Hoof imbalance and lameness

[sjdress]

Fairly new horse went lame 3 or 4 months after purchase. Nerve blocked out to feet so x rayed and showed to have hoof imbalance. Vet discussed with farrier and corrective shoeing was the plan. Horse came sound a week later on her own accord before farrier visit, has since been having remedial shoeing and been sound until yesterday. Same hoof, same type of lameness. Is this normal for foot imbalance, is it just going to take some time or is it likely something else? I have contacted vet and awaiting their response. Just feeling upset by it. Her feet are looking so much better and overall the horse is looking better so I can’t work out if it’s something in my management that’s effecting this.

 

[Michen]

When did the horse have the remedial shoeing and what kind was it? If the usual pads, wedges etc they can certainly make a horse worse. Sometimes pads cause trouble on very thin soles, depending on the material, the gel type filler can put too much pressure.

 

[sjdress]

When did the horse have the remedial shoeing and what kind was it? If the usual pads, wedges etc they can certainly make a horse worse. Sometimes pads cause trouble on very thin soles, depending on the material, the gel type filler can put too much pressure.

She’s had 2 cycles now of the remedial. They are pads with frog support and a slight wedge. She’s due for shoeing again a week tomorrow so wonder if it’s because she is coming to the end of the cycle as the ‘dodgy’ hoof has seemed to have splayed over the last few days

 

[Michen]

She’s had 2 cycles now of the remedial. They are pads with frog support and a slight wedge. She’s due for shoeing again a week tomorrow so wonder if it’s because she is coming to the end of the cycle as the ‘dodgy’ hoof has seemed to have splayed over the last few days

Possibly. Have the feet been re X rayed without shoes? Honestly I’ve never had success with wedges etc on under run hooves.

I’d take the shoes off and barefoot rehab, personally. I’m sure this won’t be what your vet recommends sadly. But you may end up coming to this conclusion yourself if your mare continues to be lame.

Sorry you are in this situation, but you have options other than shoes and a whole heap of success stories around it

 

[Zoeypxo]

Mine had negative 3 degree angles infront, lame on one foot suspected ddft injury due to the strain of the poor hoof angles.
I tried remedial shoeing - wedge and 3d pads , tried steroid injections which worked for a month then lameness returned.
The only thing that ended up working for me was 12 months barefoot rehab, then repeat balance x rays showed 3 degrees positive angles.
I have recently put shoes back on and everything is currently ok!

 

[Horsemaddani]

Mine had negative 3 degree angles infront, lame on one foot suspected ddft injury due to the strain of the poor hoof angles.
I tried remedial shoeing - wedge and 3d pads , tried steroid injections which worked for a month then lameness returned.
The only thing that ended up working for me was 12 months barefoot rehab, then repeat balance x rays showed 3 degrees positive angles.
I have recently put shoes back on and everything is currently ok!

Hi Zoe, could I have some more information on what you did for the barefoot rehab?

 

[Zoeypxo]

Hi Zoe, could I have some more information on what you did for the barefoot rehab?

Hi, the first 3-4months was just field turnout. Then i got some cavallo trek boots and equine podiatry supplies pads and started hand walking starting at 10 mins a day going up to 30 mins over a few months.
By 7/8 months we started riding in walk with the boots on and short in hand walks without boots on, on tarmac or sand.
It completely changed her feet for the better, going from negative 3 degrees to positive 3 degrees over the space of a year.
Unfortunately due to cushings and thin soles/abscesses i had to put shoes back on this year, still sound and working 4-5 days a week, i avoid trotting on roads or deep surfaces.

If you google rockley farm blogs they have a lot of information on there

 

[Zoeypxo]

Hi Zoe, could I have some more information on what you did for the barefoot rehab?

Feet First: Barefoot Performance and Hoof Rehabilitation by Nic Barker, Sarah... 9781908809926 | eBay

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I found this book very helpful, explains everything very well and case studies of navicular, ddft injuries etc.

 

[Orangina]

I have had a good experience with wedges and 3D pads for NPA but my horse was never lame from it, he ended up with back pain and a very bad posture from the NPA.
Importantly I also did a lot of groundwork rehab with him while he had the wedges and pads on and had physio and Indiba for his SI as that was also showing as sore. I don't think it would have been so successful without the other elements and the groundwork took a lot go dedication and time.
I had initially tried removing shoes and going barefoot but on his next physio visit his posture had deteriorated further so that is when we moved to the pads and wedges.
I think how skilled your farrier is has a big impact on results too and also keeping to a short cycle of application (I was doing every 5 weeks)

 

[Melody Grey]

How frequently is the horse being shod? Mine was on a 5 weekly cycle when remedially shod.

I’d recommend a barefoot rehab if you can. Mine was barefoot before and is back there now.

 

[tda]

There are lots of people on here experienced with barefoot rehab, who had, or do have working unshod horses.
I'm sure someone else will comment soon

 

[sbloom]

The body affects the feet as much as the feet affect the body so the approach needs to address that (search "postural" on here for various posts where I've written about my observations as a saddle fitter focusing on it). I see some really good approaches out there with composites and DIM, I think "open heel" shoeing with wedges is generally not a good idea, the theory that the bony column collapses through the heels of the shoe makes sense to me.

Mark Johnson, The Equine Documentalist and Progressive Equine Services all.post on FB with good info on these protocols and products.

Hard to know what's going on but do look beyond your own vets knowledge for what night be going on with the body, posture and compensatory movement patterns. I see horses regularly that need to go back to the vet because of not seeing poor posture as the stage before lameness, and/or giving rehab programmes that entirely fail to tackle the actual causes of the problem.