Horse lame after having shoes removed.

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goldengryffindor

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My TB had all four shoes removed about three and a half weeks ago, as he has had the winter off and isn't coming back into work until mid November. He was very foot sore when on the gravel track walking back to his paddock, but once on the grass appeared sound.

The paddocks are very wet and muddy (winter), and for a couple of weeks he was unable to stand anywhere remotely dry. He now appears to be very lame on both front legs, and is walking in a way that takes the pressure of his heels, almost on his toes.

The fact that it has got progressively worse within the last couple of days or so is really worrying me. Will be calling out farrier ASAP.

I don't know if its maybe that he has developed an abscess, or that his hooves aren't correctly balanced? I've been reading other stories of horses walking on their toes, and I'm suddenly panicking that he has developed navicular syndrome or something really bad.

What kind of questions should i ask my farrier about the shape of his hoof, when I get him out? Would really appreciate any advice.
 
I can see some resemblance in the frog and heel of the horse in the first link. I think as you say it is likely to be something like thrush as a result of the wet, i really hope it is, and not something much worse.

What would you recommend for treating thrush, if there is no access to a stable?
 
If the thrush is not the answer -

Did you get your horse onto a high fibre low carbohydrate diet before you took his shoes off? If not, he's probably got soft feet and that may be why he is getting sore. You should keep him off any challenging surfaces, booting him to get him in and out of the field if necessary, until you can work out if he just needs time before you expose him to the hard surfaces or if you need to change his diet.

One thing this almost certainly isn't is foot balance!
 
Thank you both very much for the replies.

No I didn't change his feed before taking shoes off, probably should have researched it before hand. Wish my farrier had mentioned it. His feet are very soft, but I put that down to the extremely wet paddock, and not diet. So I will look into his diet and make necessary changes. Will start treating for thrush also.

If you think it is not a foot balance issue, does that hopefully rule out navicular?
 
goldengryffindor said:
Thank you both very much for the replies.

No I didn't change his feed before taking shoes off, probably should have researched it before hand. Wish my farrier had mentioned it. His feet are very soft, but I put that down to the extremely wet paddock, and not diet. So I will look into his diet and make necessary changes. Will start treating for thrush also.

If you think it is not a foot balance issue, does that hopefully rule out navicular?
Click to expand...

That is a very big question :-) and not that simple. Your horse may have thrush,this can lead to pain in the back of the foot. Pain in the back of the foot often leads to a diagnosis of navicular syndrome regardless of whether there is a problem or not with the navicular bone, or even any problem with that area/mechanism at all. Its become a blanket diagnosis. And 'navicular syndrome' is not the same as 'navicular' even though the two terms are regularly used in each other's place.

As well as potential thrush your horse may have other hoof issues. Only people on the spot can really tell.

Read my blog, it will give you a lot of clues and help you ask the right questions. :-) That is what it is there for and if there is an issue you have that I haven't covered let me know and if I have a photo which might help then I will do my best.
 
Was he rested because he had navicular syndrome? If not, it's pretty unlikely to have come on while he was laid off. If you treat for thrush and get all the sugar (molasses, wheat syrup/corn syrup) out of his food, watch the grass intake and possibly soak his hay, you should see his feet toughen up hugely. It will take him several months to grow a thicker sole, but you should see a constant gradual improvement over that time. And a change to heel first landing when on a smooth flat surface.
 
When looking at his diet it's important to include the amount of grass he has access to as well. If you gave wet conditions then I imagine your grass is growing quite well. If he's gettingtoo much rich grass this will make him footy and cause the thrush. Healthy hooves can stand in mud all day and never get thrush.
 
Can you not move him on to some drier land? I was in WA last week (Perh side) and it was raining, but not so much that it was wet everywhere.

I don't like seeing horses on flooded land - always concerned for things like liver fluke.

It may simply be constant immersion has made his feet prone to thrush.
 
If it is trush you need to try and get it sorted asap before the winter comes in.. Ive had major problems with my horses feet and thrush because he has deep cracks in his actual frog. Be carefull when scrubbing his feet because you can soften the foot which will only make him more sore plus the chances are he will be tender and try and kick you. I used almost everything I was suggested and the best by far was Cyclo spray from the vet for foot rot and just make sure your horse is on dry land for atleast an hour aday with dry feet.
 
How long had he been shod for before they were taken off? You must bear in mind that since being shod his foot hasnt had a chance to work as nature intended and has been peripherally loading for that amount of time. If he has been constantly shod for literally years, you cant just expect for him to be sound on a surface when the shoes are taken off.
 
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