Under run heals and flat feet

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carrot top

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CONFLICTING INFORMATION from farriers and trimmers. My new 5 year old welsh D has under run heals and flat feet on the fronts. Whats the best option for sorting this barefoot or shod?

Thanks peeps x
 
Who knows?! It's a bit of a minefield but after reading up, I've recently decided to go bf but too early to tell. I didn't try remedial shoes as felt bf would give us the better long term solution. Good luck whatever you decide. Is your horse sound at the moment?
 
well my welsh d had the same, improved but not completely resolved by barefoot and I don't think heels can functionally be improved in shoes as they just don't get the stimulation.
 
We had a new farrier 2 weeks ago who spotted the problem which i had no idea about as last farrier hadn't said anything but after new farrier showed me and explained what he ment it was clear to see. He put natural balance shoes on him and said he should be done more frequantly but he's looking flatter again already.
He was broken end of last year and came to me fully shod in march. He's barefoot and booted on hinds now and we hack out mostly with a few days schooling.
 
It doesn't have to be now but long term I would plan to give him a break from shoes at some point in the not too distant future.

Mine didn't go lame until he was 19 but in hindsight they had been bad for some time.
 
Good of your farrier to take a real interest and be actively trying to improve things, the natural balance should help get the toes back and the general balance on it's way, shoeing every 4 weeks may be essential possibly 5 but if you let the toe grow too far then each time he is shod the balance will need to be pulled back, going barefoot would stimulate the heels and frogs more and allow the foot to function more correctly so worth thinking about even if you wait until he is totally comfy behind first.
Waiting a while will allow you to get the diet sorted and ensure he is growing healthy horn, he is young so it is important to do what you can before it impacts on his soundness.
 
What I found really useful is to take pictures of the feet at each shoeing. After the foot is trimmed just before the new shoe goes on (or of barefoot just after trimming. Take close up shots from the side and front with the camera at floor level. Pictures of the heels and a view of the bottom of the foot can be helpful too.

When my TB was having problems, the farrier (and vets) talked themselves into seeing improvements as that is what they were hoping for. To be fair the vet only saw the feet with shoes on and that can almost create an optical illusion if done well. The pictures of a naked hoof told a different story and showed his heels a little bit more underrun at each shoeing.

Barefoot could certainly help (it solved our problems) but if you are needing boots behind then he will probably struggle with the fronts so you may have to get many things in place for that to be successful. In your case if I was going to take the fronts off I would wait till the start of winter when the ground is softer and the grass has died down and in the meantime monitor his feet and thing about diet.
 
What should I feed for good feet then?
At the moment all he gets 1 handful of chaff, a sprinkle of garlic, 2 scoops of magnitude and 1 handful of pony nuts sprinkled on top once a day, it's only a small feed just to put his magnesium in really as he can be quite sharp to handle, He lives out 24/7 and has plenty of grass (old and straggly not short and lush) so no hay is given and gets ridden for an hour 5 times a week.

Any suggestions would be great

Thank you x
 
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Why the garlic? It generally isn't a good idea as it disturbs the gut flora.

and which chaff?

Essentially good = low sugar/high fibre though not always alfalfa as some react to it.
 
put it this way trying to sort out under run heels and the lameness it caused nearly landed my horse in a retirement livery or written off. He was shod all round.

He was regularly going very lame and it cost hundreds of pounds in vets bills trying to get to the bottom of what was happening. Eventually the farrier said he couldn't shoe him for at least 3 months as his feet were falling apart and he had nothing to hammer the shoes to.

This was at the point he was going to have to go to horsepital for full body scans so I had nothing to lose. That was three years ago and he's never been lame since *frantically touches wood!*
 
I only use the garlic as he was on it before I bought him so I just thought it would make his dinner taste the same as he was used to. He's very nervy and quite quick with his back feet when working with him on the ground so just trying to keep things as familiar as possible for him when he moved although he only has a bit and I wouldn't have got any more after this pot had all gone (Sounds daft but it's the truth)
and basic plain chaff. He could probably do without this feed as he has plenty of grass in his field but he now needs something to carry his magnesium in.
Do you think I should stop the garlic then I also thought it was good for keeping flys away?
 
It's a bit of a fallacy, I would never feed it given current research results. I would definitely keep up the magnesium :).
 
Find a non molassed chaff eg Dengie, , buy a months supply of pro hoof or summer balancer from progressive earth, this will provide magnesium if fed at full rate, but you need to build up to full rate over a week. 25gms salt and 25gms micronised linseed.
Going barefoot needs a bit of study, all info is on Rockley farm.
You may have to walk in hand on smooth tarmac at first if he is very footy.
 
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Make sure the central sulci are clean and free of any thrush infection. If they are deep, they can have all sorts fo stuff trapped.

Floss them out with a rolled up wipe every couple of days.

This simple measure can help return the ability to land heel first - and that's what you need to correct run under feet.
 
I'm sorry but what is the central sulci?
I have been trying to read and soak up as much info as possible but there is so much to learn.
The bit about the garlic is interesting too.
Rockley farm here I come :-)
 
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