Foot imbalance - any expereinces?

[DITZ]

I thought I would post this seperately to my other thread running at the moment in the hope of grabbing the attention of anyone who has had expereince of this.

I looked at a beautiful horse last night who had started bucking/kicking out a year ago. Owner had vet out, x-rays etc and discovered it was due to a foot imbalance. Had remedial shoeing with a bar across for a while and back to normal except that she thinks horse now associates her with pain and still does for her. He did it last night with her but continued to do it when I rode him.

He would make a super horse but how much of a gamble is this? Any advice, opinions or experiences welcome.

[KarinUS]

Did she take x-rays again to see what the internal hoof structures look like now? Keep in mind some damage is permanent. How long ago was all this?
Is he nice enough to where you would want to continue treatment and cheap enough to where you could afford to?
I may be getting you confused with somebody else but arent' you shopping for another horse because your old horse can no longer comfortably progress with you? If so then buying another one with a problem may not get you what you want, right?

[Bebe]

My first question would be what exactly caused the foot imbalance? Is it due to an injury, conformational problem or poor trimming?

If it's the first 2 then I would imagine there's little that can be done to solve the problem other than remedial trimming/shoeing. I would ask if any bodywork (chiro, bowen, massage) has been done as hoof problems will be reflected higher in the body as the horse changes it's way of going to compensate.

If the imbalance is due to poor trimming then I'd expect the horse to have recovered by now. Bebe went lame in 2003 due to being poorly trimmed & shod by a new farrier (only 3 visits and she was lame all summer). A change of farrier fixed the immediate problem but there have been longer term effects which I'm still working to put right, namely underrun heels.

If the horse is still bucking out now despite the problem being supposedly resolved then I suspect there's more to the problem than meets the eye. I'd want the horse checking over for other physical problems (as I've mentioned above). I doubt the horse associates one particular rider with pain, especially as he did the same with you on board, but it's possible he does associate being ridden with being in pain. I'd gues it's much more likely that he's still in pain somewhere.

Given Bebe's hoof problems I've sworn that any horse I may get in the future needs to have excellent hooves! Hoof problems affect the entire horse and can be a nightmare to resolve.

[DITZ]

thanks guys, i did do a search on foot imbalance and saw your old thread bebe, i was going to PM you to see if it had recovered.

I am not sure what has caused it and it needs further investigation so its good that you are throwing these questions up because I wouldnt really know what to ask.

I'm inclined to say the problem is a conformational on as can't imagine her using a less than best farrier and think she would have said if it was an injury.

Have spoken to my farrier this morning and whilst he says its not a big issue putting different shoes on etc he has questioned why i would buy a horse that wasnt right. Ah but you should see him!! (heart overtaking head moment there!). He has also suggested speaking to the vet who did the investigations too.

karinus - yes you are right I am replacing one I've run into the ground :D and of course I am mindful of getting something with as many problems. At the moment his kicking out would not be an issue for me but if it gets worse you never know what it will do and so it needs some thorough investigations into what the effects might be in the long term.

edit to add - at my price bracket there seems to be something always the matter its just a question of what!

[Lucy J]

ah bebe yes, my next horse can look like a cow as long as it has good feet. there is a lot to be said for no hoof no horse. my mares feet are naff. always have been. i had horrile problems with her last summer, her stride became choppy her shoulders were stiff and her back was sore - outcome....after many vet and chiro visits we figured it was her feet, we switched to natural balance shoeing and she is now back to her old self (not perfect by any means, but her old self!) i also stress that i thought my previous farrier was excellent, but not the case. however remedial shoeing combined with the correct exercise program, chiropractic work and feed supplements if necessary and i see no reason this horse cannot be 100% - unless it is an injury, thats different

[Bebe]

Have spoken to my farrier this morning and whilst he says its not a big issue putting different shoes on etc he has questioned why i would buy a horse that wasnt right

True but you do want to bear in mind that remedial shoeing can end up being expensive. There's also the risk that the problems he has can have a knock on effect in terms of concussion not being transmitted through the hoof capusle properly therefore the joints are working overtime which increases the risk of arthritis, there's an increased potential for ligament & tendon problems, things like that.

ah bebe yes, my next horse can look like a cow as long as it has good feet. there is a lot to be said for no hoof no horse.

Yep, agree with you on that one :) My last farrier wasn't bad but he wasn't doing a great job either. Given that he's the best of the bunch available to me I decided to go down the barefoot route which is paying off for us.

[Yann]

ah bebe yes, my next horse can look like a cow as long as it has good feet

I can vouch for that;) :p :eek:

[KarinUS]

At the moment his kicking out would not be an issue for me but if it gets worse you never know what it will do and so it needs some thorough investigations into what the effects might be in the long term.

My concern would not be how bad his kicking out is but rather what's causing him to do that in the first place. Personally I would probably not be willing to take on the risk of buying a horse with potential serious medical problems. If it turns out to be something taht can't be fixed you won't be able to resell him and then you have nothing to ride- just a beautiful companion... :(
Take care.

[kedwards]

Yup, put me in the cow with great feet club as well.

Being the caretaker of a lovely athlete with bad feet, I will be much less inclined to allow my heart to overlook this particular problem in the future.

I don't mind the additional cost (and it has been pricey), but it's heartbreaking to keep thinking that I have the problem solved only to have it recur.