Can interferance cause one hot hoof?

[lucky34100]

My 15 year old dutch warmblood/tb gelding is shod all the way around and as of about a week ago his left front hoof has been warm.

About the same time that I first noticed it I switched from riding outside on natural footing (usually hard as we've had a bit of a drought) to riding inside (I'm not sure exactly what the footing is but it is much softer). During the whole time his foot is warm he is not only sound but moving the same way he always has.

I had a farrier out last week to trim and reset him and he didn't find an abscess. I also gave him a few days off and the hoof is still warm. My farrier thinks he is forging and that is what is causing the heat but my trainer doesn't think that is the case. I don't know why he would be forging all of a sudden- I rode in the same indoor arena last all last winter without problem. Is it possiable to just have one hot hoof from interferance?

Thanks for your help!!

[Tom Stovall, CJF]

lucky34100 in gray, deletia

My 15 year old dutch warmblood/tb gelding is shod all the way around and as of about a week ago his left front hoof has been warm.

"Warm" as determined by what means?

About the same time that I first noticed it I switched from riding outside on natural footing (usually hard as we've had a bit of a drought) to riding inside (I'm not sure exactly what the footing is but it is much softer). During the whole time his foot is warm he is not only sound but moving the same way he always has.

Sound is as sound does.

I had a farrier out last week to trim and reset him and he didn't find an abscess.

A horse with a hoof abscess is usually clinically lame to some degree.

I also gave him a few days off and the hoof is still warm. My farrier thinks he is forging and that is what is causing the heat but my trainer doesn't think that is the case.

If he was forging (striking the toe of a front with the toe of a hind), you'd probably be able to hear it whatever the footing: the sound is quite distinctive.

I don't know why he would be forging all of a sudden- I rode in the same indoor arena last all last winter without problem. Is it possiable to just have one hot hoof from interferance?

If I were you, I wouldn't worry about one "hot" hoof until some clinical sign of a pathology became evident; i.e., until some sign of lameness became manifest. Unless you're measuring the hoof's temperature with a thermograph under controlled circumstances, it's extremely difficult to get accurate comparative measurements of hooves' temperatures.

[John Emsley]

Lucky,
One small tip regarding feeling a hoof for heat, use the back of your hand, it's much more sensitive to heat. As Tom said, "Sound is as sound does." ;)
John

[lucky34100]

Thanks guys, I realize I'm pretty vague with the description, really I guess I mean one hoof is noticably warmer then the others (which are all cold since it's 27 degrees out)

[RedMare92]

My mare began to show this when her LF started changing internally. There was some new bone growth due to osteoarthritis on coffin. It was the normal wear and tear sign of a 13 yr old OTTB who was also a hunter. It has never come up as a soundness problem, but we did xray and found the new bone/calcification.