my horses feet

Poppys Nannan

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Hello everyone,

I wanted to put photos of my daughters horse feet on for your opinions, advice and suggestions. front two with shoes, unshod behind.
Some of you will know i am revamping Poppys feed to improve her condition

changing from Calm & Condition, alfalfa a oil to
micronised linseed, readigrass and pro hoof supplement eventually, not sure if i need to add speedibeet or not ??? for some bulk ????

anyway she is footy' and a little sensitive to stones so considering changes to her diet will help with this but showing pictures of her feet to see if we have missed anything!
To me her feet look ok but the frogs seem to be bitty and when cleaning if i had to say which seemed sensitive it seems to be the frogs but you do have to prod for her to move her feet slightly (if at all)

Constructive helpful comments gratefully recieved x x

many thanks x x
:)
 

Oberon

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Hello everyone,

I wanted to put photos of my daughters horse feet on for your opinions, advice and suggestions. front two with shoes, unshod behind.
Some of you will know i am revamping Poppys feed to improve her condition

changing from Calm & Condition, alfalfa a oil to
micronised linseed, readigrass and pro hoof supplement eventually, not sure if i need to add speedibeet or not ??? for some bulk ????

anyway she is footy' and a little sensitive to stones so considering changes to her diet will help with this but showing pictures of her feet to see if we have missed anything!
To me her feet look ok but the frogs seem to be bitty and when cleaning if i had to say which seemed sensitive it seems to be the frogs but you do have to prod for her to move her feet slightly (if at all)

Constructive helpful comments gratefully recieved x x

many thanks x x
:)

When you say speedibeet for bulk - I'm not sure what you mean?

Is she footy in all feet?
Are you finding all the frogs 'bitty'?

Does she have something going on with her hind legs - like a funny action or a muscular issue?
 

Jesstickle

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Has she had an injury to her back left coronet? Foot seems to be an odd shape? :confused:

Oberon, what did I do wrong that you aren't giving me advice on my thrushy foot thread! lol
 

Poppys Nannan

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We think she is footy in all feet, but sometimes i honestly think she could be just in the habit of avoiding stones !!! because you do really have to prod her feet to invoke any reaction (obviously dont prod often just to try and explore)

Her hind legs appear fine, but this is the first time we have had thoroughbreds and she does seem different to the cobs we had before - in terms of conformation and build (quite obviously really!!!) if i was being really critical i would say she kind of swivels / turns in on her.

cheers x:)

No injury that i know of - the hoof is a different shape but farrier just says its her conformation !!!!
 
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thatsmygirl

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To me the pic off her back foot looks like it isn't balanced!!! Far more build up than the other side off her foot so could be compensating somewhere which is making that happen!!!
I'm learning though ;)
 

Oberon

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As long as she is sound, it doesn't matter - just wondered if the wings on the hinds were flare or deviation for my own curiosity.

From two inches down of the coronet you can see the flare. That's the hoof wall separating from the epidermal laminae - a sign of too much sugar in the diet. This also seems consistent with her tenderness.
I think I can see ripples in the hoof wall too - but it's tough to see on the pics and the toes are long.

The soles appear thin (more so on the fronts) and flat (diet flag).

The digital cushions and frogs on the hinds are lush and meaty - compare those with the wimpy, contracted ones in the front (characteristic of shod hooves).

You've changed the diet (
clap.gif
) so give that some time to work and help in growing a better connection and improve sensitivity.

Not much you can do with the fronts other than that.

The hinds should really blossom with more work - you'll find the soles will thicken up and the frogs will pack more densely and exfoliate smooth.

If she needs boots to get the work in - then get her some boots.

You can add speedibeet if she is loosing weight or if you want to use something to mix the supplements into.
 

Oberon

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Has she had an injury to her back left coronet? Foot seems to be an odd shape? :confused:

Oberon, what did I do wrong that you aren't giving me advice on my thrushy foot thread! lol

Sorry....I've been doing my 12 hour shifts for the last three days....did I miss something hoofy?
 

amandap

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All the hooves show ripples which as oberon says is usually dietary related. Probable excess sugars first followed by possible mineral imbalance are the usual suspects. It's very clear how open the heels are on the hind shots compared to the front shots. The hinds look much stronger and less contracted.
Pads and boots can be used to protect sensitive soles.

Where are sugars lurking then? Number one, forage. Number two, bucket feeds, number three treats such as those 80% sugar likits. ;)
Grass can be high in sugars as can hay. If after a period of barefoot there are still sensitivity problems them imo you need to look at management. Possible restriction of grass and soaking hay etc.

Just to add. Excess sugars can cause inflammation of the hoof coriums (tissue that feeds and supplies new sole and other hoof structure cells), so sole can be inhibited getting thicker by this inflammation which leads to sensitivity from the inflammation and also from thin soles. Thin soles are also much more prone to bruising and then abscess formation from that bruising. Thin soles need to be protected on surfaces not conformable and yielding.

Op, I can't tell if any of the soles are thin btw. I was just elaborating for info.
 
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cptrayes

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We think she is footy in all feet, but sometimes i honestly think she could be just in the habit of avoiding stones !!! because you do really have to prod her feet to invoke any reaction (obviously dont prod often just to try and explore)

Her hind legs appear fine, but this is the first time we have had thoroughbreds and she does seem different to the cobs we had before - in terms of conformation and build (quite obviously really!!!) if i was being really critical i would say she kind of swivels / turns in on her.

cheers x:)

No injury that i know of - the hoof is a different shape but farrier just says its her conformation !!!!




Do bear in mind that when she steps on a stone she is "prodding" her sole with hundreds of kilos of force and its unlikely you would/could prod her that hard.

How long have her back shoes been off?
 

Poppys Nannan

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Brilliant replies and really helpful thank you x x

few questions

- does anyone know how i get my pictures up so they are in my thread ??????

Sp good point re her weight prodding her feet - why didn't i think of it - feel a bit bad now x:( back shoes been off a long while i think ?

amandap - i love the elaboration - how would i know if the soles are thin what would it look like ???

Oberon - when you say flare or deviation i am not sure what you mean

---I think I can see ripples in the hoof wall too - but it's tough to see on the pics and the toes are long. - would you expect ripples in the hoof wall horizontal or vertical

----If she needs boots to get the work in - then get her some boots. --- would this be road work and would you suggest boots for all hooves -- would you take the front shoes off.

Many thanks x x
 

Oberon

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Brilliant replies and really helpful thank you x x

few questions

- does anyone know how i get my pictures up so they are in my thread ??????

Sp good point re her weight prodding her feet - why didn't i think of it - feel a bit bad now x:( back shoes been off a long while i think ?

amandap - i love the elaboration - how would i know if the soles are thin what would it look like ???

Oberon - when you say flare or deviation i am not sure what you mean

---I think I can see ripples in the hoof wall too - but it's tough to see on the pics and the toes are long. - would you expect ripples in the hoof wall horizontal or vertical

----If she needs boots to get the work in - then get her some boots. --- would this be road work and would you suggest boots for all hooves -- would you take the front shoes off.

Many thanks x x

On photobucket - click 'direct link' on the pic
on here type
 

Poppys Nannan

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Oberon - when you say flare or deviation i am not sure what you mean ----- but i know the shape changes is that what you mean, - do you think that this shape is her conformation and could it change as her hoof grows.

---I think I can see ripples in the hoof wall too - but it's tough to see on the pics and the toes are long. - would you expect ripples in the hoof wall horizontal or vertical

----If she needs boots to get the work in - then get her some boots. --- would this be road work and would you suggest boots for all hooves -- would you take the front shoes off.

Many thanks x x
 

Oberon

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When the hoof wall isn't straight from the coronet down, there is flare. This is the hoof wall separating from the bone. It's a sign of an unhealthy hoof and tragically common.

The ripples on the wall would be horizontal and they are also a sign of separation from when the wall was being made at the coronet (they can also be a sign of stress to the wall from peripheral loading).

There is some signs of flare to the bottom of the hooves
IMAG1796.jpg


This is improving with the dietry changes as you can see a tighter connection growing from the top.

Deviation is where a hoof adapts in order to support an unstable limb (either injury or conformation). It looks like flare - but it isn't. It's the hoof being amazing:).

You can tell it's deviation on your horse's hinds as it's bilateral and in a specific place plus the balance of the whole hoof has shifted.

If you remove a deviation to make the hoof look pretty - or put shoes on such a hoof, then the unstable limb will usually break down not long afterwards:(

Your farrier is, very cleverly, leaving said deviation alone:)

IMAG1801.jpg


IMAG1802.jpg


Regarding boots - I only suggest them if she is too sore to work. She may not need them with the new diet or if she is happy on softer surfaces.

Pics of hooves here
http://www.progressivehorse.co.uk/html/pin-ups.html

Flare
http://www.barefoothorse.com/barefoot_Flares.html

Deviation
http://barefoothorseblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/deviation.html
 
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