Hoof help please

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coloredred

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My gelding was trimmed a couple of days ago and since then has been sore over even the slightest stone. He's still his usual self on grass and smooth roads. The farrier didn't take much off his feet I don't think (I was at work while he was done), he's just shaped them really. The only thing he really seems to have done is roll them slightly, trim his frogs and bars. Before his trim he was rock crunching over anything. Anyway suggestions welcome and here are some pictures to see if anyone else can spot anything.

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Edited to add that the photos make his soles looks less concave than they actually are.
 
I'm definitely no expert here but I'd say your problem was at least partially down to the fact that the farrier trimmed the frog. I'm sure some more experienced people will be along shortly but I've been told that if a horse is less sound after a trim then that trim wasn't the right trim for the horse.

I hope your horse is back to normal soon.
 
Could be he has been too enthusiastic.
Is there a big bruise on photo six, where the wall meets the sole?
What I find with my boy, when one farrier trims his feet perfect, it takes him a few days to adjust/wear the hoof to suit his conformation.
It could be coincidence, are you feeding magnesium and other barefoot diet feeds and minerals and vitamins?
 
Thank you, had a feeling it might be due to the frog trim as they were pretty big before. Also could it be partly to do with having the bars trimmed right back?

There is a bruise on his hind which wasn't showing before having his feet rolled.

He's on a high fibre diet plus magnesium and just started brewers yeast. He also gets equine America glucosamine, not sure if that counts as part of the barefoot diet.
 
are you certain the footiness started after the trim and is not due to the very lush grass that we are getting with all this rain around?

If so, then however little the farrier did, it has to be what he did and it must have been wrong, for your horse, to trim the bars and/or the frog. The bar trimming could have done it if his heels are not that strong and he needed the support. It looks like they may have been growing quite some distance down beside the frog, and he has cut them back. If they grow long like that, they do that it is because they need them to support a weaknes in the foot, and they should not usually be removed.

Hopefully he'll be OK in a few days. If so, you'll need to find a tactful way to tell your farrier not to do it again.
 
He's only been on the yeast the last couple of days so hopefully that will help.

A few weeks ago his feet had gotten a bit long which is why the bars grew so much I think. Normally he self trims with work and as bad as it sounds doesn't normally need to see the farrier. In the last three years that he's been barefoot he's only ever been footy twice, once right near the start just after a trim and this time. When I leave his feet to sort themselves *touch wood* he never goes footy.

The grass could be the problem but it's been lush for weeks but I am bringing him in during the day now.

Also he always has and still is landing very much heel first.
 
cptrayes said:
are you certain the footiness started after the trim and is not due to the very lush grass that we are getting with all this rain around?

If so, then however little the farrier did, it has to be what he did and it must have been wrong, for your horse, to trim the bars and/or the frog. The bar trimming could have done it if his heels are not that strong and he needed the support. It looks like they may have been growing quite some distance down beside the frog, and he has cut them back. If they grow long like that, they do that it is because they need them to support a weaknes in the foot, and they should not usually be removed.

Hopefully he'll be OK in a few days. If so, you'll need to find a tactful way to tell your farrier not to do it again.
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Agree.

Sometimes a difference of a mm can mean all the difference at this time of year.

Your horse has been building his frogs into a thick and dense pad (like folding paper into a wad) all this time and someone has undone all that hard work and cut the frogs down to immature and sore tissue :( For no reason other than it is routinely done :mad:.

He should be back to normal in a week. But someone should think hard before they use tools on him in the future:( It's not about what to trim - it's about what NOT to trim ;).
 
Oberon said:
Agree.

Sometimes a difference of a mm can mean all the difference at this time of year.

Your horse has been building his frogs into a thick and dense pad (like folding paper into a wad) all this time and someone has undone all that hard work and cut the frogs down to immature and sore tissue :( For no reason other than it is routinely done :mad:.

He should be back to normal in a week. But someone should think hard before they use tools on him in the future:( It's not about what to trim - it's about what NOT to trim ;).
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Thank you Oberon :) hopefully he will be back to his usual self in a week. It's horrible seeing him flinch on his way to and from his field :( next time I decide to have someone mess with his feet I'll make sure I'm there to stop any unnecessary frog trimming.
 
cptrayes said:
Sounds great! Next time he needs a trim take him out for a couple of hours roadwork and give the farrier a miss :D
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That's what I have been doing mostly for the last year and a half. He's only seen the farrier twice in that time. All I wanted was a little tidy up around the edges to stop any flaring, sort of wish I hadn't bothered until I could be there.
 
Bit of a funny observation, I know... but while the hooves look nice to me, what I see in the pics are the little wet hoof prints... No frog mark at all, just a wee thin rim of wall. If he had nice fat frogs before the trim, he definitely doesn't now, and all his weight is resting on the wall, with the back of his foot taken completely out of action on flat surfaces.

I would think he'll need to grow that back to be comfy again.
 
Brightbay said:
Bit of a funny observation, I know... but while the hooves look nice to me, what I see in the pics are the little wet hoof prints... No frog mark at all, just a wee thin rim of wall. If he had nice fat frogs before the trim, he definitely doesn't now, and all his weight is resting on the wall, with the back of his foot taken completely out of action on flat surfaces.

I would think he'll need to grow that back to be comfy again.
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You're right! I hadn't noticed that until you said. Yesterday in his stable there were slight frog marks from wet feet but not today it seems :s I'll wet the bottoms of his feet tomorrow and test the hoof prints :)
 
Do you have a set of boots? Boots with a nice squishy pad in them would help gently stimulate the frogs and bars to grow back, and would make him more comfy on hard flat surfaces til then :)
 
Brightbay said:
Do you have a set of boots? Boots with a nice squishy pad in them would help gently stimulate the frogs and bars to grow back, and would make him more comfy on hard flat surfaces til then :)
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Unfortunately not. Used to have a pair, the cheapy ones that shires sold but could never get them on so sold them as he wasn't showing signs that he needed them. His field is uneven yet soft so should help a bit walking around in there.
 
coloredred said:
That's what I have been doing mostly for the last year and a half. He's only seen the farrier twice in that time. All I wanted was a little tidy up around the edges to stop any flaring, sort of wish I hadn't bothered until I could be there.
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If you are doing enough roadwork to self trim, you could just buy a rasp to round off the edges and do it yourself, at the moment [no roadwork] I am rasping once per week, but need a farrier to balance the feet, last year he was self trimming and needed nothing but rasping round the edges.
 
Miss L Toe said:
If you are doing enough roadwork to self trim, you could just buy a rasp to round off the edges and do it yourself, at the moment [no roadwork] I am rasping once per week, but need a farrier to balance the feet, last year he was self trimming and needed nothing but rasping round the edges.
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Thank you. I had considered this but I have no idea what rasp to use. Quite a few different ones come up if I search on eBay.
 
I would say that the frogs don't look that bad. They still look quite big and fleshy. But the heels could still do with a few mil off. This would also then mean the frog would prob touch tho floor again then pressure applied ti the hoof from above. The bruising u see on the foot would not affect them now. We don't usually c the bruising until after the event so can't do much about it by then!!
Obviously hard to tell from pics due to angles etc. X
 
Thank you M L T, I'll look into getting one of those :)

Thank you for your reply WM, they still look an ok size in the photos but a lot has been cut off and they are much smaller than they were when you actually see them. I agree about the mm off the heel, it's like extra length has been left on so the frog doesn't touch the floor which isn't how it should be.
 
No expert on feet etc but frogs look quite trimmed up?? but I dont know mine never looks like that etc

Anyhow my first thought was the rain /sun and grass is very lush like spring. If the horse is footy that was my first thought or perhaps a bruise? But just watch the grass.

Hope your horse is ok. They look nice feet!
 
indie999 said:
No expert on feet etc but frogs look quite trimmed up?? but I dont know mine never looks like that etc

Anyhow my first thought was the rain /sun and grass is very lush like spring. If the horse is footy that was my first thought or perhaps a bruise? But just watch the grass.

Hope your horse is ok. They look nice feet!
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Thanks indie, his frogs are quite trimmed back :( the grass has been worrying me too so I'm definitely keeping an eye on that.

Thank, he does have nice feet, I feel quite lucky that he grows them with minimal effort lol.
 
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