Toe Cracks

Do hooves with WLD, Abscesses, or Seedy Toe need shoes to be fixed?

This horse had them all and the post relates to a horse I saw several years back, but I never showed you the finished product.

Well here you go.  Before and after shots in pairs.

FYI - this was not achieved overnight and took frequent trim intervals.

View from front

Left hind at the beginning

Left hind at the finish

View from Side

Side view left hind beginning

Side view left hind finish

Never say Never x3

A rare still moment

1 - This is a KWPN I first met aged about 5.  Diagnosed Navicular the prognosis was poor and the Vet School advised PTS or at most a year as a light hack on Bute.

He is now 11 and doing just fine.  A sugar sensitive Labrador x Shetland pony of a horse, he weighs in about 750kg, or 1653lb for folks from the US.  He stands at 17.2hh, or 178cm in his bare feet.

2 - The big news is that he can turn out in a herd of 14 on 30 acres of ex woodland.  Relatively poor ground on a stonking hill that suits him pretty well.

3 - He can also jump.  The horse it was rumoured couldn't jump, quite clearly can when sufficiently motivated...  He decided he wanted to come in and the gate was shut, so he jumped the fence, uphill and out of mud.  We found the foot prints.  Never say never!

High Heels are not a good thing

High Heeled Shuffle

This horse had been lame on/off for two years.  The list of issues
was lengthy.  Movement resembled an old man with a Zimmer frame.

Compare the heel height in photo 1 with the good foot in photo 2.  You can see the likely consequences for the pedal bone of the hoof in photo 1, even without an x-ray.

The high heel was added to with a further wedge. Note the event lines and rasped out toe.

1 Compare the heel height with that of the photo 2 below

2 Dissection of an excellent hoof, note hairline at heel

3 Heel is the narrowest point of foot.  (incorrect)

4 Sheared and contracted heel, note excessive

 heel height

The shuffling horse became something of a tank on overdrive when shoes were removed.  Ridden work commenced earlier than usual in the rehab process because the horse was so strong in hand.

The photos below are just 7 weeks post de-shoe - change can happen fast in the right circumstances.  The owner has worked hard to achieve this. 

5 Same foot, seven weeks post deshoe, note

decontraction already happening

3 months post de-shoe and the horse is moving really well. Thrush is still an issue - it had got so deep into the foot under the pads and up into the sheared heel.  But it is getting better.  Horse jumped out of his field a time or two, so obviously feeling well.  Congratulations to the owner for seeing this through and sticking with him.

6 No longer shuffling, hacking out several times a week

and jumping out of field (boots are overreach not hoof)