Horse 'feeling his feet' and hoof hardener?

[KINDMARE]

One of my barefoot horses (been barefoot all his life) has started to be a bit footy when hacking. is on good grass with a grazing muzzle on with no hard feed to speak of. My farrier says that there are a lot of horses feeling their feet at the moment due to the ground suddenly getting hard after such a lot of rain, and to use Ketertex hoof hardener. i have ordered some but suddenly wondering if its a waste of money as his feet are already hard???
what are your thoughts ( I am very aware it may be low grade laminitis!!!! )

 

[Johnny's Star]

I believe Keratex can lead to brittleness?

Is your farrier a barefoot trimmer? A good barefoot trimmer can be a source of good advice and if they work exclusively wih barefoot they have so much more experience of that.

I'm also wondering, like you about low grade laminitis, the vets have been seeing a lot of new cases following the wet mild winter and now coming into spring. I got caught out with that earlier in the year, pony was still cantering about and fly bucking in the field, but showed some signs, most noticeable was a change in his tolerance of stony ground, and was very metabolically compromised when vet did bloods. I'd be inclined to a vet consultation as he's had many barefoot years problem free.

An alternative to Keratex would be trying him with hoof boots whilst you figure out the cause of the change (weather, diet, illness etc.) I've always started with second hand ones, that way I've not spent as much before I find out if it suits them.

 

[Nocturnal]

Hoof armour is a good halfway house between barefoot and boots.

 

[Gloi]

I would suspect low grade laminitis and take him off the grass for now.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Whilst Keratex hoof hardener is indeed very effective on soft weak soles (I use it under vet direction) I’d be suspecting low grade laminitis in your case and treat it as such.

 

[New Forests Rock]

Another vote for low grade laminitis, especially as he has always been barefoot.

 

[Midlifecrisis]

A friend who used hoof hardener on her barefoot horses wished she hadn’t when they developed abscesses which couldn’t break through even after much poulticing

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I would suspect LGL if he has always been barefoot up to.now
He needs to be taken off the grass and seen by a vet asap.

 

[Melody Grey]

Personally, I think the ground turning hard is far less likely the cause of footiness than the grass. ….take away the grass and you’ll hopefully find out (and hopefully avoid a full blown laminitis too!)

 

[poiuytrewq]

It’s depressing and nice to think painting something on will fix it. But sadly I have to agree, no grass and I think you’ll see a change. sorry!

 

[mustardsmum]

Another for sub clinical lami. Off grass, soaked hay and call vet, do bloods (including for PPID). You may find a course of Steglatro or Invokana would help. I went through this, before we put him on Prascend and Steglatro. Now back out in muzzle but off grass during day - so far all good. Hope this helps! Don’t fall for hoof hardeners and supplements! Let us know how you get on

 

[KINDMARE]

How long should I withdraw the grass for do you think?

 

[Fluffypiglet]

How long should I withdraw the grass for do you think?

Unfortunately until symptoms resolve I believe. Someone more laminitis savvy maybe along to confirm. Get bloods run so you can understand what’s going on and you can work from there.

 

[paddy555]

How long should I withdraw the grass for do you think?

one whole week to 10 days, absolutely no grass whatsoever. By the end of that you should see some difference even if not completely cured. You may even start to see a difference within days which will suggest this is the correct action.

 

[mustardsmum]

How long should I withdraw the grass for do you think?

Speak to your vet, get X-rays of feet so you know where you are starting from. I box rested a week (on a very deep bed) for every day they are footy. Not only do you need to get his sugar levels down, you have to let the feet heal.

My boy had very mild lami in Sept; was footy for five days, no rotation, so kept him off grass, boxed on a deep bed for 5 weeks before very slowly letting him out for a few hours a day in a bare turnout area with grazing reintroduced very gradually whilst muzzled, all the time being on Steglatro. He turned out to be PPID as well as ID (which we knew). Putting him on Prascend has, I strongly feel, been the game changer.

The more you manage this the better the outcome - you need to find out why he’s got it (mechanical, metabolic, or is he PPID and ID?). On the PPID front, my pony’s ACTH was only 50 and insulin 90 - but together they were enough to end up with thin soles and sub clinical lami. Although PPID and ID are considered separate conditions - occurring together def seems to make the likelihood of lami much higher. I have the misfortune to have had two EMS ponies now - and the only way you can manage them is through diet, exercise and medication when appropriate. Don’t waste money on supplements- save it for vet meds. I tried supplements and honestly, they did nothing other than increase the profits of the supplement companies.

Our grass is so rich now winters are warmer - so I manage all year by bringing off grass and using muzzles. I hate muzzling but my pony absolutely cannot go out without it on at any time of the year without his thinline muzzle.

Lastly don’t get disheartened - get a solid plan in place and your pony will be sorted. Good vet, good farrier, X-rays, soaked. hay, grazing muzzle, medication and rest and then plan how you will manage going forward. I think the most important thing with lami is don’t ever let your guard down- checking for pulses every single day is really important. But most importantly start with your vet.

Hope your pony makes a good recovery - keep us updated