Had a horse that was sore both fronts, new shoer came out pulled shoes and showed me horses soles were very bruised pointing to black coloring around perimeter, and purple area left of photos. Both fronts had this. This shoer said it was from poor shoeing where sole was left convex and shoe put pressure on sole. Is this what could have caused this? Is the entire black area actually bruising? This picture was taken after he had paired out some of the sole and then put pads on horse. I would like to avoid this mistake in the future. Any advice is appreciated.
Did he use hoof testers and if so, what was the result? From what I can see in the photo, that doesn't look like bruising. How did the horse do after the pads were applied? I get the impression that there was at least one, maybe two nails that were either actual quicks or at least 'close nails' .
He did not use hoof testers. He suspected horse was most likely quicked as well. But he also said that the sole was convex were the shoe was and putting all the pressure there instead of distributing it across hoof. Horse has been better with pads. what do you suspect all the black areas are around the toe from where the shoe was? I have never seen that before. His foot is usually white like sole there. Just curious as both fronts looked same. Thanks for your help.
Kaydence, I would venture that all that blackness is simply discoloration/staining from the sole's reaction to the shoe, (similar to the blackness you commonly see around the nails holes). The sole was probably in contact with the shoe as your farrier suspected but not to the point of causing bruising. True bruising usually shows up in a lovely red shade. I also wouldn't think the nail holes that we can see in the pic wouldn't have caused a quick either... the aft ones are in the wall and the toe of this foot is still so far forward even after the trim, that you could have driven those toe nails towards each other and twisted them into a knot to hold 'em and this horse would never know the difference..... So, from the one photo, and guessing without having the foot in hand, I would say that you indeed had a tight shoe that wasn't making the sole very happy. The improved comfort that your horse has already displayed would support this as well. I, personally, wouldn't have shod the foot as it was photographed, (and he may not have), as my opinion is that the toe is still very forward and the heels are different heights. There's 2 cents worth you don't have to pay for... Dave oh... almost forgot...can't believe that hoof testers weren't used here to help sort this foot out????
Dave: Thanks much for the info.I think I understand. I never noticed any discoloration before from sole's reaction to shoe. I will have to watch for that in the future. I mistakenly thought maybe bruising turned from red to dark with age. Oops The camera on the phone distorted the heels/toe (not saying it was good, but definitely not as the picture looks) Before shoe was pulled and after with pad
I'm glad your horse is doing better, and I'm sure that pad is probably of some help for him, however, I can't say that I'm a big fan of the new shoeing........ The foot appears to be still run forward and the uneven heels have now been shod that way.... this shoe is actually skewed on the foot to accommodate the different heel heights. And what's with the 8 nails in a sore size 1 foot??? Just 'cause the holes are there doesn't mean you gotta fill 'em up!
Dave: Wow,I am learning so much. He is still sore, better than he was but still not right so I am on a mission to find a good farrier. I am a bit confused (okay, well clearly more than a bit lol) but when I saw you mentioned size 1, I was shocked, so I went back and looked at previous foot photos from original shoer and he was always a size 3 sx8 (6 nailed rather than 8), and as you noted, this current shoeing is a size 1 ssp. Is there a difference between ssp, and sx-8, to explain the 1-3 size discrepancy, or was he shod in a much smaller shoe?? I just want to understand what to look for going forward.
What a mess......just pull the shoes and go barefoot, letting the feet relax and feet to grow out....give the horse complete REST [no riding!!!] ....and find a good farrier in about 10 weeks. paint the feet with ichthomal and pinetar everyday for about month, also pack his feet with sole guard at night; bring him in a night into a stall for the packing of the feet, after about a month, paint the coronary bands with corno-cresine sp?/corona everyday....feed the horse good nutrition, grain and good hay, limit turn-out.
So, is he actually down 2 sizes in shoes? from a 3 sx-8 to a 1 ssb? Horse is on stall rest, no riding. My fear of pulling shoes is that his feet will not hold up, break apart. He is on turn out to keep him sane.
Correct, down 2 sizes Correct, stall rest, no riding. ok, would do differently; but if you know he will pull the shoes - break up the feet...that is worse!; must go a long as possible. Turn-out - ask your vet if you can put him on Prolixin - a 30 day TQ to keep the edge off this horse. he will need it. used on racehorses that are on stall rest due to injuries. it is a good drug; but have a vet check the horse to make sure. paint the feet with corona then everyday to stimulate growth as well as supplements like biotin ect.
On hoof supplements and platinum performance, vet has already had Prolixin did not take much if any edge of him. So, I have ace on hand to keep him somewhat manageable and use as necessary. Had ordered SBS toe grow gel, but will use corona if that is a better choice. Thanks
good......prolixin might need another shot??? not a vet so ask why????......ace is good; but don't over do it; can have a nasty side effect. ask the vet on another type of long acting TQ; since I have been away from racing for a while. use both and do an on/off giving the foot a rest like every sunday so the coronary band can breathe. don't over do too much of a good thing.
First farrier was doing a better job, a photo down the heels would be best view to see what is going on.
Farrier thinks the horse is bruised at the toe and he uses toe nails? Horse is bruised at the toe, farrier says sole is convex and he nails a full pad down on the foot? Farrier takes the shoe size down 1.5-2 sizes? I think using proper sized/fit shoe and a narrow width rim pad and then packing the feet daily with Magic Cushion or Magic Cushion Extreme would go a long way towards relieving the horse's suffering. Alternatively, a "W" shoe(aka: open toe heart bar) and probably a rim pad would also be a viable option. Instead of MC/MCE you could use Durasole. I also do not recommend stall rest. Turn out in a smallish paddock that is free of rocks, sticks, etc. will better enable circulation in the hoof and help with a quicker recovery. Put some piles of hay and buckets of water in different locations in the paddock so the horse will be encouraged to move around.
Spoke to someone at the barn today who uses same farrier....she said his shoes sizes are european?, and that her horse which usually wears a 2 or 3 warmblood large feet wears a size 0 in these shoes. And she compared a set of her olds with new and they were same size. I am not on the same page as this farrier. I asked specifically for no frog support pads and only rim pads (per vet prescription) and he opted to override me and put pads on anyhow saying he had never seen a horse that didn't like the frog support and packing. Umm, I was not happy to say the least. Will be taking him out to farrier at vet clinic next week on Tuesday to pull these pads and give him something to get him by as best we can until he grows some more hoof. Great suggestions here, we do have smallish paddocks with soft footing he can be turned out in the day, and in stall/paddock combo at night. Hope I am on the right track. Will continue hauling in to use farrier at vet clinic until I find someone qualified that I can trust near me. Adding pics from down heel
Sizes differ between makes alright but not regions. Both the shoes you are talking about are Kerckhearts.
