Hooves cut very very short

Loopylou1989

Loopylou1989

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How long can a horse stay slightly lame for after having a considerable amount of hoof cut away? My horse is still not 100% after 8 weeks and the farrier says its just going to take time as the hoof needs to grow back (this is a new farrier im now using) My horse doesnt grow hoof easily so have him on Biotin too. Also his soles were stripped back and the new farrier says he will be sensitive here too.
 
If your horse ist still foot sore after 8 weeks, what did the farrier do to it?
Were the hoves in a bad way before the farrier delt with then?

maybe ther horse now has bruised soles or an abscess.

Having a little too much cut away does cause footyness but 8 weeks is a very long time.
 
It would be better if you could post pics of the front of the hooves, side view and sole view.

Also, what is the horse's routine and feed regime?
 
8 weeks is too long. When you say cut away is this long growth that is cut back to normal or normal feet cut back hard? Does the horse have any history of laminitis?
 
If he is normally fine without shoes then I would be very concerned that he is still sore after 8 weeks. However, one of my ponies was sore for months and months after having her shoes taken off, this was expected as she has never been very good without shoes.
 
I think you should call a decent vet.
That's shocking , has the new farrier a master or partner in his practice ? I'd be wanting a very good explanation of what he did and why in front of another farrier or vet, preferably both.

Sorry to be pessimistic but you may well have something else going on there now.

If for some reason he needed to make such a radical change he should have discussed it with you and your vet first. Why would he thin the sole or have I got that wrong ?

While I might want to relieve his discomfort with painkillers I don't think it would be good as you want to notice any worsening as soon as possible .

I would look at his diet and treat him as if he has laminitis in case sugars are making it worse .
Don't worm him until back to normal.
Obviously stay on good ground until he has improved
 
Lippyx said:
Whys that? Intrigued, as never knew this would cause further issues.
Click to expand...

Worming with strong wormers such as Pramox can cause extreme footiness, this happened with my barefoot TB mare and took 3 months to go away. Basically it caused low grade laminitis with her.
 
Hi All

This farrier (the one that cut him short) took over from a guy i had for 3 odd years who decided to move abroad. I took him on as the replacement and after only 3 shoeings this happened.
My horse doesnt have a history of either being footsore or lamanitis and have never had any problems with keeping shoes on or lameness in general. When i asked why he cut them back so much he said that he was trying to alter the shape slightly as he didnt agree with the way my old farrier had shod him to which i replied he's been fine for years and you should have discussed this with me before acting on this. I have had the vet and a new/ second opinion from another farrier and both say they think its likely that it is in the hoof (front right) and he needs time to grow good hoof back before he will start to feel better. They say until this hoof grows back and he is back to a normal length which at the moment he looks like he has pony feet for a 15'2 horse then there is no real point in x rays as until there is hoof to work with there is no remedial work that can take place.

I feel absolutely useless and im sure i should be doing something!
I have owned my horse for 15 years and have never in those years had any problems with him apart from one puncture wound and an abcess years ago!

His feed is
Alfa Oil
Senior maintenance mix
Fast fibre
Biotin
General vits and mins
Cod liver oil

He's a good doer and is in great condition apart from the above!

I feel honestly gutted and i just dont know what to do for the best as im relying on my farrier and vet to advise me.

Also the farrier that cut him back so far i have spoken to him and advised that if this continues and it is all related to his handy work then we will go through his insurance
 
Sounds painful for poor horse. My hubby is a farrier and it can be true there are many owners who are not knowledged about foot balance and shoeing etc so it can be a surprise when a new farrier comes along and says that there is work to be done, when the owner thought things were just fine and dandy.

However the new farrier should as you rightly say have warned you. They do have to be careful and guarded in what they say as part of their professional conduct code. They cannot slate another farrier's work openly and if they have dire concerns they need to report the other farrier via the Registration Council.
The only time my husband has very openly slated a farrier was when one of our mare's was shod when she went to a stud and the result was frankly appalling and he let everyone know that if that was the best work a farrier could doing knowing themare was owned by a farrier god help his clients!

He should have told you to expect maybe a few days of soreness and advised speak to your vet to get some bute. Also if the feet needed a lot of adjustment then that is usually done over a few visits not in one fell swoop like that as the horse's action and joints and everything would be affected.
I would rely on your vet to advise if the farrier has made a poor job.
 
I had a horse out on loan for just short of a year when I received a phone call to say that the horse was not sound and as it was getting older (17) their vet had said it was no longer suitable for work.

I got the horse home to find that it had been shod with heart bar shoes. My own farrier who had shod the horse for many years before I loaned him, removed these shoes which were not only putting pressure to the extent that there was a groove in the frog but also had four nails inside the white line! Both front feet had corns and extensive bruising. No wonder he looked stiff - he could barely put his feet to the ground and hopped around turns!

It has taken six months to get the feet back to normal - he has in fact just been re shod this morning. He now has no bruising or corns and he has enough foot and heels to carry his considerable weight - he is 17.2hh heavyweight type horse. He is now sound, does not hop on turns and magically does not look stiff any more!!

It takes a really good farrier and more time than you might think to undo the damage caused by some (definately not all!) modern farriery. Other than good farriery we have given him a double dosage of Keratex feed supplemement to encourage growth of good quality hoof.
 
Sport horse
Do you think the Keratex works as i have the one to paint on his hooves
Also the farrier doesnt suspect corns or an abcess just that he's sore which i guess could be the case
 
Have you tried soaking his feet in epsom salts? My friend went on holiday and I looked after her gelding - the farrier came the morning she went away - horse was hopping lame the next morning - The vet advised to soak his feet in epsom salts with warm water - as well as bute - he was diagnosed with laminitus due to trauma to the hoof.
 
My farrier is a great believer in keratex feed supplement as being the only one worth using - this is obviously the personal opinion of one man. We have followed his advice on several occasions and used it on horses with poor hoof quality and we have certainly achieved improvement in all cases but only after the long time needed to grow a new hoof ie. nearly a year from top to bottom. I have used the paint on product which I have found does help hold flaky hooves together but does not actually improve the quality of what is growing.

There is no doubt that to improve hoof quality, diet is the only way forward and it is a long term issue. Clean dry bedding is an important management aspect alongside diet.

I have no doubt that the lamenesss of my old horse was caused by a farrier trying to cut the hooves back too much - he had reduced the width of the foot by over 1 " leaving nothing outside the white line at all and indeed nailing inside the white line. A big horse with a nice round foot needs that foot on which to stand but sadly some younger farriers shoe everything the same way and certainly in the case of my horse there is no doubt that had I not owned him the vet and farrier would have sent him to a premature end.

He is now 100% sound and hacking out as escort to my young horses. He is NOT available for loan ever again!
 
one of mares went a bit footsore after the farrier had been out and took a little more off than i normally like - she was only footy for less than a week - get a decent farrier out and a vet to check x
 
A similar thing happened to my friends horse and he was footsore for about ten days following an over vigorous toe cutting exercise by her new farrier. After 8 weeks I'd say there is something drastically wrong. I'm glad you told him how unhappy you are and that he should do something to eleviate the situation your horse is in, even if it means him possibly paying for veterinary treatment (whatever that treatment - if there is any - may entail?)

Why oh why do farriers not try to make gradual changes over a period of months instead of doing huge changes in one session??? The damage this can do to the hoof structure and the horses tendons must surely be hugely significant?
 
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This is awful, your poor horse? Have you checked that the farrier is properly registered??

I would get vet opinion and raise your concerns with the farrier's council!!

Cornucrescin is a great thing for restoring hoof health sonmight be worth getting some along with the supplements etc others have suggested.

Would be very interesting to see some pics. I would be livid if this was my horse!! it would put us right out of competition etc. Where are you based!? Perhaps someone on here can suggest a good master/remedial farrier in your area for a second opinion and to begin rehab??
 
2nd Cornucrescene - it really stimulates hoof growth. Rub on the coronary band at least daily and you should see a improvement in the growth - also in your own nails too.

I'd honestly contact the Farriers Council and have a grumble - there is no excuse for a making a horse lame.

Soak the foot in warm water and a handful of blue stone (Copper Sulphate) daily.
 
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