As for the housing she is stalled with the exception of a sandy not grass turnout. she is getting a second cut timothy mix and safe choice. I I was told to try brewers yeast. It was said to be better than just biotin. It did show a big change in coat and growth of the hoof.
Ah, sandy nongrassed turnout is very good!
How much is she stalled? Horses with hoof problems (well, and horses in general, but *especially* those with hoof problems) generally do best with as close to 24/7 turnout as you can give them. Like, 20-24 hrs a day = good, 6-10 hrs a day = not so good for their feet. That may sound backwards but it is TRUE -- feet become and stay healthy by being used, being moved on, flexing and walking around.
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As bluerose says, that is more than likely at least *mostly* a trim issue. It happens when there are 'prying' forces on the toe of the hoof... the overall shape and balance of the foot is such that instead of being transmitted mostly up along the horn fibers, too much of the forces of the horse's weight are levering the fibers away from the laminae and underlying foot.
OTOH I would also like to point out that she may also have White Line Disease, which although its cause is still not especially well understood DOES seem to be an actual thing. It is a probably-fungal infection of probably-already-damaged-or-dead laminae that further weakens the attachment of the hoof wall to the inner parts of the foot, and can actually create large voids up in along there. What you describe is fairly classic for WLD. It can start from any cause that damages the laminar attachments, but if it really gets rolling in a foot, I have been told by some pretty good farriers whom I respect that it can become an extra problem in its own right and make it much harder to restore the foot to a normal state than if you *just* had an imbalanced trim, episode of laminitis, whatever.
The treatment of WLD is still somewhat a matter of controversy, but there are people out there who do seem to have good success in returning hooves with WLD to long-term structural soundness, mostly by resecting the damaged part of the hoof in conjunction with a REALLY well balanced trim, sometimes with the application of Various Esoteric Substances as well. It would be something to read up on and perhaps ask whatever farrier/trimmer/whatchacallit you end up with.
Ah, sandy nongrassed turnout is very good!
How much is she stalled? Horses with hoof problems (well, and horses in general, but *especially* those with hoof problems) generally do best with as close to 24/7 turnout as you can give them. Like, 20-24 hrs a day = good, 6-10 hrs a day = not so good for their feet. That may sound backwards but it is TRUE -- feet become and stay healthy by being used, being moved on, flexing and walking around.
Quote:
As bluerose says, that is more than likely at least *mostly* a trim issue. It happens when there are 'prying' forces on the toe of the hoof... the overall shape and balance of the foot is such that instead of being transmitted mostly up along the horn fibers, too much of the forces of the horse's weight are levering the fibers away from the laminae and underlying foot.
OTOH I would also like to point out that she may also have White Line Disease, which although its cause is still not especially well understood DOES seem to be an actual thing. It is a probably-fungal infection of probably-already-damaged-or-dead laminae that further weakens the attachment of the hoof wall to the inner parts of the foot, and can actually create large voids up in along there. What you describe is fairly classic for WLD. It can start from any cause that damages the laminar attachments, but if it really gets rolling in a foot, I have been told by some pretty good farriers whom I respect that it can become an extra problem in its own right and make it much harder to restore the foot to a normal state than if you *just* had an imbalanced trim, episode of laminitis, whatever.
The treatment of WLD is still somewhat a matter of controversy, but there are people out there who do seem to have good success in returning hooves with WLD to long-term structural soundness, mostly by resecting the damaged part of the hoof in conjunction with a REALLY well balanced trim, sometimes with the application of Various Esoteric Substances as well. It would be something to read up on and perhaps ask whatever farrier/trimmer/whatchacallit you end up with.
The Farrier I had just up and moved to further his education in this field. He had her sound and riding again. Last year he tried something new. Barefoot. So The pads and shoes came off and the sole was too soft. She got a few absess which grew out but her hoof has always detached as it had when I first got her.
It is possible that the sole was too soft just because she'd had pads and shoes on -- a few abcesses are relatively 'normal' when a previously shod horse starts to go barefoot. It can take as much as six months or more for a horse to adjust, more if it lives largely in a stall.
OTOH I personally believe that there are some horses that just DO have a lot of trouble going barefoot, because of inherently poor soles, a 'princess and the pea' low pain tolerance, and/or abcesses that may seem to have resolved but little nuclei of infection chronically lurk in the foot waiting to blow up if bruised etcetera. I don't think this is common but personally I do believe some horses are like that.
The resumption of the hoof prying apart sounds to me like mostly a trim issue.
I expect bluerose will argue with me on this
but I would like to advance the argument that while it would be nice if we all had perfect farriers, in reality if the best one you have access to can keep your horse sound in shoes but not sound barefoot, then it is in the horse's best interests to wear shoes for the time being. Period.
And you know, it's not like farriery/trimming/whatchamacallit is entirely science, a mechanical skill that anyone can learn and anyone can be equally good at. I firmly believe that it is as much art as craft, and requires as much intuition and 'sense of the foot' as theory. There are really good guys out there, very sincere and trying their butts off, who are just not quite as gifted at 'tuning feet' as some of their colleagues. Furthermore there are guys (in a gender-inclusive sense) out there who are extremely good at some types of trimming/shoeing, but just not so good at other types of situations. <shrug> Unless you live in an area with a near infinite variety of farriers/trimmers/whatchamacallit, and have a checkbook to match (the expensive ones often stink, IME, but the best ones are seldom 'cheap' as such), you have to kind of roll with what you're dealt.
Good luck,
Pat
It is possible that the sole was too soft just because she'd had pads and shoes on -- a few abcesses are relatively 'normal' when a previously shod horse starts to go barefoot. It can take as much as six months or more for a horse to adjust, more if it lives largely in a stall.
OTOH I personally believe that there are some horses that just DO have a lot of trouble going barefoot, because of inherently poor soles, a 'princess and the pea' low pain tolerance, and/or abcesses that may seem to have resolved but little nuclei of infection chronically lurk in the foot waiting to blow up if bruised etcetera. I don't think this is common but personally I do believe some horses are like that.
The resumption of the hoof prying apart sounds to me like mostly a trim issue.
I expect bluerose will argue with me on this
And you know, it's not like farriery/trimming/whatchamacallit is entirely science, a mechanical skill that anyone can learn and anyone can be equally good at. I firmly believe that it is as much art as craft, and requires as much intuition and 'sense of the foot' as theory. There are really good guys out there, very sincere and trying their butts off, who are just not quite as gifted at 'tuning feet' as some of their colleagues. Furthermore there are guys (in a gender-inclusive sense) out there who are extremely good at some types of trimming/shoeing, but just not so good at other types of situations. <shrug> Unless you live in an area with a near infinite variety of farriers/trimmers/whatchamacallit, and have a checkbook to match (the expensive ones often stink, IME, but the best ones are seldom 'cheap' as such), you have to kind of roll with what you're dealt.
Good luck,
Pat
