Suspensory injury and going barefoot...

[OldNag]

Our pony has just been diagnosed with suspensory injury in front leg. 8 weeks box rest to start with and a very controlled exercise programme which builds week by week.

He is shod in front and I have been thinking since we bought him, that I would really like to try taking his shoes off but it was not the right time with ground hardening up.

However two things are making me look at this again... a) he is gong to be on a very strict regime of gradual increase in exercise anyway and b) my logic tells me that having a frog that is given the best chance possible to do its job has got to surely be of benefit to the limbs (and elsewhere)?

But... just wondered if anyone else has any experience of going the barefoot journey whilst rehabbing for a ligament injury?

I would not be thinking to remove shoes while he is on the initial bout of box rest, but maybe when he progresses to postage stamp paddock stage?

Have coincidentally just changed farrier back to one who used to do my cob and pones who were barefoot, he is one farrier I really trust to do a good barefoot trim. So I will feel I have someone I can really trust.

Any experience/advice welcome

 

[Red-1]

Yes, I had one with a mild suspensory ligament injury, mild enough that he had small paddock turnout and walk exercise from the start.

He transitioned just fine. Lovely feet. I did a lot of walk exercise in hand, from 100 yards twice a day to 1/2 hour, ten switched to ridden work.

He ended up doing jumping etc barefoot on surfaces and hacking up to 40 mins. His suspensory healed so you could not even see where the injury was on a scan.

 

[OldNag]

Yes, I had one with a mild suspensory ligament injury, mild enough that he had small paddock turnout and walk exercise from the start.

He transitioned just fine. Lovely feet. I did a lot of walk exercise in hand, from 100 yards twice a day to 1/2 hour, ten switched to ridden work.

He ended up doing jumping etc barefoot on surfaces and hacking up to 40 mins. His suspensory healed so you could not even see where the injury was on a scan.

Red, that is really heartening to hear. Thank you. Glad it worked so well.

 

[splashgirl45]

dont have experience of that injury but your plan sounds workable.....maybe best to ask farriers advice as im sure he will have come across similar ...you can always use hoof boots if he is sore at the beginning but not all horses can cope with fronts off so you are not a failure if it doesnt work out just put shoes back on and try again once he is back in work. good luck

 

[OldNag]

dont have experience of that injury but your plan sounds workable.....maybe best to ask farriers advice as im sure he will have come across similar ...you can always use hoof boots if he is sore at the beginning but not all horses can cope with fronts off so you are not a failure if it doesnt work out just put shoes back on and try again once he is back in work. good luck

Thank you. Yes was imagining we may need boots at first on hard surfaces. Will talk to farrier.

 

[AnShanDan]

Think that anything that can make the leg function better biomechanically has got to be a good thing for a soft tissue injury. So if your pony has less than ideal hoof/leg conformation then improving that is going to help.

That said, the most imp. thing for suspensory rehab is time and a very gradual return to work.

We had a 5 year old here which had a minor susp. injury, we gave her about double what the vets said in terms of controlled exercise. It was very dull, but we had her up to over an hour a day hacking, in all paces, before she went back in the field. Injured in May, turned out in October.

That was 2 years ago, no further issues.

 

[Goldenstar]

I would wait until he’s been sound a while before removing the shoes because the vet needs to assess him and the change in management will make it hard hor the vet .
I have one who damaged his suspensory in December I have opted to keep his shoes on he’s in increasing work now and doing well .
For suspensory problems it’s vital that the lateral balance of the foot is perfect for right or wrong I have opted to keep my horse shod ,my horse has spent a lot of time bf and works well without shoes .
I don’t think there’s a right or wrong with this I think you can make arguments both ways however if the horse was mine and I opted for bf I would be keeping the lateral balance level no self trimming .

 

[Diddleydoo]

Think that anything that can make the leg function better biomechanically has got to be a good thing for a soft tissue injury. So if your pony has less than ideal hoof/leg conformation then improving that is going to help.

I agree with this.

One of the biggest parts of a successful transition is the diet. So starting any dietary changes could easily be done while he's still on box rest. Once the shoes are off you'll then be able to assess how much help he'll need from your farrier and if boots are needed.

Good luck, I hope it works.

 

[OldNag]

Thanks folks
His diet is already hoof friendly as I have tended to have barefoot and/or Cushings/EMS ponies before - so at least that is in place.
Will speak to farrier and keep doing reading and research.

 

[ycbm]

I don’t think there’s a right or wrong with this I think you can make arguments both ways however if the horse was mine and I opted for bf I would be keeping the lateral balance level no self trimming .

I'd have some sympathy with this point of view if the foot is trimmed to x rays. If not, my own impression is that self trimming (wearing the foot naturally in abrasive surfaces to obtain the balance the horse wants) is more likely to equal up the lateral balance than a farrier/trimmer's attempt to make the foot look symmetrical when the horse needs it otherwise. That's even more important, of course, if imbalance of the foot was the reason the suspensory strain happened in the first place.

I'm reminded of Jack, a horse which was given to Nic Barker at Rockley because the owners were unable to stop him straining the check ligament. The horse had super looking feet, was taken barefoot, grew some outwardly looking asymmetric feet, and hunted for years without a problem.

 

[Goldenstar]

A check ligament does not the job that the suspensory does .
The suspensory deals with the movement and lateral stablility of the lower limb and foot therefore it’s vital that you keep the lateral balance correct after a suspensory injury .
The check function is to stop the deep flexor tendon over stretching it’s a completely different kettle of fish .
After the suspensory injury the horse may be sound on tarmac but still going unlevel in the school that’s because it has to work harder to maintain the stablility of the limb .
Rehab of leg injuries depends on what’s been damaged ( and where ) a horse with a check injutry I would want to start work on good grass and suspensory I would want on the road at first introducing walking in hand on a surface after at least two months of sound function on the road , however I digress ,I don’t theres evidence that BF is better after a suspensory injury it’s not like for instance a side bone where it’s likely the horse will prefer and be better without shoes .
If the horse is shod it’s vital it’s well shod and that the shoeing interval is kept to five weeks but that’s the same for all horses .

 

[ycbm]

A check ligament does not the job that the suspensory does .
The suspensory deals with the movement and lateral stablility of the lower limb and foot therefore it’s vital that you keep the lateral balance correct after a suspensory injury .
The check function is to stop the deep flexor tendon over stretching it’s a completely different kettle of fish .
After the suspensory injury the horse may be sound on tarmac but still going unlevel in the school that’s because it has to work harder to maintain the stablility of the limb .
Rehab of leg injuries depends on what’s been damaged ( and where ) a horse with a check injutry I would want to start work on good grass and suspensory I would want on the road at first introducing walking in hand on a surface after at least two months of sound function on the road , however I digress ,I don’t theres evidence that BF is better after a suspensory injury it’s not like for instance a side bone where it’s likely the horse will prefer and be better without shoes .
If the horse is shod it’s vital it’s well shod and that the shoeing interval is kept to five weeks but that’s the same for all horses .

The point is not whether it was a check ligament or a suspensory, or any other piece of leg apparatus, the point was that the recovery of the horse depended on him being able to make a foot which suited his problem, not the symmetric one which the farrier had been taught to give him. Which is why I said I agreed with you that the vet of the OP's horse might wish to see consistency, but only if the horse was shod to x rays, which I believe you do as routine for your horses anyway.


PS I can't agree with you that I would start any leg injury on grass if a consistent hard flat surface (road) was available.

 

[OldNag]

Thank you GS and YBCM. Food for thought.

Interesting what you say about foot balance though. I recently changed farriers as I was concerned at my previous farrier's attitude. I think he had started to do a poor job and I was concerned. I do wonder whether this has contributed to the suspensory injury.

Thankfully have made the change, and am happy that new farrier, who I used years ago, will take the time and trouble and has the knowledge to really help with recovery.

I have a lot of reading to do

 

[Goldenstar]

You are welcome good luck with him.

 

[OldNag]

Old thread I know but am at the barefoot crossroads again.
Pony has been sound a year. He had 3 months field rest (in at night) once he was sound, and then brought back into work on a very gradual programme.
He is sound and fit.

I am still yearning to take his fronts off. I still think if he has a fully functioning frog and hoof, he will be better placed to support his legs.

I can get boots sorted if he needs them.

What do my learned friends on here think about whipping his fronts off now?
His hinds have always been unshod, no problems there. Diet very BF friendly and we have a variety of surfaces available.

My heart tells me yes do it but having taken so long to get him sound, I am a bit scared

 

[splashgirl45]

if you feel its the right thing to do, go for it, i would make sure your farrier doesnt take any off and just trims the jagged bits, if it doesnt work and he isnt happy in boots you can always shoe again. you wont know until you try, good luck

 

[OldNag]

if you feel its the right thing to do, go for it, i would make sure your farrier doesnt take any off and just trims the jagged bits, if it doesnt work and he isnt happy in boots you can always shoe again. you wont know until you try, good luck

Thanks SG

 

[Mule]

I'd give it a try. It's encouraging that he's already fine without hind shoes. Mine has had his shoes off for about a week and a half. He has very thin soles so he needs hoof boots to be ridden. I've measured him and have contacted some people who can advise me about boots. Until I get them sorted he's on holiday (that's cheered him up)

 

[fusspot]

I have a horse that came to me on Livery a year ago.She took him barefoot just over a year ago. He is semi retired so didn’t do much over the winter.Come the spring he had trouble getting up as couldn’t push off hind leg-arthritis in hocks-treated and boy do his hocks now move BUT it opened a whole new can of worms-I started working with him as he needed more constant work,nothing heavy but I noticed straight away that the horse wouldn’t come straight in his neck,suddenly blowing up when ridden,heavy breathing after walking for about 15 minutes.I spoke to vet as very out of character for horse and in my gut I just knew something wasn’t right.He was taken to vets for full work up,x ray on neck but nothing to get excited about,ended up having a full bone scan as even senior vet couldn’t see anything obvious but agreed something wasn’t right.Only thing that showed up was Front Suspensories.Both legs scanned and although horse wasn’t showing any obvious lameness signs-he had long term suspensory injuries to both front legs in exactly the same place.All his feet were well balanced.First thing back on were the shoes just over a month ago.He is being rested over the winter with hope that he will be able to hack next summer.Within 3 days of having shoes back on he was like a 3 year old again and has now gone from being a heavy breathing slug to me asking if the owner can get me a Calmer as very excitable as feels so much better and don’t want him to hurt himself.I have dealt with hundreds of horses with shoes and loads without-I had my competition horse barefoot because it suited him.As much as I love barefoot I would definetly think long and hard especially if horse has had a serious injury in the past.Going barefoot even with well balanced feet sadly won’t always be good for every horse.Good luck with yours.

 

[Leo Walker]

But surely the hosre had hock arthritis and that is much more likely to have impacted the front legs than shoes?! If he was having trouble getting up then it was a fairly serious hindlimb problem as well. He will have been loading the front and perhaps not evenly either. Hes also not in work now so you have no idea what he would be like in work either way,

I appreciate that for some shoes is the answer, but nothing about this says that shoes made any difference to the horse at all.

 

[fusspot]

But surely the hosre had hock arthritis and that is much more likely to have impacted the front legs than shoes?! If he was having trouble getting up then it was a fairly serious hindlimb problem as well. He will have been loading the front and perhaps not evenly either. Hes also not in work now so you have no idea what he would be like in work either way,

I appreciate that for some shoes is the answer, but nothing about this says that shoes made any difference to the horse at all.

As the senior vet said,the hocks was a bit of a red herring to what was really the ongoing problem with the horse.The horse did have some arthritis in the hocks but not too bad.When this was treated it actually highlighted that there was more going on than just the hocks as he was in light work to help the hocks but his general way of going was deteriorating.On investigation,the front suspensories were the issue.He was struggling to get up as his front legs were also sore.

I handle this horse everyday and watch all the horses in the field and even when having the hocks treated he was not wanting to go forward even walking in hand and his breathing was very heavy when just walking from the field.The scans showed that he had a lot of lesions-no big holes which as vets said is evidence of prolonged wear and tear-could have been going on way past a year-the owner had taken the shoes off thinking she was doing right by the horse -he had very good feet so you wouldn’t think any problems-but it basically took away his support which was making him sorer in the legs.As the vet said-as damage is in exactly the same place in both front legs, it is highly likely more conformational.It probably wasn’t showing up before as wasn’t doing very much.Within 36 hours of having the shoes back on he was walking out,cantering round the field,the heavy breathing has gone and he physically looks in his face 10 years younger.After a couple of weeks the vet did see him go on the lunge again to see if any improvement and he was 90% back to being him and going quietly and nicely,so in this case even the vet said-the shoes are what has made the difference to him.We are only giving him the winter off to see if there is even a small chance of some repair to the legs and hopefully able to do some light hacking or he will retire to the field with his shoes on as most comfortable this way.
I was just saying to the op to give it a go but as a suspensory is quite often a big injury-Unless you keep the feet well balanced-even post injury they need more ongoing support which is quite often down the shoeing route.

 

[OldNag]

Interesting - thank you.

It is the provision of support that makes me want to go barefoot. His frog in shoes is compromised. I keep thinking it would be better to have it working optimally.

Farrier due in a couple of weeks so will have a chat with him . I am still umming and ahing.

 

[fusspot]

Interesting - thank you.

It is the provision of support that makes me want to go barefoot. His frog in shoes is compromised. I keep thinking it would be better to have it working optimally.

Farrier due in a couple of weeks so will have a chat with him . I am still umming and ahing.

Tbh the best discussion is between you and farrier and Vet if undergoing treatment.I am sure you will make the best decision for your horse.Good Luck.x

 

[OldNag]

Tbh the best discussion is between you and farrier and Vet if undergoing treatment.I am sure you will make the best decision for your horse.Good Luck.x

Thank you. Pony has been sound for a year now so not still undergoing treatment. It's a tricky one as my heart tells me barefoot has got to be better for him in the long run. Just wish I'd done it when we first got him, but it wasn't the right timing then. But having got him sound, I am loathe to do anything that reverses his recovery in any way.