Thrown a shoe and Lame

countrybumpkin727

Well-Known Member
Joined
2 June 2015
Messages
51
Location
West Sussex
Visit site
So my boy is a tb and has typical th feet..last week he cast a shoe in the paddock and came in hopping lame. The shoe was put on the next day and he is now better but still not 100%. There is no bruising but it was described as like me going round with no shoes on and just having sore feet. He has done this now 3 times... And normally he lasts for about 5 days being lame and then is fine. *fingers crossed we are currently on day 3*.

Just wondering is there anything I can do to quicken up the heal time rather than just wait around and feel useless?
Also anything I can do to stop this from happening like sole hardener?

Thanks
 
Feed a suitable supplement (biotin, zinc, magnesium etc etc) and I would be changing farrier. Do you do too much roadwork to give barefoot a try? Each time a shoe is nailed on it makes nail holes which weaken the hoof wall, and for some horses this is the difference between good feet and poor ones. My TB had badly cracked feet when he was shod, barefoot and they are so much better, but he only really works in the school
 
Thanks for the replies, we do a fair amount of roadwork/cross country so barefoot is out... He has a hoof and calming supplement so that is fine. I have debated if I should change farrier as this is the 2nd shoe to come off in 2months and the 3rd time we have been sore (different feet...)
But pretty much what should i do with his sore foot? Leave it or can I do more? Would a sole hardener help?
 
what hoof supplement? They aren't all equal and is his diet low sugar high fibre?
Sole hardeners usually work by drying the hoof and bringing the tubules close together, they aren't something I would use personally. Is it definitely the sole causing issues as opposed to the action of pulling the nails out and then having to put them back in?
 
Interesting point but I don't think so as he is known to go lame when we don't get him sod soon enough and the heel gets lower to the ground and he then stands on something. If it was the nail I would expect him to go lame after each set of new shoes...
Is there anything I can do to his foot to make it less sore?
 
Is there anything I can do to his foot to make it less sore?

The only thing you can do to make his foot less sore is treat it as though it was a bruised sole - poultice, vetrap and duct tape, and bute if you have any and are experienced in using it. And rest, ideally field rest, to give the hoof chance to grow and recover. Cornucrescene rubbed in to the coronary band with stimulate slightly faster growth.
 
My horse threw a shoe on the lunge whilst having a dicky fit. The shoe stayed on, albeit was very twisted, and he was galloping around like a nutter for a while before I could bring him under control on the twisted shoe. When I evenutally prised the shoe off in the stable I found a nail had gone through his sole from the side, so I poulticed it. However nothing came out and he was sound so a few days later the shoe went on.

Roll on a week or so and I was doing some fairly intensive work for a dressage test we had planned. The vet had also said I could start jumping the horse again after he'd had time off jumping following an unrelated problem. So with the extra work involved in practising for the dressage test plus the small amount of jumping must have put pressure on an already damaged suspensory branch. Of course we had no clue, it had just tweaked slightly at this stage and there were no signs showing of lameness inflammation or warmth. On the day of the dressage comp, I did the first test coming fourth. At the end of the test he shied really badly at a hoarding on the side of the arena and spun on his leg. I never thought anything of it.... but an hour later warming him up for his next dressage test he was lame. The vet said he had done it at the dressage test, and that in spinning after the first test it was enough to compromise an already slightly damaged branch. It was really handy as we'd filmed the first test when he confirmed he was sound so the only thing that could have caused it was the spin!

Roll on eleven weeks this Thursday and he is in trot work with another four weeks to go of trot before canter can be thought about!

I am wondering if your horse has done something similar, and it isn't anything to do with the foot?? Suspensory branch injuries can be quite subtle and also transient.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Unable to edit my previous reply. When I said transient what I meant is it can come and go, but then it does appear again when the horse is worked and it can be so subtle it is easy to miss. My horses leg didn't swell until four days later when it was clearly visible when the vet arrived! There was also no heat in the area. He was lame on a circle but sound on a straight line in hand.
 
My boy lost a shoe in the field last week too. The mud is just ridiculous at the moment :( He has very flat feet and low slung heels (also a TB, there's a surprise!) so as soon as he is shoeless he is ouchy. We tried barefoot once and it just isn't possible sadly, as much as I'd love him to be! This time, he took a chunk of hoof wall with it and farrier couldn't nail onto it any more. As a result we had a pair of glu-shoes put on today. He's already walking a million times better. It's early days but this might be a more permanent solution for you or at least something to try if nails just aren't keeping shoes on? X
 
Top