long heels = bruising??

[Susanne21]

My TB dressage horse came up intermittently lame on the RF several weeks ago. Vet and farrier examined him together and found a bruise on the quarter near the heel, inside of the foot. Xrays showed no abnormalities on the RF. We did not Xray the LF.

My farrier (he has been shoeing the horse for 3 years with no problems) said he had been trying to grow more heel on the horse and possibly the longer heel had caused pressure and bruising on the foot. We had a lot of damp and muddy weather in March and April. I started keeping the horse inside at the onset of lameness but he had spent much time in an outdoor paddock during this weather and the farrier thought possibly the wet footing had contributed to the problem.

He reshod the horse at that point. The vet prescribed 2-3 weeks off on bute. At the end of the 3rd week the farrier hooftested the horse and said we could start him back to work.

After a week of relatively light work he was off again today, but this time on the LF. The lameness is similar to what manifested on the right.

Any thoughts or suggestions? He wears full wedge pads. I asked the vet if he should continue to wear the pads and he thought so.

[Jeanie Connors]

"Growing more heel" always makes me cringe. If the heels are allowed to grow long in an effort to "fix" the angle of the hoof, they can be crushed under the hoof, leading to underrun heels and the beginnings of trouble. Letting the heels grow out more than they naturally want to doesn't fix anything, in a statement ;) .

That may very well be the problem for your horse.

[kamekame80]

Hi!
I just posted a question under Navicular syndrome, about how to reverse underrun heels. It seems that you know a bit about this, and if I understand what you wrote, all advice about letting heels grow "in peace" may lead to underrun heels? So, how should you trim to reverse this process? My horse has over the years got more and more underrun heels!

[Gary Hill]

Addressing proper breakover is a very important key to underrun heels. Just letting them grow long and chopping toe doesn't cut it! The frog must be engaged so that the heels will grow properly. Hope this helps? Gary

[caballus]

I answered in your above post but now I have a question ... why was your farrier letting the heels grow?

--Gwen

[Susanne21]

I gather because he was trying to walk on water :rolleyes:

I guess he thought it was appropriate

this horse is a TB, has thin walls, has always been hard to shoe. Had problems with previous farriers: nails, sore, cracks, lost shoes, occasional bruises.
This farrier started him in NBs for 5 months and then transitioned to the 3 degree wedge with frog support he wears now. This farrier has improved his foot condition and kept him super-sound for 3+ years. He has not explained exactly why he grew the heels. The horse lives in a stall with a run which was muddy this winter. He thought the wet conditions could have softened the heels and contributed to the problem.

Now the horse is still lame on the LF. The farrier removed that shoe Monday, said the foot had grown iregularly, out of balance and the heels very long at 4 weeks from last shoeing. He trimmed the heels of both front feet, the horse seemed sound but 2 days later after only very light activity was Grade 2 lame and sore from hooftesters around the frog. The farrier took the frog support pad off and changed to a plain pad. I asked him whether we should consider lowering the wedge pad and he thought the hoof was in balance as it is.

He wants to shorten the shoeing cycle & do the horse at 4 or 5 weeks for awhile and I guess try to keep the feet balanced as you suggest Gary.

I am not sure we have a handle on the situation. Should we try something different? Please realize I am only an owner and just trying to relay the facts as I understand them. The vet I used in this case does not have any suggestions, says only that the horse is footsore and that the farrier is a good one.