Sore feet - any ideas

aran

aran

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Hello

My retired TB is suffering from sore hooves due to the hard ground.
He can't keep front shoes on (pulls them off due to orthopaedic issues so vet and farrier recommended taking them off).
He's been bare foot for 10mths and was doing fine. He has strong hooves but has always been a bit footy.
He comes in and stands on the soft for a rest each day but due to his arthritis he needs to be out as much as possible.
Does anyone else have issues like this?
If so what do you do?

I'm thought maybe some boots that are OK for T/O might be an option? Has anyone else used any?
If he does any light hacking he wears Mac G2s and they help a lot but you're not supposed to T/O in them.

Any ideas would be welcome!
 
Do you feed magnesium oxide? if not, then thats a good supplement, you can buy it ( buy the heavy) from ebay. Also look at his feed; low starch and low sugar.
Too much grass can make them footy as well. Can you bring him in during the day and out at night?
I don't see any reason why you can't turn him out with boots on, I know my neighbour does sometimes.
 
Thanks for the reply.

He's on Formula 4 Feet and Keratex on his sole and Kevin Bacon on the hoof wall as directed by my farrier and vet.

He's on restricted grass and comes in for a bit each day. I don't like bringing him in for too long as he gets stiff.

I was wondering about just using the boots but as it says not suitable for T/O I was wondering whether that wouldnt be wise. But if others have experience of using them then may be I can ...
 
My mare wore her Old Macs G2's for about a month 24/7 while she recovered from an operation on her foot. She wasn't moving about as much as usual because the foot was uncomfortable, and the boots didn't rub her at all or cause any other problems. Her feet did get a bit icky with being wrapped up all the time though. More recently, she has worn them just overnight when the ground has been really hard - the hole in her foot hasn't fully grown out yet - and that kept her comfy all the time. Having them off during the day meant that her feet dried out and stayed nice and hard. I would imagine your's isn't one for hoolying around the field much, so perhaps try putting the boots on for part of the time - I put them on overnight because it's cooler - and see if it helps.
 
Forgot to add - she also has a set of the pads in her boots, the black weight (I think they are medium). I did try the green ones but they squashed to nothing almost instantly.
 
It all depends on how he has been trimmed, how thick his soles are, are they flat or concave, where the hoof is loaded; the wall or the sole or both, how much walking he does and on what. Can you post a photo ?
 
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