[mab]

Hi all,

Could use some advice on horse feet.

1st point; smelly feet.

When I clean Rosies' feet I sometimes notice a bad smell - with sheep that's a sign of footrot, but when I asked Rosie's previous owner she said a bit of smell is normal and I shouldn't worry - just carry on cleaning them daily/ after walks. Am I just being neurotic? The farrier didn't seem to think anything of it either, but was in a bit of a hurry when he came so I didn't want to ask too many questions. As a precaution I got some pink spray (frog health), but I'm not sure it makes a lot of difference.

2nd point; sore? feet.

During our walks I've noticed she doesn't like to trot too long on the hard road surfaces, but is happy to trot when on the soft verges or dirt paths. I assume this is because the inevitable stones on the road are hurting her frogs? so am trying currently to minimise the amount of road time.

She needs to trot to keep up with my walk - otherwise it's like walking with my Gran.

Will her feet 'toughen up', or should I be avoiding the hard roads more.

I keep trying to catch the farrier on the phone to ask him but as usual it's pot luck    .

thx

mab

[gapcap]

Hi Mab,no expert  but smelly feet on a horse is often thrush.they need to be thoroughly cleaned and washed out with antiseptic solution if it is that,we've used purple spray to good effect before now.

[pikilily]

yes - that smell *can* be thrush. It can just be a bit of cheesyness if mud etc sits in the cracks and hollows fo the foot for wee while...ie it doesnt have to be thrush. (its a bit like little boys with grime between their toes!!) so pick their feet out regularly, at least every other day. this also means you can check for little stones which sometimes get wedged into the crevices!

As for 'sore feet' more info is needed.

1. has your pony just had shoes removed and therefore is newly 'barefoot'?
2. what breed of pony is it?
3. has your farrier said, for example, that he/she has flat feet? 
4. Is it 'feeling' the hard ground or is it when the ground is stoney?
5. does your pony have swollen leg/legs
6. Feel the feet, are they hot? ( or is one/two a lot hotter than the others) and if you can find the pulses in the area above the feet...are they really thumping/bounding?
7. are you in an area where the ground is very hard and dry, even in the pony's grazing field?

I will look for your answers and hopefully be able to get ideas for you. a lot of the answers for the above would have been picked up by your farrier if he has been recently.

It is normal for horses and ponies to prefer softer surfaces if they have the option, especially if they are barefoot, or their legs are tired.
It sounds as if you may be a newish owner? you probably are being overly cautious and anxious, but it is very good to take care and find out...so keep observing
Emma T

[VSS]

As for 'sore feet' more info is needed.

1. has your pony just had shoes removed and therefore is newly 'barefoot'?
2. what breed of pony is it?
3. has your farrier said, for example, that he/she has flat feet? 
4. Is it 'feeling' the hard ground or is it when the ground is stoney?
5. does your pony have swollen leg/legs
6. Feel the feet, are they hot? ( or is one/two a lot hotter than the others) and if you can find the pulses in the area above the feet...are they really thumping/bounding?
7. are you in an area where the ground is very hard and dry, even in the pony's grazing field?

One to add - has she got flat feet?

[pikilily]

Got that in question No 2. 
LOL ET x

[mab]

Thanks for your replies 

It sounds as if you may be a newish owner?Huh? you probably are being overly cautious and anxious, but it is very good to take care and find out...so keep observing

Yes I'm very new to horses. And yes i'm probably being overly cautious (neurotic?  ), but better that than not cautious enough I think.

1. has your pony just had shoes removed and therefore is newly 'barefoot'?
Not had shoes anytime recently I don't think, But her previous owner kept her as a broodmare so I guess she didn't walk out much before (although I'm told she's been broken for riding/driving).

2. what breed of pony is it?
Shetland

3. has your farrier said, for example, that he/she has flat feet?
He didn't make any comment on her feet - just trimmed them - when I get though to him I'll ask him if he noticed anything amiss - but I assumed he would have said when he was here.

4. Is it 'feeling' the hard ground or is it when the ground is stoney?
7. are you in an area where the ground is very hard and dry, even in the pony's grazing field?
It's not a problem in her paddock, but I've been walking her for exercise, and part of the route is on the road (tarmac with loose gravel). Initially she would set off at a trot, but if we stay on the hard surface for any length of time she slows to a walk. If I then move onto the verge she'll happily speed up again. I'm not sure if she's distinguishing between 'hard' and 'stoney' ground - the road inevitably has loose stones on it.

5. does your pony have swollen leg/legs
no

6. Feel the feet, are they hot? ( or is one/two a lot hotter than the others) and if you can find the pulses in the area above the feet...are they really thumping/bounding?
no

part of the reason for the exercise is to keep her weight down - to (hopefully) avoid laminitis. Not that she has any history of such, but I did a lot of reading about shetlands & laminitis and scared myself to death.

It is normal for horses and ponies to prefer softer surfaces if they have the option, especially if they are barefoot, or their legs are tired.

OK so maybe I should be keeping her on the verges then. I just want to be sure I'm not doing anything that's harming her by taking her for walks.

I clean her feet before walking her out and when I get back. I'm currently walking her out every other day; if the ground's been wet, I clean her feet out on the days she's not walked too.

[SallyintNorth]

I have barefoot Fells and Dales and only Flossie Feet Like Iron (so says the farrier) shows no particular reticence about gravel on tarmac.  The others will avoid it if they possibly can, particularly if being ridden at the time.  They do become more accustomed to it the more they are taken across it, though.

My farrier said to always put them on the verge if you can (except the aforementioned Floss, who he says will never need to be shod no matter what I do with her) to help their soles last as long as possible.  We really don't want to have to shoe them as we have very very soft ground and they'd poach it badly with shoes on.  But of course if they need shod they'll get it and we'll have to work out how to keep them from damaging the ground.

Someone on here said to build up road time gradually and their soles will toughen up - sounds sensible to me.

[lachlanandmarcus]

My Haflinger is barefoot and altho she has never been shod and has good feet and we do all sorts of ground, mainly stony granite tracks but also moors and roads and forests, on the stony parts she will favour the softer ground. Much less than when she did her first roadwork at 4 (shes 8 now) tho, and shes not hobbly, I think she just remembers the first time she had to tread on rougher ground (she has a very long memory and is a bit princess-y).

To me, it's just sensible of her to do so, it doesnt necessarily mean anythings wrong.

With a breed as lami prone as the shetland it would be worth getting the vet when hes along anyway for other stuff to show you how to find her digital pulse on her fetlock/hoof so you can check there isnt any very loud pulse or heat in the hoof.

[pikilily]

Hi Mab,

Ok... a newly shod horse/pony will feel their feet for the first wee while, especially on hard flinty or stoney ground. i would stick to the softer areas where possible and let her just walk on the harder stonier ground. Over the next few months her feet will toughen up, and get more naturally elastic or springy.... they will return to their natural state.

Shetlands naturally, as a breed, have tough feet. however as you have mentioned they are prone to laminitis...purely because they are small po's who are designed to live on rough sparce grazing. We now tend to keep our grazing fields too rich and tend to also want to add hard feeds. Keep her on limited grazing, do not feed hard feeds unless absolutely required, keep a close eye on her weight, give her the exercise, as you are!  when I had small ponies, for the kids, I used the winter to really get their weight down so that when the spring grass came in they could afford to put on a bit without being over fat and therefore avoid a managment problem. Its tough but let her get a bit hungry over the winter...its natural, she would have to work hard to find food if she was in the wild. thats natures way of keeping everything in check. I am not meaning starve her, just be frugal!!

It sounds as if you are really doing everything you can, and are being concientious. Thats good.
One thing i would add is - if you dont have one, see if you can rig up a stable or field shelter that can be closed or sectioned off. Then you are ready for the possibility you may have to keep her in, off the grass, for dietary purposes!

You certainly wont be harming her by taking her out for walks. she will enjoy it, and your company! 
i hope this helps
emma T

[shetlandpaul]

are you sure there are no very small stones working there way into any gaps/cracks. really don't over feed her and don't worry if she looks fat going into winter its normal. the idea is that the are slightly over before winter and then the winter brings them back to normal. even in winter only feed if there feed is covered by snow or if they are losing condition too fast. you have a very strong hardy pony. and once she is fit she will prod on all day doing work for you.

[mab]

Thanks everyone! It's good to be able to ask these questions and set my mind at rest  .

Someone on here said to build up road time gradually and their soles will toughen up - sounds sensible to me.

Yes I remember that too - I just have to gauge how gradually. I suppose I should just pay attention to her signals  - I expect she'll let me know when she's happy to trot on road, same as she let me know she's happy to trot off road - she decided to race the dog down the hill today; she can't half move when she wants to! 

are you sure there are no very small stones working there way into any gaps/cracks.

Good question: I don't like to be too aggressive with the hoofpick - so I do wonder if I'm getting all the crud out. I did watch the farrier demonstrate when he was here but he did it so fast I didn't really get a good idea. I've watched a couple of Utube vids, but it's still hard to gauge how hard to dig to point in.

As for feeding - I'm still amazed how much she finds to eat in her tiny corner of the field. The only treats she gets are to have a brief munch of the grass verge when we're walking (only when I give permission - as advised (by Rosemary I think)).

mab

[shetlandpaul]

well thats very impressive. stopping a shetland munching is impressive, little gets in the way of them and food.

[deniseg4]

Hi Mab, I just wanted to say that I can completely sympathise with you with your feet paranoia.  I have a 15 year old highland who had 2 really bad bouts of laminitis before I got her.  Despite having loads of experience with ponies, this is the first time I've had one of my own and the responsibility of her dodgy feet scared the hell out of me at first.  Four years on, I have relaxed slightly, but still get really scared if anything unusual happens to them, and believe me it does!  As far as your farrier's concerned, they may look like they're rushing, but a good farrier doesn't miss a trick.  Don't be afraid to ask him loads of questions when he's there, you're paying him after all!  But if he's anything like mine, he'll be a nightmare to get hold of in between times. 

My Highland has pretty soft feet, she's shod but still hates walking on stoney ground, which is understandable considering what they've been through in the past.  I just take her lead and let her walk on the grass whenever she feels the need (as long as its safe to do so), I just have to be careful its not an excuse to take a mouthfull of hawthorn! 

[mab]

well thats very impressive. stopping a shetland munching is impressive, little gets in the way of them and food.

Umm, well, perhaps I exaggerated; she's learned the command that tells her when she's allowed to eat, but she still tries to eat without waiting for the command if I've left her enough rope.

But if he's [farrier] anything like mine, he'll be a nightmare to get hold of in between times.

Yep! still trying. 

thx

mab

[deniseg4]

Mab, I just wanted to say I saw a picture of Rosie on another post - she's a stunning wee Shetland!