Another vote for feet. My horse was extremely sore in her withers as a result of ongoing (already known) hoof issues despite not being ridden (no saddle fit issue) and being turned out 24/7. The soreness resolved as the hoof issues were addressed, though body work (chiro, massage, cupping, laser, graston work) was used to improve the wither issue. She was also sore near her sternum FWIW.
Do you (and others) find it’s usually hind feet, or could it be front too?
In my experience with my very back-sore TB it was hind feet/NPA. He had some front foot pain but it was compensatory for him being so uncomfortable in the back.
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Are you sure he doesn’t have kissing spine? Two vets said that about my horse and she definitely did lol. But what makes her the most back sore is an old injury in the pelvic/SI area. Never fully investigated it but I just know.
I also echo the other commenters sentiments about the feet.
Definitely not- x-rays showed very cleared that no where was his spine touching, not even close. The vet did suggest he could have hip/pelvis issues but I don’t overly want to spend multiple thousands of dollars for a bone scan. If at the end of the day I can’t find any other issues I’ll assume it’s his hips/pelvis for sure!
Did the horse race? A LOT of them have pelvis/SI problems due to the forces put on that area when leaving the gate. Even just gate training can do it.
My money is still on feet. I have had several that present like this, with feet that no one ever said anything/said looked fine, and SURPRISE there’s NPA. Correcting the internal angles fixed the back sore issues.
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He raced 11 times- I did have a body worker mention sprung pelvis before!
He’s due for a trim next week so don’t mind the chipped hooves, but thought I’d share a hoof picture. I have a vet appointment scheduled now as well!
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Hoo buddy - you got toe for days, it looks like (hard to really judge just from those pics). Obligatory not a farrier, but the breaking and crumbling is a sign your trim isn’t appropriate for what the horse needs. That may not be the cause, but it’s certainly not helping.
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To be clear, a little chipping isn’t alarming. It’s the quarters having broken off + toe that makes me think there’s something to be desired. Perhaps just a shorter cycle, but I’d say that some investigation into the feet might help you out a lot!
I’d definitely get x rays of those asap and make sure your farrier has the humility to use them and not pretend he has x ray vision. Those toes are lonnngggg.
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Bit of an update! Had xrays of all 4 feet yesterday. Front look pretty okay, thin soles however. Back are definitely at least flat, right hind may be a bit negative. Vet is going to do measurements and get me and my farrier the xrays. She did recommend hind shoes with wedges for at least 3-6 months and then re-evaluate. I can share xrays when I get them.
However my horse is outside 24/7 with 9 other horses, so I don’t feel comfortable with traditional shoes in case of an accident. Does anyone have experience with non traditional horse shoes and their reliability? Through the winter, etc.
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Glue on shoes have been a game changer for my mare. They stay on in our wet wet wet PNW winters with no issues. They are a bit tricky to apply, but worth it.
I would recommend wedge pads not wedged shoes. I find that setup to be more beneficial, long term.
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I’d try frog support before I’d go full blown wedges. If you aren’t getting improvement after say, 5 resets with frog support, I am 100% for wedging.
I don’t feel like there’s much “going back” once you wedge though - at least that’s my experience.
Here’s the X-rays of his hooves. Unfortunately my farrier doesn’t typically work with non-metal shoes so I’m not sure what to do in that situation. Not sure how I feel about metal hind shoes. It’s a bit of a pain getting a new farrier as many people in my barn use this farrier so it’s convenient if I can’t be there and need someone to hold him. My work can make it difficult to get away at random times of day for a farrier appointment and I only have so much sick time.
