Agri Vehicles Insurance from Greenlands

Author Topic: Shetland with bad feet  (Read 13146 times)

gailmb

  • Joined Oct 2011
Shetland with bad feet
« on: December 11, 2011, 03:33:04 pm »
Hi all

not sure if anyone has come across this problem before, i have a Dales pony and a shetland, i have always bare foot trimmed them, and their feet have been really good. This year the shetland got laminitis (pretty much all of the summer) Since then the soles at the toes of his front feet are lower than the wall of his foot. im a bit concerned as it doenst look good, its as if the sole of his foot has come away from the wall. He doesnt seem to be bothered by this, he is not in pain. (gallops round plenty) Ive not had much experience with laminitis as my Dales pony has never suffered from it. He is now 16 years old, the shetland is about 10 years, and its the first time he has suffered this year.

Has anyone else noticed this problem, once their ponies have had laminitis, im wondering if i need to get him some suppliments for his feet, to see if it will repair itself.

thanks
Gail

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Shetland with bad feet
« Reply #1 on: December 11, 2011, 03:45:23 pm »
Hiu gailmb.  Can you get a picture of your Shelties foot?  I have a Fell who wears the front of his hoof down so that the bottom of the foot is getting no protection from any air gap where the rim of hoof keeps the sole off the ground.  My farrier says not to worry about it and that the pony will tell me if the sole is getting sore - but to ride on verges where possible to rest the sole.  Sure enough, after he's done a few weeks of roadwork, he will tend to get onto the verge where he can - but will trot like the good 'un he is on the road as long as I ask of him.

The other Fell "has feet like iron and will never need shod in her life" to quote the same farrier!
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

gailmb

  • Joined Oct 2011
Re: Shetland with bad feet
« Reply #2 on: December 12, 2011, 09:46:43 pm »
Hi Sally,

it will prob be the weekend before i can take a photo, as its too dark when i get home from work. i have to keep trimming his toes back as they grow so quickly, im not taking anything off the heel as i was hoping this would push the toe down, but i know what you mean about there being a gap, its as if the toes have been worn away, but its due to the sole being lower than the hoof wall. hes like a little rocking horse.

will get back to you at the weekend
thanks
gail

princesspiggy

  • Guest
Re: Shetland with bad feet
« Reply #3 on: December 13, 2011, 11:07:18 pm »
unless u know what u are doing, ie farrier, u shouldnt be trimming ur own pony if it has laminitis. it is an acutely painful and life threatening disease. it would need packing with a special foam and bandaging to support the sole and special trimming etc, it may need xrays and liason between vet and farrier to see how far off the parrallel the pedal bone has rotated.

are u a qualified barefoot trimmer? even so they dont have the indepth knowledge of a farrier.


call in a professional for ur ponies sake.

princesspiggy

  • Guest
Re: Shetland with bad feet
« Reply #4 on: January 08, 2012, 12:38:53 am »
hows your pony?  :wave:

FoulaLass

  • Joined Mar 2013
  • Shetland
Re: Shetland with bad feet
« Reply #5 on: March 16, 2013, 05:20:55 am »
How are the hooves now, gailmb?

I have rehabilitated my own Shetland gelding, Toffee, over the past 2 years. I rescued him with severely overgrown hooves and acute laminitis. No packing and bandaging required, just good trimming and a change of lifestyle. He went from only just able to walk to galloping, kicking his heels up within the first year and in the next 6 months he was healed enough to be ridden. I had no veterinary assistance after the rescue and the vet for the isles has been impressed with what I have done for the pony. So much so that I now trim another badly laminitic pony with overgrown hooves that the vet was happy to leave me working with.
Toffee's laminitis was so bad the vet wanted him put to sleep initially. I have researched equine podiatry for 5 years now and know that laminitis is not a death sentence for a horse so persuaded the vet to let me work with Toffee.
Farriers are trained to trim for shoeing, barefoot trimmers are trained to trim for a natural hoof.
Hoof care is only half the battle with laminitis. Nutrition is the other half. Low sugar and starch feeds are best. No carrots, apples, sugar beet, alfalfa, molasses, green grass, etc.. Plenty of hay, ad lib is ideal, and rough forage.

lachlanandmarcus

  • Joined Aug 2010
  • Aberdeenshire
Re: Shetland with bad feet
« Reply #6 on: March 16, 2013, 07:05:35 am »
All I can say is get a proper trimmer or a barefoot sympathetic farrier to tend your horse.
After my pony had mild lami, I switched from a pretty old fashioned farrier to a UKNHCP barefoot trimmer through recommendation, and the pony has gone from always being pretty footy on any hard ground and landing toe first making the hooves sore to a much much better scenario where she is comfy on stony ground even when starting out after a winter layoff and is landing heel first which means the cushioning provided by the frog and bulbs at the back of the hoof can really work for her and keep her comfy.
Also they will be able to recommend whether boots with pads in would be needed to make her comfy while enabling you to up the exercise levels.
Self trimming is OK if (and only if) the pony is doing well. If the pony is at all sore, ever, then it isnt appropriate, you must from a welfare point of view get the professionals in at this point.

Workhorse

  • Joined Jan 2013
Re: Shetland with bad feet
« Reply #7 on: April 03, 2013, 08:16:03 pm »
It sounds to me that you are taking too much off his toes, you really do need to stop doing your own trimming and let an expert look at his feet!!  I cant stress this enough PLEASE get a  professional farrier to see to this pony!!   :(

The Irish Shepherd

  • Joined Apr 2013
Re: Shetland with bad feet
« Reply #8 on: April 17, 2013, 04:38:25 pm »
I highly recommend Becky Smith, who is a equine podiatrist

Her website is www.holisticequine.co.uk

She has been doing our 10 horses for over 2 years, and the results have been amazing.

HelenVF

  • Joined Apr 2012
Re: Shetland with bad feet
« Reply #9 on: April 18, 2013, 03:23:14 pm »
My Section A's pony has had laminitis and her soles have dropped.  I have an excellent farrier who really reads up on it and keeps very much up to date with the research to guide me.  She was barefoot for a long time but we decided to put shoes on her, which were sympathetic to the way her feet are.  My farrier has been worth his weight in gold!

Hope the shetland is ok as we are coming up to the bad time for laminitis with all this good grass growing.

Helen

lachlanandmarcus

  • Joined Aug 2010
  • Aberdeenshire
Re: Shetland with bad feet
« Reply #10 on: April 18, 2013, 03:52:25 pm »
Thats an unusual approach with pedal bone rotation from my experience, most vets ( and even forward thinking farriers ) usually want to leave the shoes off as the default in the recovery period, as any further attacks will be masked at the crucial mild warning signs stage by the shoes and the owners will be none the wiser (the horse will appear sounder than without shoes until it is full blown acute attack).
Plus going forward, shoes prevent the blood circulation and shock absorbing action of the frog to the ground which is critical to future lami prevention and hoof health).
Some types of shoes can be helpful temporarily but none are good for hoof health in the long term, since the frog cannot do its job pumping blood into and round the hoof, the bulbs of the heel cant develop to bear the majority of the weight as the hoof makes contact with the ground, and the navicular bone is forced to sit at an unnatural angle and bear weight which is is absolutely not designed to do (hence navicular 'disease'  (which is now known to be not incurable but completely avoidable).
Its very much the OPs choice,  shoes are an option but I much much prefer to be able to see the warning signs and be able to prevent acute lami attacks ever happening, and enable to hoof to operate as it should in terms of blood circulation.
If the horse is in very hard work then shoes might be needed (like they were for working horses of yesteryear) but for the vast majority of leisure horses they shouldnt be needed and for lami types they are quite a gamble.
 
 
 

sabrina

  • Joined Nov 2008
Re: Shetland with bad feet
« Reply #11 on: April 18, 2013, 04:05:45 pm »
I would never put shoes on Pitstop ( Shetland ) his feet get very sore on hard ground as his soles are dropped but I have boots for him so he can still get turned out for a few hours if ground is hard. My blacksmith looks after his feet but he has taught me to take a small amount of the toe about 3wks after his visit. He trims him every 6-8wks depending when he can fit us in. If the toe is left to get long he say it makes his foot out of balance but I have to stress i only trim a small amount and would never have done this if my blacksmith had not shown me just what to do and how much to trim.We watch Pitstop all the time, his laminitis was due to an injury to his back, he was in a lot of pain and on box rest for weeks. It took almost 2 years to get him back to normal, well as normal as he will ever be. Can no longer be ridden or driven but he is happy enough with the other ponies.

HelenVF

  • Joined Apr 2012
Re: Shetland with bad feet
« Reply #12 on: April 18, 2013, 04:20:30 pm »
We did discuss it at length and that is what the farrier suggested.  She has only had them on for a couple of months so far and he is here every week (for dogtraining) so is able to keep a very close eye on her.  She only had mild laminitis a couple of years ago so not a very sever case at all.

I can asure you, it was not a decision that was taken lightly at all and it took a while for us both to agree to it.  They are not your normal shoe.  I trust my farrier 110% and as he can see Dusty for himself, he is able to see what is happening with her, rather than my explanation over the internet.

Helen

lachlanandmarcus

  • Joined Aug 2010
  • Aberdeenshire
Re: Shetland with bad feet
« Reply #13 on: April 18, 2013, 04:26:38 pm »
I think we are all fab owners, hurrah for us :excited: . our horses are so lucky having the care and monitoring they need (whether shod or unshod), you read about those poor miserable creatures shot on Bodmin moor due to extreme neglect and irresponsible breeding....  :rant: >:( :'( :'( :'( 

sabrina

  • Joined Nov 2008
Re: Shetland with bad feet
« Reply #14 on: April 18, 2013, 05:15:34 pm »
My OH is always saying how much attention I give the ponies, dogs, cats, chickens etc then there is him. Poor Soul.  :roflanim:

 

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