Hot back hooves & lame in 1 hoof - laminitis?

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Sandylou

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Happy new year everyone!

My horse came in lame on his near hind tonight. No stones or obvious bruising but both hind feet are warm.
A bit of background - hes 7 years old, cob x appy, 15hh and a good doer. Just right weight wise.
He's turned out for 8 hours a day on average quality pasture and stabled at night with a haynet. He has no hard feed at all.
He's pretty much been out of work for a couple of months due to having no rider so I had his back shoes removed however he has been hacked 3 times this week which did involve roadwork.....

Could he be foot sore? Could he have laminitis? (I know this is rare in just the hind feeet) Could he have bruised hoof walls?

I will be calling the vet on Monday if he hasn't improved by tomorrow evening and I will call my farrier too to see if he thinks its to do with removing the back shoes.

Any advice/ideas would be much appreciated :)

Thanks
 
An abscess would be my first thought - sometimes both feet can be hot as the horse may have been standing with more weight on the "ok" leg. Hope you find out the cause :)
 
His feet without shoes will be warmer due to increased circulation so it may be nothing to worry about, it is possible that he has laminitis but more likely an abscess, bruised or sore foot from doing the extra work when his feet are still soft.

I would soak his hay to reduce sugars, in case of laminitis, then look at giving him a supplement to support his feet, encourage strong growth, he probably needs a little help with some vits and minerals especially while the weather is so bad the feet are getting very wet and will be softer than when the ground is dry.
Vet and or farrier will put your mind at rest if he is still sore on Monday.
 
Thanks everyone.
Will check for signs of an abcess tomorrow when I have more light. Also will speak to the vet about soaking hay and a hoof supplement if there's not obvious injury.
You're all very helpful - thanks :)
 
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