Hoof contracting.. timescale

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LCDB

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Hi all, this might be an odd question but Im a little worried about one of my horses hooves.

He has recently had his shoes off for 15weeks to allow his hooves to grow and he was doing well not at all footy not really any cracking, just looked a little scruffy where the nail holes were growing out. Last week I decided to have his shoes put back on as he is in harder work and starting hacking out.

Yesterday while riding he was a little stumbly, and felt a little lame in front, so jumped off and had a good feel of his legs front one had a little heat, but then i really started looking at his feet and notices how one of his front ones was looking really contracted. Im going to call the farrier as a bit worried about it, but basically my question is, is it possible for a hoof to change quite dramatically over a week. I do have some pics to show if they are any help

Thanks
 
Pics would be useful. My first instinct would be that the farrier maybe hasn't done the best job. If one hoof is looking unusually small has he put two different size shoes on or trimmed one too aggressively?
 
Yes it is.

My mare has always been barefoot, but after she had surgery on her fetlock and had to be on strict box rest for 3 weeks her front feet contracted hugely.
 
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I'm going to be quite honest here, it may sound brutal, but I have been the next step along from you with my mare.

Your horse has long toes and under-run heels, she/he had been shod very badly in the past. The contraction that you see isn't bad, it's the hoof trying to grow correctly. Can you see how the angle changes at the event line half way down the hoof in the top photo? This is the angle that the whole hoof should be. There is no support to the heels at all! This is not good shoeing.

Does your horse pull shoes a lot?


Take the shoes off! Unshod hooves cope very well on tarmac roads. As long as you build up gradually the hooves will respond positively to the extra work.

Please read this thread about my horse. This is where your horse is heading! Please listen to this warning and sort your horse's hooves out before they get worse.

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=549121
 
thank you Faracat brutal was what I needed that was quite a journey you went on with horse, but im glad to see you both came out the other end!

I did originally take his shoes off as he pulled the front one of twice and I was worried as nail holes just kept getting higher and higher, warning sign I think.

I have contacted my farrier and he will be coming out so we can discuss what is going on, and see what he says.....
 
Once you start to look, you will see long toes and under-run heels on many horses. Also there are so many 'my horse pulls loads of shoes off' posts on here. Pulled shoes and long toes are often linked. It's actually scary how many Farriers (that have passed their exams) are not up to scratch.
 
I agree with Faracat


under run and way too long toes.

I cannot believe these feet were shod last week

I would search for another farrier asap. Long toes cause them to trip and affect the DFT as well as put the horse into natural sometimes uncomfortable position.

They look like they haven't been shod for 8 weeks. Sort this out please before its too late.

If it were me I would not bother contacting that farrier I would get a new one and cancel future appointments with this one.

I been down that road and got the tee shirt
 
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I concur with above posts. Hoof is not in good health and these shoes are doing nothing to help - quite the reverse.

A good farrier will have pointed out the health issues and given you advice on how to change your management of your horse (diet and exercise largely) so that the hoof will become healthy again. If your existing farrier didn't do this the first time round you have to ask yourself why?
 
Having seen those pictures I would be getting a different farrier:( Your current farrier allowed your horse's feet to get like that in the first place I wouldn't trust that they understood what to do to get them right again.
 
Does that event line in the foot correspond with when you took the shoes off, by any chance?

It's not simply a case of 'long toe' that can be trimmed back and made right as rain in a short time, I'm afraid. That is flare, which means that the laminae have separated. The primary method of tackling flare must be diet - strong laminae won't pull apart so easily. The laminae are weakened by the presence of too much sugar and starch in the diet. What are you currently feeding?

The next problem is shoeing a foot with weakened laminae. Shoes force the horse to load it's foot through the hoof wall, which is attached to the pedal bone via the laminae. Weak laminae can't bear that kind of weight.

Imo you could really use the help of a professional who really knows their stuff about diet and biomechanics. I'd wager your farrier's not the guy.
 
Funny enough I did actually type it looked like a laminitis ring and I would asking when and what feed etc. but I decided to remove that from the base of my above thread. This ring is like my mares ring on the side.

The heels have no support what so ever with the shoes like that.


decided to remove that from the base of my above thread. This ring is like my mares ring on the side.

The heels have no support what so ever with the shoes like that.

I would :
  1. Change farrier
  2. leave him barefoot till his feet improve (unless new farrier says different)
  3. Look long and hard at his diet
  4. get some help with nutrition
  5. look into his work regime
  6. look into supplements

Also there looks like a stress line on picture 3 going right up to the coronet. This could lead to more problems if the shoeing is not done correctly / trimming
 
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thanks for all the replys everyone, he is currently feed on grass (unfertilised) and 600g of Dodson & Horrell Build & Glow balancer, but most of the summer he has been on just hay and the balancer, no hard feed what so ever since Feb time.

I thought his feet were looking ok while shoes were off and pretty sure they have changed since the shoes went back on.

This is all very worrying and currently sat at work feeling a bit useless hoping he doesn't have any laminits changes, will contact a different farrier asap
 
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