This is a long story, but I'll try to keep it short. I bought a new horse on July 30th. He lives out 24/7 and is barefoot and has been for years. The right front has a little divot out of it that I'm told he has always had since he was a foal and will be a permanent hoof scar. He came in slightly lame from the pasture on the 29th. They had a farrier look at him who deemed it to be an abscess in the right hind. The farrier used a dremel to create a weak spot near the toe where I'm told he tested positive with the hoof testers. I decided to go ahead and pick him up anyways since he was not too sore and it was a relatively short trip. They packed the hole that was created near his toe with cotton and diluted betadine solution and turned him back out. The farrier came and spoke to me when I picked him up and gave me instructions to pull the packing from the toe, soak and repack daily until it broke through. The theory behind this was that a large area didn't have to be opened this way. I did as instructed for a week with no chance. Horse is not more sore or less sore. Sound at the walk on grass and soft surfaces, ouchy at times on gravel. Seems to be favoring his right hind toe area. Definitely lame when trotted in hand. I contacted the vet hospital on Monday the 11th of August after no luck. Vet suggested I do a Clean Trax treatment and pack his hoof with Magnapaste and wrap daily. I do the Clean Trax treatment that night. and pack it with the Magnapaste for the next 3 days. The hoof is getting pretty soft at this point so I decide to give it a couple days off from packing. The other three feet look fine as of Wednesday night. Thursday night I go up and the back half of his frog on the right front is half gone. He is VERY tender to touch and quite lame. I soak both feet at this point and wrap. These pictures of all 4 feet are from Sunday night. He was last trimmed on July 8th so was not overdue. He obviously, in my opinion, has some issues that need corrected. He is still on 24/7 turnout and is not doing a lot of running around. He does cross a limestone gravel driveway when I bring him in and out of the barn. The indoor and outdoor are footed with sand. I would also like to ride him in a grass area that has some crosscountry type obstacles. I have not ridden him since I got him and I don't plan on it until he is 100%. The farrier and vet are scheduled for this week, but I'm looking for some opinions on what the heck could be going on? Have we been treating the wrong foot? Could and abscess int he heel of the front right appear as back foot lameness? The back foot does not and has not shown any soreness, heat, swelling, nothing since the day I brought him home. The lameness has never gotten better or worse, with the exception of the first day I notice the frog missing. He was back to the status quo the next day. He does not eat grain, he only gets grass and hay at this point. He hasn't had grain in 3 years. There is and has been no fever. He has no history of abscesses or any type of lameness issues. He was not raced. I'm also debating whether he should be shod or stay barefoot. His intended purpose if for jumping. The photos are all labelled as to which foot the are. Thank you! http://smg.photobucket.com/user/dream_jumper/library/Chance/Chances Feet?sort=3&page=1#!
I did not own him on July 8th, 2014 when he was last trimmed. he was in a regular program prior to my having him. I don't know how often or who, but there are certainly things about his feet that concern me. He was trimmed again Monday the 18th, the vet did not feel it was necessary for her to attend. She is coming out Friday if he is still off and will xray at that point. There is very suspicion of bone changes. Without fever, heat, etc she doesn't feel there a bone infection is likely either. My general concerns about his feet is that they appear uneven in angle between the outside and inside, especially in the rear heels. The hind heels themselves are concerning as one appears crushed on the inside only and the angles are much different than the front. I'm debating putting him in shoes, but I don't want to do so unless it will be of some actual benefit to him. If the same corrections can be made without shoes then I don't think it's neccessary. I'm not sure if the sand in the rings will abrade his feet down faster without shoes either. I defer to your greater training on that. I'm new to the area I live in so I tried out one of the barn's farriers on Monday.
Angela, were your pictures posted of the hooves before or after the most recent trim, and ? ,I presuming that the most recent trim was this last Monday,the 18th of August 2014? Please correct me if I m wrong. Thanks ray
Unshod footy horses are tricky to diagnose through pics alone, on going low grade lameness is always a concern and over a fortnight is ongoing. I think if the vet can't pin point the problem, by that I mean nerv block and X-ray, then you have nothing to lose by shoeing to see if that improves it.
They are from the day before the trim. I figured after he trimmed it might be harder to show the frog damage. And yes, the newest trim was this past Monday. I will take comparison pics.
Well fortunately he is sound now. His feet basically look exactly the same. He was far too antsy last night for me to get pictures. The farrier seems to have just rasped downt he edges flat and that's about it. So my question now is what is the general suggestion to improve and balance his feet.. Kind of a WWYD thing.
A good basic trim, we have very little we can do to counter physics and nature despite what a lot will claim. A good trim is a very basic procedure, nice and level with a hint of symmetry....
Sounds good Just wasn't sure if something should be done to try and correct those rear heels. He certainly moves just fine on them not that the abscess has cleared up. Thank you!
