So this happened today. Notice the blow out... Ps I wasn't finished when I took this pic. What would you guys do for this?
I'm guessing the horse is going barefoot? Need to clean it out and see where it goes. Sand and stuff packed up into the hoof like that can cause an abcess. Almost looks like it was an old cut or an abcess blew out the bottom. Clean it up first, then determine how deep it is. If the horse is going barefoot, and depending on how deep it is, you probably will need to pack and wrap it.
This is one I did today. I always build hind shoes for it due to the swing he'g got. After I started putting this type of shoe on, the trainer and owner immediately notice a great improvement in the way the horse moved it's back end. The added lateral support really worked wonders. [/ATTACH]
Nicely done. How did it affect his swing> By so diong, what effect, if any, did it have on his front end? Are yoiu concerned that overlapping the medial commissure, may create an environment for pathogens that will be difficult to remove/treat?
Yeah the horse was limping badly a few weeks ago, all symptoms pointed to abscess, once it became sound again on that foot, (the hind left foot pretty much had an identical abscess at the toe), the lady wanted shoes on, when I trimmed down I found the mess. The picture was pretty much to show the distorted hoof capsule. That thing was completely whack. Could an abscess cause that distortion? She swears his foot never looked like that, since she is new I have no frame of reference. The horse doesn't appear to have any alignment issues in it's leg to cause such a funky hoof capsule deformation.
When doing a side pass or other movements into himself, the hoof would move too far under him. By having a lateral support there is more ground contact giving him more stability. I admit the medial heel is a little too far in, I was wanting a little longer heel, but was afraid if I did more of an extended heel he might pull it off.
Race horse from today, he runs Friday. I posted before asking bout gluing these Mustad shoes on with equilox, it works great they don't budge but if they over reach they don't come off either! He has no hoof walls the ice boots are killing them and moves much better in these than shoes nailed on.
You. Remotely possible. Owners lie about many things....... And you do indeed have a frame of reference. It is your knowledge and keen eye. Ask yourself this, how probable is it that an abscess could, in just a few weeks, cause the overall changes to the hoof conformation that are visible in the photograph. Then ask yourself this, If the hoof conformation was otherwise, before the abscess, then why did it not quickly return to that form after the abscess vented? Appearances can be deceiving. By the way, to my eye, the medial wall looks to be too long, the medial heel is displaced both forward and proximally, The medial heel is also contracted. Don't be surprised if you find some WLD when you start to explore that affected area. And, explore with care and without pretending to be a veterinarian who would excavate a big hole in the horse's sole. Was there a vent at the coronary level or was there any suppuration occurring/present when you exfoliated the sole? All bets are off if it turns out to be a WLD infection. Q: Why? Using your driving hammer, you can lightly percuss the the outerwall to see if it sounds [basically] the same all around the hoof. Check at ground level and then work your way up the hoof. If any area sounds hollow, then you've probably got something going on under the stratum medium in that area. Proceed with caution and if you don't know how to deal with the situation, call in someone who does.
Nice job, David. I must have missed the post where you previously asked about using equilox because I have used it in conjunction with those shoes and had the same good results as you are having. It would be an interesting experiment to take a pair of those shoes, heat the heels with a heat gun and then mold them into a spooned heel. If it worked, you could go with the same size shoe the next time or possibly, even go one size larger without worrying about a hind coming up and grabbing the heel of the front.
"Mustard shoes" Rick, I mistyped the name in the thread so I don't think many looked past the title before posting to take the piss . A size up would be suit better and a rolled toe!
One from this morn(yearling) R.F grade 2 club, I put a heart bar wedge pad on to try get the foot to widen out a bit, B.over ground into the ground surface back to frog apex but hard to see with the rubber flooring. I had no sanding block so a bit rougher finish than I would like to be posting
No sand block??? When I was in that part of the world, sand was all I got to see. Get a little glue and make your own block` !! Great job on the hoof. Have you had much luck trying to widen out the heels that way?
An amen to Brother Bill. The distortion acting as lever pulling the hoof apart and introducing the bacteria
I felt from looking at the foot, the hoof distortion caused the abscess, it is right along the thickest part of the hoof, where I imagine a lot of pressure pulling on the outer hoof wall allowing for the introduction of crap. (side question) If enough force is put on the laminae to tear it, more or less, resulting in the bent back fingernail injury? Please forgive me for not knowing the technical term for 'bent back fingernail injury', then does that and can that become an abscess or is it classified differently? This still leaves the question of the hoof distortion right? You raised an interesting possibility of WLD being present? 1. Could all four be present, the leg has issues, distorting the hoof capsule, which allowed for WLD to get going, and an abscess followed all of that. 2. Or the simple one, the leg distortion not being obvious and the owner not being honest and it's nothing but a abscess. No, the suppuration occurred all at once when my nippers went through it. She has more horses next week and I plan on doing the hammer test on that foot. If it does sound compromised, I may have her call Bill. I have seen one hoof resection done in person, but until I watch a few more and do one under the watchful eye of a vet or really experienced vet, I won't touch one. Thank you Rick and Bill.
Mechanical founder perhaps? In and of itself it is not an abscess. The abscess occurs in the area of the disinterdigitation. Possibly. However based on the photos the distortion has been present for quite a while. This may be the result of neglect, bad trimming, conformation, injury, etc. Anything is possible....... Of course. No, the suppuration occurred all at once when my nippers went through it. She has more horses next week and I plan on doing the hammer test on that foot. If it does sound compromised, I may have her call Bill. I have seen one hoof resection done in person, but until I watch a few more and do one under the watchful eye of a vet or really experienced vet, I won't touch one. Thank you Rick and Bill.[/quote]
