Footiness

Time to update this post; 'Help my horse has gone footy'  

Footiness is the bane of many a barefooter, and unresolved footiness, or a misunderstanding of what footiness means are common reasons for shoeing.

But the world is slowly waking up to the idea that a horse's hooves are a window to her health and it's a sad day when we choose to ignore the warnings we are being given.

And footiness is a warning, pure and simple, that all is not as it should be.  How we react to that warning says a lot about us.

What I failed to mention in the previous post is that list items 1-6 can cause an inflammatory response, as can adipose tissue.  This can cause footiness regardless of how good the hoof is.  Long term inflammation also seems to impact on the ability of a horse to grow a good foot, particularly sole. And a thin sole is a problem even if the horse isn't obviously footy.

If we are lucky, the footiness, including the thin sole sort, is indicating a basic management error (see post highlighted above) and can be resolved relatively simply.

If you can't resolve the footiness through good management then you need to consider metabolic disease such as Insulin Resistance (IR), Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) or Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID), commonly known as Cushings.  I've found that many horses that fail to grow a thicker sole have metabolic problems.

Also consider what I call FTS, Fat Thigh Syndrome.  I've known horses go footy simply from being overweight.

And if the horse has been out of work for any reason don't forget that the feet need time to get fit. No I'm not being daft, check hoof anatomy, there are a lot of ligaments in the foot and if they are not working they can get out of shape.  I've personal experience of that.

Happy tails............. 5 weeks barefoot diet and now comfy on stones

I am sure last night's phone caller won't mind me sharing the anonymised and paraphrased content of our conversation and some of the relevant background. Just to give everyone a bit of inspiration and some food for thought maybe.

Caller started the 'barefoot diet' just five weeks ago and to her complete joy (and much excitement) her horse can now manage a tricky concrete and stones track that he has always had trouble negotiating before he started the diet.

The background is this:- Met caller some five weeks ago.  Horse had been shod for some five years.  First shoeing was on vet recommendation because the horse had gone footy in the late spring/early summer.  (Yes I know what you are thinking!)

Owner not terribly chuffed as had been determined to keep horse barefoot, but was persuaded that this was the best and only option.  No mention of diet or low grade lamintis was made.

So five years on and some unfortunately damaged hooves and the horse is still not comfortable over stones.  Just five weeks on the 'barefoot diet' and he is transformed.

Go figure.

The good news is that now the owner knows what is needed and can manage her horse accordingly.  It only took five weeks to transform this horse, but it might take a little longer for the frustration of the 'wasted years' ( owners words not mine), to ebb away.

Big hugs to them both.

Oh and to misquote Dr Kellon, 'Halfway measures lead to halfway results."  This owner has followed instructions to the letter, including instituting an exercise programme to help manage the horse's weight.

Mystery footiness and other mystery issues

I make no claim to be an expert in equine nutrition, disease or otherwise.  But I am reasonably good at reading hooves, and time and again it has been proven to me that the barefoot hoof is a window to a horse's true health.

And we all want our horses to be in the best of health don't we? I appreciate that not everyone is as soppy about their animals as I am, but even the truly hard nosed among us must realise it makes economic sense if nothing else?


So if you have a horse that outwardly appears to be in full, bouncing, splendid health, but is footy over stones what do you do?  Well trust the hoof for a start, a horse that can't manage stones is not in perfect health and in the wild is going to get eaten.  In domestication, long term, they might get shot.
 
Well many of us (self included) end up wrestling with this problem for one horse or another.  Often, the answer lies with diet, but sometimes the diet and environment etc appear to be very good, but still the horse remains footy.  So other options are explored including Seasonal Rise, temperature/humidity, hormonal status and so forth.  These are allowed for, or discounted and still the horse remains footy.
 
Well for some, the answer may lie in a rarely discussed condition called Leaky Gut Syndrome.  It doesn't just cause mystery footiness, there are many other currently un/misdiagnosed conditions that may also have a root in this condition.
 
Websites, forums and blogs are no place to diagnose an illness/problem. But the purpose of this blog is to be informative and to encourage people in their barefoot journey, including when things get tricky (hence all the transition and before/after photos).
 
So have a gander (look) at this: Leaky Gut Syndrome explained if you think it fits your circumstances why not discuss the possibility with your vet?

Need a product to help with Leaky Gut? Try Thunderbrook (UK).