabbed - he is bf and he will mainly be worked in a manege or on grass, so I hope he will also cope bf. I have another young mare who is pigeon toed and has ringbone - it maybe that she will need shoes to support the joint with the ringbone, or she may be comfortable bf - I shall have to see. She will only be lightly ridden so it will be interesting to see if she can cope with rough terrain and tarmac.

I have a veteran cob mare whom I have tried successfully bf to a point, but she wore her feet too low and would go sore and I don't like boots, so she is shod.
 
YasandCrystal said:
I believe for a horse to be truly comfortable bf you need to be exposing it to a variety of surfaces on a regular - probably daily basis. That cuts out a good deal of the 'lighter ridden' leisure horses unless their owners set up a true track system on their land. Natives seem to fare well bf - I have a Dales youngster and he is course unridden as yet, but his feet are lovely and tough and I would expect him to manage bf. My Wb is currently being rehabbed - he is bf and he will mainly be worked in a manege or on grass, so I hope he will also cope bf. I have another young mare who is pigeon toed and has ringbone - it maybe that she will need shoes to support the joint with the ringbone, or she may be comfortable bf - I shall have to see. She will only be lightly ridden so it will be interesting to see if she can cope with rough terrain and tarmac.

I have a veteran cob mare whom I have tried successfully bf to a point, but she wore her feet too low and would go sore and I don't like boots, so she is shod.
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I can't expose him to these surfaces though because he's too uncomfortable? It's just worrying because smooth tarmac which the vast majority of bf horses can cope on is causing him issues. I think I will change his minerals and if that doesn't work put fronts back on. I'm just worried I'm masking a problem and not solving it.
 
Are his fronts worn to the sensitive? What does your farrier/trimmer say? Does he have good foot growth? I agree with trying to change the minerals.
 
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