Why does my shod horse have flared front feet?

islandspirit

islandspirit

Well-Known Member
Joined
16 April 2010
Messages
324
Location
South West
Visit site
As per title really. I have noticed that both front feet have a flare from about 1/3 down the hoof wall. Why and how do flares develop in a shod horse? He is fed topspec comprehensive, Alfa a molasses free, micronised linseed, magnesium and salt. The salt is the newest addition about 3 months ago because our soil is deficient and we were going through a huge salt luck every six weeks. Really interested to find out the cause and how to remedy it. Thanks in advance for any advice:-)
 
mmm my horse started to do this and tbh i dont think my farrier was doing a good enough job so i sacked him and got a new one! the new farrier came today and OH MY GOODNESS what a difference!! he now looks like he has just been shod whereas previously he just looked really long in the toe and under run at the heel. i really wish id taken pics cos it really is that dramatic a change!!
 
Thanks archiepoo:-) I'm trying to understand how they get a flare, top third of both front feet is growing at a steeper angle. Is he just growing a better foot from the top down if so, why? or has the bottom half suddenly flared out? If it was due to poor shoeing, what would the farrier be doing wrong?
 
Thank amandap, I can't see that his diet is high in sugar and I know our forage is low in magnesium and salt which I supplement. Bit stuck as to what to do next?
 
He was out at night and in due the day but started self harming in the stable and has been out 24/7 for about a month on vets orders due to recently taking to self harming in his stable. Field is pretty bare and horse specic mix with various herbs in it. He's on about a third of an acre, my yard has individual turnout and is 17.2.
 
islandspirit said:
As per title really. I have noticed that both front feet have a flare from about 1/3 down the hoof wall. Why and how do flares develop in a shod horse? He is fed topspec comprehensive, Alfa a molasses free, micronised linseed, magnesium and salt. The salt is the newest addition about 3 months ago because our soil is deficient and we were going through a huge salt luck every six weeks. Really interested to find out the cause and how to remedy it. Thanks in advance for any advice:-)
Click to expand...

There are a number of factors that can add together to contribute to flaring. It's rarely just one answer.

I can share with you what I know if it's any help.

The first two inches of growth from the top of the coronet band is a true angle that the horse wants to grow (although in severe cases even this top two inches can be flared). The top two inches are pure growth and not subject to levering mechanical forces.

The laminae is the velcro that holds the hoof wall to the coffin bone.



If this velcro is not strong enough, the wall will peel away from the bone under the weight of the horse.
You can have varying levels of this from your basic stretched white line (which is very common with our horses) to the total destruction of the laminae in acute laminitis.

Another issue is peripheral loading.

The hoof is meant to bear weight over the wall, heels, sole and frog.



Each structure is capable of bearing the sole load of the horse in isolation but not on a permanent basis. The load is meant to be shared.
With shoes the load and the whole weight of the horse is solely on the walls permanently.



You also find shod hooves will often tend to be much longer than unshod - which will create a levering force.

When you add peripheral loading, plus a long wall, plus weakened laminae - then the result is flaring.

Flaring itself is not a cause of lameness but it is a symptom of an unhealthy hoof (internally and externally) which will eventually cause lameness.

Way to improve hoof health are to look at diet and giving the horse a break from shoeing off season.

As your horse has been eating soil - I would be looking at increasing the mineral content in the horse's diet. Salt is just one mineral - your horse is likely deficient in copper and zinc too. Copper has a major role in the production of connective tissue (laminae, tendons, ligaments, fascia) and metabolism. Zinc has a major role in production of healthy tissue (skin, hoof).

So it makes sense to feed the hoof to get the best out of it.

Giving the horse a break from back to back shoeing is an art we have lost over the last 20 years....right when the sharp increase of navicular and hoof related lameness cases increased :rolleyes:.

This is a cracking picture of a fellow HHO member who took the shoes off two months ago. The change of angle growing from the top is startling :cool:

 
Thank you Oberon, you always explain things so well:) can I ask another couple of questions? Sadly I can't go the barefoot root, 3 children and running a business mean I'm on full livery and we don't really have the facilities to transition but I would happily give him time off shoes this winter when I can't hack in the week anyway. I think his diet it ok? Hopefully:) ive tried to cut out all sugar. the flare has only started to appear since I added salt into his diet. He stopped sweating even when he was hot and I tried the salt because after research I found he wouldn't get enough from just a salt lick and sure enough within a week he was sweating again. Before this the hooves didn't have a flare. If he is growing new, better horn at a better angle will this grow down the foot if carefully trimmed? It's almost as though he is growing a smaller foot? The flare extends around each hoof from heel to heel. As I already feed a balancer, what would be a safe amount of copper and zinc to use to top it up? Sorry for so many questions, I am truly fascinated by hooves and very grateful for any advice.
 
islandspirit said:
Sadly I can't go the barefoot root, 3 children and running a business mean I'm on full livery and we don't really have the facilities to transition
Click to expand...

What facilities would that be? Most of us are on livery yards and work full time ;):D

islandspirit said:
I would happily give him time off shoes this winter when I can't hack in the week anyway.
Click to expand...

That sounds like a fair compromise.

islandspirit said:
the flare has only started to appear since I added salt into his diet.
Click to expand...

It's difficult to know what you are seeing without seeing it myself (no pictures to refer to). But has the flare developed since the salt....or has a tighter new angle of growth indicated the rest of the hoof was flared?

islandspirit said:
It's almost as though he is growing a smaller foot?
Click to expand...

It sounds like he his growing a stronger laminae connection (better velcro). This is part of the puzzle and an improvement. Whether it continues to grow down strong will remain to be seen - it depends how strong the laminae is versus the levering force against it.

islandspirit said:
If he is growing new, better horn at a better angle will this grow down the foot if carefully trimmed?
Click to expand...

No. You cannot make a foot healthy by trimming alone.
You can trim it to LOOK healthy but this will usually result in the horse going lame.
You can grow a healthy hoof and make the best with what you've got.
I can almost guarantee you there is more than just the flared wall involved with your horse's hooves. It's all part of the jigsaw and you need a holistic view to improve hoof health.

islandspirit said:
I think his diet it ok? Hopefully:) ive tried to cut out all sugar. As I already feed a balancer, what would be a safe amount of copper and zinc to use to top it up?
Click to expand...

If you feel the diet and balancer you have him on is suitable for him, then cool. Eating soil and a weak laminae connection would make me think his diet and balancer isn't working for him. I wouldn't recommend adding more minerals to his existing balancer. I suggest you look at the overall diet and review.
 
Hi Oberon, I'm on my phone so can't quote or spell it seems :-) I haven't got pictures but can get them tomorrow if I can remember how to load them:) the flare has developed since the salt but I think its tighter new growth showing that the whole foot was previously flared and too large??How do I help increase the strength of the laminae to encourage the new growth angle to carry on as it grows down? I understand that a good foot is created from within and I try to have a holistic view and very much believe that you should look at the whole horse. I think of my horse as a circle starting at the mouth, up over the head, along the back, around the quarters, legs, abdomen, back up the neck to the mouth. I understand that a problem in one area might be secondary and always try to find the primary issue. When you say other things will definitely be going on, could you expand for me?:) he isn't eating soil, he was just going through a huge rock salt lick every six weeks. At the moment he is fed top spec comprehensive, a small amount of Alfa a molasses free, micronised linseed(which you kindly advised previously and hoof quality has improved), magnesium, salt and at the moment, naf energy. He has been lack lustre since may of and on. Had bloods taken which showed low red and white cell count but everything else was within normal ranges and was given a b12 injection and put on the energy. He really perked up for about 6 weeks but feels flat again now. I know something needs tweaking but I'm a bit stuck. Vet is coming back next week to do bloods again. Bit more about his feet, fronts are quite flat but he has very good frogs which aren't contracted. I do battle with thrush with him though. Generally, he has good quality horn and his feet grow very quickly.
 
islandspirit said:
When you say other things will definitely be going on, could you expand for me?:)
Click to expand...

It's a bit difficult to say without seeing the hooves but I am imagining long walls, weak frogs, contracted (possibly under-run) heels.

Nutrition wise, you are feeding a lot of iron (added to high levels of iron normally found in our grass). Iron is found to suppress the immune system, mess with metabolism and a host of other problems in the horse. Once the horse has too much iron in it's system it has no good way to excrete it.
Excess iron also blocks absorption of other minerals....leading to a mineral deficient horse.
I appreciate you are feeding iron in order to boost the horse's red cell production and this works in humans. In horses there has never been a documented case of dietary anaemia caused by lack of iron. In horses it is lack of copper than causes this.

Has your vet considered if ulcers may be causing the problems?

If you want any more advice, I am happy to respond to pms.
 
The vet suggested to iron supplement, he's been on it for about 4 weeks so ill drop that, thanks for the tip. He doesn't present with any symptoms if ulcers but because he was box rested last year we treated him just in case to rule this out. I will take some pictures tomorrow and pm you. Thank you again for the advice :-) hopefully I can get to the bottom of it and encourage the better growth to continue.
 
Look at other horses the farrier shoes. My feeling is that some farriers encourage flare because it gives them more room to get the nails in.
 
Oberon:
What great answers you have given in this thread, I hope more people read them!
I have nothing to add other than to say I totally support your approach to the problem.
 
Cptrayes, I have been concerned for a little while about the shape of my boys feet, and then the flare just seemed to appear! We've just done a county show and you can even see it on the gallop photos, the difference in angles is that big! I let someone else shoe my boy for his last set and for the first time in a year we haven't slipped on the roads when going downhill. Oberon, you have frightened me that on the advice of a vet I could have made things worse but I think I have worried myself to a standstill now and don't what what to risk changing or adding in! Thank you amandap, nice to see I was right about the salt deficiency, but not sure now how to tackle the low red cell count. You have all been so helpful, I will get pictures tomorrow and hope you will continue to offer your advice. Just be gentle with me:-)
 
islandspirit said:
Oberon, you have frightened me that on the advice of a vet I could have made things worse but I think I have worried myself to a standstill now and don't what what to risk changing or adding in!
Click to expand...

Not my intention to frighten you, just to pass on what I know in response to your questions.

I know what I know mostly because I've made pretty much every mistake there is to make in the past ;)
 
Don't know how to wink etc on here:) i know you always give good and honest advice. having also made plenty of my own mistakes, I just want get it right this time:) Fids is the most wonderful, majestic, endearing, frustrating, funny horse I have ever met, he looks after me every day and listens to all my troubles and I owe him the same courtesy. The trouble is he always keeps one step ahead of you and my life is spent thinking outside the box:))
 
Just a thought? The flaring happens part way down the hoof... that says to me that the problem happened some months ago, and then something you changed improved things. Maybe adding the salt was the improvement, rather than the cause of the flaring :) Or maybe the 24/7 turnout was the improvement, and the problem was caused by e.g. haylage he was eating while in.

If the top part of the hoof looks better, that for me is a "you're doing something right, keep doing it" sign?

Agree with all the mineral/grass comments though- I've been there and it's so hard to get a grasp of!
 
Thank you for the words of encouragement brightbay:) I know what you mean, I'm not stupid by any means but I've just gotten myself so confuzzled:) I do think I've done something right, the question is what and could I improve it further:) he was turned out 24/7 because he had taken to bucking continuously in the stable, not in a cross way, more look at me which coincidentally is part of his name:)) but this meant his right hind was constantly banging on the stable wall, he lost that shoe 3 times in as many weeks, the foot had lots of event lines and he started to toe drag and the only answer was removing him from the stable. I don't think hay was the cause as its grown on the same land and its been tested and is low sugar wise. I just think there's a better foot there waiting to come out and I don't know how to help:(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top