Thin Soles/collapsed heels/bruised feet/methods of shoeing/what to do?

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seabiscuit

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One of my horses has been intermittently lame for the last 6 weeks in various legs, each time the farrier has come out and it has been because of bruising somewhere on the soles. There are a few flints/stones about, but not that many- all the other horses are absolutely fine. Today leather pads were put on the front, will be asking farrier to put pads on the back as well I think

Is it a) wierd that the feet are getting so easily bruised? Might it mean that there is something more sinister going on within the feet? and b) Is long term use of leather pads a bad thing, might it be stopping the foot from growing stronger in the right way, as I imagine that the frog/soles now will be permantly soft and wont harden ( even if leather is supposed to be breathable)

Any thoughts?
 
Pads will help the immediate problem, but won't really help long term. I had them on my old laminitic for a while (she was getting abcesses caused by gravel, rather than bruising, but same principle). They did help her, insofar as she didn't get abcesses, but her feet did get very soft and crumbly.

I have a similar problem (bruising) with my current mare, and my farrier recommended Keratex Hoof Hardener. I know it comes with its own problems (many people say it causes hooves to become brittle), but it's really helped her. She's looking sounder than ever. It only took a few days to help her. Might be worth asking your farrier about?

I don't think I'd be worried about anything more sinister going on - sounds like your horse has quite soft feet, and with the recent wet weather, the ground will be making the feet even softer, making them prone to bruising.
 
For exactly the same reasons - plus slightly rotated pedal bones, which are being corrected - my horse is now shod in bar shoes and gel pads in front.

He is a lot happier, the bar shoes are encouraging heal growth, and the shorter toes are asssiting with the rotated pedal bones.

He was immediately sound after being shod like this - after being very lame the day before.

However, my horse was nerve blocked and x-rayed prior to having his first remedial shoeing done to examine the structures of the feet first.
 
Have the same problem with one of my TBs, he's had heartbar shoes on for a while now and has been ok in those. Have been assured by 2 farriers that they are ok to use long term and am also using NAF Rockhard which has made a difference. (I believe Keratex is for short term use only..?) Only problem with heartbars is the price, it's horrendous!
 
Thank you all!:)
Shall definately look into heartbar shoes/hoofhardner/rock solid and see how it goes
smile.gif
 
Had similar problems with our TB. Collapsed heels thin soles etc. He also had low lying pedal bones. He was managed like SSs horse with remedial shoeing and gel pads which was fab. Eventually he was intermittently lame again even with this and MRI showed collateral ligament damage. I think this is not unusual with horses with poor foot conformation and can only be seen on MRI.
The gel pads did not cause any damage and he was not really ridable without them as he felt every bump in the ground.
 
Misst- Xrays have shown low lying pedal bones in this horse too, How did they treat the collateral ligament damage? Did you get him back into work?

What were the symptons? Mine, when it was last in work( two years ago, it has just come back into work again after having two years off), was pretty sound on the soft but lame on the hard when being lunged in a circle. Became lame on the soft if you pushed the work. But always came sound again every time you stopped working.
 
Thin soles, collapsed heels and bruised feet are symptoms of other issues.

The thin soles could have more than one root cause. Its not uncommon for farriers to thin the sole when preparing the foot for a shoe. This can be overdone and some would recommend it is not done at all.

A diet which may on the one hand appear great for a horse (it looks well etc), can cause flaring of the foot/stretched white line if it is high (for that horse) in sugars or simple starches. It is not always easy to under a shoe but you may be able to see it from the front or side views. As the foot flares the sole will flatten (and thin). This makes it more prone to bruising.

With my rehabs I have found collapsed heels to be largely a trimming issue (although other factors can play a part).

Have a look at http://barefoothorseblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/one-year-on.html for pictures of how a foot can change from thin soled and bruised to concave and healthier.

And see http://danceswithgrace.blogspot.com/2009/10/off-fore-progress.html for how a shoe can hide WLD, thrush and contracted heels.
 
Sadly we did not have a long term good outcome. He is paddock sound but not ridable any more.
After the MRI he never came sound enough to compete but hacked and gently schooled for 18months but the issues got worse and his old suspensory (hind) problem was agravated by the way he used himself and then his SI joint was sore..... we felt he was happier not ridden anymore so was retired in Feb this year age 11.

His treatment was shockwave (not proven to help but my vet was happy to try and it wouldnt do any harm and he persauded the insurance company to pay), steroids into the coffin joint and 9 months off work remedial shoeing and gel pads with very gentle rehab. Nowadays (this was almost 3 years ago) I would be tempted to try IRAP but it is too late for us.

Collateral ligament damage doesnt have a good outcome. I looked into the barefoot solution but the vet and the vet hospital felt he was far too footy to try and we just felt that he had been through enough and he is paddock sound and happy in his shoes now without the gel. He is a beautiful boy and deserves his spoiled lifestyle which he loves
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Thanks for that barefoot- does sound very much like it is a trimming issue. This horse has only been with me for just under two months I would hope that my farrier is trying to put this right and is not trimming off the soles? Is it possible for the feet to come right and grow in the right way while the shoes are still on? I would honestly dread to take them off seeing how sore they are now.
The feet have been shod very squared off with N.B shoes set on very far back ( to correct the poor toe/heel angle) and there is a lot of flaring in one foot.

I do have someone who is a bit of a barefoot expert ( events horses at Intermediate level barefoot) and a vet who is good on feet coming to look in the next month.
 
OB - talk to your intermediate barefoot eventer. It is much better if someone who has experience of doing barefoot 'thoroughly' (rather than just taking the shoes off) has a look.

I am sure it is possible to recover a foot while shod, if you have a farrier that knows how to trim for high performance rather than just how to shoe.

Barefoot is a tough discipline. Tough for the owner/horse carer, because it is a test of horsemanship really. Any foul ups in the management show up in the feet and hang around as a reminder. Not always easy to take.

If you want to try barefoot, it is recommended that you give your horse the recommended diet for about 8 weeks before deshoeing. This give the horse the chance to start healing from the inside first. Then when you deshoe be ready with boots. Some horses don't need them, some only need them for a month or two. Some will always need them when grass sugars are high or the ground gets very wet. I have had them all.

I got over the issues with wet ground and high grass sugars by stabling for part of every 24 hour period - according to circumstances. In the field shelter I put a mix of sand and pea gravel - conformable surfaces are always more comfortable and are a useful tool in helping a horse fix their feet because they can 'bed' their feet into the surface to their own satisfaction and the pea gravel will help exfoliate their feet naturally. Contrary to folklaw its not really about 'toughening up' the foot, but the opportunity to exfoliate and dry out are important.

The horse's foot will adapt to its environment. If you keep it in wet mud the foot will adapt accordingly - so if you then want to ride over stones it may struggle. Give the horse a wide range of environments and it will again adapt and give you a more versatile horse in the process.

But regardless of the environment - if the diet is wrong the the chances of a foot sore horse are high. One horse I supervise is so sensitive that even laminitic products are too sugary for it.

Good luck and all the best. Do contact your intermediate eventer barefooter. And keep visting my blog - its warts and all so it should give a picture of the reality of barefoot and horse rehab.
 
My horse has had a lot of problems with corns/collapsed heels/thin soles and NB shoes seem to have done the trick getting her sound and happy again.
 
Barefoot- thank you, thats very interesting! I have the barefoot specialist coming on Sunday, it wont necessarily be to put her barefoot, ( although that would be considered if she thinks it is right)but just to advise on how the trimming is going. I will keep an eye on your blog!

Bmb- thats great news! The NB shoes have only been on for 6 weeks so far and she has been bruising in those 6 weeks, but maybe with time it will be better...
 
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