Hoof people please help me figure out what to say to my farrier

[Ridethroughit23]

Hello! My horse is sound but I think his feet look… yikes. I attached lateral x rays from a couple months ago when he was diagnosed npa. He now has frog support pads on the hinds but I actually think they’re collapsing the heel further? Unfortunately I don’t have before pics but he’s flaring out on the hinds and the heels look wayyyy underrun. I don’t think he has enough sole to go bare though. Where do we go from here? Dim? Boots? For what it’s worth once he got the pads on the hinds he immediately traveled nicer. I’m so worried we’re actually making the problem worse though!

Fronts first, then hinds. For whatever reason I forgot to get the right hind but it looks similar to the left. I zoomed in on the left hind to try to capture the flaring. Yes he is overdue, meeting with farrier/vet soon for updated x rays and refining our plan. I want to make sure I voice all my concerns!

[trubandloki]

Have you shared the X-rays with your farrier?

[JB]

The heels are quite underrun for sure, but without knowing where they were before the wedges…

Wedges DO tend to crush heels over time, even in the best of circumstances, and sometimes, that’s a devil that’s worth the rest of the picture. I don’t know that’s the case here.

How many trims have been done since the xrays, and at what frequency? How long since the last trim?

It will be more useful to see pics right after this next trim (or at least within a week)

[anonevent]

Did your veterinarian provide notes with the images? I always forward those to the farrier - or have them work together in person if possible.

[Ridethroughit23]

@trubandloki

Have you shared the X-rays with your farrier?

Yes they were shared and that determined the plan for the pads and such

[Ridethroughit23]

@anonevent

Did your veterinarian provide notes with the images? I always forward those to the farrier - or have them work together in person if possible.

Yes and yes my vet and farrier do work together!

[Ridethroughit23]

@JB

The heels are quite underrun for sure, but without knowing where they were before the wedges…

Wedges DO tend to crush heels over time, even in the best of circumstances, and sometimes, that’s a devil that’s worth the rest of the picture. I don’t know that’s the case here.

How many trims have been done since the xrays, and at what frequency? How long since the last trim?

Good point. I could be totally wrong but I feel like I recall them not being quite as underrun before the pads. I agree I’m not sure how worthwhile this is. Probably been like 4 trims since the x rays, at 6 weeks. My plan is to push for 5 weeks going forward and talk about other options besides these pads.

If there is npa and the horse doesn’t have enough sole for barefoot, but wedges crush, what is the alternative? Have you seen any alternative showing package work well?

[JB]

Daisy Bicking just posted a great case study on her FB page (below her pinned post), and you can see her profile banner as well
https://www.facebook.com/daisy.bicking

here’s a link directly to the post if for some reason her feed looks different for you than for me

Daisy Alexis Bicking

IMHO, I don’t know that YOU can have a discussion with your farrier Most owners can’t, especially in cases like this which really have a lot of parts to look at.

I’m fairly certain she does consults, but you could contact her and ask

[Ridethroughit23]

Ooh this looks awesome thank you!

[Libby2563]

@JB

I’m fairly certain she does consults, but you could contact her and ask

Good luck with that! I’ve found getting replies to be like pulling teeth unfortunately, and she’s not that far from me. I gave up.

[lorilu]

Could someone show me ON THE IMAGES above, just what is NPA? Thanks, trying to learn to see…

[JB]

P3 (coffin bone) should be 3-5* above ground parallel, heels higher than toe. Negative plantar/palmar angle (NPA) means the heels are below the toe. 0* is also bad.

[lorilu]

JB, thanks I understand that. I just cant SEE it on the films. I suspect I cannot identify P3 - what I see is a triangle with a shadow under it. Is that shadow part of P#? Are the films 0*?

[JB]

Gotcha. P3 is the 3rd of the pastern bones. P1 is what we typically call the pastern bone - between hoof and fetlock. P2 is below that, and P3 is the coffin bone, below that

Yes, P3 is traingular-ish shaped, with a small triangular-ish shaped bone between it and P2, which is the navicular bone

This site has some good pics, showing normal at first, then a big NPA next

Negative Plantar Angles and Why They Matter - Springhill Equine Veterinary...

[Warmblood1]

@Ridethroughit23

If there is npa and the horse doesn’t have enough sole for barefoot, but wedges crush, what is the alternative? Have you seen any alternative showing package work well?

Pads CAN cause issues but that doesn’t necessarily mean to throw them out the window. Wedged are theoretically meant to temporarily correct and for many horses, wedged pads do a wonderful job. Your horse is traveling better in pads on the hinds from what I understand so that makes me a proponent of pads at the time with the very limited info I have.

What would be the most helpful is to get pictures of the horses feet after this horse’s most current trim and reset. Having photos that show where your horse was at the time of radiographs/NPA and now would be helpful to see how the horse is transitioning. It would better gauge how effective your farrier is and if you are actually going in the right direction.

[Ridethroughit23]

@Warmblood1

What would be the most helpful is to get pictures of the horses feet after this horse’s most current trim and reset.

Definitely planning to do this, kicking myself I didn’t do them before as well