how often to you pick feet out

P

polly101

Member
Sep 25, 2009
374
2
18
Shropshire
hi everyone,

Well little mini shettie has got arthritis in his shoulder, and has suffered a lot of prodding and poking in the last few weeks from vets.

It was always a bit tricky picking out his feet, but now i cant do them, he will rear up and fall over before he will let me, i am working on it and can now run my hand down his legs without him reacting which i couldnt do couple of weeks ago, i am now starting to try a lift his foot but nothing else at mo.

But in the mean time i cant pick his feet out!!:redface: does any one not pick feet out? how long have you gone without doing it?

He's gonna need a trim soon and am not looking forward to that!!! XX
 
I'll admit I've gone for long periods without picking out Roxy's feet - when I first had her, I went an entire winter. I felt guilty everyday about it but we weren't in a good situation on our old yard and had no lessons/training etc.

Since moving to the new yard I try to do them more often although because she's turned out 24/7 and at the moment is the opposite end to the stables/hard standing areas, I don't very often. I could tie her up at a fence but she is quite opposed to me picking them out at the best of times so I prefer to be in a more controlled area until she's more used to it & is happy to give me her feet instead of it being a battle. I don't think I'd feel safe enough trying to pick them up just outside the field but could be worth a try as they do get packed full of stuff.
 
If it’s dry outside (like we had in April) I only pick hooves out when he’s leaving the stable. When it’s wet or muddy (like now) I pick hooves out twice a day. I worry about them getting thrushy so I don't want them warm and wet if that makes sense.

When you do your shetlands feet do you lift them up? Could you just teach him to rest the toe on the floor whilst you pick it out, as clearly picking it up is hurting his shoulder?
 
mine live out 24/7 but I try and pick their feet out most days. I am guilty of having a trot on the way home from a hack to help me though!:redface:
 
Hmm, I rarely pick feet out if it's dry. Most of the time Harvey and Piccolo's hooves are 'clean' when i pick them up out anyway. I do pick out more in winter and both ponies are good with all feet so for me it is really just laziness. :redface:

I am lucky though that they both have very good feet, never had thrush and are barefoot on a well draining terrain that is rarely muddy or stony.
 
when its dry i dont bother as much as when its dry here its REALLY dry
when its wet i try and do junes more when im bringing her in as we have to go over the car park which is gravel and the mud picks it up
 
I pick the hooves out every time before I ride. Part of the routine and lets me know if there is a problem before we tack up.
 
um, not very often... i sometimes have good intentions but then just pick them up to see that they're fine so put them down again. he is going to be ridden now though so perhaps i'll do it more often. he does have thrushy feet but ive found that i seems to get worse if i do them more often. last time i'd probably only done them once between trimming visits - and that was just so i could put field paste on, and my trimmer commented how great his feet were looking and how the thrush was gone...
 
When they come in they get picked out every night.

When they are living out I pick out before riding and probably once or twice a week. Harvey sometimes gets left for a week as he is so stubborn at lifting his feet and once you have lifted them they weigh an absolute tonne and he doesn't help you at all. I feel like I've done an hour at the gym once I finished picking his out whereas Victory and Amee are easy to do.
 
Every day. Since he's been in (for almost three weeks now poor boy) his feet have gotten a little thrushy so I will be giving them a good scrub with hibiscrub at the weekend. Once he's back out in the field, though, they'll clear up. I do find I need to be on top of his feet in the winter - especially if it's wet/muddy to avoid thrush, particularly in his horribly upright club foot (right fore).

N
 
I go in fits and starts. :redface:

Sometimes it's twice a day, other times I'll go a week. I'll pick them out religiously for a few days and find nothing in them. Then end up leaving them, then suddenly remember I haven't done it for a while! She's only shod in front so the backs tend to get hardly anything in them anyway.

I tend to pick them out before I turn her out/ride in the morning but not when I bring her in. Sometimes, I'll trot the bits out en route to the field if I've forgotten!:giggle:
 
For infection could you not let him stand it some anti bac? A little tray that he can soak his foot in?

I use golden hoof plus (I put it in a spray bottle with water) its used for sheep and goats etc as well as horses. It's a lot better and more economical than hibiscrub as it doesn't lose it's power with the slightest bit of dirt.

It's the best and most easiest thing I've ever used as all I do it pick her feet and give them a quick spray!

As for the stones, wouldn't worry too much if he's not shod.

If he's tiny then the farrier should be able to trim him with his hoof on the toe of his boots (if he has steel caps). This should help but he still needs to be able to pick his foot up.

Have you spoken to your vet about some painkillers to help him have his feet done? Keep working on the fear of pain issues too :) let us know how you get on.
 
Summer time, not much at all really. I do before I ride out, and in the winter about 2 / 3 times a week,
 
I must admit I have tendancies toward the old 'pick feet out every time you look at them' BHS way as I was trained but that is not necessary unless you are adverse to a spec of dust on your yard (and was certainly not for the horses benifit, more to keep the yard clean!)
I know its better to do it and I do, religously, but the horse that shares with mine is barely looked at from one week to the next (save a sprits of fly spray from me!) and his legs are yet to fall off!
I think I would go for a regular trot up on a hard surface, just to get all the mud/stones out and give them an air and take it from there. If the worst were to happen and a problem developed you will manage somehow. Slow and steady wins the rance
 
Before he's ridden, which is 5 or 6 days a week. But, recently, I've felt a little guilty about not picking out his feet after a ride. As they next day I have found a few bits of gravel (from sponsored ride) or one day a few bits of bark-chip, from our school stuck in his feet :yellowcarded: really should do them afterwards too....:redface:

If, for some reason he has a bit of time off, I like him to be groomed and feet done once every few days
 
Oh gawd, every time I ride definitely. During the winter I probably let him go a couple of weeks between (bad mum). I should really pick them out following our ride as have had a couple of stone bruises from what I feel might have been stuff stuck from our last ride but...!
You can only do what you can, don't feel guilty. My boy wouldn't lift his for toffee when I first got him, trimming was a nightmare, but someone said this to me and it just took all the pain out of the situation thinking that it isn't as if he would have someone picking them out in the wild.
 
TBH I am quite shocked at some of the answers:smoke:

Wondering in fact, if I am doing something totally unnecessary........I check
their feet everyday without fail, always with a hoofpick in hand, just in case, on rare occasions they don't need doing but it always worries me they may
pick up a stone or something so its just something I do on a daily basis as
a matter of course. You can do my two whilst grazing as they are used to
me doing it I suppose.
 
newrider.com
Top Bottom
Back