Hoof advice needed plz

[nessa121]

Sorry for the essay just wanted to make sure i covered everything.........I have a small pony who had very slight laminitis a year a go and the way i found this out was because he became sensitive over gravel. Before and straight after the lamintis he has never had a problem with his feet on any ground.
i sent him away to be backed to what seemed to be a very knowledge experienced person only after 3 weeks they called me to say they no longer could do no more with him off the leadrein as he just threw the girl off.
After going to collect him and returning home last tuesday evening we notice when getting off the lorry he was slightly lame and a bit foot sore. I picked up his hoof and to my horror his feet was a state they smelt awful his frogs had gauges through the middle and the feet inside was flaking and very soft. My farrier came out the next day and trimmed them up and cleaned them out i walked him up after and he was much better. But the next morning i walked him out of his stable and he could hardly move. Called the vet out to check if he had lami and she tested him and he was showing no signs but said from his previous laminitis a year ago his sole is slighty touching the floor at the toe and to maybe consider getting front shoes so this would lift his sole off the ground. I'm going to speak to my farrier again tuesday and see what he thinks but was just wondering what your thoughts are? As he has never needed shoes before now. Its been 4 days now since he has been in on deep bed and bute and he can not walk on hard flat ground outside his stable. Don't no what to do to help him?

 

[be positive]

It sounds as if he has gone through a traumatic time and this will have contributed to his condition, possibly caused it, he may take longer to get over it this time if it was worse combined with all the stress. You are doing everything right from the sounds of things but leave him in for a few more days without trying to walk him on the hard, you should get a sense of how he is doing by his stance in the box without causing him further pain by walking him out.
The vets advice seems odd, he will have contact with the ground at the toe, they do not walk just on the walls, raising the foot off the ground by shoeing him will possibly make him feel better initially but the frog will then not be supported so well and there will be more risk of the pedal bone rotating.
The first step before shoeing is considered would be xrays so the farrier can shoe appropriately, but at this stage I would think time is your best bet and keeping him comfortable, it can take several weeks before he will be able to go out of the box, be patient.

 

[nessa121]

Thank you for your post, I think his feet have been put through a lot of stress. I think he may have been cut to short this time round due to the state his hooves were in. He doesnt have laminitis at this point in his life and is not uncomfortable in his stable and when vet came we padded his feet out and walked to the school once in the school and padding off he trotted up sound so is just hard ground he has a problem with.
What the vet was saying was my farrier has trimmed him and the hoof wall is very thin and the sole is touching the floor but in previous trimmings this has never been an issue. But she is saying in future i should consider front shoes so his soles would never become an issue?
At the time it made sense but my farrier has never been keen on putting front shoes on, so i'm going to speak to him and see what he says. As i do prefer barefoot but i would do what ever it takes to make my boy happy. Just was looking to see what other peoples thoughts are as i dont no what to do for the best.

 

[Casey76]

I'm nit sure what your vet is on about, to be honest. Horses do not walk on the walks of their hoofs. Depending in the size if the hoof, the horse should have a "toe callus" which is the sole of the foot behind the white line to where any concavity starts.

The horse walks with weight distribution across the frog (which should be weight bearing from heel to tip), heels, and all the way around the whole hoof walk, including the edge of the sole. In some cases the quarters may not be in contact with the ground when the foot isn't flexed.

Ok, just to illustrate... This foot isn't very pretty, but it had just completed a 4 day trek, covering 50 - 80km per day. You can see the toe callus at the top where the sole looks shiny