Soar feet....

[PasoPerson38]

There is a paso mare at my barn, who for the past two shoeings (hope thats a word :roll: ) Has gotten very soar and sensitive to hard ground. Of course the first thing we all though was, any paso persons worst nighmare, founder. But she was not walking on the heals of her feet like a usual case of founder and did not have "rings" on the hoof, also she was fine on sand and grass where a foundered horse would be soar everywhere. So the next though in our minds was that the farrier was cutting the mare's feet to short. Because the lamness soon left after the feet grew out. But the lamness came back today and she was shod on tuesday.
So we are going to talk to the Farrier next time he comes out (which should be this week) and see what he think.
Anyone have any ideas????? THANKS! :D

[Barbwire]

They say Pegasus had soar feet. ;-)

[PasoPerson38]

Thanks barb... :bsmile

PS. LOVE ur new avitar....where do I join?

[Linda Y]

Hate to say, but it could still be a slight case of founder. I have a mare that is bad, and she walks fairly soundly on grass, but is dead lame in the barn. You should probably tell them to get her to a vet. Sore feet are nothing to mess with.

[CarolU]

He could also be trimming her soles too much also, getting to the pink. That will sore them until it grows out, which this sounds like.

Is the mare overweight or have a cresty neck? Is she also sore on flat, hard surfaces where there is no sole contact? If she is, I'd for sure look at founder as a possibility.

[PasoPerson38]

No she is not overweigth, she has a very athletic build. And no she has a normal neck...I mean she has a nice topline, but not an excesive crest...
Also something interesting...She was alittle soar when being led out to the pasture, but she ran around, bucked, jumped, ext. Then when she was led in she was walking normal..... :question

[Boyd R]

sounds to me like ferrier problems. not neccesarily him but until I put out gravel in my pastures this was typical with my horses. the Ferrier wanted me to shave a little off the hooves between trimmings so they had less change in hoof at the trimming.

[GeorgeGuns]

Could be a touch of laminitis, but first I'd highly suspect sore heels - as evindence by: she ain't walking heel first! Then more ouchiness if her toes are sore from a bit too much sole being taken. Her heels may even be a little (or alot) contracted, or even underslung, though I suspect tall and contracted first. Pics would sure help!

[motorgypsy]

Why is she shod? Is she ridden on a lot of abrasive surface for long distances? Does she need her angles corrected? Have her feet split and need support? Today's recreational horse does not need to be shod unless there is a good reason for shoes.

When we first got our paso finos we put shoes on them just because we thought we should. Our farrier (the one who put shoes on them) was the one who told us they didn't need them. IF she gets sore after getting shoes I'd try barefoot and a very light trim with no live sole removed every couple of weeks instead of waiting 4 to 8 weeks. If she needs shoes the owner can at least tell the farrier not to remove any live sole or switch farriers unless they've used this one for a long time on many horses and know he/she is really good. What they don't know they can't fix.

[Abejita]

has the weather been very dry and the ground very hard over the times this mare is sore? Flys bad? She could be stomping more to get rid of flies which would cause soreness from the concussion with or without shoes.

And yes she could be slightly lamanitic from something that has nothing to do with weight. She could also have a farrier problem as simple as being trimmed at the wrong angle or more complicated such as Coreens suggestion.
I would have xrays done of her front feet to check for any rotation, thinness/thickness of her sole, if her angles are ok etc.This helps rule out many things.

[PasoPerson38]

She had shoes when they purchased her and they have actually tried to have her barefoot because she is better gaited with out them, but she got very lame on the front. She does not tail ride alot or do endurance, she is a show horse. The whole barn uses the same farrier, and he has shod this mare for about 2 years. I am not sure if he completly knows how to angle paso fino feet, he does reining on QH's who have very wide square feet. Although I have good results with my two. But out of the two years of him doing the mare's feet it has only been the last 2 times where she was soar for the first week or so after (she is on a 4 week schedual because she has "white" soft feet). Maybe he is trying to chage her angle?
The maine reason I don't think it is founder is because, she is fine on hard surfaces ( cement, fino board, wood floor in barn ) She is only ouchy on rocks.
Thanks guys for all of your info!

[Hacienda Del Sol]

I'm going to suggest a culprit: sole pressure. If the feet were cut too short the first time, and then again a second time, the sole may have dropped enough for there to be sole pressure from the shoe. You can check this by using something thin, a paper clip, a matchbook cover, etc. Pick up the foot and clean all the muck out of it. Run the paper clip, or whatever under the inside edge of the shoe, that is the edge closest to the frog. If you can pass the paper clip between the shoe and the sole up to the width of where the nail holes are then it's probably fine. If not, then there is most likely sole pressure from the shoe. If so the shoes should be removed and "seated". That means they should be beveled down on the hoof surface of the shoe from the outside of the nail hole inward, all the way around.

[Barbwire]

PS. LOVE ur new avitar....where do I join?

Sorry, hon, but I think I've got it covered. ;-)

[PasoPerson38]

Wow great tip! I am going to try it tomorrow, and will post the results.
Thanks again everyone.... u 2 Barb lol 8-)

[PasoPerson38]

Ok I tried the paper clip thing, and It only went in slightly. Definetly not enough room to run the length of one nail to another. And She looked kind of uncomfortable when doing it. Alittle... well ouchy... :confused

[motorgypsy]

Thrush or white line disease??? an abscess??? Can you tell with hoof testers just where it hurts??? Sometimes they'll get a nail hole infected too.

[Hacienda Del Sol]

I will bet that when the shoes are pulled, there will be hematomas under the shoe on the sole. The sole also may appear to be concave, like it has "sucked up" a bit.

[Candice Burger]

Not a farrier by any means, but I've seen this allot and agree with Jaime. Sounds like a shoeing problem not a foot/ horse problem. Some farriers trim too close and clinch the shoe too tight causing bruising on the sole. Most farriers won't clinch a tight shoe on, there should be some room for the hoof to move a little bit.

Oldtimers knew about this, both farrier and horsemen, and would watch carefully about a shoeing job. I've had to pull of shoes off of a few horses now and then because of the tight shoeing job. Nothing makes me madder than pulling off four shoes in less than 24 hours. :twisted:

And no offense to the farrier guy since he's been doing her a while--but might want start looking more closely to her front foot ouchiness too. Could be he's picked up a "new" way of doing things--might be worth starting a constructive conversation with him about your mare. Farriers are like any horse person. They read, listen, ask, and learn new ideas all the time. He may be trying change a way of trimming/shoeing that won't work for your gal.

[Hacienda Del Sol]

Let us know what happens.

[PasoPerson38]

I definetly will keep you guys updated! Looks like we are going to have a long talk with the farrier...Just to see if he has changed anything and so he is updated on her condition.