Opinions on these feet please

I suspect such a hash job on the front will have contributed to the complaints on the back legs, once fixed the arthritis may well be a lot milder too, op it's going to take a lot of time because to trim these to look as they should would absolutely cane that horse in one go, unfortunately his legs will hae to adjust over time, but I really think its possible. As I said, I do a max of 2 sets a yr, and when it comes to ebonys feet they benefit so much from it, they are tb feet, she's tb x but she's flat footed too, she copes with everything terrain wise and the farrier always comments on the strength of them after a good period of barefooted ness :) which ever way you decide to fix this, do keep us updated, would love to see some pics of the foot as it is now before it is touched from different angles and then follow up reports, would be really interesting. :)
 
I'm going to try & dig out some photos of my horse so that you can see how poorly developed she because of the discomfort in her front feet. It really does stop them using themselves properly.
 
Op, sure you've heard the term no foot - no horse, you are right, feet are a priority, I'm pretty sure there will marked improvement all over once they are balanced. I put some old boots on yesterday at the yard and rubbed my heel, it hurts so much :( I've been walking funny because of it even barefoot... As a result my hip is killing me! Doesn't take much to put your body out :( boots are going in the bin! Lol :)
 
Thank you all. My friend is going to feel much better having read your comments. The vet hasn't picked up on the state of his feet and as his soundness hasn't improved despite steroid injections, she was really feeling that the end of the road is nearing. New farrier a must!
 
OK - here is my horse in terrible condition. You can see her unbalanced feet & it's obvious by looking at her that she is unable to use herself properly and cope with enough work to develop any muscle:

whome.jpg


This is once the remedial shoeing was completed & she is able to cope with more work and use her body better:

P1000811.jpg


Of course she has also matured a bit but the difference is mainly down to now having comfortable feet.
 
This is food for thought, sorry hyjacking again. :) I really must stop it. The farrier I had this week re shod my lad quite short, looks like different feet if I'm honest and looks great but now v pottery and pulling for the soft grass even though he's shod, is this a case off to much heel presure back at once? I can now seehim go heel -toe when he walks instead off just flippers landing.
 
I am also suprised that the vet had not commented on his awful feet. Xrays would be a must to see what is going on inside with the pedal bone and to aid a farrier to be able to work on remedial shoeing ASAP.
 
Kirsty... I'd say no where near the end of the rd for your friends horse, hopefully someone on here can point your friend in the direction of
Someone competent and experienced in resolving these issues. I too am appauled that the vet hasn't picked up on this :(
SJ god, what a difference, look at the lack of muscle on the back-end :( and what a transformation! Super little horse, looking a lot happier :)
 
I know QueenBee, she is totally transformed. It's just a real shame I didn't realise what a state her feet were in & what an overall effect it was having :o

I have thankfully been educated by my vet & current farrier and if I hadn't been through it I don't think I would have believed what an adverse effect poor shoeing can have overall.

I seriously can't believe the vet looking at the horse in this post hasn't picked it up. I'd be changing vet as well as farrier.
 
sonjafoers said:
OK - here is my horse in terrible condition. You can see her unbalanced feet & it's obvious by looking at her that she is unable to use herself properly and cope with enough work to develop any muscle:

whome.jpg


This is once the remedial shoeing was completed & she is able to cope with more work and use her body better:

P1000811.jpg


Of course she has also matured a bit but the difference is mainly down to now having comfortable feet.
Click to expand...

Fantastic photos! This horse despite having competed successfully in dressage and BE Intro less than 2 years ago has no topline and his back is particularly weak. Lovely to see the results of good farriery - is that a word!! My friend is going to feel so much stronger to seek a second opinion for both vet and farrier
 
Excellent news Kirsty! It's not always that we see these things, and when we put our faith in professionals who let us and our horses down, it's hard, it's really hard to question them sometimes and. Stand up and say 'that's not right' it feels wrong, us being mere lay people and them being professionals. Tell your friend not to worry, about the past, focus on the future, she can take charge and get this fixed she can then see how everything else is after the feet are fixed... Although I have a hunch that a lot of these problems will right themselves as a result. Please do keep us informed on the horses progress, piccys from all angles so us nosey gits can watch the progress :D
 
Thankyou everyone who has given me hope for my poor boy.
I was devastated when the vet said she'd done everything to help, and perhaps he could be a light hack. The real irony is the farrier who shoes him, is a Remedial farrier, who has looked after my retired mare with navicular disease. Puttied & padded her shoes to keep her going to her 20's. Just wonder if I need a new farrier, or be tactful in asking him to change PDQ?
 
Oh yes please do keep us informed, will be very interesting.

As I said at the beginning of this thread things can be done - unfortunately though it will take time.

Good luck to her, her horse will be thankful whichever route she chooses.
 
Hello AmandM, so sorry to hear what's happening to your horse. It's sickening that we trust these professionals and this sort of thing happens - as you can see from my pics I've been in the same boat.

I would honestly change farrier, it won't be easy. Luckily I had a vet on my side so I was able to use the excuse that my vet was recommending an alternative when I 'sacked' mine - he didn't like it but at least I made out it wasn't wholly my decision.

In your case I think you should be changing vet too, so could you call in a new vet, get him to recommend a farrier & then do what I did?
 
Summon the courage to talk honestly with your farrier about your horses feet. Tell him that you are worried and unhappy. It would of been more helpful if the vet had xrays and would back you up that something has to be done. It is so bloody annoying how so many of us have to pussyfoot around a farriers ego whilst our horses suffer.
I had an issue with a young horses foot balance and got nowhere with my old farrier who was just too bloody minded to listen. I found the courage to change and now have a sound young horse with perfect feet .
 
Look way too long. If he's suffering arthritis maybe consider removing his front shoes? I did with my horses and it's done him no harm.
 
Yes google rockley farm! They are gods with things like this and have more experience than you could shake a shaky stick at! I wouldn't bother talking to any farrier who did that to my horse tbh, I wouldn't want him to have any further custom after butchering my horses legs and hooves... :( op at the very least take the opportunity to talk to the people at rockley farm and discuss who they reccomend in your area, and please keep us posted :D
 
Dottie said:
He just looks like a typical flat footed TB to me!
Click to expand...

This makes me very sad and cross. TB's (like all horses) should not have long toes with under-run heels!

Having had a bad farrier change the shape of my horse's hooves dramatically over a very short period of time and blame the changes on the mare (because it couldn't possibly have been his fault :mad: ), then going through the long slog to correct the damage, I feel very pationately that owners need to be much more aware of what a hoof should look like (with and without shoes). Plus owners need to learn which excuses and hoof myths are quite frankly bull doo-dah.
 
To be fair to the farrier - he will be stuck between a rock and a hard place with these hooves.
He is in a cycle of pathology that he can't easily get out of without serious remedial input. To recommend a break from shoes isn't often something some farriers are comfortable suggesting.......
It's like a defeat to some. And telling the owner they can't ride for a while is difficult for them to suggest.
Sadly it is very common for vets to develop a blind spot where hooves are concerned :(
It puzzles me as most of us 'hippies who only have knowledge that they read from a book' can see those hooves are poor and why straight away :p
 
My friend is seeking the advice of another farrier this morning. Many thanks for all your comments!
 
I agree with most of the above, which isn't surprising.
It will be interesting to see if the new farrier visiting talks about more than just remedial shoeing and re-balancing the hooves. I think the Barefoot Taliban would be talking about diet and management as well.
 
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