Shoeing dilemma - help please! (Urgent!)

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Pookies

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My 22 year old TB x had the farrier today. He has arthritis in his pelvis and is on bute for it. The left hind shoe was removed but when the farrier attempted to remove the right hind shoe (meaning horse had to weightbear on the worse left hind leg), he was unable to do so. He was so reluctant that the farrier has arranged to come back tomorrow to remove the shoe and see how far he can get with trimming/shoeing. Now, the farrier is amazing and I have spoken to my vet today regarding his bute doses, those things are not my issue as such. My concern is what I am going to do moving forward? I have considered Him going barefoot on the back feet but I don't know if he'll cope? (We just do some light - medium hacking, combination of off road and road work) Anyone had any similar experience? I'm even worried in case the farrier is unable to trim his feet tomorrow :(
 
Thank you for your reply :) what was the quality of his feet like? I presume you rode him? Did his hoof quality deteriorate without shoes?
 
I would try without the back shoes. You can always have them put back on again in a few weeks if he doesn't cope (he may struggle a few days in as his feet adjust, this is common and quickly wears off so you don't want to give up too early). It helps the adjustment period if they come out of shoes at the end of the shoeing cycle and with minimal trimming (i.e. with a slightly overgrown foot), assuming they are otherwise well maintained and its been about 5/6 weeks since the last trim, so I wouldn't worry if the farrier can't manage a trim. They will get untidy anyway for a little while as the nail holes grow out.

If you do leave the back shoes off and he does cope, you may find that the arthritis improves a little without the shoes. Plus if you are doing road work he will do some self trimming so will need less trimming on them, so less time with his foot up for the farrier.
 
Hi, my old tb s feet didnt improve until I took her shoes off at 25 . I had struggled for years !!
It might also be worth looking into using Turmeric . It is amazing stuff when used properly .
 
Do you think it might be time for a review of the prggression of his arthritis/workload. Appreciate that its better to do a bit of light work to keep arthritic horses mobile, but if he cant weight bear comfortably, even though he's on pain relief - perhaps it's time to slow down another notch. If he's not doing mich work, he should be fine without shoes. You'LL probably have to drop his workload back a bit anyway while he gets used to not having hinds on
 
My boy was diagnosed with arthritis of a hind fetlock when he was just 7 years old (ex-racer). He struggled having shoes put on. Has been barefoot for the last 4 years and wears hoof boots for hacking. He is happy to have his feet trimmed and actually goes to sleep whilst having them done.

Don't panic - there are things you can try. :)
 
He only hacks out 2-3 times a week for an hour tops. We mostly walk, but of trot and an odd canter. I think the problem is that I've been doing more trotting on the roads which with hindsight I will now stop. As I say though, I have discussed his pain relief and workload with my vet so that side of it is sorted. I appreciate where you're coming from though :)
 
My TB went BF at 25 yrs old, after a shaky start, used boots and nappies, he's fine, I also have an arthritic mare since being on tumeric, she's not needed bute and is back in light work, she was sore, all the vet could suggest was up the bute to 5 a day for a week, that's no life, so decided to try tumeric as had nothing to lose, not really expecting anything, but the results were so amazing, I now take tumeric
 
Pookies said:
Did his hoof quality deteriorate without shoes?
Click to expand...

I've never heard of hoof quality deteriorating without shoes! IME horses that can't manage without shoes its usually:

1. Footy (sensitive soles) due to diet or metabolic problems
2. Weakened / poor structures in the back of the hoof due to poor / remedial shoeing, too long shoeing cycle, shod too early in life
3. Problems with the workload and lifestyle meaning the feet aren't up to the work (e.g. live in a muddy field and do loads of roadwork once a fortnight), though boots can help with this
4. Chronic thrush, which can be difficult to detect - a deep central sulcus is often a sign of this. Often due to diet.

Even when people have found that a horse can't cope without them, the period out of shoes has always improved the hoof quality.

This is good reading on "hoof fitness" http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.ie/2015/02/getting-hooves-working.html and there is loads of info on that blog (its aimed at fully barefoot but equally applicable to just the hinds).
 
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