[Pictures] Shoes are off.

[sheep]

My boy has been shod with wedges in front since October and shod as normal behind. The wedges were done after a lameness workup found DJD in the coffin joint. The joints were also medicated but there was little improvement, and lameness returned in January, so a wee while ago I decided to take his shoes off the next time they were due to be done - he is not in any work at all currently, and I thought I wouldn't have much to lose - so the shoes came off this morning. Much of our yard is concrete so it is a nice surface for him while he adjusts, there are also stony areas and a sandschool. He walked over them fairly happily but I know it could be a long period of adjustment!

Anyway, just for those interested, here are some pictures of his feet. I know they are pretty awful at the moment but I am hopeful that with time they will improve.

Please feel free to comment on anything you see - I am a total novice where it comes to feet!

FRONT RIGHT

FRONT LEFT

RIGHT HIND

LEFT HIND

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

feet looking good

 

[Nugget La Poneh]

To be fair, considering they've had shoes on, they're not that bad!

Although, not sure which feet is afflicted with DJD, but certainly the left hind is bull nosed, and the right is (but not as noticeable) as well which isn't good. What are you feeding?

 

[ester]

ooh feet pics , and welcome

I don't think the frogs are too bad to start off. I suspect those heel bulbs will unfold a bit more and he could wells start on getting a bit of heel there (and a shorter toe) keep taking pics as you know it worked for my lad and his coffin joints

Re the bull nosing we had that in front and think it is often a sign of a flat pedal bone - resolved as the hoof grew down and he sorted out some digital cushion

 

[sheep]

To be fair, considering they've had shoes on, they're not that bad!

Although, not sure which feet is afflicted with DJD, but certainly the left hind is bull nosed, and the right is (but not as noticeable) as well which isn't good. What are you feeding?

Fronts are the DJD ones, he also has arthritis in hocks but I think the fronts are the main problem.

Currently fed hifi light (he won't eat the molasses free version...), speedibeet and linseed, haylage at night and out at grass during the day.

I'm glad they aren't that bad, they aren't great shape wise but I think the horn quality is fairly okay, I do have some pictures somewhere from when I first got him, the horn quality was awful then!

 

[sheep]

ooh feet pics , and welcome

I don't think the frogs are too bad to start off. I suspect those heel bulbs will unfold a bit more and he could wells start on getting a bit of heel there (and a shorter toe) keep taking pics as you know it worked for my lad and his coffin joints

Re the bull nosing we had that in front and think it is often a sign of a flat pedal bone - resolved as the hoof grew down and he sorted out some digital cushion

Thanks ester. Farrier noted this morning that his frogs are touching the ground (yay!) so he might be a bit sensitive initially.. definitely going to obsessively photograph his feet, I'm really hoping that their overall shape improves and provides more internal support.. it's worth a shot!

 

[stencilface]

Fronts are the DJD ones, he also has arthritis in hocks but I think the fronts are the main problem.

Currently fed hifi light (he won't eat the molasses free version...), speedibeet and linseed, haylage at night and out at grass during the day.

I'm glad they aren't that bad, they aren't great shape wise but I think the horn quality is fairly okay, I do have some pictures somewhere from when I first got him, the horn quality was awful then!

I managed to get mine to eat his hifi molasses free with his linseed when I mixed it well with some probalance well mixed with some spearmint. He doesn't get speedibeet or anything cos I'm mean. Unbeknownst to me, my mum had been feeding him treats with molasses in to get the food into him, hopefully not needed now with the mint, fingers crossed!

 

[sheep]

I managed to get mine to eat his hifi molasses free with his linseed when I mixed it well with some probalance well mixed with some spearmint. He doesn't get speedibeet or anything cos I'm mean. Unbeknownst to me, my mum had been feeding him treats with molasses in to get the food into him, hopefully not needed now with the mint, fingers crossed!

Ooh I may give this a go. He is a fussy beggar at times, I've just jumped on the turmeric bandwagon (why not, nothing to lose haha) and he is NOT impressed. He is slowly coming round to the idea..

 

[stencilface]

Haha, my boys feed is more supplement than feed, he only get 1.5 small handfuls of the hifi once a day

 

[sheep]

Haha, my boys feed is more supplement than feed, he only get 1.5 small handfuls of the hifi once a day

Heheh poor boy.. all that powder sticking in his teeth


Found a few pics of his feet when I first got him, no sole shots unfortunately, but looking at these I can see a definite improvement, which is nice. His shoes were taken off for a break here, as you can see the nail holes were not in good shape, and farrier and I felt it best to take shoes off, let feet grow out, and go from there.

 

[amandap]

Big improvement from the old pics. Good luck. In the shod pics, out of interest what did you change a month or two before the pics were taken?

 

[sheep]

Big improvement from the old pics. Good luck. In the shod pics, out of interest what did you change a month or two before the pics were taken?

I had only had him for about six weeks when they were taken- the only major change I can think of at that time, about a month or so before that, is that he changed over to being our 24/7 for summer. I also started on a hoof supplement actually, and to what he is currently fed (hifi lite and speedibeet).

 

[amandap]

I had only had him for about six weeks when they were taken- the only major change I can think of at that time, about a month or so before that, is that he changed over to being our 24/7 for summer. I also started on a hoof supplement actually, and to what he is currently fed (hifi lite and speedibeet).

Ah, it could be from you getting him then or the other changes you mention. I am looking at the top 1-2 cms of the hoof wall btw, a change is marked especially in the fourth and last photos.

 

[sheep]

He stayed on same yard, but it is likely that he also moved field when we switched to summer grazing - it is all a bit of a blur to be honest lol, I didn't actually intend to buy a horse, but I couldn't resist him!

 

[sheep]

Wee update, after he had the shoes off yesterday I chucked him out in the field for the day, brought him in, washed feet off and walked him around the concrete yard - he seemed absolutely fine on it, so tried him across the pretty stony yard.. no big problems at all, a couple of wee feely moments when a bigger stone got in the way. He previously had a break from shoes just after I bought him and he really struggled so I am absolutely delighted at how much better he is. I suppose this shows the difference diet can make hopefully he continues to be as happy, I led him around the school yesterday evening and his overtrack has massively improved.

I am just astounded at how instant some of the changes are.

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

I had only had him for about six weeks when they were taken- the only major change I can think of at that time, about a month or so before that, is that he changed over to being our 24/7 for summer. I also started on a hoof supplement actually, and to what he is currently fed (hifi lite and speedibeet).

The earlier photos showed very underrun heels, which must have affected his gait severely, straining tendons etc.
The angle from the pastern down the hoof to the ground should be in a line, not "broken" as early on. So things are much better, but persevere with the unshod regime and I am sure his feet will get even better, certainly much better for his long term soundness.
Keep supplementing with minerals and some linseed through the summer, make sure he is not stuffing himself with bright green sugar loaded grass.
When bringing in from field, I always walk freely in hand on a smooth bit of tarmac to check for a good stride, heel first landing and an even gait.
Even 20 mins hacking on tarmac is great for self trimming and hardening the ligaments.

 

[sheep]

The earlier photos showed very underrun heels, which must have affected his gait severely, straining tendons etc.
The angle from the pastern down the hoof to the ground should be in a line, not "broken" as early on. So things are much better, but persevere with the unshod regime and I am sure his feet will get even better, certainly much better for his long term soundness.
Keep supplementing with minerals and some linseed through the summer, make sure he is not stuffing himself with bright green sugar loaded grass.
When bringing in from field, I always walk freely in hand on a smooth bit of tarmac to check for a good stride, heel first landing and an even gait.
Even 20 mins hacking on tarmac is great for self trimming and hardening the ligaments.

Thank you very much MrsD123 He is not yet 100% sound at the moment (in or out of shoes) but he has certainly improved as the weather has warmed up. In the next few weeks I hope to start doing a little bit of long reining and inhand work to get him working again, should he continue to improve as he has been. He is fairly polite and easy to work with so our initial hacks may involve me on ground. Stories such as Ester's give me hope that we may come back into a decent level of work, but if I can only just hack him then I will be very happy indeed.

Thanks again for your input, I really appreciate it. It is great to have the benefit of other peoples' experiences.

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

Thank you very much MrsD123 He is not yet 100% sound at the moment (in or out of shoes) but he has certainly improved as the weather has warmed up. In the next few weeks I hope to start doing a little bit of long reining and inhand work to get him working again, should he continue to improve as he has been. He is fairly polite and easy to work with so our initial hacks may involve me on ground. Stories such as Ester's give me hope that we may come back into a decent level of work, but if I can only just hack him then I will be very happy indeed.

Thanks again for your input, I really appreciate it. It is great to have the benefit of other peoples' experiences.

Have a good look at Rockley Farm [rehab for unsound horses], it is all in there, a month 's study!
I found First Feet a great book [ignore seaweed]. In order to be confident in your own knowledge I think you will find it helpful to absorb as much info as you can.

 

[ester]

I think little and often is the key, we spent a while doing 5/10 min round the block in hand/on long reins on a daily basis and then just gradually increased how far we went- so his feet were working enough to make improvements but not too much too quick.

He did get footy at about the 6 week stage and was booted for a bit then so don't panic if yours hits this as the feet start to wake up a bit.

(If you don't have one I have a copy of feet first I am happy to post, though I think most of the info you can gather on line these days)

 

[stencilface]

I think little and often is the key, we spent a while doing 5/10 min round the block in hand/on long reins on a daily basis and then just gradually increased how far we went- so his feet were working enough to make improvements but not too much too quick.

He did get footy at about the 6 week stage and was booted for a bit then so don't panic if yours hits this as the feet start to wake up a bit.

(If you don't have one I have a copy of feet first I am happy to post, though I think most of the info you can gather on line these days)

I think that's what my boy hit in jan/February as although he had shoes off in august, he only started proper work at Christmas. I might have got carried away too and gone for longer hacks than I should have too

Hoping he'll get better from here on with the help of boots, and supplements. Now if I can just get my mum to not give him carrots!

 

[amandap]

Now if I can just get my mum to not give him carrots!

Tell her she can give him 1 a day, never know she might stick to that. I'm sure the odd carrot is fine just not buckets full or if in acute laminitis.

 

[sheep]

I think little and often is the key, we spent a while doing 5/10 min round the block in hand/on long reins on a daily basis and then just gradually increased how far we went- so his feet were working enough to make improvements but not too much too quick.

He did get footy at about the 6 week stage and was booted for a bit then so don't panic if yours hits this as the feet start to wake up a bit.

(If you don't have one I have a copy of feet first I am happy to post, though I think most of the info you can gather on line these days)

That sounds like a very sensible approach Ester, so hopefully hopefully hopefully things will continue to improve so I can get to that stage. At the start of January I was resigning myself to retiring him, which would be a shame but I would be prepared to do it - having read things on here and on the rockley blog, I am feeling cautiously optimistic that we might come back in to work.

He is a super little horse really, he is easy to work with (although he can be a right grump in the stable) and is just a really nice all rounder. His previous owner paid megabucks for him as an 8yo and I paid peanuts for him 2 years ago, he never showed that he had any problems until late last summer, I suppose he is an extremely tolerant and forgiving boy and things just became too much for him.

At the time of his initial diagnosis a number of posters suggested the unshod approach but I suppose I lacked confidence in making the decision, and felt that I was best to do what the vet felt was best - ester and cptrayes both offered their advice, with hindsight I would have probably been better to follow it at the time, but here we are now 5 months on, shoes off and hopefully at the beginning of a new start for my boy. Best case scenario I get on board again and we get back to some level of work, worst case scenario he gets to be a pretty field ornament.

Ultimately I just want to do what is best for him!

 

[ester]

only as I had been there before and I also did the remedial shoeing first/couldn't make that decision straight away It eliminates shoeing as an option anyway so that even if the road is a little rocky and sometimes requires a bit more thinking/management than just pop shoes on and pick out feet and forget about them - oh and means you look at every horse from the hoof up :eek3: - you kind of already know that the 'easier' option didn't work. It's also think that's where the forum is good, I would never nag someone to take shoes off but I think it's good for people to know that it is a possibility for improvement and just to have it on their list of treatments.

We had the same best and worse case scenarios and the best has ended up being much better than I ever thought given his age!

Be thankful it's just your mum stencilface - our neighbour likes to throw bread and carrots out for them while he is feeding the birds! As it is feed wise he seems pretty tolerant and does get the odd carrot/brocolli etc I have going spare (and he loves pears)