Footy a few weeks after getting backs off

Laura_107

Laura_107

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Oct 15, 2010
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I wasn't very sure where to put this, since Kev is shod in front, but.....

I got the farrier to take K's back's off at his last visit (about 5 weeks ago) just to see how he went really. I was expecting him to be footy for the first couple of weeks, but he was absolutely fine. I took him out on hacks with stoney tracks and there appeared to be no difference at all, he was still striding out as normal.

Fast forward a few weeks and sadly I haven't been able to hack much at all with the dark nights and busy weekends so we have been doing a lot of work in the indoor school (so that only involves walking across a flat concrete yard). I took him down to the outdoor school on Thursday (down a stoney track) and he was really sore bless him! He was fine as soon as we got into the surface of the school, but super tentative and dropping his back end a fair bit on the stones.

I am a bit confused that he has gone footy after being fine initially? Now the bad weather is here and the hay is in he is constantly standing in the mud by the gate waiting to be allowed onto the hay....would this be making a difference? The only other thing I can think of is I have started adding a tiny bit of unmollassed speedi-beet to his dinner.
 
I have never had mine barefoot for various reasons so no expert but Im wondering could his feet has softened standing in the mud and therefore feels the stones more as opposed to before when harder and used to it hacking etc??
 
Laura_107 said:
I wasn't very sure where to put this, since Kev is shod in front, but.....

I got the farrier to take K's back's off at his last visit (about 5 weeks ago) just to see how he went really. I was expecting him to be footy for the first couple of weeks, but he was absolutely fine. I took him out on hacks with stoney tracks and there appeared to be no difference at all, he was still striding out as normal.

Fast forward a few weeks and sadly I haven't been able to hack much at all with the dark nights and busy weekends so we have been doing a lot of work in the indoor school (so that only involves walking across a flat concrete yard). I took him down to the outdoor school on Thursday (down a stoney track) and he was really sore bless him! He was fine as soon as we got into the surface of the school, but super tentative and dropping his back end a fair bit on the stones.

I am a bit confused that he has gone footy after being fine initially? Now the bad weather is here and the hay is in he is constantly standing in the mud by the gate waiting to be allowed onto the hay....would this be making a difference? The only other thing I can think of is I have started adding a tiny bit of unmollassed speedi-beet to his dinner.
Click to expand...

I'd say it might well be the wet that is perhaps making him a bit more sensitive than he was, how do his frogs look? Rubic's are looking a little bit tatty, I think the wet fields are starting to take their toll. I'm going to start spraying her feet with cider vinegar - its a very cheap and easy thrush treatment/preventative. It might be worth trying something like that? I don't know what the starch & sugar content of speedi-beet is, that may or may not be an issue. I think, for the ideal barefoot diet, you want the feeds to have a total starch and sugar content of less than 10%.
 
i'm always a bit wary of horses footy at the back as most really are fine with just fronts on. has the farrier trimmed off more than usual now that she shoes are gone? how sore is he? agree with the wet weather etc maybe making it worse but unless he's been trimmed really badly, he shouldn't be 'hopping' at the back so I'd look at feed and management as well (like what Rubic said :) )
 
It could be the wet and he just hasn't had chance to harden up. His feet will be changing shape as well.
I would speak to your farrier, how long was he shod?, some cope some need time, some never do and are either booted or reshod. I would do in hand walks as well as hacking and look at your diet, cereals are high in starch and are not recommended as ideal for unshod feet.
Its only five weeks, I would give it until the Spring.
 
One of our TBs (Lord F!!) lost a hind shoe at the weekend ,he was perfectly fine until he stood on a random stone coming in last night where he looked like he had a broken leg, wrapped up in bandages and fed in his stable he is perfectly sound, as he is when CK is not looking...they can be drama artists!!

This one likes playing the invalid he can put on the saddest face and wave his 'injured leg' around to get attention! Lots of bandages and a bute and visit by farrier or vet solves all!!
 
Odd that he should be sore on the backs. Most horses I know shod at the front only are very rarely sore on the back.
 
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