Newly barefoot hooves are in bits so worried

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Pencilbeckett

New Member
Mar 12, 2009
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Staffordshire
Hi

I know i recently posted about this but i didnt get much of a response.

My farrier too Ozzies shoes off 2 weeks ago for the first time. The farrier said he has good strong feet you wont even notice. Well i can and i am worried, he has lost lots of pieces of all 4 of his hooves on one of the back ones he has lost pieces on both sides. He is walking and trotting ok in the field. He has started to buck on the lunge so i dont know if that is hurting his feet. When we walk on the yard he is head down and slow (Ozzy is a bargy horse, slow is not his nature) he looks like he is walking on glass.

I will try to put some good pics on over the weekend.

I have phoned the farrier no answer. I have now texted the farrier this morning but nothing.

I am also worried that i will not be able to regognise lameness caused by something like laminitis as he is foot sore anyway.

Sorry guys bet you have heard this a million times. I just feel we are barefoot and abandoned :confused:

Jenni
 
Don't worry too much about chips, but pics would be helpful.

If he is that sore on a flat surface then he may have low grade laminitis. What is his feed, does he have a lot of grass? It is normal for some horses to be sore on stoney ground but on a flat surface they are usually OK. Does he have a raised pulse at his fetlock?

Have you got him some hoof boots to make him more comfy - sorry about all the questions:eek:
 
I had the same issue when mine first came off believe it or not a year on they have just come right completely, its been quite dry as well so that may have caused an issue..Good luck PM me if you are really worried i know how worried i was x x
 
Well look at Kias amonth after the shoes came off!!!

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They were in such a state and now they look like this!!! (see thread!!)

http://www.newrider.com/forum/showthread.php?t=191427

Nikki xxxx
 
I agree, I'd consider LGL but also check for thrush as that can make them very footy when the shoes come off. Hoof boots are good for the transition period :)

Have a good look at the diet, forage based, as little sugar as possible and maybe supplementing with MagOx and Equimins Hoofmender is a good idea. Lucerne (Alfalfa) has caused problems with some horses so that's worth considering too.

To put your mind at rest, though, here as some photos of Saffy's feet when the shoes first came off (about 2 weeks in I think whilst I was waiting for my trimmer). Thankfully I'd seen other horses transition so knew what to expect! The split on the near fore was there when she was shod so wasn't anything to do with being barefoot btw :)

Off fore

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Near fore

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The good news is that she's sound on all surfaces including stones and slate chippings :)


Have a look at the barefoot sites and forums, I don't have the links to hand but google EPAUK, UKNHCP, KC La Pierre, Pete Ramey, Jaime Jackson and Richard Vialls.


Good luck x
 
Thanks for the replys the pics have definately put my mind at rest.

Am now panicking about laminitis. The yard is quite stony and uneven as it is an old farm. I am going to trot him up and down on the flat part tomorrow.

Should i call out the vet? should i stand him in? worrying more now. Has has been at grass since he came but i have been muzzling him half the day. The last two days he has had the muzzle off as the paddock has got really short. Would he still walk fine on the grass with low grade laminitis?
 
Have you checked for digital pulses?

Walking on a hard, stony surface would make alot of shoeless horses say ouch. It's the worst footing for newly bare feet.
 
Problem with the digital pulses is i dont know what normal feels like as i have never felt them (am a staff nurse but got a feeling humans do feel different ;)).

I think i am going to call the vet out on monday to check him just to be safe and put the muzzle back on over the weekend. The vet is due to come and take blood and poo sample for the worming check so maybe i could combine the call out. In the meantime as long as he is ok at grass i will leave him out.

Does that sound ok or would you get him in?
 
Personally if I suspect LGL then I wouldn't wait for confirmation. I would treat it as such now so as not to compound the problem. The sooner you catch it the sooner you can bring about recovery :)

If it turns out it wasn't then no harm done. Better safe than sorry imho :)
 
If he was mine, I'd stable him for 24 hours and feed soaked hay. If he's better after 24 hours, he'd stay in for a further 3-4 weeks and I'd get the farrier out soonest to assess the damage and if he thought there was a possibility of pedal bone rotation, the vet for xrays to aid remedial trimming/shoeing.

If however 24 hours later he was no different, I'd get the vet.
 
before you panic.
get some one on your yard to check for digital pulses, I am not confident, so I ask some one else.
Is he grazing all day ?
or restricted ?
Is he sound on grass surfaces, it may justbe that his circulation is coming back to his feet and the yard surface hurts.
Have you any reason to suspect lgl, is he fat ?
what where your reasons for going barefoot.
It is an awfully worring time, Blue is just coming up to 6 months barefoot, and I still worry about chipped feet, soreness ect.
 
Yes check for lami but I remember i was on here all the time saying that Kia was footy!!!

He didnt have LGL as he was fine in the field (unless it was frozen like a rock and rutted) also if he is used to having shoes on he will be placing his feet differently from the way a shod horse would and is going to have to get used to the feelings of no shoes!!

Kia is still oochy on rough stoney areas and we have been barefoot for 9months now. Get someone to check or get vet out anyway whichever you prefer but dont panic that hje might have lami he may just be generally foortsore from the transition.

Nikki xxx:)
 
He doesn't have any hard feed just one cup of low cal balancer a handful of good doer and some garlic. He is grazing but on a really low bitten down paddock with another horse. He is fine on the grass. I am off tomorrow so will have a good look at him, if he still looks in pain i will put him in and call the vet out i think.
 
Is he footy just on the stony or uneven ground? And no where else? I'd be cautious but generaly if shoes just taken off then they will find certain terrain abit footy. Its like humans who wear shoes constantly trying to walk over stones..at first it hurts but gradually your skin hardens so can cope walking over it easier.

Better to be cautios so you can eliminate different factors
 
He is fine on the grass just on the yard he has probs. Our yard is very uneven as it is an old farm. There is some flat bits so i will have a good lead round tomorrow and see how he is. Will take pics of yard and hooves tomorrow and post them.

Thanks for all your replys ;)
 
Hi,

Yet another opinion.... I'm a hoof care practitioner & regarding the pictured hooves, I'd consider that I'd done a pretty terrible trim job if newly deshod feet looked like them! The trouble is, farriers generally do the same sort of trim as they would do to set a shoe - flat based & often leave walls too long. They need to be short - barely longer than the outer sole plane and have a good 'mustang roll' for starters. If they are stretched forward, as Bay Mares were, they also need to be backed up a little. Cracking & chipping chunks off is generally because the walls were left too long so the excess is trying to break away.

Regarding his discomfort, yes, it could well be LGL or some such, but it is also very normal for newly bare feet to be overly sensitive. It is often their frogs/digital cushions that are most sensitive & under developed. Frog support pads may be necessary if his heels are still slightly too long, to enable the frogs/digital cushions to develop & strengthen *comfortably*.

Sending pics of his feet will give you more specific advice.
 
Thanks for the advice. Ozzys fronts are not quite as bad as the pics on here but the backs are worse. I am definately taking pics tomorrow, had probs with camera (technophobe :eek: that i am). I have started applying hoof and sole. Ozzies feet did smell terrible and the smell has dissapeared within the last two days so i am thinking that it must have been thrush as hoof and sole is zinc based which treats thrush.

I had asked the YO about the hoof smell and she said it was normal and that her horses feet always stink ??? i think she is wrong please correct me if neccessary. She has kept horses for years.

My instructor comes tomorrow we are going to have a good look together and i will get her to feel his digital pulses for me too.

On a good note the dentist came today and he has good teeth. Had a rasp and a clean and nothing more for 12 months :).
 
Pencilbeckett said:
I had asked the YO about the hoof smell and she said it was normal and that her horses feet always stink ??? i think she is wrong please correct me if neccessary. She has kept horses for years.
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You're right. Horse's feet shouldn't smell bad, unless they have thrush or some other infection... if they're managed well & not continually standing in their own excrement or such. Unfortunately many people still keep horses caged routinely, which is part of the problem, so they may not have ever seen/smelled healthy hooves.
 
I can tell if Lance has a touch of thrush brewing as I can smell a faint whiff of it in the air. Normally his feet don't smell *at all*. As it is I treat with apple cider vinegar when I can capture that faint smell and the smell goes away within 24 hours. I have never seen any visual evidence of thrush, so feel like we're keeping on top of things!
 
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