flat footed?!!!!!!!!!!!

[michelle c]

my mare came in on the weekend with suspected laminitis, or so i thought!!!!!!!:eek: my farrier happened to be up at the stables to check her for me, and told me to trot her up as she didnt look too bad in the walk (i knew there was a problem) as she trotted up she looked, the best i can describe as if she was backing off her front feet!!!!!:eek: he then got the nipper things to test for laminitis and she didnt seem too bothered! so he said that she was uncomfortable on her feet and it may be the early stages of lami!! he then came up to shoe her on tuesday, he put her normal shoes back on her, i wasnt up but was told that she is laminitis free:D THANK GOD FOR THAT, but it is due to flat footedness, i havnt spoke to him yet but i dont actually know what to do next!!

has anyone had this problem before, and what did you do about the problem (apart from remedial trimming)?

i would be gratefull for your oppinions :)

[Yann]

If she was short in front it could easily be low grade laminitis, a lot of barefoot horses show similar symptoms purely because it's more obvious without the extra protection and support of a shoe. There's no reason to think that shod horses don't get the same thing. Adjusting diet to a low sugar / high fibre diet and restricting grazing can help reduce or eliminate the problem.

In terms of the actual flat soles, I'm not sure how or if you'd fix this with a shoe on. They're a sign of weak internal structures in the foot, basically everything has gone splat. The only way you can improve that as far as I'm aware is to give it more stimulation without a shoe so it can gradually adapt and strengthen, which will eventually draw the pedal bone back higher up into the foot and thicken the sole. That's what I've done with my horse Tess, and her feet are now developing concavity.

[MelanieD]

Does sound suspiciously like laminitis, there's not always something obvious to see under the shoes straight away. If she's been fine until now then you need to think about how the feet have got flat suddenly, and laminitis can cause the feet to get flat.

[michelle c]

well i was wondering that my self, she did just come in from quite a wet field and on to a dry uneven one, dont know weather that makes any difference because she has shoes on!!! also yesterday i walked her out to stretch her legs as she had been on box rest for five days, she was very fresh and seemed to be walking out fine and willing to do so? she wasnt before so she may have improved? i think i will see how she is on the weekend as to what to do next.

[gypsygold]

I would agree with Yann that her lameness/shortness in front without shoes could be due to either low grade laminitus or flat feet/sore soles. Putting shoes on would make either condition look better. With both if you go onto stony ground she will probably look footy again.

Considering the laminitis is your horse likely to have laminitis? Is she overweight? I know thats not the only cause of lammy but a place to start.

A pony at the yard I am at which has always looked footy to me, the farrier put shoes on saying she had sore feet, she still looked very pottery. She was on a lot of grass although not grossly fat - I suspected lammy all along and noticed only the other day she had classic lammy growth rings but not the worst I've seen. On Monday she was diagnosed with laminitis by the vet - the owner told me, I said I had suspected it for a long time but the owner said she hadnt had it for a long time or the farrier would of said something. I do wonder though:rolleyes: One of us was wrong and maybe she is footy and has only come down with lammy but looking at the rings round her feet I think she has been a chronic low grade lammy for a while.

I'm not saying look for rings round your feet but it might be quite easy to come to the wrong conclusion.

[gypsygold]

I'm not saying look for rings round your feet but it might be quite easy to come to the wrong conclusion.

Oops I meant her feet - if you have rings round your feet get to the docs too!

[michelle c]

thank you for all of your thoughts, im very greatfull for them.:)
although what you say makes sence, i may have found the cause of the lameness!!!! i talked to my farrier today and he said that with the ground drying up so quick she may feel it more espec if she has been running around, which she does do!!! i asked my auntie if she had seen her running around previousley and she said that she had!!!:rolleyes: it was 2 days before i brought her in, she had been moved to a paddock ( with less grass than she is used to) with a different herd, not ideal but i dont have the say in where she goes, and was told she paced the fence :eek: im not sure for how long but when i came up to bring her in, she had made friends with her half brother which is quite funny as they both have the same high strung attitudes!!!:D now they whinnie for each other when apart. my farrier also mentioned that the shoes were a bit tight :confused: before was this the reason she was not right :confused: and that her feet were dry and to apply hoof oil while we have this dry weather!!! so i am getting her a grazing muzzle to be on the safe side and keep an eye on her weight and HOPEFULLY we will be ok now!!!:p

[carthorse]

Go easy with the hoof oil on the sole. If she's flat footed then you really want the sole to be as hard & tough as possible so that she's less likely to bruise it. The wet winter played havoc with Jim's feet but once the ground dried up they got a lot tougher & I'm having fewer problems (touch wood!!!). Yes they may look a bit less pretty than when the ground is wet but in reality they are far far better.

I use Antibac to harden his hooves & keep any infection out of cracks & nail holes.

[Scarlett 001]

There are ways that a farrier can work to correct flat soles on a horse. It could be caused by wet soft soles, laminitis, cutting too much live sole off which makes a loss in support, trimming hoofwall incorrectly and such. So of course the trimming has to be done right on a shod horse. I know trimming techniques and their importance for barefoot are often a conversation, but good or bad trimming for the shoeing can make loads of difference for a shod horse too, and good farriers (just like good trimmers) can help improve feet and stimulate the structures (there are specific remedial shoeing trims and techniques). We don't seem to talk about them much on NR, but I've been hounding some farrier forums and they do have approaches to these things. I am no expert so don't want to try to repeat what i've read as I likely would not get it right, but right now we are in the process of remedial shoeing on my horse to stimulate healthy sole and heel growth. There are strategies.