Sore feet

[Birker2020]

Lari had his shoes removed late November 2022 and initially he adjusted very well.

However, since the ground became frozen a few weeks ago he has got more and more sore. He's not crippled by any means and he will happily gallop and buck and play in his paddock as evidenced by the state of the ground and me and my partner watching him as he runs around us in the paddock. And he will lead over the grass in the strip down to his paddock without any sign of discomfort. But as soon as he gets on the concrete yard he is very slow.

I've started him on 1/2 sachet of bute morning and one tea time over the last two days. The vet that I spoke to said she thought he'd probably got a bruised foot, she was out for another horse so didn't look at him but suggested it might be that which seems likely. Last night I started putting Keratex hoof hardener on his soles but obviously this will take time.

I don't want to start using hoof boots on him as he's off to retirement livery in the next couple of months.

Any suggestions?

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Hoof Armour, clean dry hooves painted on and it lasts for 6 weeks or so. It is so effective some people use it instead of hoof boots.

 

[MuddyMonster]

Depending on how sore he was, I'd swap the Keratin hoof hardener for Red Horse Strong Horn or Hoof Armour as per LL's suggestion if he needs a bit more help.

 

[Zoeypxo]

Mines going through a sore patch atm aswell.
ive been using cavallo treks on the fronts which has really helped. Often you can get 2nd hand ones on ebay.

 

[Ponygirl777]

This is very topical for me! My boy's shoes were removed a week ago as they were falling apart and couldn't hold shoes. He was absolutely crippled the next day, so has been kept in since with Danilon daily (initially 1 sachet twice per day, now down to half a sachet twice a day). He's in Cavallo Trek boots with pads (24/7 at the minute, with a few minutes off each day to air his feet and clean the boots).

He's been sound in boots and comfortable for the past 3-4 days (seems pretty comfortable without the boots, considering the woeful state of his hooves). My main worry is he still has fairly strong digital pulses in both fronts. I'm keeping him in for now as I'd like to see the pulses down a bit before giving him any time out. He's always had crap feet, despite using a brilliant barefoot trimmer for years and the utmost attention to nutrition. Had to eventually shoe him 3 years ago as he was never really comfortable barefoot, and he's much better in shoes, but only manages to keep them on for 4 or 5 months at a time before they start crumbling and cracking. He's highly allergic to oats and maize, which eliminates many of the supplements for hoof strength, but has been doing well on Formula4Feet until recently.

Any suggestions? I'd never heard of Hoof Armour before now, but it sounds worth considering.

 

[Barton Bounty]

I believe in what goes in shows on the outside. So i feed from inside out. I took my boys back shoes off in august and that is them just starting to come good and he is still tootering over cobbly stones. He has amazing but flat feet for a tb.

 

[GinaGeo]

Birker his Hooves just haven’t strengthened up yet. Boots in that area in the short term might help him. As suggested further up Hoof Armour might provide some help if you don’t want to go that route.

This is very topical for me! My boy's shoes were removed a week ago as they were falling apart and couldn't hold shoes. He was absolutely crippled the next day, so has been kept in since with Danilon daily (initially 1 sachet twice per day, now down to half a sachet twice a day). He's in Cavallo Trek boots with pads (24/7 at the minute, with a few minutes off each day to air his feet and clean the boots).

He's been sound in boots and comfortable for the past 3-4 days (seems pretty comfortable without the boots, considering the woeful state of his hooves). My main worry is he still has fairly strong digital pulses in both fronts. I'm keeping him in for now as I'd like to see the pulses down a bit before giving him any time out. He's always had crap feet, despite using a brilliant barefoot trimmer for years and the utmost attention to nutrition. Had to eventually shoe him 3 years ago as he was never really comfortable barefoot, and he's much better in shoes, but only manages to keep them on for 4 or 5 months at a time before they start crumbling and cracking. He's highly allergic to oats and maize, which eliminates many of the supplements for hoof strength, but has been doing well on Formula4Feet until recently.

Any suggestions? I'd never heard of Hoof Armour before now, but it sounds worth considering.

Have you ever tested bloods for anything Metabolic? Undiagnosed or untreated EMS, Insulin Resistance or Cushings can be a big contributor to poor hoof quality and lack of comfort. Especially when you’ve already ticked other boxes, such as nutrition and trim.

 

[Ponygirl777]

Birker his Hooves just haven’t strengthened up yet. Boots in that area in the short term might help him. As suggested further up Hoof Armour might provide some help if you don’t want to go that route.




Have you ever tested bloods for anything Metabolic? Undiagnosed or untreated EMS, Insulin Resistance or Cushings can be a big contributor to poor hoof quality and lack of comfort. Especially when you’ve already ticked other boxes, such as nutrition and trim.

Yes...all of the above . No issues apparently. Farrier says most of the Highlands he shoes have similarly rubbish feet. His allergies have made things really difficult in terms of nutrition, but we seem to have got this as good as we can and his gut health has really improved. His hooves really improve during the summer months, but every winter when the ground becomes really wet and muddy they just fall to bits. I'm wondering if Hoof Armour might be the way forward?

 

[tyner]

Hoof Armour is a very thin epoxy like substance, it helps a lot with strengthening soles and preventing tenderness from rocks or stones. But if your horse is sore enough with bounding pulses in boots, it's not enough. I've never been able to go 6 weeks with it, and it is not easy to source in this country.

In the meantime you can try getting some 12mm soft Easycare pads for inside the Cavello treks, you can layer them on the gel pads. He sounds very painful so the more you can pad his feet the better. The Easycare soft pads come in a set of 2 and are big enough you probably can fit two hooves on one pad.

If the walls are very thin and poor you can ask your Farrier to look into doing a hoof cast with a pour in pad (Sole Guard or similar) to ease the transition.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I used hoof armour for quite a while when I took Arabi's shoes off it really does help but I found you have to apply frequently, I would do one application then a second the following day and not leave the next application too long 3 or 4 weeks maximum.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

For those struggling with crumbling feet and poor quality horn pea protein is really worth trying. I took B’s shoes off last year and his feet were a mess after being in steel for 12 years. He has always had a low calorie, starch and sugar diet with a good balancer but as with a lot of restricted diets it wasn’t enough. Farrier suggested it and within a few cycles his feet had improved considerably. I took him off it over winter as he was having a linseed mash which I though would be enough but farrier commented last week he needs to go back on it.

 

[Surbie]

@Birker2020 it's only been 3 months, hang in there. It took my heavyweight cob a good 7-8 months to be comfortable. This is with 4-weekly trims and me doing his feet inbetween to keep a good bevelled edge. Farrier doesn't touch frogs or sole, and just rasps to get them back where they should be.

I used hoof hardener for the first 4 weeks and it helped. Pea protein is also a good tip.

I took my horse off the FP hoof & skin balancer a year ago and have just put him back on it as the hoof wall that has come down is so much thinner. Horse is disgusted as it tastes so nasty.

 

[AdorableAlice]

I'm seeing lots of riding school horses that are footy at the moment. Vast majority are barefoot and used to it, the grass is coming through, along with frosty morning and sunny days. The vets I work with are all telling me they are seeing a lot of lami patients.

 

[Birker2020]

UPDATE: Thank you everyone for your suggestions. Two weeks on and the weather has started being a little kinder to Lari and his feet. I stopped the bute about five days after I started it as I don't want to go down that road again long term and fortunately the ground softened up at the same time which helped tremendously.

The staff have noticed he's a bit better with his walking on the concrete and I'm pleased with his progress too. This isn't an image of his feet but just to show that where the arrows are have started to grow and so the foot is becoming a little more concave which I am pleased about. I've been using Keratex on his sole and outside edge nearest the floor and frog oil on the frog to deter thrush. The Keratex hoof hardener seems to have done the trick - either that or the bruises have come out and gone. I stayed with Keratex because I already had some and my friend has given me some of hers too which was kind of her.

When I lead him in or out of the paddock without his buddy from next door, he favours the grass still and will actually cross over to it off the dirt track on his own accord which I allow him to do. I think I will have to see how he copes next winter and if we get some sharp frosts maybe leave a supply of bute with the retirement home so they can feed as they think necessary. He is still motoring over softer soil and grass and is often seen having a hooly in the field as the mood takes him, plunging around like a demented demon.

I fear he might be sore initially at the retirement place if his sole aim is to have fun and dash around with the rest of the herd so I will have to wear my big girl pants and keep my fingers crossed.

 

[paddy555]

Lari had his shoes removed late November 2022 and initially he adjusted very well.

However, since the ground became frozen a few weeks ago he has got more and more sore. He's not crippled by any means and he will happily gallop and buck and play in his paddock as evidenced by the state of the ground and me and my partner watching him as he runs around us in the paddock. And he will lead over the grass in the strip down to his paddock without any sign of discomfort. But as soon as he gets on the concrete yard he is very slow.



Any suggestions?

it takes a long time for newly deshod feet to be good enough to cope with frozen ground. The bruising takes a long time to resolve. Now all you can do is protect the feet to try and stop the pain. Sore feet have a knock on effect to the rest of the body when the horse moves badly (ie very slow due to pain)

 

[Zoeypxo]

Second the Above ^
Im currently having chiropractic treatments for mine every 6 weeks to keep up with the changes her body is making whilst her feet transition. She always feels alot better afterwards.

 

[Birker2020]

Second the Above ^
Im currently having chiropractic treatments for mine every 6 weeks to keep up with the changes her body is making whilst her feet transition. She always feels alot better afterwards.

This is something I could consider, maybe even going forward at retirement or at least until I can buy another horse.

 

[Zoeypxo]

This is something I could consider, maybe even going forward at retirement or at least until I can buy another horse.

i think it’s helpful in the transition
Mine was very short striding infront but since the chiro came and released the shoulders and neck she is back to marching around .
Mine had been shod for 10 years so finding it hard.

i hope lari enjoys his retirement , sounds like a great place

 

[Bellalily]

Sounds as tho the sugar levels are wrong in either his diet or the grass. Their feet reflect their diet 100% and I’ve never put anything on mine, imo a complete waste of money and they’re just to keep us owners happy. If the grass is frozen, then the sugar levels are going to be high, hence the pottery horse. I’d be looking at diet, also if you follow The Hoof Geek and The Humble Hoof on fb, you’ll find out loads about feet, they are fabulous and full of good, professional advice.

 

[Birker2020]

I've just kind of updated this on another thread. Lari is walking out so much better now the ice has gone, the staff have commented and last night he was back to normal.

I've been treating his feet with Keratex hoof hardener for the past few weeks and it seems to have helped massively.

Thanks everyone.