New horse: chunk out of hoof.

[Sukisuki]

Hi all, This is my first time posting on this site. I just got a new 8 yr old TB, previous owner did all the trimming herself. When I got him his hooves looked ok had a trim about a month ago according to the previous owner. He did have some small cracks she said were growing out, not to worry. This morning there was a chunk out of his hoof. I am on the waiting list for the farrier. So I'll try to post some pictures. Anyway my question is should I hold off riding him until he sees the farrier? Also what are the lines on his hooves? Is that new growth lines? Someone along the the way told me that change of nutrition shows up in the feet. Moe has been bounced around a lot in the past two years and his owner did not feed any grain. His toes look much too long to me. And they appear much longer on film than in person. Thanks for any feedback.

[Jeanie Connors]

Hi :) , to begin with, that chunk missing is a factor of hoof walls left way too long. The spot highest up in the chunk is how long this horse's hoof *should* be. The whole ridge running along on either side of that chunk is excess wall. I would not ride him until he sees a farrier and gets the excess hoof wall trimmed back, since the stress on the hoof could cause more chips to come off, possibly with more hoof than you want to come off :( .

The ridges look like they are most likely a product of leaving all that excess wall on the hoof; it causes a significant amount of stress on the laminae and will affect the new growth as well. Nutrition changes can indeed show up in the hoof as ridges, though.

The sole looks like it has built up a lot of dead tissue as well, but that's difficult to say with a picture. Once the farrier trims the walls down, they will be able to see what's going on there. When this horse is trimmed, he will have a dramatically smaller hoof, but don't panic! That's just the hoof this horse has :) .

I wish you luck in finding a farrier and getting your new guy's feet back on track. They look like they can be good healthy feet once given proper care. :)

[Sukisuki]

Thank you Jeanie. I have an appointment set for next week. I do have one more question. My pasture land is a bit over 60 acres. I also board 3 retired broodmares. They are in the lower big meadow and have not met my new boy yet. Any advise on how to introduce them with minimum stress and injury? Moe is in a 7 acre field up by the barn. Should I let him into the main pasture where he can see them on the other side of an electric fence. Is that safe with the electric fence and all? Or should I let the 3 mares into his field? I won't introduce them to one another until his feet are taken care of. Also have about 20 cows, not too sure if Moe has ever seen a cow or how he will react. Any thoughts on this? Thanks again. --Sukisuki

[Jeanie Connors]

I always prefer to introduce horses over fences, although electric fencing wouldn't be my first choice. Has Moe seen the mares yet (do they all know who's where?) ? I would make sure the mares know they have a new horse on the property, and let Moe know about the mares as well, even if it's just letting him see them in their own pasture.

As far as actual physical introductions go, if you can have you and someone else take him and one of the mares out for a walk together, that would work best rather than having them meet over the electric fence, I think. You can allow them to meet nose to nose if they seem to act alright with each other after a little while, and go from there. Always stay out of the way of those front feet when doing this, though, and be ready to "send each one to their corners" if someone acts up. I recommend separating the "nose greeting" after a second or two, anyway, to encourage everyone to remain civil :) .

The safest plan after either taking the two out for a walk or letting them meet noses would be to put just one mare in with Moe (whichever one has gotten along with him best after the honeymoon stroll), and let them become accustomed to each other for a little while, then slowly add one more until everyone is living together in the pasture. Hopefully he can get along with the girls, and they with him :) . Then you'll be able to turn everyone out together, and with the amount of space you have, everyone will have room to get away if necessary.

I've made many introductions over the years, and this plan works pretty well to keep everyone safe and sound. :)

[Sukisuki]

Hello again,
I'm sure the mares know Moe is here and he knows they are here as they've been talking back and forth. I do have an aluminum coral set up for Moe and our getting aquainted. Would it be a bad idea to let them meet over the coral fence? Its high enough that they can put their heads over the top rail to sniff each other. My back isn't so strong yet, (surgery 2 years ago) that I feel comfortable leading him on a walk with the other mares. We are working out his pushiness on the lead. He seems fine in the field he's in now but when we go walk about in new fields he definately gets pushy. Any tips for that?

Also he was used to drinking from water tubs and the pasture he'll be in boarders a river. I've taken him to see the river and he is very unsure of it. Will he drink from it after seeing the other horses and cows drink from it or is there a particular way to introduce the river as drinking water? Thanks again for your help.

[Jeanie Connors]

Aluminum fencing should be fine :) . One horse on either side is a good setup. Maybe put Moe inside the corral and have your most well-behaved mare on the lead outside, to lead her away a few feet if things get "testy".

You can hope Moe will get the hint that the river is his water, but there's no way to say for sure. Maybe bring a hefty tub out to the river and set it up next to it? Be sure to anchor it down with something, but that might help him make the transition, and be sure he still had water available to him. My horses have all learned really well from each other about such things, so it may work out pretty quickly.

[Gary_Miller]

When Moe gets thursty enough he will drink out of the river.

Gary

[Jason Maki]

Larry and Curly will show him the way!
Jason