I have a 9 yr old Tenn. Walking Mare who had laminitis about 3 or 4 springs ago that was caused by her being slightly overweight and eating to much rich spring grass. She came around and has done well, the only complication was an abscess in one of her front feet, which the vet said was common in horses who have had laminitis. We're not exactly sure how severe she got but we caught it the first day she acted sore. (we didn't do any x-rays, our vet doesn't have an x-ray machine).
Anyways, since then she has come through all that and she has been barefoot. Now I'm starting to do a lot more trail riding and riding on roads. There is also a possibility that I will be traveling to Tennessee to go on a pretty adventurous trail ride weekend down there, and I'm thinking that I need shoes to protect her feet and for traction. What shoes do you think would be best for her? (if you could articulate why that would be great).
Another thing about her that we've noticed this spring is that she has been growing more sole than toe, not typical of other horses in the spring, and they are growing very slow. I'm thinking that it's due to us keeping her up in her stall off the grass to prevent founder and laminitis and feeding a mix of alfalfa and grass hay which is like a winter diet. What do you think? Would a feed supplement containing biotin help her feet grow faster? Should we give her more grass to see if that will help her feet grow?
Thanks for your help!
also: Her stall that she's kept in is connected to a small turnout corral so she isn't in a 12x12 stall all day, and she does walk around in that pen. And she does get exercise from being ridden about 3-4 days a week.
I am thinking if she has foundered and has had laminitis I wouldn't let her eat grass. That's just my opinion. Does she seem sore at all with the riding you are doing now?
Depending if you want her to stay barefoot, why not go with boots if you take her to Tennessee? Otherwise, toes short and heels long. Mustang roll in front. Have a farrier take a look at her feet if the sole is growing more than the wall of the hoof. Biotin is always a good idea but my suggestion is have your farrier look and give his/her opinion. Good luck Posted via Mobile Device
I agree with mbender that boots could be a great option for you, as she sounds comfortable right now bare. The great thing about boots is you can take them off once you're done your ride and let the hoof have a break.
I really like the Easyboot Epics or Easyboot Bares. To make them work optimally, measure your mare's feet for the boots perhaps 3 weeks after her trim, unless she grows at an alarming rate. That way they should fit throughout her growth, except perhaps at the very end.
Be careful with this concept. High heels put the foot out of balance, and transfer weight to the toe. If your mare has had laminitis then it is her toe area that is weakest, and this will cause her potential pain -- especially if she has any rotation in P3. Goal should be to keep P3 (the coffin bone) as ground level as possible so that, as Cherie mentioned, the horse can bear weight in the back half of the hoof. Mustang roll is always a good idea to aid in breakover.
It would be great to see some photos of her feet, I'm curious about the extra sole growth.
You are just taking a 'shot in the dark' without x-rays. Find a Vet that can take x-rays so you know what you are dealing with. A Vet that specializes in horses and lameness issues would be best. Find how much rotation she has in her P3 (coffin bone). She needs to be trimmed and/or shod to a prescription worked out by the Vet taking the x-rays. To do anything less is just guessing and hoping for the best.
Horses that have considerable rotation of the P3 have a very poor growth rate at the toe. If you look at the growth rings going around the horse's hoof, the difference between the width of those rings at the heel (usually wider) and the toe (very narrow) show you how much the growth is hindered at the toe. The 'dish' in a foundered horse's feet are from the faster growing heel pushing the slower growing toe up.
The heel is the healtiest part of the hoof, so most trimming and shoeing techniques try to transfer as much weight and stress as possible to the heel and away from the toe. We have had the best response taking ALL weight off of the front third of the hoof wall and placing all weight on the back 2/3 of the horse's hoof.
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My gelding had laminitis and I keep him barefoot with regular trims. He's on a low starch/sugar feed and is on pasture. I just watch him in the spring when the new grass is starting and dry lot him if I have to. I try to stay away from shoes if at all possible.
Her hoof quality looks pretty good. When was she trimmed last? From these photos her feet look a little bit long and a little imbalanced. Her heels are quite long, and her toe is stretching at the white line (can you see how the angle of the wall changes about 2/3 of the way down, where the toe wall becomes less steep).
Here is a photo from that website that looks similar to your mare, though this hoof is much worse:
You can see the similarities: long diverging toe, heels that are excessively long and becoming underslung (growing under instead of down). Here is a photo of much better hoof angles:
This foot is very achievable for your girl! She has lots of excess hoof, and I think in a couple of trims you can get her heels and toe to a reasonable length before they do more damage (her toe will continue to flare if not trimmed back and her heels continue to collapse). Ultimately you want her frog to come into ground-contact, developing the back half of her hoof, so lowering her heels is important.
Good luck with your mare. If you can get her trimmed soon and measure her for boots I think that would be the best option for the continued recovery of her feet.
My horse suffered severe laminitis from Potomac Horse Fever. Duct tape on the raw soles, epsom salt, banamin and bute daily interchangable got him through it. It took several years. He also was plagued with absesses afterward and even had to have subsequent surgery to remove a large keratoma. Packing and cleaning the wound every other day for nearly a year got him through it, but what work! I think it was due to not shoeing him but rather listening to "natural" hoof care enthusiasts.
As far as leaving your horse barefoot, I wouldn't advise it if he is soft-footed and prone to laminitis. In my limited experience, my horse has not had an absess since I started this procedure and decided to use farrier instead of "natural" hoof care. My advice: shoe your horse regularly and year round to prevent further problems with absesses.
Every horse is different and needs to be treated as an individual. It looks like his heels are extremely long and should be brought down.
Two horses foundered at our barn. Rogue was pretty fat and was not overfed = he just an "easy" keeper. He foundered and went on a dry lot for months in the arena! No grass for him. His owner did natural hoof trimming and she had to stuff the little holes in his white line which she did diligently. She was able to ride him 6 months later. He is going strong and his feet are doing great.
Another horse foundered and the owners were spending BIG bucks having her treated...to the tune of $400 shoeings. Her hooves looked like melted ice cream cones. A barefoot trimmer, who is also a world class endurance competitor, came and did a barefoot trimming clinic with us. The mare could barely stand on the concrete even with pads. By the end of the trim she was licking her lips and when turned out in the arena she started trotting around and bucking. This mare had been crippled bad.
She is doing well, she canters and bucks in her pasture like the wild woman Arabian she is which is thrilling to all of us at the barn.
Put Easy Boot Gloves on your boy. We all have EBG's for our horses when we need them. They are easy to use and a great help if your horse is a little sore or if the ground is rocky. Right now, until I grow out the crack/hole in Biscuit's hoof, he will be ridden in his EBG. He had this crack when I got him and I am hoping to see it gone for good in 3 months of a good Mustang Roll!! Good luck and read up on barefoot trimming. It may not be for everyone but I have seen it work miracles.
I also agree that before you do anything, you need to know how much rotation you're dealing with... Meaning xrays. Laminitis does not always mean rotation.
My horse also had a laminitis attack 4 years ago. I took him to the vet soon after I got him and learned he had little to no rotation. He just goes barefoot with regular trims and I've never had issues. He is pastured 24/7.
Yes, you bring up a great point there is no one-fix-all method when it comes to foot care. My foundered horse was severely rotated, but the rotation has improved through corrective trimming/shoeing and can now be ridden. My other horse has extremely hard soles and never abcesses or foot problems thus far. He does fine with just trimming.
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