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Discussion on Sore following trimming
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New Member:
Cindyenc
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 28, 2006 - 11:36 am:
My 10 year old gelding has been barefoot most of his life. A week ago a new farrier did his own version of the barefoot trim. He trimmed the walls completely level with the sole, almost back to the bars, and did not pare the sole at all. He took a little off the bars to make everything flat and cleaned up the frog. He did not have to remove much hoof wall, as his feet were already pretty short. The horse is now standing on much of his sole.
He then put on a coating of Hoof Armor. (This is the guy who developed the product, so I am assuming there was no mistake in the application.) When the horse DrOpped his foot, some gravel dust became imbedded in the Hoof Armor, which was soft enough to stick a bit.
Within hours, the horse was sorefooted. I checked his feet and picked a small stone out that was stuck next to the frog. By the next day he was grade 3 lame. There is no heat or swelling, just extreme tenderness, especially on the one front, and much worse on gravelly ground. Most of the Hoof Armor was worn off by this time and now is completely gone. I called the farrier back, and he said he had never seen this happen, and I should call the vet.
My question is, should the sole be pared back to take the pressure off? Do call the vet, or another blacksmith to look for a stone bruise?
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Member:
Sjeys
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 28, 2006 - 12:03 pm:
For any grade 3 lameness, I'd call the vet. Calling another farrier is iffy because they never like anyone else's work...I always thought the hoof wall should touch the ground, not the sole??? My pony was sore once due to the sole hitting the ground first. We had the farrier trim it back...but listen to others as I could be wrong.
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Member:
Sswiley
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 28, 2006 - 2:56 pm:
This sounds all too familiar. I dont know how many times I have seen people trim perfectly sound barefoot horses and make them quite sore. Every horse has a different tolerance for how short they can be trimmed. Just because you see one sound horse with short feet and flat sole does not mean all horses can be trimmed like this. I have a very big 16.2 HH mare that can do all kinds of things barefoot. I you were to look at her foot you would think "OMG she must be sore" but in fact she does fine. I shoe her in front only because my gut tells me that this is a big horse doing hard work and there might be some low grade inflamation I am causing. Then again I have a 1/4 pony that needs shoes all around, her feet look fine barefoot but she does not look comfortable. OK I will get off my soapbox.
I would keep him on some soft dry footing and give him some bute for a day or two. You say grade 3 on a scale of what ? If after that he is still sore, or he suddenly gets worse on one particular foot, then I would pursue other possibilities like an abcessing bruise. I also like to paint the sole with iodine or trupentine to help toughen it. I would also get your old farrier back.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Friday, Sep 29, 2006 - 6:33 am:
Cindy,
You should review Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Diseases of the Hoof » Problems Following Shoeing or Trimming for first aid and treatment recommendations. Suggestions as to when to call the veterinarian are also given but we always recommend a call to the vet when you don't understand the problem.
DrO
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New Member:
Cindyenc
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Posted on Friday, Sep 29, 2006 - 9:12 am:
Thank you, I did read all the articles before posting - very informative.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Friday, Sep 29, 2006 - 7:17 pm:
I apologize for the misunderstanding Cindy. There are several ways I use to try and judge if the most appropriate article has been read. The main keys are, "does the person start a new discussion in the most appropriate heading?" and "does the member ask questions that are already answered in the article?". Using these criterion your post suggested you had not read it. Are there questions you still have that are not already answered there?
DrO
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New Member:
Cindyenc
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Posted on Saturday, Sep 30, 2006 - 8:37 am:
There are different opinions on how much wall to leave on a barefoot trim. My old farrier used to leave a few millimeters of hoof wall. On this horse the wall was trimmed flush with the sole, almost back to the heel. Do you think that parring the sole would give some relief? Or just wait until he grows some hoof back? He is comfortable enough to rip around the pasture, and only shows pain when walking on stones or when being ridden. Would you suggest shoes at this point? I repeat that this horse has always been barefoot, and is not transitioning from being shod.
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Member:
Scooter
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Posted on Sunday, Oct 1, 2006 - 7:39 am:
Hi, Cindy I have one going thru this also. He is on week 3 post trim and getting better. I can ride him with old macs. I also gave him bute for a few days, which helped. From my experience, I don't think paring more sole would help, it would seem it would just thin it more and make it more prone to bruising. Patience is probably key here and maybe invest in a pair of boots,they come in very handy sometimes.
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New Member:
Cindyenc
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Posted on Thursday, Oct 5, 2006 - 8:18 am:
Thank you all. I am going to give boots a try. I really believe in the benefits of going barefoot.
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Member:
Jivete
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Posted on Thursday, Oct 5, 2006 - 11:52 am:
I wouldn't shoe him, especially if he's always been barefoot. Some trims will make a horse sore but it doesn't mean the horse needs shoes, it means he needs a different trim. I would imagine the lack of wall is the culprit but I wouldn't trim the sole any more. Whenever I've trimmed my mare a little short in the walls, she'll gimp occasionally on gravel. Once she grows out a little she's fine and the next trim I make sure to trim less wall. If my trim is correct, she's never remotely sore, even trotting down the gravel drive. I agree with Diane. Wait it out and communicate your problems to your trimmer. A good one will listen and adjust their trim.
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