Uneven shoe wear

[Redders]

Hi, so sorry for essay, but would be grateful for some insight from you knowledgable people!
farrier came today and noticed my mate wears the outside of her left hind more than the inside, he suggested a possible back prob? My mare is rising 6 and had her a year. We have done jumping and more recently focussing on flatwork. She is now (for past 6 weeks as have a sharer) ridden 6 days a week most weeks, sometimes less work dependant. She has shown no sign of lameness in anyway and no indicators anything could be amiss other than the shoes. I think it's noticeable now as she is in more work, previously only doing road work a few days in the week.
Her teeth were done a couple of months ago, nothing to note just routine rasp, saddle re flocked a few weeks ago, and instructor is qualified horse and human massage therapist and is v knowledgeable. She is muscling up v nicely and correctly as we are taking care to educate her slowly and properly. Have a lesson on fri and will have instructor evaluate her for the first part then check her over to see for anything. Farrier is remedial farrier so will follow his advice too. Anyone have anything to help me stop panicking?!! I am hopefully thinking that maybe it's just something she does and isn't likely to be a problem! But I always want the best for her so will follow advice of the professionals!

 

[gunnergundog]

A gin and tonic always stops me panicking, but I guess that is probably NOT what you want to hear!

It's very good that your farrier has picked up so early on on a change in the wear pattern on the shoes of your horse. (You may want to start adding this to the list of things you check daily when you pick out his feet.) This may or may not be an early warning sign, so it is best to act on it now! Horses are masters at compensation, and compensate they will for many weeks/months before a lameness/problem becomes evident.

Hock, stifle and back would be areas I would focus on. If you don't have the knowledge to assess yourself I would involve a very good equine vet.....not your Joe Blogs down the road, as the signs at the moment are probably so mild that most would not pick up on. HOWEVER, if there is a problem brewing NOW is the time to pick up on it and take the appropriate action; NOW is when things can be corrected and evasive action can be taken. Three months down the road when you've faffed with para-professionals will either be too late or by then will be much more expensive. It is when you up the level of work, as you have just done with this horse, that latent issues become evident....

On the flip side, it could of course just be the camber of the roads you are riding on!

 

[Redders]

I hope it's the camber haha! Might be worth looking at the shoes of my hacking buddies and see what their shoes are like! I am going to have instructor look over first on Friday and have a chat with the farrier, and I will call my vet to discuss and have them come have a look. I know that early is best, I just really hope it's nothing major! I would feel awful if I just sat on it and she ended up in pain.

 

[Boulty]

It may be the start of something or it may be that she's a bit one sided which if not corrected could lead to problems down the line potentially. If no signs of lameness thus nothing for vet to look at then I'd get physio to see if they can find any tight spots (my boy was wearing one of his hinds unevenly last year and turns out he was a tad tight in SI area and a nice massage and some stretching exercises sorted him out and got his moving straight again). I'd also be very aware in your schooling sessions whether she bends easier one way or the other and work with your instructor to develop exercises to help strengthen the weaker side.

 

[Redders]

Ah yes, her left bend is not as good as her right, so we have been working on that. Her education was very, rushed. So we have taken her right back to basics to get everything correct. I'll ask on Friday for other things we can try and get her a massage after the lesson and formulate a plan based on that. I think maybe monitor shoes for a couple of weeks and see if any improvement. I'm happy to get vet out, but like you say, no lameness for them to look at. I'll call for advice and see what they say. Thank you for the advice, has been very helpful.