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  Discussion on Lameness in right front hoof
Author Message
Member:
lilly

Posted on Monday, Mar 19, 2007 - 1:57 pm:

Hi, I am looking for much needed advice. I have a Belgian/QH mare, 11 years old - big round hooves but flat. I purchased her in September from my farrier. When I picked her up to take her home, the farrier was trimming her in the field. I loaded her up, took her home barefoot and she walked off the trailer lame. The trip was about 20 miles in a very nice, new trailer. She was slightly lame in her right front. The farrier came out (same one I bought her from) and put hoof testers on her and said her heel was tender and probably bruised. After about a week she seemed fine - at least my trainer said she looked fine. Then in Dec I moved my mare from Virginia to Louisiana. The trip went fine and she adapted quickly to her new home. A week after we arrived I had her new farrier trim her. Isabella had not been trimmed in at least 7 weeks, maybe closer than 8 and the new farrier said that there wasn't much to trim off (I was shocked to hear this). I left her barefoot. I started to ride Isabella in a covered arena with soft footing - just simple English exercises. During the day she is turned out in a large field with relatively soft ground. The walk from the field to the barn is rocky though (gravel driveway). In January, I took a riding lesson and was told by the instructor that Isabella was lame in the right front. She flinched slightly when checked with hoof testers. I put steel shoes on her and at the time I thought she was OK but it is possible I wasn't seeing the slight lameness she is showing now. Then on February 18, I took her into the arena to ride. As soon as she picked up the trot I could feel the lameness in her right front. I took her back to the barn, put her away and made arrangements to meet with the vet. He looked at her on Monday and we noticed that the lameness was most obvious when Isabella is trotted in a circle to the right. Isabella did not respond to hoof testers - note she still had on her shoes. On Monday, February 26, x-rays were taken. The vet said he could not see anything except for a little sidebone and he noted how flat footed she is. He said that her toes were too long. That same day the farrier reviewed the x-rays with the vet and then he took her toes back and put her shoes back on. We lunged her afterwards and the lameness remained the same. On February 28, the vet gave her a low block. He said it covered the back portion of the foot. When lunged, she was totally sound. After that, we put her on Bute for 6 days. Nine days after starting the bute, I lunged her and found her lameness exactly the same. So now I am not sure where to go. She has not been rode since February 18. I do not detect any heat in her feet. She has not responded to hoof testers but has only had them applied while wearing shoes. The vet has suggested putting her on a drug to increase blood flow to her feet (isoproxine?). I asked for copies of her x-rays today. I would like to post them here. I don't know if I should try natual balance shoes, shoes with a rolled toe, a rim pad or maybe equi-pak. I have my doubts that a change in shoeing is going to fix the problem but I really don't know what the problem is! Farrier #1 is open to trying natural balance shoes but Farrier #2 claims that squaring the toe robs them of support at the toe and put an extra burden at the side of the hoof wall. I just tried to attach photos and Bellsouth won't let me. I hate my internet service!!!!!! If anyone is interested I can email the photos of her hoof to an email address. Does anyone have any advice about the lameness? I would like to note that Isabella trots all over the field during the day and seems to be happy. She is not limping around in pain. She holds her head high and runs after the other mares. I think her lameness would be classified as grade 2. Ann
Member:
mrose

Posted on Monday, Mar 19, 2007 - 8:21 pm:

Is it possible she stepped on something and has an abcess building? Or, could she have stepped on a sharp rock in the drive (or elsewhere) that caused a deep bruise?
Member:
lilly

Posted on Monday, Mar 19, 2007 - 9:41 pm:

Sara, I have been considering a deep bruise for a while. I emailed the photos I took to a friend in Virginia. Just my luck, my old farrier and previous owner of Isabella was at her barn today. She showed him the pictures and he believes that her heels are getting under slung. He suggests bringing the shoe back to under the bulbs of her heel and bringing the break over back. Looking at the photos, he thinks that the heels are getting under slung - maybe even crumbling! He suggests trying a natural balance shoe especially since it will be wider and longer. Based on her symptoms, this seems to make since. What do you think?
Member:
mrose

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 20, 2007 - 12:43 am:

I don't know. Just a gut feeling, if it were my horse, I'd pull her shoes and then use the hoof tester for one thing. It might be true that her heels are underslung, but if that was the cause of her lameness it just seems to me she would be lame in both front feet, not just the right one.
Is it only at the trot she shows lameness? It's odd that she trots in the field and seems o.k I take it she still has her shoes on?

The fact that she trots in the field when she's moving freely and shows no sign of lameness makes me wonder if the lameness is really from her foot. She may have problems with her feet; with out seeing pictures there's no way to tell. But, is there any chance she could have a problem in her shoulder or somewhere other than her leg? I wonder because the only time it seems to show up is when she's moving in a circle on the lounge, or is under saddle. Just a thought. I hope someone that actually knows more about feet and lameness jumps in here!
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 20, 2007 - 6:21 am:

Hello Ann,
I agree that the biggest problem with what to do with the next step is a diagnosis of what might be wrong. We have an article that takes you in a step by step manner to diagnose diseases of the foot that you can pick up at the point of a positive response to a PDN block see Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Diseases of the Hoof » Overview of Diagnosis and Diseases of the Foot.

Concerning the proper shoeing of this foot, it is true that rolling the toe may put more stress on the the quarters but some feet have excessively loaded toes and need this correction. For more on how to balance feet for proper breakover see Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Diseases of the Hoof » Correcting Long Toe Low Heel Foot Conformation.

I use BellSouth and post photos all the time though I have noticed about a 5 meg limit on emailed photos, what sort of problems are you having with posting images? For more on this see, Help & Information » Uploading Images and Files Into a Posting. I would like to see the photos of the feet and radiographs.
DrO
Member:
lilly

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 20, 2007 - 9:42 am:

Hi Sara,
I think I was a little misleading when I described her behavior in the field. She is lame at the walk and trotting in a straight line, it is just that it is a very mild lameness that it is hard to see. I spoke to the vet yesterday and he said that he watched her in the field and noticed she was still lame. I was trying to describe her attitude. She isn't in so much pain that it has slowed her down. She is still asserting herself as boss mare and keeping all the other horses in line. She still has her shoes on and I definately want the farrier to try the hoof testers on her after the shoes are pulled. I am fairly confident that the lameness is caused by a hoof problem because she was moving so freely after her low block. She looked amazing! The vet said that the low PDN block was focused at the back of the foot with little effect over the toe.

I will try to load pictures again today. I have some pictures at www.horseshoes.com. A fellow member posted them for me. It was at horseshoes.com that Bellsouth was giving me trouble. At this site my pictures were too big. I should be able to get my x-ray copies today and I will try reposting my original pictures and x-ray pictures. Ann
Member:
mrose

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 20, 2007 - 11:12 am:

Hi Ann, do you have Adobe Photoshop? If so, to shrink pictures, after you have loaded the photo, go to "image" in the upper tool bar and click on "resize" in the pull down menu, and then "image size." When the box appears with the image size, in the pixel box halve the size, then click on "file" in the upper tool bar then on "save to web." This will tell you the new size. Keep repeating the process until you get the saved picture down to 60kb or less. Then, post the picture. There is probably a less repetative way to do this, but I found this way works.
Member:
lilly

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 20, 2007 - 3:31 pm:

Hi, Until I figure out what software to download on my "husband's" computer, I will list the url for each x-ray photo at photobucket.com

https://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t132/Aswitalski/RightFrontLateral.jpg?t=11744 19027

https://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t132/Aswitalski/RightFrontDPFeb07.jpg?t=11744 18908
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 21, 2007 - 6:57 am:

Ann the structures involved in the PDN block are explained in the article I reference above and it is not just the heels blocked.
DrO
Member:
lilly

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 21, 2007 - 8:53 am:

DrO, I will read the article again. I was just repeating what my vet told me. I have my radiographs posted at another website for farriers and someone commented that it looks like there is a medial/lateral imbalance. When looking from the back of the hoof(on the x-ray)it does look like the right side tips slightly lower to the ground than the left side. How is something like this corrected? Would I have to trim and x-ray together and just trim down the high side or would I use pads to raise the lower side?

Ann
Ann
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Mar 22, 2007 - 6:58 am:

If an imbalance can be safely trimmed out, trim it out. If too achieve balance the trim would excessively weaken structures, like excessive thinning of the sole, you should use appliances to balance the foot.
DrO
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