Posted by Kris on December 22, 2002 at 23:49:10:
In Reply to: Re: 4 lame feet posted by Patty Stiller on December 21, 2002 at 17:40:07:
: : : 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
Thanks very much for your responses guys, and I'm hoping you're happy to keep this thread alive for just a little longer!
I failed to mention in my first post the fact that the horse did a lot of cantering and trotting up and down the fence line the day before the farrier came. The mare he's lived with for over a year was put down that morning, and he became anxious. There were other horses with him, but she's the one he had bonded with and all attempts to calm him failed. He spent the majority of the day doing some really hard work on really hard ground. This explains the extent of the bruising for you a little better I think.
He was certainly trimmed too short, as this farrier has done both times I've used him. My previous farrier has retired, so I gave this one a go. I dislike chopping and changing farriers because I'd like to have a consistent partnership between farrier, vet and myself, but I have decided to try another farrier for next time. This farrier also suggested that I oil or grease the feet daily to improve their condition.
He looks pretty good in front now, so I think that the shoes probably aren't putting unwanted pressure on the soles. Perhaps the bruising was so bad that the shoes didn't make much difference for the first few days? Or perhaps the concussion of the nails going in actually heightened the bruising on those feet? Either way, the front feet are much improved.
The horse is an 8 year old 15.2hh quarter horse gelding, but quite fine for the breed. I'm not at all concerned about laminitis in him - he's just not that type. He's been on the greenest spring grass with no problems, and putting weight on him tends to be difficult rather than easy so there's never a crest on him. There's also no concern about his carbohydrate intake at the moment. He's on grass during the day, however there's minimal nutritional value in that as we're very drought-affected. He's yarded at night and fed good quality lucerne plus a small amount of pre-mixed 'cool' feed (low carbohydrate level). There's a mineral block in his yard to supplement. There has been no change in his diet for months besides gradual changes in volume. He has also not had cortisone injections which would be one of the only risks of laminitis for him that I can see.
Currently he's only looking sore in trot and he's improving every day so the I don't feel as stressed, but now you both have raised some questions for me which I hope you'll help clear up. Please know that I'm not arguing or discounting what you're saying - I'm just trying to understand an issue that I thought I had a good grip on until now!!
You are both saying I shouldn't dress the hooves, but at the moment they are so dry that they couldn't possibly have any flexibility in them. I had thought that this would contribute to the bruising? I'm not saying I want a really soft weak hoof, but currently I'm at the other end of the scale. Doesn't the hoof need to be pliable in order to take the stresses of compression and relaxation which occur in the horse's everyday movements? Hoof dressing would help to create the moisture levels necessary to allow this to happen, wouldn't it?
The horse's feet are already really dry and extremely hard. If this isn't contributing to the bruising, and hardness is what I should be aiming for, why is he still bruising?
Does moisture equal soft? Does dry equal tough? Can I not have a hoof that is tough, yet still retains enough moisture to be pliable and absorb some of the impact? (Please, can't I???!!!)
If I harden the feet chemically, will I be further drying them out?
How can I make a horse with bruised feet comfortable in the short-term (say, just after a trim)? Being flat-footed I'm pretty sure he'll bruise again at some point, and I'd like to know how to help with the pain levels.
Thanks so much for your responsesand for helping me to understand, and happy Christmas to you both!