I don’t feel like being bashed, bullied, or looked down on, because I am currently doing all those things to myself. What I’m looking for is helpful advice and pointed in the right direction and hearing what more people see…
Off hind
Near hind
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Near fore
!Off fore
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Fronts
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How long since the last trim? How long has the farrier who last trimmed/shod him, been doing him?
The hinds aren’t all that bad, especially if it’s been more than 4-ish weeks since being trimmed. There’s a little flare, heels are a smidge underrun, but if they’re due for a trim, this is ok. There’s bruising a little more than halfway down, more or less where the flare also starts, and is likely caused by that flare. The flare is either permanently there due to not quite getting the toes back each time, or it’s growing out, or it’s starting. The bars, especially on the LH, are laying over - potentially acceptable if it’s been 6 weeks, not cool if it’s been 2. That’s where knowing the answers to the above questions will help.
The fronts though, yikes, they show signs of being not well trimmed for a good while. Toes are long and flared, heels are tall and underrun. the GOOD thing is that the quality of the feet is pretty darn good for not totally falling apart under these stresses.
The LF is either developing a quarter crack due to those tall, underrun heels, or it’s an abscess, but given the bruising, I’m going with quarter crack
The RF, there’s no excuse for that foot, which leads me to believe the last trim was done by a farrier whose been working on these feet a good long while. Even if a new guy did the feet last time, either he didn’t care to come back in 4-5 weeks to help get ahead of growth, or he did a poor job as well. So to me, new farrier either way.
The ONLY way I would excuse a new-last-time-farrier is if for some reason the situation was that it’s been 8-10+ weeks since the last trim, through nobody’s choice. If that’s the case, we need new pics after the next trim.
Last trim was July 8th.
This farrier shod him last year, he was footsore barefoot, so opted for summer shoes on front. When they were pulled last fall, reverted to my normal trimmer.
Trimmed by them during the winter, started getting sore, vet recommended going back to shoes again, so this is his first new set. Farrier did not like the way he had been trimmed, so trying to correct him.
The farrier is well regarded around here, but just heard he has been sacked by one barn because of a decline in his quality. I don’t want to sack this guy, he lives one street away, most local person for an emergency, and I know he is or was good.
But the unevenness of the fronts, that flare, etc make me uneasy. The crack isn’t an abscess, it doesn’t go anywhere, it wasn’t mentioned by the farrier. The stuff that looks like bruising is new, however.
Farrier is booked for 15th, my feeling is to talk everything through when he comes, rather than changing now…
I had some good luck recently with asking farrier to adjust the way a horse was trimmed. Granted it was with x rays and “vet orders” in hand. And a simple change, shorten these toes. But! Farrier did it, happily and well (per follow up with vet).
These feet need some serious correction. Personally, I have never had much luck with trying to change the way a farrier works. Feet like this are the result of a two things - either a farrier who doesn’t know what he is doing, or a farrier who knows how to trim but doesn’t care to do so. Neither is acceptable to me.
Also, you have some pretty serious thrush going on and if your farrier hasn’t noticed that then that would be an additional red flag for me.
?? I see mud, a pebble, and a frog and sole that could be tidier. I see no slime and I certainly can’t smell foot rot.
Err, no we don’t, he does not have a trace of it, what you are looking at is a hoof that needs cleaning.
I disagree. That big crack in the sulcus is thrush. It is possible to have thrush down deep and not to have a discernible smell. Frogs should be firm and have a dimple in the middle - not a crack. A sulcus crack is not present in a healthy hoof.
The trimmer either caused these distortions, or did nothing to correct them. Not someone to use again.
What 7/8 the first time the farrier trimmed/shod him again? Feet shouldn’t look like this at 4 weeks.
Post pictures after this next trim. Ask him about that crack and the bruising on all 4 feet. Just see what he says. That will tell you all you need to know about whether to start looking for a new farrier.
Unfortunately, I don’t think you’re going to get good information.
Cracks don’t equate to thrush. But cracks do usually mean thrush, even if mild (for now).
I would assume there is thrush, however mild, and treat it, for sure. You’ll never (ok, maybe almost never) really heel frogs even with the best trim if you don’t also treat thrush, obvious or not.
At some point the thrush will be taken care of, but the crack will still remain until healthy tissue grows and the crack fills in. So sure, you can have cracks and no thrush…yet. Or you’ve taken care of the thrush and the crack simply needs time to fill in.
In this case, I would 100% assume there’s thrush deep in there.
No. A crack is not an infection. What appears to be a crack may not even be a crack but a shedding or overgrown frog that has been moist for a few days. You absolutely cannot say that there is thrush anywhere in that foot based on those photographs. There are a LOT of other things that could be said, but diagnosing thrush should not be one of them. Hell, you could even caution that if the foot is left in that condition for a long period of time that thrush could become a problem, but you cannot diagnose an infection from those photographs.
@sascha I’m not sure what your beef with me is here, but I will state again that any frog that looks like the frog seen in at least one of those pics is seriously unhealthy and IN MY OPINION is a thrushy foot and should be treated as such. You may, of course, disagree. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. The OP asked for opinions and she got mine. I don’t really see the issue here.
Opining that the foot looks unhealthy would be an opinion.
Stating unequivocally a diagnosis of thrush in a foot that can be seen only in pictures is not an opinion. It’s made up nonsense.
If it were strawberry foot on a cow that would be a whole different story as that is easily seen on the surface in a very particular pattern and doesn’t (generally) hide in cracks and crevices.
Saying that a crack has thrush is like saying my hall closet has skeletons based on the appearance of the door. Well, it might, but you wouldn’t know because you personally haven’t inspected it up close and personal.
I appreciate all opinions, because I am trying to get a handle in things here.
Looking at the pics, I see why you think thrush, I also know that I haven’t ever seen any trace of it in his feet. I am somewhat hampered by loosing my sense of smell some years back, so there is a red flag I would miss.
BUT, again, pictures show us what we don’t see in real life, like taking pics of the rooms in your house before listing it, highlights the things that you miss.
I will give that foot a good soak and scrub, see what there is in a clean foot. Also get his frog cleaned up when farrier comes.
@sascha, I find it strange that you are so insistent on arguing with me. We can just agree to disagree here. This is getting strange.
I am no hoof expert but the differences in the fronts and rear seem odd to me. Almost like they were done by 2 different people. I am reluctant to call them trimmers or farriers based off what I see on the fronts.
Those aren’t due solely to the work done last month. It has been a progression in deteriorating , in my way of thinking but that is just me.
This horse has “the crack”…and has had her whole barefoot life. She is 20yo and very sound.She has never had thrush.
I agree with most of the critiques above so nothing specific to add. I just wanted to say that I wouldn’t count on the farrier who did this work to be able to properly balance a foot. If he were capable of it, he would have done it.
Few things about horse ownership are as worrying and frustrating as finding the right farrier. Best of luck in resolving your problem.
Personally, I’d try to get x-rays done before the next appointment. I’ve found that farriers who dismiss owners are much more responsive when they see an x-ray and an owner can see “vet told me A, B, C”. Unless they are incapable of improving, I’ve seen the best results with altering angles, addressing toes, etc.
Personally, There are so many things going on I’d be inclined to not give this farrier another shot but if it’s truly your only option, it may be worth at least trying.
Ok, I scrubbed his feet with Betadine today, got right into the grooves. Three of them are dry and clean, what you are seeing is dark shadows because the grooves are so deep. His off hind I am suspicious of, so will treat as thrush for now, in the theory it won’t hurt.
Pictures should be off fore, off hind, near hind, near fore!
I did this once (got balance X-rays) and farrier refused to look at the X-rays. Yep…you are fired.
Susan
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