Odd feet on new horse... opinions please.

kezz86

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His left front had some gunk (technical term!) which has been used to build it up but as I didn't see it before hand I don't know how far up it goes or how bad it is!
I'm hoping to get the number of his old farrier so that I can have a chat to him about it but nothing so far I feel like I'm delving into the unknown a bit with him which is scary!

I was told it's just there as when the last shoe came off a chunk off hoof went with it.

So what do you think of these feet.

I'd like him to go shoeless in time but I'm already sure he'll need a fair amount of time to adapt + hoof boots!

He's now on a barefoot friendly diet the same as my mare and is being ridden 4-5 times a week out hacking.

This is the front left -

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/1000084_10151775675282065_508555744_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1044648_10151775675497065_49516704_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/1001859_10151775675177065_1513756009_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/1001859_10151775675177065_1513756009_n.jpg

Front right -
https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/1016345_10151775676307065_1955698897_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/1005620_10151775676427065_1423564528_n.jpg

Back left -
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/1005620_10151775676427065_1423564528_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/1005620_10151775676427065_1423564528_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/995121_10151775676172065_1836119035_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1069288_10151775673842065_230487822_n.jpg

Back right -
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/1016692_10151775674762065_1375392288_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1069310_10151775674627065_1055058255_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/229398_10151775674967065_2076076933_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/229398_10151775674967065_2076076933_n.jpg

Sorry about picture quality I took the pictures not long after he'd moved in and he was not keen on standing still! lol

I've had him a couple of weeks now and the yellow build up stuff has started to peel off slightly along the edge... so I'm now concerned about it!
 

LittleBlackMule

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Wow, those are.. interesting.. feet.

My first thought was, the previous farrier is the last person you should be getting in touch with, but on second thoughts it would be interesting to know what on earth he thought he was doing.
 

kezz86

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Wow, those are.. interesting.. feet.
it would be interesting to know what on earth he thought he was doing.

That's what I thought I just would like to know what was going through his head when he did this... I've never seen anything like that foot before so curious to get more info.

I just hope it's "not that bad" I'm so worried as this horse is soooooooo lovely I don't want him to suffer or struggle.
 

amandap

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I am an owner and it's hard to tell from the photos but the left fore looks to be plastered and filled with "gunk". The left side of the hoof on the first pic (L fore) looks to have part of the wall actually missing and plugged with gunk.
There appears to be gunk around some of the shoes as well, ? covering up/filling missing chunks of hoof wall.

I am wondering if this was all done to cover up problems especially for sale?

I don't know what to say except I would treat as if he was laminitic with attention to sugars and good levels of minerals etc. (high spec bf diet) and prepare for a rehab program that might take some time and careful management. Some new hooves need to be grown imho so a good experienced team will be required. I wish you the best of luck. x
 

kezz86

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I am an owner and it's hard to tell from the photos but the left fore looks to be plastered and filled with "gunk". The left side of the hoof on the first pic (L fore) looks to have part of the wall actually missing and plugged with gunk.
There appears to be gunk around some of the shoes as well, ? covering up/filling missing chunks of hoof wall.

I am wondering if this was all done to cover up problems especially for sale?

I don't know what to say except I would treat as if he was laminitic with attention to sugars and good levels of minerals etc. (high spec bf diet) and prepare for a rehab program that might take some time and careful management. Some new hooves need to be grown imho so a good experienced team will be required. I wish you the best of luck. x

Yeh I did wonder that too but the horse was "free" and I am still in touch with the old owner who does seem genuine and seems to care for the horse. She did actually point it out to me at the time but I don't think she's as interested in feet as I am, so slightly wafted over it.

I've had a good looksie at the feet and its so hard to tell how far up the gunk goes. I think the gunk is there to actually hold the blinking shoe on!

He's already on a sparse mixed grass field which is on a track system and he's only getting small amounts of Spiller High Fibre cubes and microionised linseed + mineral sups, and a salt lick in the field.

I'm looking at getting pea gravel put in around the trough and gate entrance too.

My trimmer is coming on Monday so we'll see what she says.

I'll try to take some decent pics of where the gunk is coming away tonight when I'm at the yard and I'll post them up tomorrow.
 

amandap

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Ah, he was free. I'm sure with good on the spot advice and your commitment he will be ok. Sounds like you have a good management system in place to help him.
 

Emilieu

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I'm wondering if it's actually just because there wasn't enough hoof to nail a shoe onto?

I'm saying this as I've just discovered this http://www.equilox.com/instructionsForUse/howToVideo.html
which looks like similar stuff...

I think you're spot on. Does he pull shoes often? Looks like the polyfiller type stuff that was used on my horse previously to attach a shoe to a badly torn up hoof. Not the neatest job!
 

Heelfirst

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I never comment of pictures…but I will however make my usual statement that if a wall is cracked or has pieces missing from the nail down then it is due to the conflict between the nail/shoe and the wall.
It means that the main problem is man-made, regardless of horn quality which I am sure will improve with the correct diet and good management.
 

LittleBlackMule

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I never comment of pictures…but I will however make my usual statement that if a wall is cracked or has pieces missing from the nail down then it is due to the conflict between the nail/shoe and the wall.
It means that the main problem is man-made, regardless of horn quality which I am sure will improve with the correct diet and good management.

^^This^^
The filler wouldn't concern me, it just saddens me to think of the quality of hoof care he has suffered until now.
 

kezz86

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I think you're spot on. Does he pull shoes often? Looks like the polyfiller type stuff that was used on my horse previously to attach a shoe to a badly torn up hoof. Not the neatest job!

I'm not sure if this was a rare occurrence or if it happens a lot. (I've had him just two weeks)
She did insist I got him over-reach boots so perhaps it happens more often than it should.

Here are some photos of the hoof with the stuff coming away from it... (purple spray is just because the foot smells a bit thrushy).

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/943672_10151798200967065_974584440_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/993359_10151798201572065_644317207_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/1044761_10151798201677065_1917794606_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/44372_10151798201792065_721217336_n.jpg
 

kezz86

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^^This^^
The filler wouldn't concern me, it just saddens me to think of the quality of hoof care he has suffered until now.[/QUOTE]
I have been wondering about it myself.
Hopefully I can get hold of him tomorrow and find out what the purpose of it was....

He'll get the best I can do now I have him though :)
 

Meowy Catkin

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943672_10151798200967065_974584440_n.jpg


Flip - that's one hell of a contracted heel! :( It might be thrushy in there too.

The shoes need to come off, so it can decontract. Having to wear over-reach boots is always a red flag that the hoof balance (and therefore the breakover) might be wrong.
 

Kallibear

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Basically the feet are falling to bits. The farrier's tried to paper over the cracks with a filler. Cosmetically it makes them look better (or would have if he'd done a neater job!) but does nothing to help the health of the feet.

You really really need to go an do some research into feeding for healthy feet. I'd have shoes off as they're about to fall off anyways and all they're going to do is rip more wall away each time. Petty soon there's going to be very little to attached shoes to even if you wanted to.

The heels are very tight and contracted, and underun. Fixing that with shoes is very difficult (sinces it's mainly caused by shoes).

The feet are so damaged at the moment that you'll most likely need boots to keep him comfortable whilst he grows.new healthy feet in.

ETA; just reread your following posts and sounds like you know the importance of diet already. In a couple of months you should see the new healthy foot growing down. Good luck!
 
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amandap

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Ah, I see the filler was wrapped round that hoof. It can't drop off soon enough imo. lol Not surprized it smells under there. Your trimmer might suggest an initial hoof soak.
 

kezz86

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Thanks everyone for the comments you're basically backing up what I was thinking and that it's all shoe damage.

I'm going to measure him tonight for boots and hopefully get these sorted over the weekend.

My trimmer is coming on Monday so I will ask her to get the shoes off before they fall off, hopefully the boots I'll get will fit and help him on his way to happier feet.

Poor sod, the first thing I looked at when I viewed him were his feet and before even riding him I had decided I needed to have him to help him! lol

Luckily he's such a gentleman!

I wonder if the fact that he's not keen to jump could be related to his feet hurting... His breeding suggests he should be good at jumping... (sire- Cavalier Royale dam sire- Sea Crest). What do you think?
 

Casey76

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I agree with everyne else. The "gunk" looks like very poorly applied epoxy filler.

Poor lad, he's just desparate to get out of those shoes! I bet you'll see a huge difference in the heels even in a short space of time.
 

kezz86

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I hope so Casey. I know he will need careful monitoring and lots of work but hopefully it will be worth it and it all works out for him!

I'm actually very excited about seeing the changes, even if I am nervous about it all.

I'd honestly never seen filler used on horses feet like this before so it's fascinating. Looking forward to speaking to the farrier later to see why he thought it was the thing to do. I'll just have to hold my tongue and not get narky with him! lol
 

philamena

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He's lucky to have come to you. Those are some poorly hoofypegs! I'm no expert but would say they advise you to measure for boots after a trim, so whether or not the trimmer actually trims on Mon it would be worth waiting to order them after they've had a look etc... and you need naked tootsies anyway for the measuring :)

Good luck, make sure you post lots of pics!
 

kezz86

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He's lucky to have come to you. Those are some poorly hoofypegs! I'm no expert but would say they advise you to measure for boots after a trim, so whether or not the trimmer actually trims on Mon it would be worth waiting to order them after they've had a look etc... and you need naked tootsies anyway for the measuring :)

Good luck, make sure you post lots of pics!

Thanks Philamena, you're right, you're meant to measure naked feet BUT I'm just worried that the feet won't even cope in the field with no shoes or boots and trimmer doesn't always have boots in her truck & I don't have a stable I can do up for him to stand in until I have the boots.

I'll get some and hope they fit I think and then just return and replace if they don't... I like to be prepared and my local tack shop are pretty good with returning boots if they don't fit (a real barefoot friendly shop they even do rentals!)

My mare had shoes on when I first got her too and she's much happier now without but I know this boy is going to be more of a challenge for me and my trimmer!
 

9tails

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Good Lord! What mad pictures! Did the farrier only have one size shoe? "Build this one up", "chop this one down a bit". What a mess.
 

kezz86

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Good Lord! What mad pictures! Did the farrier only have one size shoe? "Build this one up", "chop this one down a bit". What a mess.

I've not dealt with a horse in shoes for about 8 years now so I'm always fascinated to look at feet with shoes on anyway but this poor guy's feet are just odd!

His feet are smaller than my barefoot girls feet by quite a lot (as well as a totally different shape!) and she is 15.3hh and he is 16.3hh big chunky boy... that in it's self says something about his feet being wrong. (although my mare has unusually large feet for her size apparently too! lol)
 

NellRosk

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Thanks everyone for the comments you're basically backing up what I was thinking and that it's all shoe damage.

I'm going to measure him tonight for boots and hopefully get these sorted over the weekend.

My trimmer is coming on Monday so I will ask her to get the shoes off before they fall off, hopefully the boots I'll get will fit and help him on his way to happier feet.

Poor sod, the first thing I looked at when I viewed him were his feet and before even riding him I had decided I needed to have him to help him! lol

Luckily he's such a gentleman!

I wonder if the fact that he's not keen to jump could be related to his feet hurting... His breeding suggests he should be good at jumping... (sire- Cavalier Royale dam sire- Sea Crest). What do you think?

wow, he should be a cracking jumper if his grand sire is Sea Crest, good luck getting his feet better and you'll have a great horse on your hands.
 

kezz86

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wow, he should be a cracking jumper if his grand sire is Sea Crest, good luck getting his feet better and you'll have a great horse on your hands.

Thanks! I do hope so!

I really hope he's going to respond well to going bare!
 

LucyPriory

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These feet do need help. But I've deshod horses with more filler than that and whilst it's been a challenge the feet have turned out ok. We did boot initially. As with any damaged hoof the trick is to make sure the horse is kept comfortable, fed a good barefoot diet, given the oportunity to move and allow plenty of time. It's a marathon not a sprint.
 

kezz86

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Thanks everyone. Quick update.

My lovely trimmer came out yesterday and had a look she is confident we can work together to make him a happier more comfortable barefoot horse.

But she is away on holiday for a few weeks now and we have decided to leave the shoes on until she's back so that she can swing by if I have any trouble. So new shoe's off date is the 13th August...

She's recommended I get some boots in preparation (size 6 cavallo simples if anyone has any lying around doing nothing!) and we'll be on track to help him.

She agrees that although the shoes look awful they aren't as bad as they appear. I had a nervous few minutes whilst she went quiet whilst looking at his feet... (usually a sign that she's thinking something bad!) but then I questioned her and she said for a brief moment she though he might have navicular or early signs of laminitus :S but she checked pulse etc and changed her mind...

So fingers crossed it'll all work out in the long term! Wish us luck!
 

amandap

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Very best of luck from me and remember LucyPriory's point about it possibly being a marathon. I'm sure there may be ups and downs but things will come much better in time.
 
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