Farrieritis: Recent Comments

Comment on Coffin Bone Rotations

MAC — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:16:16 GMT

I have a horse with the above problem.
The vet has applied antiseptic gel, put on a pad and wrapped the hoof. I have two questions:
1. Why is this horse's hooves so soft. They carve like an apple. The veterinarian commented several times. How can I harden these hooves. The vet thought it was genetic.
2. I just measured and searched for a hoof boot to put on this horse and found three styles closest to fitting the hoof sizes of the two front feet.
Easyboot pre-2005, Boa Horse Boot, and Old MAC's Boot, generation 1. Which would anyone recommend? And is this a good idea. The rationale would be to allow the hoof to grow and protect it.
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Hi - thanks for stoppin in with your great question.

Horse's feet come in all the different varieties when it comes to hard or soft. It's not unusual to see all the different types. Diet may be a factor so you could consider supplementing with a hoof conditioner added to the feed. It may have been that your horse has been getting alot of moisture in pasture which could soften feet as well.   Softer feet make the farriers job easier but what's important is whether or not your horse is becoming sore footed by being too soft .   To add more problems to this if your horse is thin soled as well as being soft then things get worse.   Keep in mind all horse's have a different amount of sensitivity to pain - one horse can endure much while another the slightest pressure on the sole causes pain.

If you have rotation of the coffin bone combined with soft thin soles now your concern along with all the above concerns is that the coffin bone can actually be cracked if stepping on a stone for example. So with the thin sole and a soft sole and the coffin bone tipping closer toward the ground now - yes - a good idea to pad the horse .

I use a synthetic fiber under the pad on horse's that need padding. it never compresses and gets hard yet still displaces dirt from getting under the pad hardening and causing problems with pressure on the sole.   The reason i mention this is the GEL that is used in some cases can still cause pressure on an already sensitive soled horse , so when using gels be sensitive to the fact the gel can cause the horse to be uncomfortable in some cases.

Keep the toes of your horse's foot rasped to the rear to increase ease of breakover - it will help the horse from cranking on the coffin bone from the foot laboring during the breakover.

Hope this helps some -   if you have any further questions please feel free to get ahold of me ...
thanks for stoppin in .

as usual happy and safe riding and always remember to www.Care4Horses.com

John "TheFootDoctor" Silveira

Comment on The Barefoot Horse Movement - Fact or Fiction - Cult ?

Char — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:55:10 GMT

John
I barrel race and I want to know your opinion about putting the shoe back and taking off more toe and changing the breakover. This seems to be a trend and I keep having front lameness issues with more than one horse. I have used two different farriers that are highly respected in my area. I am curious if more natural shoeing would be better. I feel (could be wrong) that changing the breakover seems to change the horses gait and stride. I would love some information on this without challenging my farriers knowledge or expertise.

Thank you,
Char
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Hello Char - thanks for stopping in and the great question.

Moving the toe rearward is a great idea, always. it eases breakover and stress to the joints tendons and ligaments. But like anything else too much is not good.   You'll want to evaluate the horse's Angles , i do that by looking at the grain in the foot directly mid point of the hoof while looking from the outside (lateral side) of the foot - there are some photos in the blog that show the method.

If your horse has extreme toe you'll not be able to rasp enough back the first time - or even concurring times. It can end up being a process of re-stimulating new hoof wall to achieve the desired amount of changes needed.   When you move the toe rearward the hairline will reflect the change and you'll need to continue the process till the whole foot grows a new hoof capsule , Now you'll have hoofwall that's grown at a better angle ( natural angle ) aligned with the pastern bones more correctly - however if the hoof still has stretch ( forward stretch ) from that long toe then once that new hoof has grown (approximately one year) you'll want to take another Bite and continue the process through another "Cycle" of shoeing ( one year ) ... So the correct foot may take several cycles to achieve correctness in severe cases.

What you may want to be more astute about getting correct is whether or not your horse is "Level" - the following links will bring you to a short clip on how to achieve true level.

This is the URL for the blog page.
http://farrieritis.care4horses.com/2007/11/15/visualizing-a-level-foot.aspx

This is the direct URL for the download of the video file.
http://media.podcastingmanager.com/58900-51686/Media/newFile.MP4

Not having a level foot can really tweak the joint .

other than all that consider adding some good heel support for the horse by fitting shoes just a slight bit longer and wider in the heel, just know if you're horse is an over reacher then pulling/throwing shoes can become an issue.

Feel free to keep in touch - i'm happy to see a photo of your horse's feet to give you recommendations -

take care - and as usual happy and safe riding and always remember to www.Care4Horses.com

John "TheFootDoctor" Silveira

Comment on Glue On Shoes

Masseys shoes — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 10:34:22 GMT

Thank you so much for the well
written and informative article.
You are very generous with your
knowledge. The article was most
comprehensive.

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thank you. my pleasure

Comment on Coffin Bone Rotations

marcia — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:25:36 GMT

Hello John, You were to nice to Pat. lol
She is the kind that knows it all for heaven sakes. People are the reason for horses bad feet most of the time and then some are as you said just founder and with rotation. My daughters horse is now getting the shoes you spoke of and it all began with a virus, then colic and now rotation, and this was no ones fought, just happens and good folks like you can most of the time fix it. We now have the Vet and Farrier working relentless to fix this horse and keep her out of pain, Thanks for your comments I think you are a hell of a good farrier or you would not have been able to explain the problem with the hoof you showed and with the x ray.
Marcia

Comment on The Barefoot Horse Movement - Fact or Fiction - Cult ?

Chris — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 04:39:51 GMT

Ann / John,

Another thing that works is a supplement called Remission. I was told once that it helped cure abcesses and chronic founder and I called B.S. But, it was cheap ($10 or so for a couple months worth) so I tried it out. With some excellent help from my farrier to get her feet right and this supplement, she is like new. Matter of fact, we just had one of the wettest springs on record and my mare never had a single abcess. And she is kept in a communal paddock with just a run-in to get out of the mud.

Look into it. It is a mixture of probiotics and minerals. It helps regulate the hind gut. Just an idea but it sure worked on my mare. *Chris*
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Hi Chris. thanks for stoppin in. I think i vaguely remember hearing something about remission from somewhere , thank you for bringing that up.

REMISSION !!! great !

John Silveira

Comment on The Barefoot Horse Movement - Fact or Fiction - Cult ?

ann white — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:05:53 GMT

John, My mare was very lucky this time!I could tell a problem was brewing on Friday, just a different look in her eyes,her walk,and turns were slightly off.Sat.,slight lameness in her off front..Sat.afternoon, extremely lame on the left front. Walked her on the road to see extent of lameness. Dosed her with Arnica 30c. Sat. evening,Dosed her again with Arnica 30c. Now lame in both front with slight warmth in both but digital pulse seemed normal.Presenting like abscessing.Did some research and found an old case study of a retired race horse that they were trying to pasture barefoot.This case was similar to my mare.After trying Arnica and Hepar Sulphur 30c remedies,with no results, they tried Carbo animalis 30c. His lameness/stiffness disappeared!I tried this remedy with two doses on my mare.She is now shifting weight to both feet,turning well, a little hesitant at backing but will back,no heat in either foot and walking well on the road test.I,m going to keep her in the sand paddock until the fields dry and get the ok from my farrier.This mare made it through mud season with out a problem but, now I realize she does have a chronic condition and I must be very careful of wet conditions!!I have been doing Homeopathy for twelve years(self taught)and have had some amazing provings!!This remedy worked with my mare!!So, I wait for my farrier with a mare that is out of pain and presents as being sound. I hear her raising hell out in the barn, better turn her out in the paddock!!I'm glad I found your web site!!!Ann
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Hello Ann.
Thanks for stoppin in, interesting story and nice to hear your committment to your horse.
i'll be talking to you. Have fun

John Silveira

Comment on The Barefoot Horse Movement - Fact or Fiction - Cult ?

ann white — Sun, 31 May 2009 20:00:42 GMT

Natural balance trim nightmare..My two haflinger mares, after two trims were left with abscesses in every hoof, laminitis, one hoof had seven abscesses in it! Almost a year later, one mare is now suffering with another episode of abscessing to her both her front feet and is in severe pain,again!Proof was in the x-rays to the massive damage done by a so called experienced barefoot farrier, who by the way,has posted a comment on your site!It was my fault for hiring this woman. I believed in her so called, experience. Vets that have viewed her "work" cannot believe that much damage and lameness could have been caused by a so called professional. My mares had no hoof wall left to hold up their 1000 pound body. These are draft haflingers.The blood bruising is still present!One mare is doing very well thanks to a real balance trim farrier who cared enough to help them through their pain. The other mare was coming along real well until this last four day rain storm. I try to keep her feet as dry as possible but, she now is in extreme pain, lame in both front feet, and becoming depressed!She has an amazing story from her first abscess nightmare...with the help of homeopathics and her natural healing instinct and a caring, educated,professional balance trim farrier, kept her well until two days ago...almost a year without lameness. So...be very careful who you hire.They sure can talk the talk! When I left a message about the serious condition she left my mares in, she never even called back!! Maybe, she should have sat in the stall of my mare unable to stand, leg swollen above the knee, spiking fevers,moaning in pain with her head in my lap..day after day after day!!! So, the nightmare has become a cronic condition and both my farrier and I will deal with her pain and hope that she will be able to live with the damage done by a so called professional barefoot farrier that is hidden among real professionals...Be very careful she can talk the talk.

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Hello Ann,
    Thanks for writing in , really appreciate hearing from others that have information and experiences to talk about that others can benefit from. thank you.
    I've been hearing this Barefoot crap long enough now that i'm not going to just say barefoot proponents are just wrong i'm going to say " THEY'RE OUT OF THEIR FRICKEN MINDS"   ----- >   There i said it !!!    Oh i feel so much better now.   I'm going to guess but i suspect the barefoot trimmer you mentioned that left a comment here on the blog left some kind of negative remark right ? Very few barefoot trimmers write in here with an open mind or kindness so i just will risk it and assume she's no different. This barefoot debate might take another 20 - 30 or 50 years before the opposing sides come to grips with each other - and it's going to have to be those stubborn asses , barefooters who are going to have to change their attitudes not the other way around. ( excuse my frankness - i've been in a mood lately with issues i'm dealing with child custody and my 7 year old Son Tristan ) - I've so learned this lesson the hard way - i'm begining to understand why should i pull punches and be the nice guy when that's not what i'm getting from some others in the first place. So i just don't care anymore and will just stand right up and speak my mind - let me do that again - it feels good - here you go " THEY'RE JUST PLAIN NUTZ " why should i dance around that - my experience with them is no matter what you tell them they just refuse to give in and it just seems like they turn a deaf ear...
    i might as well say this again - i'm not against barefoot horses , it's just not all horses can or should go barefoot , some just can't go barefoot , One needs to weigh all the facts and be well informed - and proceed with great care. However i am against hearing barefoot trimmers/believers say that "Shoeing Ruins horses" , my response , since i've not had a lame horse due to shoeing for over 18 years is " NO shoeing is not the problem it's incorrect shoeing that's the problem.
     every farrier out there has most likely made a horse sore - trimmed too short. It can be the difference of a hair that can make a horse sore , and what looks right and works right on one horse might just be that extra hair on another horse and you have a sore footed horse on your hands. I'm no exception.   But enough is enough . people really just need to get a clue sometimes - a closed mind just isn't a good thing in this case.
     With people like yourself who take the time to write in , things can change slowly for the better ..

    Thanks Ann.
Best wishes :     John Silveira

Comment on Stirring up the barefoot fight

Denise — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:23:03 GMT

I'm so sorry about that. Surely people must be able to see the bond between you two and that clearly is a strong message that 6 hour visits should be allowed...!? In my reasoning, if there was something wrong then there wouldn't be such a strong bond...common sense.! Some people are so blind and caught up in their own little worlds. I apologise John..but I feel so annoyed about it.!

The good thing out of all of this though is that no one can break what you two have...it just pulls you two closer and stronger together. And yes I'm sure you both will get over that hurdle with flying colours..!

All the best
Denise
UK

Comment on Glue On Shoes

Terri — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 05:21:29 GMT

I will read from time to time for that.

Comment on How Horseshoeing and Horseshoer don't line up

crystal fitchett — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:19:43 GMT

keep the articles coming,everyone "horse owners" need to read this stuff. As well as farriers without Journeyman status. i say this because we don't' have as much experience doing our job. and always need to keep learning. Clients need to learn as well, so they can ask questions,thats how we as farriers stay on top of things. I tell my clients no question is a dumb one only the one not asked.
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thanks you ,
it's a pleasure.

John Silveira