The Horse Forum banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

severely over grown bars

3K views 11 replies 7 participants last post by  Cotton 
#1 ·
As I have posted elsewhere, my new filly's feet were in horrid condition, IMO. I was unable to trim her myself b/c I didn't have anyone to hold her. I do my mare at liberty, but didn't have time to train the filly to do same. I was lucky to get someone this close to the holidays, but I had emphasized it was "dire" and they made room for me in their schedule. To me, it was an emergency or sorts. Surprisingly, she showed no signs of lameness. She was trimmed this morning. I am slow and meticulous and "critical", so no trim job is going to be "perfect" to me, including and especially my own. I was just glad they got trimmed. They were not rounded to my liking, but I can do that myself. That isn't my biggest concern.

Below are pics of her right front. The 14th nov one was taken after I trimmed a small (relatively speaking) piece off of the right (in pic) bar that extended clear to her hoof wall, and a piece of the left bar that had grown into her frog. The bar material over the toe was extremely hard. I did manage to get most of the same "blob" off the left front toe during the past week. As I pared the "blob" down I became unable to tell if I had hit sole or was still slicing "bar". It seems as if it would be easy to determine; it is not.

The other pic below is post trim. I think their is still a "cross-section" of bar over the toe area. But, I am afraid to remove this material b/c I think the overgrowth could have compromised the sole beneath it, and I don't want to "thin" it further if I am wrong. I asked the farrier about it and he said the bar had just grown in with the toe callus, it was not that big of a deal (I think he meant it wasn't quite the "emergency" I made it out to be), and that he sees it often and that she has good feet and that "that" (see slick looking area in after trim pic) was her sole. Well, I have never seen bar overgrowth to that extent, but I am sure he sees a lot more feet than I.

Soooo, do you think I should take more "sole" (what I think is remaining bar) off in the toe callus area, let her go for a bit, or???
 

Attachments

See less See more
2
#4 ·
Would you remove it around the frog in "stages"? I am worried whatever is behind/under it isn't "solid" enough. I can't figure out "how" it grew all the way around the frog. What do you think? The sole is what worries me..do you think I can safely take more "sole" off from the upper third of the sole?
 
#5 ·
Personally, I'd take out a decent amount more from the bars/sole. The bars can (if necessary) come right back to being level with the heels (a slope up). Even if he gets a bit sore for the first few days I think it's better in the long run. I'd rather my horse be off for a week than two days after every "session".
The reason the bars grew out so far and circled around is because they were quite obviously never cut back, not to mention that they were folded over as well.
The sole underneath should be perfectly fine after taking out all the dead stuff since that isn't what the horse is walking on, they're walking on the wall. Unless you ride on gravel or rough terrain constantly, I doubt you'll have a problem with soundness.

I've taken a TON of sole out of a few horses because the previous farrier didn't take nearly enough sole pressure out and all that was sitting in there was dead sole. The live sole that I trim down to (and haven't had any lameness issues (even on gravel)) looks rather marbled (a soft marble) and most red spots you'll come across are bruises and can still be cut out. As long as you can put pressure (with your finger) on the sole and the horse doesn't yank or it isn't squishy..it means you're still far out of the sensitive tissue, which in turn means you're still safe (as a general rule).

It also looks like you didn't even hit sole..it still looks like all overgrown frog, lol. I'd take some more sole out of the seat of corns too..they look pretty level with the wall (also a wrong picture angle to really determine this for sure..).
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#6 ·
Iseul, I ran out and quickly shot the pic between prep'ing thanksgiving stuff... and didn't do to well. She is an untrained youngster, so she won't be ridden for a while, yet. She is currently in soft sand, so I feel as if I can take a bit more off w/o to much worry about making her sore.

What has me stumped is how a bar grows up and around the apex of the frog, I mean, the physiology of it. When you "pick at it", it does not appear as if it is sole that "melded" w the bar, is seems like actually bar. But, I don't see how that is possible. It seems like it would be the same as your one having a finger nail grow on bottom of their finger...where is it being generated from? Weird.

Even though she needs a lot more work, I do feel somewhat relieved that something was taken off. Their original state upset me no end. My rasp couldn't touch these puppies...they are thick and hard...and there was so much! At least they're down to a "workable" level, and I don't feel like any minute now she will go lame. Of course, now its the "next" problem...how much more to take off, and hope I make the right decision.
 
#7 ·
Id trim it all off and get that sole uncovered.

Firstly because the sole underneath may be bruising.
Secondly because the sole cannot harden off till that bar is off of it. It likely has retained sole under there that needs to slough out.

Durasole can be applied afterwards if you thought you needed it to help with sensitivity if there was any.
 
#10 ·
Its hard when your old farrier moves out of state! This one seemed to go so fast, but to be fair...he did make time for me "out of the blue" during tg week. He didn't bevel them.:-( He seemed to think my hyper mother hen state of concern about the toe area was all for not (post trim). So, I am left wondering if it is just b/c he is new to me that I don't feel entirely "warm and fuzzy", or is it b/c I know just enough to be dangerous and critical. Thats why I wanted other opinions. My old farrier had a degree in equine podiatry, and each of my horse's needs were always well explained, and made perfect sense. She did them for years and they were always completely sound. In fact, she is the one that encouraged me to learn to trim on my own.
 
#11 ·
I think the farrier did a nice job! Looks like on the left side of the bar/frog area more could come off. The toe could come back a little more and rolling it will help with that.

I do Biscuit and Sarge's feet but am certainly no expert but go slow - do a little at a time which will help with her training to stand still. Better to take it off slow and get it right!!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top