Lameness unshod?

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Mango_goose

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My horse has been in and out of work over the last few years due to uni, so shoes are taken off in the winter and he’s put out, with a few short road hacks once a month or so. Put back on for summers. Only fronts. Anyway, this summer he was struggling with being shod - he only had fronts on but had a nasty slip on the tarmac. Road nails didn’t help so i had them pulled.

He was tender for the first few days on rough tarmac/ gravel. Not lame, but stumbling occasionally on the gravel and felt cautious. Once asked to power from behind and march any symptom went away. One day he hopped lame for a few strides but I got off, picked out a huge stone lodged in his hoof against the frog and he moved on completely fine. Since then I’ve been so paranoid. He’s quickly improved - in fact from the get go he felt much happier schooling on grass than he did previously. Felt like he had more traction and was more confident.

In the meantime he’s moved yards and is now on a pea shingled pen with access to grazing. The pea shingle has improved him hugely.

However, while I believe he’s improved I’m being paranoid. I’ve trotted him up for lameness so many times but can’t see anything. Genuinely. Before he shoes were taken off the physio trotted him up ( as her usual ) and was happy with him, and he won a dressage competition the week prior to them being taken off with no mention of stiffness/ soreness so I’m fairly sure that if he is lame, it’s being unshod.

He took two odd steps yesterday out hacking, on very uneven tarmac, very gravelly, and downhill on a tight turn. He was rushing to turn home to perhaps he just lost balance, and upon inspection he only did this with a rider, turning to go home, like he’s falling in on his shoulder.
Got off, trotted him up, nothing. Level, no head bob - or at least not noticeable to me. Tight circles with really nothing remarkable - when I asked for more power from behind he looked perfect and anything I thought I saw went away. he then went beautifully on turf when we got home.

I feel like I’m losing my mind. Sometimes I feel like he’s “off” trotting but I take light seat or sitting trot and he feels perfectly equal, level. And again, this has become more infrequent as he’s conditioned to handle tarmac.

Often when moving from gravel / hardcore surfaces he feels sensitive / stumbling for the first step onto tarmac but then a stone dislodges or the gravel falls out of his hooves and he moves off fine.

Today, he rode really well. 40 mins of waking 2 mins of trot on the road. Felt fabulous in the walk - really marching, although his trot was lacklustre and felt a bit lazy - but it was very uphill and on a new route so he was looking all over the place - and storming. He felt equal and happy.

This happened years ago to us when he was shod and even the vet found nothing. He begrudgingly did a flexion test, which he thought was outdated but I was desperate to find something, to which my horse seemed a bit stiff for the first stride and then corrected - something which the vet thought wasn’t of concern. The following week he had the physio and loosened up all over - and the leg that was stiff on the flexion was remarkably tight and then fixed. Physio couldn’t see lameness either.

Eventually I had to just trust that he was fine.

He’s being turned away soon anyway, as I’m back to uni for a PG. I also have a lot of personal life stress right now and my well known coping mechanism is project onto my horse. I’m not kidding. I see lameness which isn’t there, become paranoid about sarcoids. His breathing suddenly seems erratic to me and i swear I can hear a rasp. I see what I think are cataracts and I could swear he has a sarcoid which is actually an inflamed fly bite. The list could go on and on and on. It becomes the thing of if you look long and hard enough at any horse you begin to see something which isn’t there and you end up concluding the horse is lame on all four when in actuality it’s not.
 
OK I'm usual of the it's lame camp but in this case, I'd say it's all OK, especially as he's going to be turned away soon as any really minor niggles should resolve with the rest anyway. I'm also right there with you in the projecting thing, it's something we can all do.
 
Alibear said:
OK I'm usual of the it's lame camp but in this case, I'd say it's all OK, especially as he's going to be turned away soon as any really minor niggles should resolve with the rest anyway. I'm also right there with you in the projecting thing, it's something we can all do.
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Thank you! This makes me feel much better. He’s happy just doing a little hacking at the moment and in two weeks he’ll be having a holiday for at least three months - he’s also a 2010 so while in my head he’s still a sprightly seven year old (and, according to his recent very jolly hacking, in his head too!) I suppose as he ages I’m increasingly subconsciously aware of aches and pains. Thankfully this year he’s been feeling very good - no funny shapes, but some very marching hacks and giddy gallops and successful dressage tests! In fact, it feels as if he’s aging backwards - these days he’s so excited to go out hacking I have a hard time keeping him still enough to mount or else he marches himself to front gate, riderless!
 
SEL said:
If my barefoot horses get a bit tentative on the gravel / stony etc bits of the bridlepaths it doesn't bother me (or my farrier). I just let them pick their way over it. Sometimes horses do take mis-steps just "because" rather than anything being wrong.
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Thank you, that makes me feel so much better. I spoke to my farrier and he thinks I’m being a bit silly about it. He told me to just to give him more time to adjust. Crossing onto gravel from turf/ gravel to tarmac is the most uncomfy, although the other day he was jogging merrily along the gravel path without a care in the world which two weeks ago was unimaginable!
 
Ozzy has always been barefoot but he was turned out for a long time - hence, when he came to us, he was 'footy', especially after his first trim. We've been building him up with more roadwork to condition those hooves and it's working well.
When I first saw him walk on the gravelly path I honestly thought he was lame, but he moves so nicely in the field! Once he gets off the gravel and on to the road he seems to be much better. But as time goes on he is coping better and better with the gravel.
 
He's probably just being careful over the pointy rocks because he knows they're there and he's being sensible. He can feel them without shoes suspending his feet off the ground. So long as he goes back to striding out nicely on better going (aside from when there's rocks stuck in his feet) I wouldn't worry about it. After all, if you walked across a gravel driveway you'd probably be a bit slower than if you're going across a beach, but doesn't mean there's anything actually wrong with you!
 
it can take years to build up strength over stones after having shoes taken off! I still use boots 3 years on as we have a very stoney track in and out of the farm. I would 100% get him some boots to give him that extra bit of protection as it sounds like your hacking is fairly stoney in places too! if you proceed without protection he could end up bruising his sole, which could turn into an abscess.
 
kerrieberry2 said:
it can take years to build up strength over stones after having shoes taken off! I still use boots 3 years on as we have a very stoney track in and out of the farm. I would 100% get him some boots to give him that extra bit of protection as it sounds like your hacking is fairly stoney in places too! if you proceed without protection he could end up bruising his sole, which could turn into an abscess.
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Ugh he was finally feeling “good” and now after a trim he feels sore again. I’ve contacted the farrier to ask for advice - luckily the soreness is only on tarmac/ gravel and he’s alright on grass. Hopefully he builds up some resistance and next summer I’ll get hold of some boots for him!

In the meantime while he’s feeling a little sore, I imagine I should just take him for little strolls to build up resistance to it?
 
IrishMilo said:
Get him some boots.
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Definitely something to try. Mine was like a different horse, was only turned out down a very stony track, but I didn’t see the point in making him uncomfortable when that wasn’t the usual terrain, he hacked on lanes, roads, was in a rubber covered box or in the field. He probably felt like he was in trainers. Not sure what you mean by saying boots can go very wrong?
 
Mango_goose said:
Ugh he was finally feeling “good” and now after a trim he feels sore again. I’ve contacted the farrier to ask for advice - luckily the soreness is only on tarmac/ gravel and he’s alright on grass. Hopefully he builds up some resistance and next summer I’ll get hold of some boots for him!

In the meantime while he’s feeling a little sore, I imagine I should just take him for little strolls to build up resistance to it?
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With his usual farrier? I changed after mine was left with too little hoof and subsequent bruising. A friend found her farrier always left bruises and changed too, I mean, you’re the paying customer, maybe try someone different?
 
Cinnamontoast said:
Definitely something to try. Mine was like a different horse, was only turned out down a very stony track, but I didn’t see the point in making him uncomfortable when that wasn’t the usual terrain, he hacked on lanes, roads, was in a rubber covered box or in the field. He probably felt like he was in trainers. Not sure what you mean by saying boots can go very wrong?
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I’ve heard of a few nasty injuries due to them breaking/ otherwise dis functioning and causing harm, so I suppose I’m cautious, also very concerned I might get the wrong size!
 
Cinnamontoast said:
With his usual farrier? I changed after mine was left with too little hoof and subsequent bruising. A friend found her farrier always left bruises and changed too, I mean, you’re the paying customer, maybe try someone different?
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Yes, who has kept my other non ridden, barefoot, and very comfortable pony sound for the last few years. He’s also kept my pony comfortable with only fronts on so I’m reluctant to say it’s him - he’s genuinely the best farrier I’ve had and I’ve had many
 
millitiger said:
Definitely get some boots for hacking out.
And think about conditioning the feet, rather than thinking they should be perfect on all surfaces from the off.

you could also consider something like Hoof Armour, which I've felt was useful at times.
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We now think he’s arthritic/ abscess has formed so vet has been called and I’ve bought some hoof and joint balancers to give a try! Fingers crossed it’s just the trim and then when he comes back into work in a few months we’ll get him a pair of boots
 
Mango_goose said:
We now think he’s arthritic/ abscess has formed so vet has been called and I’ve bought some hoof and joint balancers to give a try! Fingers crossed it’s just the trim and then when he comes back into work in a few months we’ll get him a pair of boots
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Good luck, hopefully its just an abscess, there's a lot of them around at the moment now that we've had some rain! their feet have had a hard time over the summer, where is been so dry! now with the rain, there is a chance of mud tracking up through some of the cracks that might have developed!

I've used boots for 10 years on my two horses, have hacked over 10 miles and done long fun rides! I've never had a boot break on me! i've tried all different brands, so I'm sure you'll be fine using your new boots!
 
I HAVE had boots break or otherwise go a bit pear shaped on rides but other than a silly step or hop from the horse if it's only half off, never had any injury as a result. The only type that I'd be worried about is renegades and only if the cable frayed and broke, which shouldn't happen so long as you keep an eye on them for damage/wear and has never happened to any of mine over quite a few years. I do endurance booted, so tested them pretty well!

Although some of my ponies have very tough feet, I do err on the side of caution with hoof protection. Rather have them and not need them than vice versa. Getting the fit correct initially can be a huge pain but theres lots more help and advice available nowadays than there used to be!
 
kerrieberry2 said:
Good luck, hopefully its just an abscess, there's a lot of them around at the moment now that we've had some rain! their feet have had a hard time over the summer, where is been so dry! now with the rain, there is a chance of mud tracking up through some of the cracks that might have developed!

I've used boots for 10 years on my two horses, have hacked over 10 miles and done long fun rides! I've never had a boot break on me! i've tried all different brands, so I'm sure you'll be fine using your new boots!
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His were really really cracked and obviously had old nail holes in them! So fingers crossed! He’s also warm on both left feet (mostly the back ) so I’m praying that we find an abscess!

I’m going to see if my farrier will measure him up for me as I’m clueless but once I’m bringing him back into work I’ll measure and sort - it’ll give his feet time to settle down and hopefully we’ll get the right size
 
ester said:
what FF said, if I've had an issue with a boot its never been a drama, I definitely wouldn't be waiting until next year to get some for a sore horse.
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He’s sound in the pasture and will be turned away for some months now - he’s happily playing with his best friend as we speak. I’ll consult my vet regarding his comfort when she gets here today - I’m also saving my pennies right now to cover the cost of exploring what’s going wrong with him as it might be arthritis or something sinister. My insurance should cover this but I don’t want to risk spending £££ on boots when that money might be needed for x rays.
 
Mango_goose said:
I’ve heard of a few nasty injuries due to them breaking/ otherwise dis functioning and causing harm, so I suppose I’m cautious, also very concerned I might get the wrong size!
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I bought the incorrect size but they sold on quickly, they’re popular.
Mango_goose said:
We now think he’s arthritic/ abscess has formed so vet has been called and I’ve bought some hoof and joint balancers to give a try! Fingers crossed it’s just the trim and then when he comes back into work in a few months we’ll get him a pair of boots
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I’m hoping abscess, although ime, they’re hopping lame on abscesses, mine was literally on 3 legs.
 
Cinnamontoast said:
I bought the incorrect size but they sold on quickly, they’re popular.

I’m hoping abscess, although ime, they’re hopping lame on abscesses, mine was literally on 3 legs.
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Vet thinks he’s footsore in general - flexion was mild on one leg but that’s what happened with him four years ago and it’s not any worse thankfully. He thinks it’s the hoof so it’s on Bute for a bit to see if he feels better :) lameness is so mild vet was surprised I felt it at all
 
Mango_goose said:
Vet thinks he’s footsore in general - flexion was mild on one leg but that’s what happened with him four years ago and it’s not any worse thankfully. He thinks it’s the hoof so it’s on Bute for a bit to see if he feels better :) lameness is so mild vet was surprised I felt it at all
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You know your horse: hope it is ‘just’ an abscess and it blows soon.
 
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