Farrier Predicament: Morgan With Bad Feet

Dr. Cherry and Richard,

I have read and studied much of your work and have found your methods to have greatly improved the handling of my horses and I'm getting excellent results.

I have not studied the works of any farrier that I have found to be as knowledgeable as Richard and I have a bit of an emergency.

I am working with a Morgan gelding who is approximately 7 years old. Apparently prior to my involvement he foundered for unknown (possibly grass) reasons a couple of years ago. He does not wear shoes and his owner only rides him on trails a few times a year.

Now that I have entered the picture, I spent hours at the barn this weekend with him and not only do his front feet appear to be too long, but they are rather splayed out and wide (almost dishlike looking). He has also developed a small crack. However, what I am MOST concerned about is that upon cleaning his front hooves, it became immediately evident that he was in pain the minute I even touched his frog and surrounding area. He also dislikes lifting his foot up (and having to balance on the other). In the deep snow of Vermont he will race around without noticeable effect. However, when leading him, his far side front appears to turn in as well as his shoulder! The vet and the farrier have been consulted in the past when the 'splaying out' of his hoofs was noticed but the farrier said that all he needed was a 'good trimming'. Obviously this has not helped. The horses hoof appears to be coming apart in layers of cracks and there also appear to be some rings (bands) around his hoof. I have read the descriptions of laminitis and founder and navicular disease and fear that I am dealing with a vet/farrier that are, if you will forgive the term, 'backwoods Vermonter's' and know very little about corrective shoeing or even diagnoses. The vet apparently gave the horse bute once a couple of years ago, but there was no follow up. X-rays were inconclusive at the time.

The special guy appears to be standing ON HIS FROG and his feet just growing wider and longer. There is no heat or discernable swelling present, which is further complicating my own self-diagnosis. I am reading that some of these problems can be life threatening if not treated in a matter of hours and am gravely concerned for this gelding. He is in obvious pain.

PLEASE, if there is ANYTHING that you can suggest that I point a vet or farrier to, or am able to do myself, I would be eternally grateful for your help. His owner is an older man who lives out of state and knows very little about his horses. He apparently even rode this gelding a week after the vet had pronounced him 'foundered' !!

Thank you in advance,
Michele

Dear Michele,

As with all hoof problems people write me about, it is impossible to know what the best treatment for a horse will be without actually seeing him and examining his feet firsthand. However, I can say that the chance for significant long-term improvement in this case is very low without the active participation and cooperation of the horse's owner and the assistance of a vet and a farrier knowledgeable in lameness. Our book, Maximum Hoof Power, explains in detail steps that horse owners and farriers can take to prevent and deal with the problems the Morgan has.

That being said, I can only tell you about some of the approaches I have taken in the past with hooves that have the characteristics that you describe.

1. You wrote: "...upon cleaning his front hooves, it became immediately evident that he was in pain the minute I even touched his frog and surrounding area."
I have seen this type of extreme sensitivity caused by severe cases of thrush. For treating thrush I use Sugardine http://www.horsekeeping.com/horse_behavior/treating_thrush.htm. For severe cases of thrush I have used the CVP pad described below in #3.
Extreme sensitivity on the sole, especially just in front of the frog could be caused by lamintis. If this were the diagnosis, I would only treat it with the cooperation and consultation of a vet experienced with laminitis.
Sensitivity to pressure on the frog could be caused by navicular inflamation. If this were the diagnosis, I would only treat it with the cooperation and consultation of a vet experienced with navicular disease.

2. You wrote: "...his front feet appear to be too long, but they are rather splayed out and wide (almost dishlike looking)..."
The splaying and separating could be caused from lack of regular trimming or poor nutrition or both or something else. Dishing can be caused by founder when compromised blood flow slows growth of the front of the hoof wall but not at the heels.
For wide, splayed feet that are too weak to be reshaped merely by trimming I have used shoes with large side clips, usually between the second and third nail holes, to hold the hoof together and reshape it as it grows out http://www.horsekeeping.com/hoof_care_and_lameness/welding_clips.htm

3. You wrote "... hoof appears to be coming apart in layers of cracks and there also appear to be some rings (bands) around his hoof... "
The rings on his hoof could be caused from poor circulation caused by chronic laminitis. This is best diagnosed by a good set of radiographs interpreted by a vet experienced with laminitis.
Poor quality hoof wall can be cause by genetics or by poor nutrition or by a wet environment or by any combination of these. The nutritional hoof supplement I use is Farrier's Formula by Life Data Labs http://www.lifedatalabs.com/
For hooves with separating, deteriorating walls I have had success with the CVP Gasket Pad (along with Farrier's Formula), which is also good for severe cases of thrush http://www.horsekeeping.com/hoof_care_and_lameness/gasket_pad.htm. I usually use the CVP pad with side clips as mentioned previously in #2.

If I were you, I would begin by clearing the expense part of the treatment with the owner - how much money and effort is he willing to spend on this horse that he seldom rides? Once I felt comfortable with that part of the job I would consult with the best lameness vets and farriers I could find who would be willing to examine the horse.

Here is a resource to help you find a qualified horse vet in your area.

Here are some resources to help find a qualified farrier in your area:
http://www.horseshoes.com/ffinder/frfndr.htm
http://www.americanfarriers.org/find_a_farrier/search_by_state.php
http://www.farriers.com/

There is a lot of useful information on all types of hoofcare here: http://www.horseshoes.com/, including a forum where you can get advice from farriers http://www.horseshoes.com/forums/

Best of luck,
Richard Klimesh