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What's wrong with my horse's hoof?

2K views 17 replies 9 participants last post by  loosie 
#1 ·
I'm new to this forum because I'm looking for a little bit of help. I've had my mare for about 3 months now and don't know a lot about her history as the girl I bought her from only had her for a couple of months and bought her from a horse trader.
In the 3 months that I've had her, she's had no lameness issues until yesterday. I've had her trimmed twice without incident. Although, the farrier did point out that she has deep frogs.
When I went to ride her yesterday, she was limping on her back right hoof. I've attached a picture. There is no heat in it, no obvious swelling, and no foul odors. The soonest that the farrier can get out to see her is tomorrow evening but I'm worried sick over it.

What could this be?
 

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#5 ·
Ugh. :( I first suspected thrush but it hasn't been wet or muddy here and there isn't any odor, so I didn't think that seemed likely. Is it possible that it's something else? Also, will it hurt her if I treat her for thrush and she doesn't have it? Do you all have any advice for treatment? I know there are several options out there but I don't have any experience with that because our horses have never had thrush.
I will definitely be getting a different farrier as well.

Thanks!
 
#6 ·
I struggled with thrush for almost a year. Horse was in zero mud and in completely dry conditions, and I picked her feet daily. Once I changed her diet and fired a few farriers, the thrush went away. It's not always an environmental issue.

It would help us out a lot if we could see pictures of the other feet. She virtually has no frog in that picture, so I would think you need to treat it pretty aggressively. There are tons of different ways to treat. Here's a link that can give you a little insight. healthyhoof

I meant to add that I'm a big fan of "No Thrush" https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/n...g&utm_campaign=nb_shopping_tes&utm_term=20264
 
#11 ·
Echoing that you have a not-so-great trim there, which would cause a lot of problems including thrush and soreness/lameness.

Here's what I want you to do.

Go into the hoof-care section and start reading through old threads. Look for loosie, trinity, etc. the most frequent posters and LEARN what they are offering.

It is up to YOU to expand your knowledge of hoof care because without it you will have no clue how to help your horse and what a healthy and balanced hoof looks like.

Look up ELPO hoof mapping
 
#12 ·
Hi! Welcome to the Forum. I second what Sky has said in the post above. I had farrier issues and had to really educate myself on what a healthy hoof should look like. I joined hoof groups on Facebook and joined a couple of Forums. ABC Hoofcare on Facebook is a good group. I also took a Natural Hoof Care trimming class and now trim my horses feet myself.

Education is the best took in combatting poor farrier work. I will say that your farrier "may" have left some heel if they were worse than this before. You cannot always just chop off long heels and have a healthy horse - it can hurt tendons and ligaments in the leg. Google or look for Natural Hoof Care in your area - my farrier travels 2 hours to get to me - but she has other clients my way as well. The lady I took classes from teaches in IL, MO TN and TX
 
#16 ·
Can't really address the question on contracted heels from the angle of the photo, but with the height and "run underness" of the heels, if they are not contracted at present, they soon will be without proper trimming.

Keep reading. There is a world af valuable and fee information on ELPO's website and also Pete Ramey's. Search Google and YouTube for anything by Gene Ovnicek, the founder of ELPO.
 
#18 ·
Hi, havent read all replies but just from first 2 pics, no. 1, she has extremely overgrown feet, with loooong, collapsed heels, overgrown bars, stretched toes, and apparently very little caudal hoof development - theres no depth or strength to the meaty part of her heel, the bulbs, above the frog. This is all from long term ill health/care, not just something recent. Thrush is just a symptom of that too.

So, first thing first id suggest is to start educating yourself on hoof health & care, because as youve found, just because you have a regular farrier doesnt mean theyre knowledgeable or good. Check out the thread link in my signature for starters. Study the ELPO website to better understand balance. Then you will be in a better position to understand & evaluate farriery work, & look for a good farrier.

You can check out my other thread link, for what is needed if you want to post hoof pictures for evaluation here.


Depending on age of the horse, etc, she may or may not ever be able to develop strong, robust feet now, regardless of treatment, but padded hoof boots, or such, should allow her to be comfortable, not do further damage to her joints & feet, & hopefully allow them to improve a bit, if not greatly.
 
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