Update on footy barefooter - should I be exercising him?

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Update on footy long term barefooter

So, I had him cushings tested and it came back negative...phew.
He showed no response to the foot tester which rules sore feet out. That leaves me with a horse footy on stones.

I have started to balance his diet with a proper mineral balancer, extra mag and salt. I know this will take time to get into system and grow better feet.

He currently has mild thrush and is very itchy all over. Some separation of the white line also.
The thrush has been present for a few weeks but the itching all over is a new thing and he is hot to touch. I think his body is struggling with the new food and getting rid of any metabolic waste so I have ordered a liver tonic to help him through.

He seemed slightly less footy a couple of nights ago, but now his soles on all four have gone white and flakey and he is back to being very footy again.

My question is should I be riding him at this point? Just in the school? Should I be getting him walking on different surfaces if he is footy or keeping him off stoney ground?

Thank you
 
No you should not be exercising your footy (aka lame) horse except on surfaces he is totally comfortable on. Invest in some hoof boots for the stones.
 
I am really struggling at the minute too.

My pony has lived the last 5 years on pretty much grass with tarmac/woodland hacking. He has always been a little footy over stones but never came into contact with them often enough.

He is now Cushing's diagnosed and his feet have gone to pot. Our new yard and hacking is very stony and he is really struggling. He has had the vet come and xray him (no issues inside the hoof) and I have tried my best over the last few months to condition his feet and it isn't working. He is also on a very low sugar diet. He isn't too bad at the minute as everywhere is dry, but it only takes a bit of rain and he really struggles over the stones again.

I have had the farrier out every 4 weeks for the last 3 months trying to correct his feet and although they are looking better, the long and short of it are I cannot work him how I want/need too and he is unhappy when not in the school or in the field.

The farrier is out again this afternoon and we are going to put fronts on him. I am still not 100% convinced it is the right decision, but I have tried boots in the past (couple of different brands) and it doesn't work for us.

I have always been a bare footer and if I could do anything else to keep him comfortable without shoes then I would, but I feel I have exhausted all our options.
 
Mag makes my horse itchy so you might want to try cutting that down.

He needs comfortable movement which means on surfaces he is not sore on, with boots if necessary.

I should think the thrush is your main problem!
 
FfionWinnie said:
Mag makes my horse itchy so you might want to try cutting that down.

He needs comfortable movement which means on surfaces he is not sore on, with boots if necessary.

I should think the thrush is your main problem!
Click to expand...

I'd go along with this. If your mineral balancer is a FP one do you need extra mg? I suspect you are giving far too much and too quickly. If you introduce all new feed and supps very slowly (over a couple of weeks) they will be able to adapt. I would cut out the extra mg, cut the supplement down to a third dose. Then I would start on the thrush. Can you take a hoof pick and push it very firmly into the central sulchus, and the co lateral grooves without any reaction from the horse? If you can't this would be my starting point.

I don't think it is fair to ride a sore (ie lame) horse. If you ride when he is sore you will only add to his problems as he will carry himself badly and that will have a knock on effect over the rest of his body.
White and flakey on the soles is simply exfoliating,
 
I work J in the school and on grass when he's lame on stones because he's sound on the surface and on grass .
If he's itchy I would try using canestan on the frogs and give him protexin or something similar .
Has he been on antibiotics recently ?
 
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