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Member:
Dres

Posted on Wednesday, Nov 30, 2005 - 10:51 am:

Dr. O and or anyone with experience with this kind of situation.. I have a gelding that has very good hoof wall/ soul/frog, its the internal works that are a mess I would like to take his shoes off for winter like the rest of my riding horses... On the right front hoof he has an extensor processor fracture found as a three year old ( he is now 6 ) this hoof is misshaped, what is called a buttress hoof, he is sound on it now , the left front hoof had, don't know if its still there, an avulsion fracture of the navicular found last year, he is sound on it now too... He is out 24/7 in a paddock covered with road base, a 3/4 in. rock sand mixture, he has his three sided shed with rubber mats.. I hve been taking off shoes on the other horses every winter, they are tender the first few days but toughen up greatly.. I love the rest the hoof gets from this break of shoeing / nailing etc... I would like him to have the benefit of this as well... My question do I dare take his shoes off ?? ( he is NOT in corrective shoes, but I have been having him done every 5 weeks to keep the angles correct )

thanks as always...:-)
On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with SPOTS..
Member:
Hwood

Posted on Wednesday, Nov 30, 2005 - 12:25 pm:

Hi, Ann.

I am glad the horse is now sound. I wonder if you could remove the shoes and find Old Macs to fit him. That way he'd have some protection of his sole and hoof wall, but his feet would also be able to expand better on contact with the ground, and if he seems to go all right in the Old Macs, you can try him without them just to get an idea?
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Dec 1, 2005 - 7:41 am:

Hmmmm a buttress foot... Besides the fractured extensor process, other processes can be associated with this type conformation and therefore this should be a decision made by someone who can directly examine the foot Ann. Some of the questions that should be taken into account when deciding this should be:
  • When was the last time a radiograph done? And maybe it should be done again if it has been awhile.
  • What type soundness problems have you had in the past?
  • What is the angle of the foot with the ground?
  • And perhaps most important: how thick and healthy is the sole?

DrO
Member:
Dres

Posted on Thursday, Dec 1, 2005 - 10:32 am:

Thanks for the ''food'' for thought, I never thought that the buttress shape could be from anything other then the fracture/ inflammation.. *** what other 'causes' can cause a buttress shape hoof ???*** ( like i need to be worried about THAT too !)) It has been a while since x rays, and i was talking about doing more to see how much change has occurred but was going to wait till spring I think i will start the ball rolling now.. I have to have the original x rays sent from UCD to my local clinic (( easier drive)) once this is done will take a fresh look... until then, I think keeping the front shoes on to stay on the safe side...

Holly, I don't have any boots to fit this boys hoof, they are very round ( expect the buttress) and large.. I wanted him to go shoeless for expansion etc and well ease on me , I would not have to go out in the mud to clean out his front hoofs everyday too.. :-)

I will go about this slowly and cautious...

thanks...
On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with SPOTS..
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Dec 2, 2005 - 8:53 am:

Exostosis of P2, subluxation of the coffin joint, even enlargement of the extensor tendon might appear this way, the point is "buttress foot" is not a diagnosis so much as a description of the appearance of the foot.
DrO
Member:
Dres

Posted on Friday, Dec 2, 2005 - 10:46 am:

Again thank-you for the education, ''subluxation of the coffin joint'' now that is something I had not thought of, or would change the shape of a hoof... This hoof shape came on slowly, actually after he was dx with the fracture, BUT interestingly enough the vet said that it was an old fracture that the horse knocked when ''falling'' out of the trailer.* that caused his lameness and vet visits*... YES! I will be getting a fresh look...

thanks as always...
On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with SPOTS..
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