Hooves/feed/barefoot... Questions from a confused new owner!

[ponyparty]

See those cracks radiating out from the point of the frog?

That's where the concavity is increasing inside, and causing the outer surface to crack. It's a good sign!

Ooh that's interesting! Cool I can't wait for the EP appointment, I'm so excited to learn more about his feet.

 

[ester]

I do make that point from my own flat footed beast too. There is no way he would have coped with hacking out in boots or arena work at this point, he would likely have ended up with deep bruising that would have taken a long time to resolve as he didn't have the internal structures to support. He was able to get 24/7 turnout pretty quickly though as it was heading into summer. I'd say we had a track too but in the early days it was just a strip as there was so much grass!

 

[ponyparty]

I would so love a track for him! When the weather improves, the grass starts coming through and the ground dries up, I'm going to ask if I can put up a temporary track system. No point now, it'd just be a sea of mud.
I was fretting over not having an area of pea gravel for him to stand on, but having read lots of Rockley posts, i think the consensus is that it's not essential, at least for horses whose feet are not terribly compromised.

I'm sure in my pics, his off fore frog already looks a bit beefier. I am going to try and do proper progress pics every 2 weeks, I just couldn't wait this time haha!

 

[ester]

putting a patch of pea gravel in was the worse thing we did for the field

 

[amandaco2]

grazing on mixed meadow grass and hays.
bucket feed- good doer on TB chaff and forage plus. poor doer on TB chaff, copra and basemix.
exercise as much as possible within comfort. use boots if needed.
trim- do not let anyone trim the bottom of the hoof- sole or frog.
mine get very lightly rasped weekly to maintain the rolled edge. nothing more. they wear their feet the way they are needed themselves. (however some hoses do need trimming)

 

[ponyparty]

Bruce is so much better on his feet the last few days! I thought it was because of the bute - yesterday he was striding out most confidently on the concrete - but then I looked in his stable and the git hadn't actually eaten his dinner with the bute in it! Think it's meant to be frosty tomorrow, so I'm going to get it down him disguised in a carrot or something tonight, don't want him to be sore on the hard ground.

Had the saddler out yesterday - Bruce's back is sore again saddler looked at his saddle, it is way too flat treed for him - it presses behind the withers and at the back of the saddle, while there is a gap under the middle section. Poor boy! I feel so guilty for riding him in it. He is so stoic too, he hasn't kicked up a fuss about it, bucked or anything.

I got the saddle with him - if I'd known it didn't fit I wouldn't have asked for it, and saved myself £150! I had actually had my doubts about its fit previously, when I had him on part loan. It was reflocked in August, and I thought that was that, it was better. But clearly it doesn't fit, and it's nothing to do with flocking, it is structurally unsuitable for his conformation. He needs a saddle with a more curved tree. So - now I have the chiropractor coming out next week, that'll probably take at least a couple of visits; and can then book another saddle fitting once he's better. So no riding for me for some time now

On the plus side - lots of in hand work will help us build up our partnership, I can walk him out in hand up the road, which will hopefully help build trust, which should improve our solo hacking, when we get round to it! I want to master long-reining and lunging with two reins... So lots to be working on! Trying to stay positive! I've booked onto a lunging and in-hand clinic in February to have something to look forward to. This really is forcing me to learn to be patient..!

It'll be 2 weeks of barefoot tomorrow - I will take some more photos then, and maybe try and take a video of how his feet are landing. Equine podiatrist next week. Lots going on to keep my mind off the fact I can't ride... At least his feet are feeling better - onwards and upwards!

 

[PoppyAnderson]

Don't feed carrots!!!!! Full of sugar!

 

[Michen]

Don't feed carrots!!!!! Full of sugar!

I should tell my boy that, he gets far too many carrots for his own good but is rock crunching!

 

[ponyparty]

I know they contain sugar but... half a carrot a day, for a few days, to get his bute down him? I mean, are they THAT dangerous? Honest question, I have no idea! I don't usually feed carrots or anything, he just gets his feed and haylage.

 

[Leo Walker]

Mine is as well. He gets 4 to6 large carrots a day or the same quantity of apples.

http://davidmarlin.co.uk/portfolio/...initic-ems-tying-up-or-pssm-horse-polo-mints/

 

[ponyparty]

Mine is as well. He gets 4 to6 large carrots a day or the same quantity of apples.

http://davidmarlin.co.uk/portfolio/...initic-ems-tying-up-or-pssm-horse-polo-mints/

Makes sense I shall continue with the carrot disguising the bute! Pretty sure he'll be wise to it by tomorrow, he did a fair bit of tossing his head around and spat the carrot out a couple of times before it finally went down. Too clever for his own good, that horse!

 

[ponyparty]

Two week photos:

Near fore

Off fore

Side view of near fore (not the best pic!)

 

[ycbm]

Near fore looks a fair bit more symmetric? This anyone trim of that long bar on the right hand side? If they did, don't let them do it again, it's strengthening for a weak foot. If they didn't, then it shows that the foot has strengthened and no longer needs the long bar.

Off fore might also be a bit more symmetric (frog more in the middle of the foot).


Looking good!

 

[Casey76]

Mine is as well. He gets 4 to6 large carrots a day or the same quantity of apples.

http://davidmarlin.co.uk/portfolio/...initic-ems-tying-up-or-pssm-horse-polo-mints/

I suppose it depends on what if going on internally. Dr Kellon recommends no carrots for metabolic horses (green beans, mange tout, celery etc, but no carrots)

If the horse isn’t metabolic, then one or two carrots aren’t going to contribute significantly to the overall amount of sugar in the diet.

 

[ponyparty]

Near fore looks a fair bit more symmetric? This anyone trim of that long bar on the right hand side? If they did, don't let them do it again, it's strengthening for a weak foot. If they didn't, then it shows that the foot has strengthened and no longer needs the long bar.

Off fore might also be a bit more symmetric (frog more in the middle of the foot).


Looking good!

He hasn't been trimmed since 2nd January (the day the shoes came off), so no. I feel the near fore looks like it's changed more than the off? On both the heels look better, to my untrained eye anyway. Maybe I'm just looking for stuff that's not there yet. Looking forward to seeing what the EP says next Tuesday - will post on here after. No more pics until the 4 week update though

 

[Alibear]

Daisy’s front shoes came off on Friday. So we’re on this journey too now so far she’s happy in walk on all surfaces in hand but trot on hard surfaces she’s a bit footy. Not great timing with the frozen ground and thanks to this thread I know to expect she may get worse in a few days time. Really hoping it will work out in the long run.

 

[ponyparty]

Daisy’s front shoes came off on Friday. So we’re on this journey too now so far she’s happy in walk on all surfaces in hand but trot on hard surfaces she’s a bit footy. Not great timing with the frozen ground and thanks to this thread I know to expect she may get worse in a few days time. Really hoping it will work out in the long run.

Thank you! I was lulled into a false sense of security the first few days with Bruce. I hope this thread (and the many others on here!) are useful for you. Good luck!

 

[ponyparty]

I've just updated my blog, reporting on the EP visit on Tuesday and posting some photos from today. I've probably missed loads of info out and garbled what the EP said, it seems so long ago now! You're welcome to read it - I won't post any pics on this thread again just yet, I'll save that for the 4 week update pics next Tuesday.

If you haven't got time to read, I'll summarise: it was interesting but depressing, so I hope the next appointment in 6 weeks will bring some more positive news.

https://starofsenate.wordpress.com/

PS don't laugh at my blog it's super embarrassing and I never really thought I'd share it with anyone, except maybe close friends/family - definitely not on here! Eek.

 

[ester]

Ah Vikki is a good egg.

a note about bars, it can depend a bit on the horse, Frank's can get a bit funky but if you take them off he goes sore, and they reappear within a week if you leave them they flake off themselves eventually.

red horse products are great, I use the sole cleanse and the hoof stuff mostly for central sulcus stuff at this time of year.

I don't think you should be too depressed, if the hooves were 100% great in shoes why would you be bothering . The WLD will grow out fine and everything else will sort itself out in time.

are you keeping the garlic powder?

 

[ponyparty]

I always think the worst, ester! Haha. It was just the fact she mentioned that he could potentially have something up with him, from the sacro-iliac joint downwards; obviously I assumed the worst, it's just how I'm wired up

I've got sole cleanse, and artimud - she said that would be OK, and that I shouldn't need to mess with the seedy toe as she had really packed it well.

I actually forgot to mention the garlic powder to Vikki, he's only been on it for about a week. Prior to that I was feeding a respiratory booster - I changed it to garlic when that ran out, it's meant to be good for respiratory issues? And he's had pinworm recently, I also read somewhere that it's good for repelling parasites too. Is it not meant to be good then!? Argh. Will message Vikki about it tomorrow at a more sociable hour! She's been amazing to be fair, even before she'd seen Bruce she was happy to answer all my (many) questions!

 

[ester]

It’s awful stuff, it is an antimicrobial which is the last thing a horses gut needs they need their bacteria!. Oh and causes anaemia, and makes sweet itch itchier.

 

[buzyizzy]

Magnacalm lick contains dextrose, a sugar - I'd ditch it instantly.
Those hooves look very promising - the hinds are not bad at all (although your farrier is heavy handed with the rasp on the outside of the wall). The fronts are too long, both heel and toe, and the growth rings worry me a bit. I would guess that like most hooves (all hooves, tbh) they would benefit from losing the shoes, losing sugars and cereals from the diet, lots of movement, lots of forage, and a good balancer (I use Pro hoof). Micronised linseed is great too.

But most important of all, they would benefit from an owner who is prepared to put in the hours and educate themselves and is in for the long haul. It's not just about the trim, but you will need someone onside who can trim a horse for barefoot performance and work with the whole horse. I would suggest your farrier is prettifying those hooves and not worrying too much about function.

Couldn't have put it better myself.

 

[ponyparty]

It’s awful stuff, it is an antimicrobial which is the last thing a horses gut needs they need their bacteria!. Oh and causes anaemia, and makes sweet itch itchier.

OMG! Seriously? Why is it touted as being good for respiratory issues then? Bruce has a dry cough which the vet says is probably dust allergy; that’s why I was feeding it

 

[ester]

because people expect to see it in a respiratory product without considering the implications for an animal that needs it gut microbes even more than we do.
I did hear of a horse it had helped recently, just the one, it had an unusual persistant gut infection/proliferation of bacteria you don't want so it helped with that.

When discussing this with someone else the other day I think the hilton herbs respiratory one is free of garlic, most probably/hopefully have such small amounts it won't effect anything too much but I absolutely wouldn't feed it on it's own.

 

[ponyparty]

Well - Vikki already recommended Hilton herbs gastriX to me; i’ll speak to her about his cough and fess up to feeding garlic; I feel so bad for giving it to him now! Will have to check what’s in the Hilton herbs respiratory supplement and see what Vikki thinks. This is such a minefield - thank you so much for all your advice ester! I will get there, eventually..!

 

[ponyparty]

EP visited again today - I'm on jury service for 2 weeks when she was next due so she had to come early. good job she did, his hooves have changed drastically!
I need some new hoof boots now - she's recommended any Cavallo regular sole size 3. If anybody knows where best to source a pair second hand (or has any knocking about that they'd like to get rid of) that would be amazing!

 

[ester]

are you on fb? there are a couple of groups on there otherwise mine have come off preloved and ebay. Usually plenty of cavallos about. I found some very quickly when we had an abscess.

 

[DabDab]

I have some that I'm selling at the moment, but they're size 6

 

[ponyparty]

Yeah I' on FB, I've requested to join at least one group but haven't been accepted yet.
Checked eBay but nothing on there at the moment really, will have a look on Preloved too though!
Haha thanks DD but I think they may be *slightly* too big

 

[ester]

Fwiw the simples are very heavy, so I would get treks or sports if you can. I have size 4 simples that I have kept just in case for poulticing but I expect the pony will be RIP before he gets an abscess!

I'll have a quick look on the fb groups for you