Severe hoof sensitivity. Shoes or no shoes?

I recently rescued my TB, August, & when I got him he was a mess! (he still is a mess health wise) But one of the bigger issues that I have with his health is that his hooves are extremely short & when he walks on hard ground, like cement, he hobbles uncomfortably. I have tested his feet & I think he may be developing an abscess in every one of his hooves because he is so sensitive. I have put a call into my farrier to come out & see him but I wanted to get as much advice as possible. Should I put shoes on him to make him more comfortable walking around or what?! Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

It's unlikely he'd abcess in all 4 at the same time. He could be foundered in all four or laminitis altho it is more usuall in the fronts. Or it may be more noticable in the fronts because the front bears considerably more weight. To shoe or not is your farrier's decision. A good farrier will do what's best for the horse.

I was joking about him having an abscess in all four feet but it kind of feels that he does. But I don't think he has laminitis, I don't see how he would get it. He has constant access to hay to keep his stomach working & not a lot of time on lush grass. I have tried to be very careful in how he has been fed, ect. His hooves look good except for being considerably short. Is there anyway to make him more comfortable until the farrier comes?

Well, without some good pictures and a video or two of your horse walking on hard ground its hard to to hard to give you good advice. See what your farrier says, as long as he / she is a good farrier he / she can probably hove better advice than people on here because he / she know ls your horse and is seeing it in real life.

Since I also posted about what he is being fed on your other thread I will tell you founder or laminitis is a very good possibility. To me it sounds like that is a good fit. I would get the farrier out immediately along with the vet at the same time.

Edit: I copied this from your other thread.

What he is being fed right now: (which has slowly been introduced over time)
Unlimited access to fresh hay, fresh water & a protein salt block. Slowly being introduced to rich green grass.
Three times a day:
Two scoops of Dumor 14%.
1/4 scoop of Alfalfa pellets.
1/4 scoop of beet pulp.
A cup of Calf manna.
Farnam weight builder.
Once a day with his night feed:
A cup of corn oil.
Apple a day.
Aspirin.
Lysine.
Sand clear (2nd week just to make sure all the sand is gone!)
Electro dex.
Vita-biotin crumbles.
MSM.
Farnam Vita-plus.



Read more: help with thoroughbred rescue!

In that post you told me that your horse get 8lbs per day, correct? Well August is getting about the same, maybe closer to 9lbs. I have weighed his morning feed & it is roughly 3 - 3 1/2lbs. He gets that in the am & pm & at lunch he is getting 2 - 2 1/2 lbs of food. Remember he is 17.3h so I think he can get a little more food. Since you seem to know a lot, would you help me to find a way to keep my horse more comfortable until my farrier gets here? I have him in a bedded down stall & when I walk him to feed him some grass through out the day he is always on soft ground but when he steps on the random stone, he is still really sensitive.

Each horse is different with what they can handle. And since he's a rescue it could just be too much at once. A bedded down stall is good. But if it is laminitis no grass at all. Look up some of loosie's posts there's really good info in the signature links.
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He had been eating more than he is eating with me because I knew he was going to eat grass so I thought he wouldn't need as much grain. I am hoping he doesn't have laminitis. I am trying to get my farrier out as soon as possible.

From what I can tell that dumor is a sweet feed which is bad bad bad. Can you feel any heat or a pulse in the hooves?
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From what's been said, I would really make sure the vet is there either before the farrier or the same time as the farrier.

It's also possible, if the hooves really are too short, the horse may be dealing with strained tendons from having its heeled lowered too-much-too-fast. Sadly I know about that -- from personal experience on my foundered horse.

So, the horse may have a couple things going on: laminitis and tendon issues from too short a trim. That's why it's important to get the vet involved either before the farrier or at the same time the farrier is there.

Hope this helps