Legs swollen after taking shoes off - advice please!

[KarlyHT]

Hi all, horse has never had a problem losing shoes but two weeks ago she lost a back shoe 15 minutes after farrier had been! She was stood in her stable and probably stood on it. Horn was a little damaged. Farrier put shoe back on and two days later a nail had come out twisted and day after we had to pull shoe off.

Farrier comes next day and we decided to take back shoes off for a few weeks to let the horn recover. She was incredibly footy and obviously in a lot of pain on stony ground around the yard and on the way to the field.

Day after legs were hugely filled. Both of them. She is out at night and in during the day so having been in her stable all day I worked her lightly on the lunge in the school. Swelling went down slightly but she was very short strided and obviously uncomfortable.

Yesterday legs are still hugely filled. Yard owner worked lightly on the lunge and swelling reduced slightly.

Farrier is due to come back at some point this week and will probably have to use an adhesive to keep shoe on.

I am not riding when she is in this much pain and I have borrowed some hoof boots which I will put on today. I also have some keratex hoof hardener and Kevin bacon stuff.

Any advice or suggestions? Anyone had similar experience?

Thanks for reading!

 

[JillA]

I suspect she is so uncomfortable she isn't moving enough, and that may not be due to the shoes having come off but the shoes might have masked an underlying problem. There is no way I would put shoes back on, even glue-ons - her feet need to flex and the frog needs to be in contact with the ground to pump any fluids back up towards the heart. I would give her a few weeks of field rest with no shoes and maybe some bute to reduce any inflammation and then see how she is.
If she has to stay in, then (light) pressure bandages all round to stop the fluid pooling and get her moving if and when you can - but sympathetically, she sounds to me as though she is in some pain.

 

[TigerTail]

Leave her out, don't stable, get hoof boots and pads on asap. Don't let farrier near for a good 8-12 weeks and then only to lightly roll, no frog or sole trimming etc.

Don't bother with the hoof hardener and kevin bacon, just a placebo for you to feel like you've done something, when all you're doing is preventing the hoof being able to breathe properly.

Half a sachet of danilon might be a good idea to ease her so she moves about enough to stop the legs filling but you don't want her honing about getting bruised.

 

[KarlyHT]

Thank you for your responses. Very much appreciated!