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  Discussion on Trimming Foundered Hoof
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Member:
andym

Posted on Thursday, Jul 2, 2009 - 12:07 pm:

Dr O
My 23 yr old mare (which I raised from birth) suffered founder in her right front foot many years ago probably caused by early Spring grazing. Although x-rays then showed some rotation, with regular trimming, avoiding the thinning the sole, and restraint in grazing, over the years, she has been a good pasture mate to my other horses and "auntie" to help raising our foals. A week ago, she came in lame in that foot. My vet examined her and found an abscess in her sole at the apex of her frog probably caused by a stone or ?. He cleaned it and applied a dressing with icthalmal which I have followed with a daily change of dressing followed by a "sugardine" dressing to draw and toughen the sole. That's gone well and healing's mostly complete.
However, because over time her hoof has lengthened and the white line has increased in width, my vet recommends I have her foot trimmed in accordance with the attached sketch which he drew. As shown, it requires a vertical cut at the toe which has the effect of exposing the white line between the hoof wall and the sole in a vertical aspect rather than the normal horizontal aspect. He states this will lessen the possibility of penetration of the white line by the ground, a stone, or whatever. I have never seen or had this trim suggested before and, in my own mind, question the logic of it. I'm concerned it exposes it to a penetration caused by the forceful forward motion of the foot against an object.
I have read many topics about founder and laminitis including your above very well detailed and pictured Derotation discourse but none describe this approach. Since for years I have done otherwise with satisfactory results, I would very much appreciate your opinion on this.
Thank you,
AndyM
Member:
andym

Posted on Thursday, Jul 2, 2009 - 12:26 pm:

Dr O
Apparently my attachment didn't go through. Must be reduced in size. I'll try again. This goes with my topic Trimming Foundered Hoof Maybe you can understand my description but I'll try to reduce the attachment.

AndyM
Member:
andym

Posted on Thursday, Jul 2, 2009 - 5:15 pm:

Dr O
My attachment to Trimming Foundered Hoof

andymHoof Trim
Member:
ajudson1

Posted on Thursday, Jul 2, 2009 - 6:35 pm:

Andym

I am wondering if what he means is what they show at www.barefoothorse.com Click on Do Trim, and also check out Flares.
Member:
scooter

Posted on Thursday, Jul 2, 2009 - 7:07 pm:

Kind of looks like squaring the toe as Dr.O. addresses in the article Which is basically getting rid of flare and taking pressure off the toe to keep the WL from stretching.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Jul 2, 2009 - 10:31 pm:

Hello andym,
As to whether rockering and squaring the toe as is drawn in the above diagram is appropriate treatment depends on whether there is rotation present and to some degree your goals.

If your goal is to achieve as much soundness as possible and if there is a moderate amount of rotation this will not correct it and achieve optimal results. Indeed you may find yourself into sensitive sole quickly when the foot is rockered. Radiographs to determine the relationship of the coffin bone with the sole and allow for proper trimming as described in the article on derotation are essential to do this without guessing at it.

Then again the above may guess right with some degree of confidence by looking at the while line stretch.
DrO
Member:
erika

Posted on Friday, Jul 3, 2009 - 9:50 am:

Dr. O, doesn't the suggested trim look a lot like what you advise for the treatment of white line disease? This is similar to what we had to do to keep my mare's cracked hoof from wedging apart from packed dirt.

Andym, did the vet see any evidence of infection in the white line? It appears to me that the vet sees the hoof wall may not be well-attached to the laminae and this would be a way of letting it grow down again with better angle and attachment?
Just a thought...
Erika
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Jul 3, 2009 - 8:13 pm:

No Erika, the trim does not suggest WLD to me. This is the trim you would do to a horse with flare and a stretched white line, which often has a secondary thrush infection, referred to as seedy toe.

With WLD you remove the wall undermined by disease. If the wall removed in the image is the undermined wall it might look like this but the symmetrical plan and rockering does not suggest WLD treatment.
DrO
Member:
caballus

Posted on Friday, Jul 3, 2009 - 8:28 pm:

If anyone is interested here is a trim of two different horses that have foundered: These are "first trims" after the insult:

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v664/caballus/1-1.jpg This first photo shows the laminar wedge being removed. You want the dorsal toe wall to be the same angle as the new growth at the periople. Front view, same hoof: https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v664/caballus/3-1.jpg and solar view: https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v664/caballus/2-1.jpg After 2 trims this horse took off with a buck and galloped around her paddock in comfort.

This photo: https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v664/caballus/09avatarhoofB.jpg shows a first trim of a foundered horse also. The 1st horse was rotated in the 20* ... this 2nd horse was only in the single digits. She came totally comfortable on her right front but the left front is in the process of blowing an abscess and thus is not very comfortable on that right now. She was totally able to hold up her RF for me to work on, tho, even though she was standing on a tarred driveway.

Trimming foundered hooves can be tricky and the trimmer/farrier really needs to know what he/she is doing and have a good amount of experience doing so. It's imperative to get the balance correct for the comfort of the P3. I deal with this sort of pathology, along with all the others on a daily basis.
Member:
andym

Posted on Friday, Jul 3, 2009 - 9:50 pm:

Dr O
Yes, you are correct the problem is not WLD. The hoof was being treated for an abscess in the sole just in front of the apex of the frog. In doing so,the vet noted the flare in the front of the hoof and the stretched white line. He then recommended taking the flare back into the white line so it is open to the front eliminating a "big trap" and having "no pressure in" as noted in his two sketches at the bottom of the page. It was not presented as a correction of rotation and your suggestion that radiographs should be taken to asses the amount of rotation and the position of the coffin bone before the trim is made is good advice and well taken.
Thank you and the others for their comments and pictures.

andym
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