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Discussion on Unusual Heel Pain
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Member:
Onehorse
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Posted on Tuesday, Aug 31, 2004 - 9:58 am:
Dr.O,
My horse (quarterhorse, 15.2, about 1150 lbs, age 18) has recently been changed from a bar shoe (he had sheared heels) to a steel, new balance shoe (no bars) in his front hoofs. He is barefoot in back.
He clipped the shoes off twice and 10 days ago my shoer decided to put a smaller shoe on -- also new balance (and then my shoer went on vacation and is not available).
The problem: I rode my horse (after the shoeing) and he came up lame and stiff the next day. No apparent problems during the ride. Gave him a few days off, rode him again and the symptoms returned.
Careful observation (by myself) showed that when walking on a flat, concrete floor, my horse was stepping in a manner that caused the outside of the front right hoof to hit the ground first and then, sort of rolled to 'flat'. He was also ever so slightly bowing out on the right knee. When standing squared, it was apparent that he was leaning to the inside of both hoofs, but more on the right hoof. I measured from the coronary band to the bottom of the hoof on both the outside and inside of each hoof and noticed a descrpancy of about 3/8" on both hoofs (front), the short side being the 'inner' of both hoofs.
A shoer (not mine) came out. He examined my horse with hoof testers and noted that my horse was hurting on the inside of the hoof in both feet at the 'inside' heel. Stating, it's unusual for a horse to have pain in the same spot in different feet.
He didn't feel comfortable re-trimming the hoofs and changing what my shoer had done since this shoer didn't have any knowledge of my horse. He pulled the shoe, sanded down the part of the shoe that came in contact with the right hoof's inner heel to relieve 'pressure' and then put the shoe back on. He chose not to trim and said to have my regular shoer come out and look as soon as he returned. He did nothing with the left hoof ... noting that the major soreness was in the right.
The result was that when standing square, my horse's right hoof seemed to straighten out somewhat (no longer leaning to the inside as much), but still looked a little lop-sided. The left about the same.
I am waiting for my shoer to return and, of course, am not riding him. I realize perhaps the problem may be caused by uneven trimming or perhaps the smaller shoe ... and will wait for my regular shoer to return ... but I am perplexed that the soreness on the inner heels was found in both feet, in the same place ... any ideas or thoughts on this based on the information above? Thanks.
Rick Obadiah
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Member:
Suzeb
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Posted on Tuesday, Aug 31, 2004 - 2:39 pm:
Hello Rick,
While I can't diagnose the "odd" inner heel pain, I do have a few questions.
Is your farrier (the one who is on vacation) trained in Natural Balance shoeing?
Have you ever had X-Rays taken of your horses feet to determine what is going on in there and for proper shoe placement?
Are you able to get some pictures up in your post for viewing?
You can also visit www.hopeforsoundness.com to educate yourself about this application. The discussion link will take you to the www.horseshoes.com site. They have recently renovated their "Bulletin Boards" to a new forum as their old one was inundated with pornographic spam  . If you want to participate you can register free of charge, but you can lurk all you want  .
Hope this helps
Susan B.
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Member:
Onehorse
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Posted on Tuesday, Aug 31, 2004 - 6:12 pm:
Susan,
Thanks for your response and kind assist.
Yes to all your questions. The good news is that what the 'temp' shoer did has eased the discomfort and my shoer has actually called me from the Orlando airport (I'm in Wisconsin) to say he'll be at the barn tomorrow at 8:00 am!
My shoer believes the problem is caused by two things: smaller shoe and the way he had to shape the hoof to tack on the shoe in the first place ... the two shoes my horse lost (the bar shoes) broke off huge junks of hoof wall when they came off (the shoes themselves had clips in front) and my ferrier had a problem tacking the new shoes on... thus the smaller shoe and 'reshaped' hoofs in front... until we have more hoof to work with.
Hopefully, that will be tomorrow.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, Sep 1, 2004 - 7:36 am:
Not being able to examine the horses Rick I do have any better ideas than those advanced by the farrier who got to see the feet. Following forcibly pulling off a shoe is a temporary period of minor lameness from one of two sources:
1) The nail pulled through the wall enters sensitive tissue. Occasionally the horse steps on the nail and abscesses.
2) The wall tears out and rebalancing for rehshoeing results in a thin sole.
The idea that the smaller shoe has put pressure on the heels is logical to me.
DrO
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Member:
Onehorse
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Posted on Wednesday, Sep 1, 2004 - 12:01 pm:
My regular shoer examined my horse today and feels there's nothing serious going on. To wit:
1. The main cause of the heel pain and additional sole soreness that he found was caused by his original trimming that was required by the loss of hoof wall when my horse clipped off his bar shoes and ripped chunks of it off. a) He had to cut my horse much shorter than normal; and b) had to shape the foot slightly different inorder to tack the shoes on.
2) Additionally, the soreness in the heels themselves, he believes, is mostly attributable to the fact that the bar shoes that completely protected the heels for the past 14 months has been removed and the heels are more exposed and need a little more time to acclimate to pressure and exposure. He felt the the smaller shoe he had to use offered enough support throughout the hoof.
In fact, he said exactly what you said Dr.O -- in rebalancing the hoof for reshoeing the sole was thinned making him more sensitive overall -- which he discovered in his exam today.
He says the most important thing to do is keep him moving (he's out all day) and wait for the hoof to grow. To that end, I'm to use Reducine a product that promotes quick hoof growth, on a temporary basis.
Thank you Dr.O and Susan for your thoughts. I'm comfortable with the situation at this time.
Rick
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Member:
Suzeb
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Posted on Wednesday, Sep 1, 2004 - 3:19 pm:
Sounds like your buddy is on the mend. Just take it easy on the movement part. If you haven't already done so, you might also consider a hoof supplement with Biotin for your guy. Good luck with the Natural Balance shoes, some times these new applications take a little time for them to kick in .
Susan B.
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Member:
Onehorse
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Posted on Wednesday, Sep 1, 2004 - 6:09 pm:
Susan ... again thanks for your thoughtful input. He's been on Biotin B-4 since the day I got him over 16 years ago. Knock on wood: except for the 'sheared heels' episode my guy (Dillon) hasn't had a vet bill (other than floating, bi-annual check-up, shots, coggins, etc. or chiropractic exams) for illness since I got him. As age sets in -- little things arise and healing times are a little longer.
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