And she's lame
- Thread starter Jessey
- Start date
I was doing my nightly clean and keratex last night and decided to trim her hind bars back a bit, only to find a blooming corn on the right hind. Have got hind boots to hand now, and a blow torch ordered/arrived for an application of Hoof Armor, hopefully with all that on tomorrow she will heal up pretty quickly behind.
The front foot is still worrying, I've been keratexing daily but I can still flex the sole at the toe with 1 thumb, she's much more comfortable having spent the week in boots, preventing any pressure on the sole and keeping the feet relatively dry. Got to figure out a way to help that sole thicken even with the constant wear of living on sand.
The front foot is still worrying, I've been keratexing daily but I can still flex the sole at the toe with 1 thumb, she's much more comfortable having spent the week in boots, preventing any pressure on the sole and keeping the feet relatively dry. Got to figure out a way to help that sole thicken even with the constant wear of living on sand.
Good about the hind, but that's worrying about the front sole. We'd have the same with Jim, but in his case it was PPID laminitis related. The only thing that gave him enough protection to be safe out on our chalk & flint soil was shoes with pads and dental impression material and even then I had to be so careful with him. I'm guessing diet wise you're already covering all bases? We kept him on that shoeing method even when his sole depth improved, it kept the protection in place against flints and stopped his sole wearing away on the very abrasive chalk.
I've tweeked her diet a few times this year, a better vit/mineral balance seems to have helped and we now have tighter foot growing in with less evidence of fluctuations and upped her quality protein which was very interesting, her feet always got waterlogged easily before but now things just bead up and roll off so I think that is going to make a big difference once we have grown enough new foot in to see the full extent of it.
Her RF I cannot get a tiny bit of flex with full force and 2 hands, that LF it's half force with 1 hand before I can see/feel it giving, interestingly with hoof testers the only reaction was a slight tightening of the shoulder muscle, but I am damn sure that it what is sore and she was just being stoic. I don't think she would do well in pads long term, the 2 cycles we did have them on for she was riddled with thrush by the end of the 5 week cycle even with using the CS pour in pad meant to prevent thrush, it also didn't improve her soundness, never say never though, if that's what she needs then I'll do it.
I am trying to think of a way that her feet can be protected from the abrasion but not have a fixed covering over the whole foot (I am currently using boots but don't really like turning out in them all the time), if I can get the Hoof Armor to stay on this time it should be a good option as I can just apply it where she most needs it. I'm secretly hoping that the increased protein will somehow help her soles, if it makes the walls more waterproof maybe it will make the soles more waterproof too and with that more durable/flexible, I don't mean more bendy, but less likely to flake off every time it bloody rains.
Are those two bottom pictures the same foot. I dont like those splits on the toe on that bottom picture. The outer hoof wall looks good although i see some slight rings half way down.
So is the fore with the thin sole also the one which gets mystery swelling? If it is then I'd bet the swelling is from bruising that's travelling upwards because the hoof can't expand to allow for it. I hate to say it but I'd be worrying, and if she's insured I'd be pushing the vet for more investigations and also talking to my farrier. It's not normal for soles to be that thin, though it's sometimes a symptom of metabolic issues and lgl. I'd almost want a period of box rest to see if that helped, but then with some metabolic problems that can make matters worse so it's a gamble. A sole that thin and easily flexed is dangerous though, sole is all that keeps internal hoof structures internal. If it's allowing structures to bruise then you've got a problem.
Or I could be totally wrong Nd fretting because of past experiences. I hope this is the case.
Or I could be totally wrong Nd fretting because of past experiences. I hope this is the case.
Yes all the same foot just before and after a trim and there's no splits in the toe, the mud had just squidged either side of the toe callous and the shadow is making it look like a split. The more noticeable ring half way down the foot it from when I changed her balancer 4/5 months ago.
No the swelling and thin sole are different legs. I've not been ignoring this issue, I'm aware it's not normal or good. These feet are no longer insured, but we did 2 full work ups in Newmarket 6 months apart when her issues first started and they couldn't really pin it down to anything. I've had further xrays this year (sole thickness has improved slightly since the 2015 and 2016 rounds, tested for every metabolic thing we can, tested for lymes, consulted Dr Ellenor Kellon re lgl, followed all her suggestions too. We've just not got any answers from any of it. The next thing would be to mri but I just cannot afford it. I've consulted at least 6 different farriers and EPs over the last few years, they all had a guess but none were confident in what they were saying, most blamed the cushings which we've now categorically proven she doesn't have, one this year suggested she just doesn't form keritinised tissue like she should.
A month ago I couldn't flex the sole, it's not just the thinness, sometimes the old hard stuff flakes off and it's like the new stuff underneath is just immature. The worry about it not being strong enough to protect the internal foot is why she is in boots 24/7 currently, to protect it while she can't and I've got kevlar epoxy to apply today as I said.
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The saga continues, Jess had been steadily improving since the hoof armor application and wearing boots with pads on her fronts and daily iodine treatment on the hinds, she was near as dammit sound, then the boots suddenly start rubbing badly on her heels and I left them off and 48 hours later we're back where we started 
So against his gut, the farrier is coming on Saturday to put a pair of front shoes on her. I have the vet due in a few weeks for annuals so I figure if we get them on now we can see if she improves and if not perhaps do some more diagnostics then. Its not been slowing her down at all, she's been galloping about like a loon bucking and farting so at least she isn't miserable with it (and thankfully the antics don't seem to have any effect on the level of soundness).
So against his gut, the farrier is coming on Saturday to put a pair of front shoes on her. I have the vet due in a few weeks for annuals so I figure if we get them on now we can see if she improves and if not perhaps do some more diagnostics then. Its not been slowing her down at all, she's been galloping about like a loon bucking and farting so at least she isn't miserable with it (and thankfully the antics don't seem to have any effect on the level of soundness).
Shoes went on yesterday after more objections from the farrier. It certainly wasn't an instant cure but I didn't expect it to be, however she seemed more confident in her steps so I have a glimmer of hope. And I could have sworn her posture was different this morning, I'm not going to trot her up for a few days, in the hopes everything just needs time to settle down.
And boy has she taught me that over the years, I just have to follow my gut and if it fails put it down to a notch off the process of elimination
Has she taught you the healing powers of chocolate and alcohol too?
Oh goodness yes!Has she taught you the healing powers of chocolate and alcohol too?
1 week in shoes update; the bottom line, she's still not 100% but it's very subtle maybe 1/2 out of 10 on the LF, it's pretty similar to the morning that we put shoes on, perhaps slightly improved but I can't say if that's the time or the shoes.
I would start walking her to see if it eases out the last of the niggle but currently I would have to go through Indies paddock and I don't think that's wise so I need to knock a new post in and pop a fence up to create an alley before I can do that with any consistency. Vets out next Tuesday so will see what she thinks then too.
I would start walking her to see if it eases out the last of the niggle but currently I would have to go through Indies paddock and I don't think that's wise so I need to knock a new post in and pop a fence up to create an alley before I can do that with any consistency. Vets out next Tuesday so will see what she thinks then too.
Vet visit yesterday. She's lamer on the LF than she was, 2/10 now, so shoes not helping.
Had a massive kick in the teeth though, found she has developed a systolic heart murmur (grade 3). I knew heart was a possible concern after her odd swellings but it was not high on the differential (so much so that we forgot to check at the last vet visits), the look of shock/horror on my vets face told me it was bad before she spoke The long and the short, she's not to be ridden without a cardiologist doing an ECG, ultrasound etc., and even then she may not be safe to ride/need retiring and I've been advised to be aware when handling her.
Given the cost of the tests, with little hope of treatment, combined with her ongoing lameness issues, I have decided for now to retire her without testing, if by some miracle she comes very sound, I can test later. In my heart I desperately want to run the tests and do everything possible right now, but my head and gut say differently, I'm still on the emotional roll though so things may change once I've had a few days to process it all and spoken to my vet again. Devastated doesn't come close to describing how I feel.
Had a massive kick in the teeth though, found she has developed a systolic heart murmur (grade 3). I knew heart was a possible concern after her odd swellings but it was not high on the differential (so much so that we forgot to check at the last vet visits), the look of shock/horror on my vets face told me it was bad before she spoke
The long and the short, she's not to be ridden without a cardiologist doing an ECG, ultrasound etc., and even then she may not be safe to ride/need retiring and I've been advised to be aware when handling her. Given the cost of the tests, with little hope of treatment, combined with her ongoing lameness issues, I have decided for now to retire her without testing, if by some miracle she comes very sound, I can test later. In my heart I desperately want to run the tests and do everything possible right now, but my head and gut say differently, I'm still on the emotional roll though so things may change once I've had a few days to process it all and spoken to my vet again. Devastated doesn't come close to describing how I feel.
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