Older horse? with bad foot

[adoptedbyachicken]

Correct, the shoes just masked the lameness. The current issue with him being worse could be a bruise, but it may not be. Taking the shoes off was not a mistake, but not getting the right trim and boots may have been. I do not suggest stall rest at all, and agree that snow and ice are good for him. With snow he may not need boots all around, get a specialist to gauge that for you. Likely that one foot needs one until he is more comfortable.

 

[katrinag]

The bonus to the cold weather is the fact the things like thrush are not thriving.
I would examine all for feet tomorrow REALLY good, even if that means washing them with soap and water and towel dry them. Look for any signs of a wound.
I would look into getting boots, Old Mac's G2, BOA Boot, or Easyboot Epic are just some of the different kinds on the market.

Diet also play a big role in foundering too along with hoof care. Sweet feeds are a big NO.
If I may, what is the diet like?

No you where not wrong at all about having the shoes removed, you just need to find someone that dose barefoot trimming and is darn good at it to help him through. I would opt to never have the shoes but back on. I would not stall at all, they need some movement to keep blood flowing.

Can you post a pic of the bottom of his feet here?

You can also pm if you would like.

 

[Solsken Farm]

Another bare foot supporter here. I agree that the shoes could have masked any issues.

Find a farrier that does 4 point trims. Natural hoof care is definitely the way to go. Easy boots add time to saddling up etc but they would be much better than shoes. If you aren't working him at all, shoes are absolutely not necessary, and as someone else said, they weaken the hoof wall.

I haven't used shoes on my critters in 7 years and they now have amazing feet.

I had a horse abscessing and foundering a lot. It turned out he had a low thyroid and one tiny scoop of meds a day in his grain, solved all his foot issues. So you should also check with a vet, and maybe do some blood work. He could also have Cushings.

Oh one thing about the cold weather. The icy, uneven ground can wreak havoc on some horses' feet. Abscesses and even founder can occur. So if the ground is more icy, than snowy, that could be another stress factor.

Good luck! I know how stressful this is.

 

[RockyToggRanch]

He's getting 2nd cut hay, as much as he wants, and BS senior about 1 1/2 lbs a day. I cut way back on grain and treats last March. He doesn't get worked at all because I'm afraid of making his feet worse. He was doing so much better, even romping around and playing, until recently.

We had blood work done last March and it wasn't cushings, but he was slightly anemic. Not enough to concern the vet.

Can those boots be found at tractor supply?

 

[RockyToggRanch]

Also, what kind of wound am I looking for? he has a chunk of his hoof missing. No bleeding, just bruising around the point of his frog on one foot. He holds that foot up a lot.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Snow is GOOD for sore feeties! (Ice, not so much, but as long as the horse can stay off the lumpy pavement-like parts and on nice forgiving snow, it will work real well). The snow lets the foot sink in, kind of the same as walking on turf, and supports the whole foot.

I would not worry at all about bits breaking off the hoof -- that is what happens when you switch from shod to barefoot (it also happens to always-barefoot horses, as their feet grow out before a trim). No biggie (assuming he hasn't removed a GIANT HUGE MASSIVE chunk, which I gather he hasn't -- that's pretty rare, only happens when there was a big dead cavity there to begin with, and can be worked with if it does happen, is not a tragedy)

A bruise or abscess when going from shod to barefoot is, again, pretty common and not something to fuss about. (And is not a serious problem anyhow). The horse will be sore for a while (sometimes extremely sore) but then it gets better, sometimes quite suddenly if it was an abscess. No biggie, no lasting effects.

It doesn't really matter whether it's a bruise or an abscess, from a practical perspective. Either way, the treatement is generally try to keep him on soft clean ground (snow, again, is TERRIFIC), soak a few times a day or poultice, to try to draw any infection; and basically keep the horse hangin' in there til his body fixes it. Usually it's a matter of days to 2 wks, but can be months in some cases. Don't bother looking for a wound or anything, you quite probably won't see anything (tho if he has white soles you may, in a week or more, see a reddened spot if there is a sole bruise)

If you are not 100% certain what the deal is, and get along well with your vet or farrier, it might be good to have the vet or farrier out to make CERTAIN it's just an abscess or bruise, and not a unilateral return of laminitis (unlikely) or some other lameness problem. Statistically speaking though, I bet your farrier is right that's all it is.

Do you know how to soak a hoof? In hot water saturated with Epsom salts? I would not recommend poulticing unless you have considerable hoof/leg-wrapping experience.

When I have a horse with a fierce bruise or abscess that is interfering with his happiness to a considerable degree, I tend to give him a few grams of bute per day to take the edge off; I am not *suggesting* this as such (there are some potential disadvantages and of course bute is prescription), just mentioning it if you are that sort of person too.

Good luck, hang in there, he'll be fine,

Pat

 

[CountryMom]

One of my dd's cutting horses got a bit of a break from his shoes this winter. He battles thrush and our farrier recommended pulling them to see if we couldn't get him cleared up. Since we didn't have a show until January we pulled them in November. The horse is 22 yrs old. I figured I would see some lameness. And sure enough we had some. When we have ours shod, and I assume it is similar to many horses being shod, they take down quite a bit of sole. Upon pulling shoes, the horse's hooves do not have tough soles like a barefoot horse developes over time. So this horse got sore and I expected it. I used a small dosage of banamine (bute is fine also) to keep him feeling comfortable. By the time we put shoes back on him end of December he was doing great. I never saw an abscess start, but did look for one and considered it might happen with our hard dry ground here.

I have to agree with a barefoot specialist if you can get one out there. And no, you didn't do the wrong thing pulling shoes.

Have you considered red cell for his feed? With him being anemic I would see if that might not help him and boost his energy. Just a low dosage mind you as red cell can really make a horse hyper. Otherwise it sounds like his diet is good.

 

[Solsken Farm]

One other thought is sometimes 2nd cutting can be too rich. But you probably know this.

Good luck with your vet and keep us posted.

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

Second cut hays can be too high in sugar, but it depends on the year and how the field is managed. Best to stick with first cuts overall for horses, and most of all to get hay tested. If you get a year's supply a $17 hay test to know what your feeding is cheep. If you can only buy hay a few bales at a time see if you can get it from somewhere that will sell you the same crop all year if you ask, then test it.

 

[Momo]

Soft snow is great for his feet but hard uneven frozen ground will make him very sore if he's laminitic. Unless he's in good snow I would get him into Easyboot Epics (**with pads**) asap; you'll be amazed at how happy and comfortable they will make him. If he has soft thin soles (and since he's been shod, he will have), and he's walking on hard uneven ground, the soles can flex and cause pinch points in the upper surface of the sole corium, which will cause pain and bruising and possibly abscesses. (Easyboot Epics with pads, nudge nudge.) Don't shoe him again; get a good barefoot trimmer out. And get Easyboots and pads. Go to www.hoofrehab.com and study ...

Edited to add: Also you need to cut out the concentrate feed from his diet. Continue to provide all the hay he wants 24/7 (we will hope it's not too high in sugar) but cut the Sr feed. Diet is half the problem. There are well reviewed scientific studies to support the fact that the way we've traditionally been taught to feed a horse is not actually best for the horse.

I buy first cut hay and fortunately I know my supplier well enough that he'll provide me with hay that was cut first thing in the morning (it's lower in sugar than hay cut later in the day).