Posted by Patty Stiller on December 21, 2002 at 17:40:07:
In Reply to: Re: 4 lame feet posted by Gary on December 19, 2002 at 22:38:50:
: : My gelding is flat-footed (especially in his fore hooves), with incorrect hoof shape. The fore hooves are the shape that the hind are supposed to be, and vise versa. He was shod in front only before I purchased him, and I had his shoes removed in March as I didn't intend to use him in the near future. He coped with this well, only a little footsore for one or two days after each trim. Last trim (about 2 weeks ago) saw him quite sore, not wanting to walk on the hard dirt (we are in the middle of a drought in Australia). I had been slowly bringing him back into work at this point, but have been forced to rest him again for the past 2 weeks. I decided to get shoes put on in front again, which I did yesterday. The farrier was amazed at the amount of bruising there was in the hoof, showing me fresh clippings that looked as though they'd been lying around for a week - really black and damaged. He went ahead and put front shoes on and trimmed the hind feet. Last night when I fed him, he consistently changed his weight from hind to hind, and still looked really uncomfortable in front. Today he refuses to move at all.
: : How can I help him to be comfortable in the short-term, and what can I do about the concussion bruising that's occuring in the long-term? (The ground isn't getting any softer!)His hooves are dry due to environmental damage, but I'm still researching the best dressing to use. I'm tossing up the idea of boiled beef fat which will apparently give moisture whilst still letting moisture in externally, therefore allowing the hoof to continue to work naturally. I don't think I want to use something that repels water or seals the hoof. Any thoughts?
: : Thanks!
: If he's sore footed I don't think I would want to soften the hoofs more?? If he was just shod and had bruises I wouldn't have pared or nipped a lot off his feet. I would have rasped level then shod with a wide web shoe or a barshoe. You did ask for thoughts! Happy Holidays and Good Luck! Gary
I agree with Gary...I would sure not soften them! There are several reasons he may have gotten sore after the trim,most likely trimmed too short(it only takes a little when they are flat footed to begin with),and the shoes may now be placing sole pressure on the short thin soles.
Or he may be laminitic. What breed is he,( is he a morgan, arabian,or any gaited breed) how old,and is he a 'cresty necked" type to begin with,what is his diet,including mineral supplements, and have you added glucosamine supplements, or molasses based (sweet) feeds or any other change to his diet recently which may set off laminitis in certain susceptable horses ? I only ask because sometimes there are horses which are just on the verge of laminitis and the poor farrier trims them conservatively and sets it off. That usually not an error by the farrier, except maybe not recognizing the potential for low grade laminitis in those type horses.
Protect the soles, and support the rear portion of the foot just in case it is laminitis. I might even be tempted to pull the shoes and tape on construction grace styrofoam for a couple of weeks, and harden the feet chemically with iodine, or ichthammol, or thick epsom salt paset paintd on the soles. And if he stays sore more than a couple of days, call the vet to get baseline radiographs in case it IS laminitis.
Patty