Lameness and Barefoot

WellyBaggins

WellyBaggins

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I have seen numerous posts about navicular and barefoot but what do you do if your horse is lame? Surely you can not work it whilst it is lame?

My horse has been diagnosed with Impar Ligament Strain via MRI. I have tried remedial shoeing, shockwave and steroid injections, staying off the road etc and he is still lame, he has been about 1/10 lame on a straight line and 4/10 on a right circle on the hard, sound, 1/10 on right circle on soft from the start of it (Aug 12, it took an eternity to diagnose :() all and has marginally improved with the above treatment but not enough for me to be happy riding him, the lameness is more apparent with rider. Vet is "happy" with how he is trotting up but I am not happy with how he feels so I have taken his shoes off and turfed him out for a year to see if Dr Green and rest can help.

Now, he seems to be standing better without shoes on and has been playing in the field managing to look pretty sound (but to be fair he has looked ok out in the field the whole time, it is more under tack) so I thought I would have a look at him, I lunged him in the school and he is lame on the right rein. Would you do BF rehab with a lame horse? I have taken him for a few in hand walks on the road but now I feel that would be wrong, having seen he is lame! I am a little confused at how it all works, only ever had shod horses!

Thanks in advance
 
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IMO lungeing is hard work for horses....if he is sound when you take him for walks on the road then continue with this, it is good for his hoof health. What are you feeding him? Diet is the first thing to look at with any horse with hoof problems....barefoot shows the problem up quicker!! I am sure some research will give you some things to check out and hopefully find the answers to your questions!! Good luck.
 
He is out at grass, he just has his formula for feet, he is ok walking on the road, I trotted a couple of circles to check soundness, which he is not. This is my problem, do I work him through it or not start the rehab until he is sounder or will the rehab make him sounder?
 
"Would you do BF with a lame horse" when people (like myself) decide to go BF a lot of horses are lame for one reason or another, so the answer to your question is yes.

My mare had her shoes off two and a half weeks ago. I am walking her in-hand on the roads and forest tracks. She is now sound in walk. I would not try to do any circles as yet as she needs to become accustomed to not having shoes on and the feet and legs need to get stronger.

I would hope that rehab would make my horse sound.

I think changing her diet has really helped
 
The issue with horses that are lame through hoof problems is that it is the weak hooves that are causing the lameness. The only way to develop the hooves and make them stronger is through diet and stimulation. Therefore, work is an essential part of rehab.

That said, it is important to work within the horse's current limits. Start with short 5 minute walks in hand and build up slowly.
 
I would restrict the grass and feed soaked hay, also check out what the situation is re the hoof condition and minerals as something might be lacking and that might be important more than the hoof supplement.

The grass is a nightmare at the moment, very very rich even on non rich pasture due to the late spring and a lot of horses are struggling.
 
I don't believe in working lame horses myself but I'm not a professional. These articles might help you but it's a case of looking at the whole horse, diet, treating any thrush if present, comfortable movement and support/protection if required to help develop hoof structures so the horse can use it's hoof correctly and land heel first.

http://www.hoofrehab.com/NavicularSyndrome.htm
http://www.hoofrehab.com/diet.htm
http://www.hoofrehab.com/bootarticle.htm

If you want to invest in something imo invaluable I recommend this DVD series.
http://www.hoofrehab.com/underthehorse.htm
 
amandap said:
I don't believe in working lame horses myself but I'm not a professional. These articles might help you but it's a case of looking at the whole horse, diet, treating any thrush if present, comfortable movement and support/protection if required to help develop hoof structures so the horse can use it's hoof correctly and land heel first.

http://www.hoofrehab.com/NavicularSyndrome.htm
http://www.hoofrehab.com/diet.htm
http://www.hoofrehab.com/bootarticle.htm

If you want to invest in something imo invaluable I recommend this DVD series.
http://www.hoofrehab.com/underthehorse.htm
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Very helpful, thank you, I am not comfortable with working a lame horse either, he is however comfortable walking in hand so I will probably continue with that for the time being.

I could restrict grazing and feed hay but I would rather not, horse has had a crappy 18 months, I want him out, enjoying himself.
 
I have thought of that but would feel like a bit of a fraud as there is no way I can afford for him to go there, insurance has gone and he has spent all my money too!
 
What is actually wrong with him? Are you sure there is still a problem with the feet?

I only ask as Moo recently bruised her sole and ended up very lame. It seemed odd as I couldnt id which leg/foot it was. I had the back lady out and it turned out that when she had bruised her sole a few days ago she much have been compensation and put her back out. An hour of manipulation later and she is a forward going handful. Long ramble sorry but my point was have you had everything checked?
 
If he is sound in walk then yes I would walk him, build it up from 10 minutes twice a day to an hour twice a day (or once a day if that's what you can manage) over 4 weeks or so then reassess the soundness in trot before you start trotting work. If he's still lame in trot then keep on walking.
You need to work within the horse's comfort zone and lame = pain.
 
webble said:
What is actually wrong with him? Are you sure there is still a problem with the feet?

I only ask as Moo recently bruised her sole and ended up very lame. It seemed odd as I couldnt id which leg/foot it was. I had the back lady out and it turned out that when she had bruised her sole a few days ago she much have been compensation and put her back out. An hour of manipulation later and she is a forward going handful. Long ramble sorry but my point was have you had everything checked?
Click to expand...

It is his feet, nerve blocks and MRI diagnosed, he has had a tendon injury and KS but this is the lameness cause I am 99% sure, thank you though :)
 
foxy1 said:
If he is sound in walk then yes I would walk him, build it up from 10 minutes twice a day to an hour twice a day (or once a day if that's what you can manage) over 4 weeks or so then reassess the soundness in trot before you start trotting work. If he's still lame in trot then keep on walking.
You need to work within the horse's comfort zone and lame = pain.
Click to expand...

Thanks :)
 
TBH this was the one thing I couldn't get my head around when I started on the bf road, but I soon realised that they don't become miraculously sound just mooching around the field, they have to work within their comfort zone so if sound walking in hand then that's what you do, once they become sound enough to ride in walk you can do that then they can trot a few strides and so on...
I suppose we call it rehab for a reason, if we did nothing till they were sound it'd just be fitness.
 
The reason that "work" is recommended by places like Rockley Farm is that it will help to stimulate and encourage the growth of a better hoof, which in turn will help to make the horse sounder. But the "work" can be as slow and steady as necessary...just 15 minutes walking in-hand will make a difference, if it is done regularly and then slowly built up. I don't see this as "working a lame horse", because it's no harder on the horse than walking about in the field. It's more a case of helping the horse to help themselves, if that makes sense. My sister's gelding was at Rockley Farm last year and Nic never actually got as far as riding him, because he made much slower progress than some horses that go there. Instead, he was led off another horse and never on surfaces or at a speed that would cause him problems. So he wasn't "worked" as such, more encouraged to exercise gently and at his own speed. His hooves improved an enormous amount, as did his soundness. I'm not sure this would have happened if he'd been left in the field.
 
I personally don't agree in 'working' a lame or sore horse in the traditional sense.

But most horses rehabing BF are happy to walk in-hand in the beginning.

You must appreciate though that at the beginning the hooves are changing shape internally and externally......

The hooves are the foundation of the horse.

The whole posture and biomechanics of the horse will therefore be changing and adjusting too - the body, the limbs and the tendons and ligaments inside the leg/hoof.

I wouldn't want to add the complication of a rider and circles initially, and if the horse is lame on a circle - IMO it is not ready for that stage yet.

Inhand walking in straight lines at first.
Then a balanced rider when the horse is ready - but still straight lines until the horse is ready to start schooling gently.
It may only take weeks or a few months or sometimes longer (depending on the original damage) but it's worth putting the effort and mileage in at first to reap the benefits later.
 
Thank you for that Oberon, I will leave it for a bit I think as I had to do 2 months of walking in hand for a tendon injury, it was not fun for either of us, he was a monster, sedalin and chifney required and I looked like a battered wife where he had bitten my right arm :eek:

Is it going to do him any harm being turfed out with the aim of starting this next spring? I don't really want to do it come winter as he will be a nightmare, all of his tendon rehab was done over last winter and I feel it is too soon for him to be on another "rehab" program having done a strict KS one and a strict tendon one I feel the poor thing needs some space!
 
Your instinct with your horse is the best gage. If he needs time, give him time. His hooves are just part of his story.

If he isn't suitable for walking inland, then long reining up and down the long sides of the school is an alternative, but when you're both ready for that stage.

There's always a way that fits ;)
 
That's helpful thank you, he is good in the long reins, we did all of our KS rehab that way, I could do his roadwork that way too, probably safer ;) thanks again, will play it by ear, at the moment he is happy in the field but there will come a time when he is bored and making mischief, at which time I will start to think about starting with the barefoot rehab, provided it is not mid winter :D
 
You can get some really thick pads that you can tape onto the horse's feet (a bit of a faff every day and you get through miles of Duck tape). These are probably too thick to go inside a hoof boot, but there are different thicknesses and the thinner ones are OK. Maybe you could get some second hand boots like the Eclipse to start with, as there is a bit of an adjustment on the fastening clip.
Getting used to putting boots on can be a faff, but it does improve with practice and you can put a smidegon of vaseline on the rim of the hoof to help putting them on at first.

Then, as the horse's foot is being given a nice cushion it is obviously easier for him to walk comfortably, and as he is comfortable he can walk a bit further than if he was completely barefooted. This pads have been through a lot of trial and error to make them just the right strength and consistency to really support the horse's hoof in the most beneficial way. Think of it as physiotherapy for the foot if you like. This exercise will enable him to use his foot as nature intended and will help in building up the frog and back of the foot. Just walk in hand to start with, don't try riding. Barefoot re-habs lead the horse from another, in boots, and gradually increase the distance.

There are different thickness of pads, so as the horse recovers and his foot improves, you can get thinner pads to keep inside the boots, rather than just use the boots as they are. You will notice over time that the sole of the foot starts to become concave and the frog larger and stronger.

How it goes as regards starting to ride again, if you continue in boots or want to ride without boots, is very much a "play it by ear" situation, as the horse should do as much work as it COMFORTABLY can.
 
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