Shetland yearlings looking a bit footy

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kat2290

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So to give you a bit of background on my situation I have two shetland yearlings (turned 1 in May) on a 1acre field. Grass is short but there's still plenty of it.

Farrier was out on Tuesday and is happy with how the hooves are looking but said there was a bit of grit in the white line. He wasn't overly concerned though. However yesterday and today I have thought they both look a bit footy. Do I just put this down to more grit? If so should I be concerned about it and is there something I can do to prevent it? Or should I be worried that it could be something more sinister eg laminitis? I wouldn't say they are a Lami risk due to their age and the fact neither of them is overweight, I can feel their ribs and hips, but I guess you should always expect the unexpected where horses/ponies are concerned!

At present they have access to the full field but I'm wondering if I should be strip grazing?
 
Ok so noticed one pony (Bella) wasn't putting her near fire heel down so just been out to investigate and have found what I think is an abcess on the heel bulb. Never seen or had any experience with abcesses before. It is about the size of a 5p and is slightly squishy but doesn't seem to cause discomfort when I prod it although I didn't prod very hard.

What is the protocol for this, do I need to ring my vet? I can not see a puncture wound and pony is not in distress, she isn't very lame just not putting heel down...
 
I had vet out on Sunday as other one was lame, vet thought due to a bit of grit in the white line possibly causing a bit of infection so gave me anti-b's and bute and pony had significantly improved by Monday. I think it seems like too much of a coincidence that now the other one is also footy and now has this abcess but when I brought up laminitis with the vet she thought it definitely wasn't a factor. She also thought weight etc was fine, as did farrier and he also did not think laminitis related.

Also re muzzling them, I remember posting a thread on here months ago when I got them (October time) about weight/what to feed etc. I mentioned something about should I buy some grazing muzzles just incase and a couple of people replied feeling very strongly that I should not be putting grazing muzzles on youngsters as they need more nutrients for growth etc and that it would be very very unlikely that laminitis would be a problem for at least the first couple of years.

I'm just not sure what to do! Have just been up to yard where I ride and spoke to a few owners there, they all said as they are just young and pootling about in a field, and not hopping lame just to leave it and keep an eye on it for the next few days...
 
Not sure about you but I thought shetlands were supposed to be easy... So far mine have caused me more stress than a normal horse would!!

I too wouldn't go muzzling, they need their nutrients! I've also been advised that lami shouldn't (I know it can potentially be) be a problem at this age. Are you perhaps just focusing on them much more are almost imagining it? I know I get obsessive when I think about something too much... And now I've ended up with skinny minis!

I would maybe hibi scrub their feet? I do that with mine if they get a bit icky.

I know mine are colts, but they play so rough sometimes, I'm surprised one of them hasn't come in hopping lame yet!!
 
If vet thought they were fine before, and farrier did too then you should be fine weight-wise.

Would question though if both are suddenly footy just after farrier's visit if it may be related to the trim they had?
 
I think you need your vet out again if they don't return to normal. Grit in the white line means, I think, in real layman's terms, that the wall of the hoof is separating from the rest. I had a very elderly livery pony here some years ago who was fond of standing on a gravelly track near the stable. He went lame on numerous occasions and it was always grit in the white line. Eventually his owner moved him to a new home where the track to the stables was concrete, and he never had the problem again.

But there's obviously got to be a reason WHY they are separating, if this is the case.
 
I would be suprised if yearlings have lami however low grade lami often shows for the first after trimming so if I where you I would be very cautious, I would put them on a strip and feed HiFI mollasses free or chopped straw or soaked hay some of all three .
Check for digital pulses.
I would be tempted to get the vet if it's lami you need to sort it now better safe than sorry the future for a Shetland yearling who founders is not rosy .
On the nutrients give a good general vit and min supplement if you need to restrict grazing I give one to youngster roultinly .
 
an acre is a large area for 2 shetlands, i would section field and supplement grazing with soaked hay and a basic vit and mineral supplement. my understanding is that grit in the white line can be caused by the white line spreading and high levels of sugar (short spring grass is the highest) can cause this-white line disease can be a nightmare if it progresses that far.

i would not muzzle at such a young age as my EDT said a few weeks ago (when i told him i muzzle my 6yr old) that muzzles creates problems too, they damage the front teeth as the horse pushes against the muzzle to get the grass, the horse will also use its whole jaw differently affecting the wear on all the teeth when wearing a muzzle, he feels that many of the teeth that are being removed or falling out are due to muzzle usage. his view was do everything you can to reduce the intake of grass a muzzle should be your last resort especially in younger horses/ponies

you could take photos of clean hooves from side at ground level from front at ground level and the underneath, post them on here and people with give opinions-remember opinions are only on the photo so dont dismiss vet and farrier advice you are given in person
 
Thanks everybody for the replies, I really appreciate it.


muckypony said:
Not sure about you but I thought shetlands were supposed to be easy... So far mine have caused me more stress than a normal horse would!!

I too wouldn't go muzzling, they need their nutrients! I've also been advised that lami shouldn't (I know it can potentially be) be a problem at this age. Are you perhaps just focusing on them much more are almost imagining it? I know I get obsessive when I think about something too much... And now I've ended up with skinny minis!

I would maybe hibi scrub their feet? I do that with mine if they get a bit icky.

I know mine are colts, but they play so rough sometimes, I'm surprised one of them hasn't come in hopping lame yet!!
Click to expand...

I could well be imagining it as I spend soo much time looking at them worrying but this time I'm sure I'm not! I know I get obsessive too though and like you I have let them get too skinny at times too just through obsessing over their weight :(



Tickles said:
If vet thought they were fine before, and farrier did too then you should be fine weight-wise.

Would question though if both are suddenly footy just after farrier's visit if it may be related to the trim they had?
Click to expand...

I did wonder if it could be due to that but they have never been sore after a trim before and he didnt take off anymore than usual :confused:



Rose Folly said:
I think you need your vet out again if they don't return to normal. Grit in the white line means, I think, in real layman's terms, that the wall of the hoof is separating from the rest. I had a very elderly livery pony here some years ago who was fond of standing on a gravelly track near the stable. He went lame on numerous occasions and it was always grit in the white line. Eventually his owner moved him to a new home where the track to the stables was concrete, and he never had the problem again.

But there's obviously got to be a reason WHY they are separating, if this is the case.
Click to expand...

Yes I agree that there must be a reason why and I want to understand what it is, I guess it must just be the grass as nothing else has changed for them. I am getting the vet back out anyway to come and check Lulu's lame hoof again now that shes better so will mention footiness and now abscess and see what she thinks.



Goldenstar said:
I would be suprised if yearlings have lami however low grade lami often shows for the first after trimming so if I where you I would be very cautious, I would put them on a strip and feed HiFI mollasses free or chopped straw or soaked hay some of all three .
Check for digital pulses.
I would be tempted to get the vet if it's lami you need to sort it now better safe than sorry the future for a Shetland yearling who founders is not rosy .
On the nutrients give a good general vit and min supplement if you need to restrict grazing I give one to youngster roultinly .
Click to expand...

Thank you, I am going to treat as if it is lami as it can't do any harm. Going to move the eleccy fence today :o



Jools2345 said:
an acre is a large area for 2 shetlands, i would section field and supplement grazing with soaked hay and a basic vit and mineral supplement. my understanding is that grit in the white line can be caused by the white line spreading and high levels of sugar (short spring grass is the highest) can cause this-white line disease can be a nightmare if it progresses that far.

i would not muzzle at such a young age as my EDT said a few weeks ago (when i told him i muzzle my 6yr old) that muzzles creates problems too, they damage the front teeth as the horse pushes against the muzzle to get the grass, the horse will also use its whole jaw differently affecting the wear on all the teeth when wearing a muzzle, he feels that many of the teeth that are being removed or falling out are due to muzzle usage. his view was do everything you can to reduce the intake of grass a muzzle should be your last resort especially in younger horses/ponies

you could take photos of clean hooves from side at ground level from front at ground level and the underneath, post them on here and people with give opinions-remember opinions are only on the photo so dont dismiss vet and farrier advice you are given in person
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info re grazing muzzles thats very interesting. As said above I am going to treat as if lami as cant do any harm I suppose and put them on to a strip. Yes I probably will do some pictures of the hooves, the more opinions the better in my eyes :)
 
So just to update anybody who cant be bothered to read through the quotes! I am going to treat as if suspected laminitis and put up a strip over the barest part of the field. Vet needs to come back out anyway to check Lulu's lame (now better) hoof so I will be getting her to look at abscess and also talking about the general footiness.
 
Vet has just been, not the same lady who came on sunday. He has poulticed Bella's abscess and has given me some bute to give them both. He agreed they looked footy and said Lulu has very thin soles so her footiness could be down to a bit of bruising. He did quite a bit of digging on Bella's hoof with the abscess and there is a fair amount of white line separation, I told him I was very concerned about this but that nobody else (ie. vet or farrier) seem to be. He said its possibly because our ground is quite stoney...if the white line has streched to begin with when they hoon around twisting and turning their hooves on the stones this could cause it to start separating...I'm not convinced:confused:

I kept pressing him about laminitis but he said he really really doesnt think thats what it is, he didn't think the grass was a problem, they aren't overweight, their pulses are normal and their hooves arent warm. I asked him if he thought I should be strip grazing them, he ummed and ahhhed and said no I really don't think the grass is a problem. He suggested a try putting them on a biotin supplement in a teeny bit of chaff.

I think all we are doing is masking the symptoms with the bute and not really getting to the root of the problem. I can't help but feel the answers the vet and farrier have given me are a bit wishy washy! So seeing as though nobody can give me a better solution I'm going to carry on with the plan to strip graze and treat as if it is laminitis...even if its not I can't see what harm it will do.

I feel pants, really feel like I've let my girls down :(
 
the grass has been rubbish this year and just because they are shetlands it doesnt follow they will have good feet. Why not try a track system instead of just strip graze? The other thing that comes to mind is what vitamins/minerals are they getting? I know they youngsters so its not a direct comparison but my shettie is shut into a hardstand/bare paddock area the size of a small arena, with double netted hay. She still gets bucket feed of a handful of timothyhay chop/chaff and formula 4 feet pellets.Could you not do something similar? if my shettie is out in the main field with my other horse she is muzzled - that said Im not sure i would muzzle a yearling.
 
I think I will set up a track but need to buy more fence posts :rolleyes:

Vits wise for the last couple of months they have been getting a handful of healthy hooves (oh the irony) with a sprinkle of linseed. I'm off to buy them a more specific supplement today as perhaps the healthy hooves isn't sufficient on its own, although it claims to be a complete feed...
 
kat2290 said:
I think I will set up a track but need to buy more fence posts :rolleyes:

Vits wise for the last couple of months they have been getting a handful of healthy hooves (oh the irony) with a sprinkle of linseed. I'm off to buy them a more specific supplement today as perhaps the healthy hooves isn't sufficient on its own, although it claims to be a complete feed...
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no thats definitely not enough - all healthy hooves is is a chaff Im afraid, suitable for laminitic types etc. Its not a complete vit/min supplement. I can recommend formula 4 feet or forage plus, both of which you can get online. Linseed in itself wont do anything for them either, it promotes condition, which you dont want.
 
Hmmm could this be the source of their troubles then? When I got them in October I was advised by a member on here who breeds Shetlands to put them on a top spec balancer, chop and some linseed which I did, when this ran out I swapped to healthy hooves after reading up on it on their website. I thought this would be an appropriate thing to put them on especially with the grass coming through. I suppose I thought with more grass there would be less need for all the extra vits and mins but I did think they were still getting them from the healthy hooves.

Ahhh well another mistake learnt from I guess! I will go to my feed store this afternoon and see what they've got.
 
kat2290 said:
Hmmm could this be the source of their troubles then? When I got them in October I was advised by a member on here who breeds Shetlands to put them on a top spec balancer, chop and some linseed which I did, when this ran out I swapped to healthy hooves after reading up on it on their website. I thought this would be an appropriate thing to put them on especially with the grass coming through. I suppose I thought with more grass there would be less need for all the extra vits and mins but I did think they were still getting them from the healthy hooves.

Ahhh well another mistake learnt from I guess! I will go to my feed store this afternoon and see what they've got.
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no worries if you look on the healthy hooves bag it will tell you that unless you feed the recommended amount you still need to use a vit/min supplement - and to feed the recommended amount means feeding loads, even then the ingredients are pants compared to a proper supplement! Maybe you have a better local feed store than me, but mine doesnt stock anything decent, you really may be better ordering online. Forage plus balancers (they do a winter and summer version) is fantastic and developed for ponies living on a forage based diet so really suits natives. http://forageplus.co.uk/product-category/summer/

Good luck!
 
Thanks for the advice :) our feed store have a big supplement section but as for which supplements they actually stock I don't know so could well be a bit pants!

Incidentally the vet asked me what I feed them so told him healthy hooves and linseed, he said I wouldn't feed them if I were you, unless you want to give them some Biotin and even then just mix it with a teeny bit of chaff.
Not sure what to make of that?!
 
I agree with the vet it is very unlikely to be the grass You are not feeding them enough nutrients and they are underweight if you can easily see ribs. I have had native ponies for 35 years now and have only once had a native with lami when some well meaning person pet the pony off his track into a field of grass. I would feed a high protein high fibre feed every day with a good balancer. A small amount of linseed will give a great shine a mug full will give weight gain so a diet for a small shetland would be in my mind
A mug of alfalfa pellets
a mug of linseed if they need more weight an egg cup full if they dont
recommended amount of balancer
and a big handful of unmolassed chaff a
all soaked together for about 15minutes divided into at least two feeds
I would tub their feet in either milton or clean trax too
 
Sorry, but I don't agree. 2 shetlands on one acre this time of year? I have two horses and two ponies on less than that.

When I had my Shetland he got laminitis ( aged 2 ) he was restricted to a bare paddock the size of ménage and strip grazed.

I would feed soaked hay and get them off the grass at least during the day
 
Ahhh this is confusing!! But I do appreciate the advice, even if it is conflicting so thank you those who have replied :)

Windandrain, I can't see the ribs but I can feel them. Have taken your advice re feed on board, thank you

Angieandben - thanks for the advice, I think I'm going to strip graze them but also up their feed so they are getting more nutrients. Hopefully I will be doing the right thing...
 
Not a yearling shetland but a highland so similar build
Never footy never had a minutes trouble with her feet on the regime I offered lived out of 4 acres of very short grass with her mum and two others includint the pony that in the past had laminitis

Lami pony 3 weeks after his 4 weeks of box rest from painfree

They dont have to look awful to avoid lamintis you just have to get it right
 
I'm currently in feed store looking at supplements, advice about which if any to buy would be very much appreciated!

The only specific feet ones they have are either NAF biotin or their own value biotin, or NAF pro feet

General supplements they have are pink powder, top spec all in one or their own value general supplement.

So do I get a bag of biotin and a general supplement, pro feet either on its own or with a general sup, or none of the above and get something better online?!
 
Sorry neversaynever I'm not ignoring your advice, I'm just very impatient and wanted to see what I could get locally instead of waiting for delivery :rolleyes:

The reviews of forageplus certainly do seem excellent, I think I will email them to get their advice :)
 
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