Post vetting help appreciated :) Especially from a farrier!

[gallopinghooves]

We can train you to take better ones in future as not ideal

Look shod tight and a bit short (so not supporting the back half of the hoof- this is done a lot still unfortunately - it does mean pulling them off by overreaching is less likely)

frog and heel bulbs not so compressed that they’ve folded up on each other and disintegrated (the bulbs are somewhat squished out the back of the hoof, they need to relax and straighten out)
Looks to have some heel still though.

They were taken by the vet, I agree with you haha! Thank you, do you think they're 'bad' or definitely fixable by the looks of it?

 

[ester]

Bloomin vets , they were just trying to make the point about the shoe not anything else.
From those pics they wouldn’t stress me out but that’s me.

 

[ycbm]

They are fixable but the comment about the restricted movement in conjunction with clearly poor farriery would mean that I wouldn't be happy to buy the horse at market value without seeing it nerve blocked to one front foot.

There's a suspicion that if you did that, the horse would trot up lame. (Many would!)
.

 

[gallopinghooves]

They are fixable but the comment about the restricted movement in conjunction with clearly poor farriery would mean that I wouldn't be happy to buy the horse at market value without seeing it nerve blocked to one front foot.

There's a suspicion that if you did that, the horse would trot up lame. (Many would!)

She is very sound. No restricted movement which the vet was surprised by considering the shoes x

 

[ycbm]

She is very sound. No restricted movement which the vet was surprised by considering the shoes x

Your vet saw fit to comment on the lack of extravagance in her movement, I think?

Lots, really lots, of horses are very sound until you nerve block one front foot.
.

 

[silv]

100%.

Depends on how bad the foot imbalance is.

This is how my junior eventer homebred came back off loan as a 7yo, we never got her fully right after that. Shod by a fancy pants training farrier or his apprentices, never did get to the bottom of just who left her like that.

View attachment 153316

I would have been wild seeing that!!!!!

 

[misst]

OP if this is your first horse and there are concerns I think I would walk away. There will be a horse out there without these problems. Also your insurance may well exclude or argue about paying out on anything to do with front feet or foot balance or hoof problems as the vetting has shown a problem. An awful lot of lameness can be attributed to foot problems. I had another horse for 3 years. He had a front foot lameness and the insurance got very antsy about paying out because the vetting had said "front foot balance a little off". He was sound as a pound at the time of vetting. 3 years later I had a massive fight on my hands as they tried to show that the problem was rooted in the previous imbalance.

 

[4Hoofed]

Personally I think you have two options on this one. A) pay for investigation X-rays and blocks on a horse you don’t yet and may never own.
Or B) walk away. As your first horse I would try not to inherit anyone else’s problems.

At the very least I’d want a farriers opinion if the vets seen fit to bring it up. As it’s your first horse unless it ticks every other box and is a very lovely horse I’d be reluctant advising to buy if I was your friend. Or if you do I would recommend a serious low ball offer and use that saved money to start fixing (regular X-rays, good regular (potentially very regular) farrier visits, supplements etc) and commit that this may mean some time not enjoying your new horse as much till it’s fixed? Some horses are worth this but I would have a sit down with yourself and make that decision.

 

[nutjob]

Generally, the horse isn't an extravagant mover

Your vet saw fit to comment on the lack of extravagance in her movement, I think?

This should be clarified by the vet. Does it mean that the horse naturally doesn't have extravagant paces and may not be a dressage star or does it mean that the horse is not lame but looks like the gait should be better for the type of horse it is.

Lots, really lots, of horses are very sound until you nerve block one front foot.

Sadly yes, and not all vets can pick up a bilateral problem.

The hoof crack doesn't look trivial and whilst it may be recoverable with some form of stabilisation and improved foot balance / shoeing it's just a concern that the previous owner has let it get this bad without doing something about it when they have had the horse for 2 years. I'd worry about what else they'd neglected or couldn't care less about. Also, the dealer, a horse professional, hasn't bothered to get the horse shod by a better farrier. Is it a sales livery or a dealer owned horse, if it's your first horse have you seen the horse and made sure that you can easily handle and ride it.

 

[Fieldlife]

The hoof crack doesn't look trivial and whilst it may be recoverable with some form of stabilisation and improved foot balance / shoeing it's just a concern that the previous owner has let it get this bad without doing something about it when they have had the horse for 2 years. I'd worry about what else they'd neglected or couldn't care less about. Also, the dealer, a horse professional, hasn't bothered to get the horse shod by a better farrier. Is it a sales livery or a dealer owned horse, if it's your first horse have you seen the horse and made sure that you can easily handle and ride it.

What hoof crack> I didnt see one in the three shod photos?

 

[jhoward]

100%.

Depends on how bad the foot imbalance is.

This is how my junior eventer homebred came back off loan as a 7yo, we never got her fully right after that. Shod by a fancy pants training farrier or his apprentices, never did get to the bottom of just who left her like that.

View attachment 153316

Jesus any more on her heel and her fetlock would be smacking her in the chin.
Having had a bad experience with a farrier at a college I can imagine how you felt.

 

[jhoward]

Op I think the gap in the first picture ..
A shoe should be meeting the hoof al round.
And the way the nails are uneven around the hoof ....
A crap farrier may just be your issue, but the problems come in,
1 strain on tendons etc.
2 how concussion affects the entire leg if she's been hammered up a road
3 after effects when you take those shoes off.

Ideally you'd want them off for 6-8 week to allow some growth for a new farrier to start working with them.

If the horse was a few grand id probably chance it. But any thing substantial then probably not.

One thing....a set of X rays would bide well for insurance if you planned to insure...it really wouldn't hurt to cover your own back.

 

[gallopinghooves]

This should be clarified by the vet. Does it mean that the horse naturally doesn't have extravagant paces and may not be a dressage star or does it mean that the horse is not lame but looks like the gait should be better for the type of horse it is.


Sadly yes, and not all vets can pick up a bilateral problem.

The hoof crack doesn't look trivial and whilst it may be recoverable with some form of stabilisation and improved foot balance / shoeing it's just a concern that the previous owner has let it get this bad without doing something about it when they have had the horse for 2 years. I'd worry about what else they'd neglected or couldn't care less about. Also, the dealer, a horse professional, hasn't bothered to get the horse shod by a better farrier. Is it a sales livery or a dealer owned horse, if it's your first horse have you seen the horse and made sure that you can easily handle and ride it.

Sorry I also should have clarified, generally she’s not an extravagant mover considering her breeding (Irish sports horse). I already knew this as I’m not looking for anything special in that sense. I’m just happy hacking and having fun, not competing so that doesn’t bother me. There was no school at her previous home so it’s hardly surprising! What’s important to me is temperament & a kind horse. Which she is. She is lovely, both in her stable and when being ridden. I felt so safe on her and she felt great in the school (for what I’m looking for).

The previous owner was a young girl from a non horsey family apparently. Horse lived by herself… but they looked like they had lots of fun together to be fair to the girl. But I think she was unconsciously slightly neglected just due to lack of knowledge.

I’ll be keeping the horse at a livery yard where there is a good support team with lots of knowledge so the horse would be in good hands.

I’m going to get X rays and go from there!

Thank you

 

[gallopinghooves]

Op I think the gap in the first picture ..
A shoe should be meeting the hoof al round.
And the way the nails are uneven around the hoof ....
A crap farrier may just be your issue, but the problems come in,
1 strain on tendons etc.
2 how concussion affects the entire leg if she's been hammered up a road
3 after effects when you take those shoes off.

Ideally you'd want them off for 6-8 week to allow some growth for a new farrier to start working with them.

If the horse was a few grand id probably chance it. But any thing substantial then probably not.

One thing....a set of X rays would bide well for insurance if you planned to insure...it really wouldn't hurt to cover your own back.

This is really helpful, thank you. That’s interesting re the 6-8 weeks and I’ll definitely take that into account.

Will deffo do X rays.

 

[nutjob]

What hoof crack> I didnt see one in the three shod photos?

If it's left like this and horse goes barefoot, which in general could be a good idea, this crack will very likely be forced open by mud and grass going up it. It's worth asking what the options are for stabilising this and the cost.

 

[gallopinghooves]

View attachment 153359
If it's left like this and horse goes barefoot, which in general could be a good idea, this crack will very likely be forced open by mud and grass going up it. It's worth asking what the options are for stabilising this and the cost.

I’m confused, whose photo is this? Sorry I think I’ve missed something!

 

[nutjob]

I’m confused, whose photo is this? Sorry I think I’ve missed something!

It's picture no. 2 from your post #29 on this thread.

ETA it's the foot on the floor not the one in the hand.
If the feet are being xray'd anyway then I would imagine this will give an idea of how serious this crack is. Based on that, the vet and/or farrier should be able to tell you what will be needed to stabilise the crack to help it grow out. A not serious one they can just notch the hoof at ground level to relieve the pressure but this one might need more than that. Taking the shoes off and doing nothing else can result in it getting worse

 

[gallopinghooves]

It's picture no. 2 from your post #29 on this thread.

ETA it's the foot on the floor not the one in the hand.
If the feet are being xray'd anyway then I would imagine this will give an idea of how serious this crack is. Based on that, the vet and/or farrier should be able to tell you what will be needed to stabilise the crack to help it grow out. A not serious one they can just notch the hoof at ground level to relieve the pressure but this one might need more than that. Taking the shoes off and doing nothing else can result in it getting worse

This is why I love this forum haha! Eagle eyes - thank you soo much! Great advice. A farrier went and checked it out today so hoping to chat to him later and I will see what he says and go from there. Definitely worth X raying.

I’ve heard that you’re always going to find something with X- rays eek