Footsore... advice please

[martini55]

It's now 2 months into our transition to barefoot. Tini had gotten to the point where she was quite comfortable walking around her field, yard and in the barn (though she was still walking a bit funny but not unlevel like before). However, she was trimmed on Fri and yesterday and today has gone back to being footsore again. My EP did say that although she hardly took anything off she would probably notice and be sore over stones. However, I didn't think she'd be as uncomfortable as she is. In particular it seems to be her right fore, which she is taking a shorter stride with. She also stumbled a few times walking across the yard. Tonight I popped her hoof boots on to walk in from the field and she is absolutely fine in them.

There is no digital pulse and as a precaution I moved her fence further back this morning so she has even less grass. She is out 24/7 and has been for over 2 weeks. She is currently being fed twice a day- hi-fi lite, with supplements of cortaflex 1/2 sachet of danilon and magox in one of them. Nothing has changed in her routine.

I scrubbed her feet out (as a just incase) when I brought her in tonight and fed her extra magnesium. Should I continue with a higher dosage or is that unneccessary? Currently we were walking out inhand for 20mins per day and as she is comfortable in boots I was going to continue with this to see it helped improve things. Is this the right thing to do or should I stop walking her out? I also plan to walk her in/out to the field in her boots for the next few days.

Any other advice would be great. If things don't improve over the next few days I'll certainly drop my EP an email. It's just a bit disheartening when things were going well.

[Bobbin]

My trimmer doesn't like Hi-Fi Lite, I've just popped Bry onto it for the summer but I've been told to keep an eye on her.

Have you given a wormer recently?

If her soles are sensitive then maybe put some keretex hoof hardener on them to toughen them up.

[domane]

What's wrong with hi-fi lite? :confused:

[martini55]

I'd be interested to know why your trimmer does not like hi-fi lite too. She was wormed at the beginning of April, so I can't imagine it'd be anything to do with that.

[Yann]

Did the EP explain why she might be sore, and why it was necessary to trim that area anyway? They should have done. All things being equal you should see an improvement over the next 4 or 5 days, so I wouldn't worry too much for now, I've been there and it is frustrating.

I think Hifi Lite does contain a small amount of mollasses, that's probably why.

[martini55]

Ah yes it contains mollasses extracts, no idea on the amounts though. I'll have to check the bag. I've fed it for over 6 years no problems though :) Don't know what would be a better alternative for laminitics?

Basically as I understand it my EP dealt with flare and rebalanced the foot. She hardly took anything off but just said that even though it seems an insignificant amount, no doubt Martini would notice and be sore over stoney ground. I guess just because her feet are so poor.

[Bobbin]

I wouldn't mind putting money on the fact that the wormer has caused this, alongside having her feet trimmed and possibly a bit of fresh grass. Wasn't Pramox you used was it?

If she had shoes on then you would probably never notice it but obviously feet that aren't shod are alot more sensitive to the slightest changes.

Yann is right about the hi-fi lite, which makes me laugh as its advertised as suitable for laminitics.

Get Tini some Pink Powder and I bet you see a difference.

[Yann]

She hardly took anything off but just said that even though it seems an insignificant amount, no doubt Martini would notice and be sore over stoney ground

That's fair enough, I found the same thing with Tess early on, taking a teeny bit of flared hoof wall would make a noticeable difference to her comfort levels early on, it gets better :)

[MelanieD]

If she's only sore on stoney ground I wouldn't be too worried considering her history and how long she's been barefoot. Since she's sound in boots and no digital pulses I'd keep going with the walking in boots. If it is just the trim she should improve after a few days anyway.

[martini55]

Yes it was Pramox I used. I really can't see it being that to be honest, would it take about 1 month to see any effects from it? Because the footyness has coincided with the trim I still suspect it is to do with that. She was walking better today so hopefully over the next few days she'll continue to improve.

Now her toes are growing down I can actually see the thickness of the hoof wall there and it's quite scary really- only a couple of mm! She's also starting to shed some of her sole. It's coming away in (frustratingly) tiny bits. I have no idea if that could account for any soreness?

[capalldubh]

Like Tini, Jackson was very uncomfortable over stony ground for quite a while after his shoes first came off - he was fine on hard but level ground (e.g. tarmac) but miserable in the field whenever it rained and the ground got very soft - and it was mainly the hoof that had had the abscess. Shoes came off at end of December, and thinking back, he had occasional bouts of sore foot until early March. Like you, I occasionally looked at the hoof wall after a trim and was a bit scared how thin it was. Apparently hoof wall thickness gives a good indication of sole thickness too, so probably that would have accounted for how miserable he got when the ground was soft, with only thin sole to support him.

After about two months, there was a sudden improvement, and after the last trim, I could see the wall thickness had improved. He is sound over everything at the moment - so hopefully with Tini, things should come right quite soon.

It was odd that with us, the improvement seemed to be quite sudden (I can even pinpoint the week), but maybe it was just that a gradual improvement just got to the point where it had a noticeable effect.

Glad to hear she seems a little more comfortable today, but def. give EP a phone if you're concerned (I find her better on the phone than by email...) :)

[Bobbin]

Glad she's feeling better.

As a word of caution though just be extra vigilent after you have wormed. I didn't notice any real problems with wormers untill Christmas and Bry had her shoes taken off in September.

It may be that you never experience any problems but just be extra aware that wormers CAN cause a problem in barefoot horses. I've seen it first hand after extensive 'experimentation' and research.

[martini55]

Thanks for the warning. I've never had a problem with worming before, though now the shoes are off there's no doubt you'd notice things that would perhaps be masked by shoes. I tend to use equest since it's longer periods between worming. And as she is laminitic I have to be extra careful.

[gingeremmie]

Does hifi lite have alfalfa in it? That can make some horses footy. I feed dodson and horrell safe and sound, I'm not sure if that has alfalfa in or not. I only feed a couple of fistfuls though, just enough to hide the magnesium.

[MelanieD]

HiFi does have some alfalfa in, not a lot but it was enough for Roxy who tends to go a bit nutty on alfalfa to act like a hyperactive idiot. Safe and Sound doesn't have any alfalfa in, I feed that as well and checked before starting to feed it.

[martini55]

Well she was pretty sore coming in tonight and wasn't 100% comfortable walking out in her boots- she stopped quite a few times with a not-so-impressed expression, which is unusual for her so she must be uncomfortable. I emailed my EP and her thoughts are it could be an abscess, which is what I was thinking could be a possibility. I think I was so obsessed with the possibility of some form of laminitis that I pushed it to the back of the list of problems :rolleyes:.

Does anyone have any advice regarding to how to determine whether it is an abscess? And what the best way to deal with it would be?