Felix' final update

It was a busy weekend here with lots of comings and goings, including Felix' return home to Wiltshire. His original blog post is here and its great to be able to compare his feet from the day he arrived (above) to today. 

There is a lovely new angle of growth which has grown in nearly two thirds of a new hoof capsule in 14 weeks. So for anyone who still thinks hooves take a year to change, think again once they are bare! Looking at his palmar hoof you can also see there is much more depth to the digital cushion (look at the hairline) as well as a better hoof/pastern axis. 

A healthier looking foot today with shorter hoof wall, a more robust digital cushion and stronger frog.  There is still a split in the central sulcus which will need to be kept clean tip its fully healed but its a lot better than it was.

Better frog, straighter bars, stronger sole and shorter toe. Good job Felix!

As with the other front foot, the development of his palmar hoof has meant he has a better hoof pastern axis. The more level hairline is as always a giveaway and his foot is now better able to support the limb.

Again, compare the hairline and you can see how the digital cushion has strengthened. Pinched, contracted heel bulbs like those in the top photo are always a sign of a deteriorating hoof. 

 You can also see from this angle how much stronger and more stable a shorter hoof wall is. 

 As with the LF, the main changes are a better frog, shorter toe and healthier sole but the whole foot is now more balanced under the limb.

 his stance today (below) isn't perfect but it looks a whole lot more comfortable than he was in shoes and, most importantly of all, he is much, much sounder.

I'm working my way through all the updates from this weekend as well as last week so I will get everything up as soon as I can. 

Priorities...

A couple of things are pushing the blog onto the back burner for a few days - first that our fab accountant Liz is here doing all the books in her annual visit when we get on top of all the farm's paperwork...

More importantly, my brother Jon and girlfriend Vicki are having a baby (this very day) so between the 2, we are all a little bit distracted as you can imagine(!)...

Blog will return later in the week!

Ernie (anyone remember Benny Hill?)

These feet belong to Ernie, an event horse who arrived on Friday. I can't get "Ernie, the Fastest Milkman in the West" out of my head and poor Ernie (all together now..."Ernie") is going to be stuck with that as his theme tune for sure.

He came out of front shoes a couple of weeks ago when he had his MRI and as you can see his feet aren't disastrous at all. However, they are under-run and the frog and digital cushion are relatively weak (the sloping down hairline in the top photo is a giveaway, as with a healthy DC it would be more level). 

Still, lots to like and as his lameness is mild (1/10) and has been caught early I hope he will strengthen his feet in double-quick time. 

On MRI he has some navicular bone oedema and damage to the navicular suspensory and impar ligaments on both front feet. His worse foot (RF) also has a small DDFT lesion. 

This foot is not helped by the fact that he has a central sulcus split which you can see in the centre of the frog and more clearly in the caudal shot below. These types of splits are very prone to infection and can in themselves make horses sore enough to avoid landing heel first.  

Fortunately Ernie is made of sterner stuff and is able to land heel first despite this but with a split of this kind its important to keep it as clean as possible and regularly disinfect it with a mild antibacterial and anti-fungal treatment. A good landing and plenty of movement should then allow the  frog and digital cushion to become stronger which gives the best chance of getting rid of the split.

More on Ernie soon, of course. 

Troubleshooting for the barefoot horse

This is another of those posts which I've been meaning to write for a while but something else always comes up.

However it fits in quite nicely with the earlier posts this week on saddles and on the adaptability of the hoof so I decided to try and make time to put it up.

If you are having issues with your horse, have a look through and perhaps it might help a bit!

Grass

This is the number one reason in my experience why horses in the UK are footy, short-striding or sensitive on stones.

Funny old thing, if your horse sails through the winter months and is fine but starts to become less capable in March/April its probably not the hard ground nor the fact that "he is doing more work now the days are longer" :-) Equally if you've struggled for the last few months and your horse is now getting better - don't rest on your laurels come the Spring!

How to be sure
Often people don't believe me - in fact I didn't believe it myself when someone first told me I should consider whether grass was a factor in Bailey's footiness back in 2004 - but if you eliminate grass from the equation and your horse improves its a no-brainer.  Keep your horse off grass completely for at least 4 days and if he becomes more comfortable you know the answer.

Solution
You don't have to keep your horse in. The best option is to find somewhere grass-free to turn out - an arena, a yard, even a car-park. If you have your own place or a very helpful YO then you may be able to create a grass-free area by using wood chip, sand or anything else which will suppress grass growth. If you are careful with drainage you then also have a dry area for winter rather than a bogy field - bonus! Feed (soaked) hay or meadow haulage instead of grass and get it analysed for sugar levels if you have a particularly sensitive horse.

Alternatively you may be able to find safer grazing; old permanent pasture, organically managed land and scrubby areas of hillside are always kinder to hooves than artificially fertilised fields of ryegrass.

Failing that, try using a muzzle for part of the day (I know a few very greedy good doers who are successfully muzzled for the majority of the time) if your horse will accept that - its a better option for your horse than sore feet.

The good news is that once a horse has had healthy feet and been in consistent work for a year or so then generally their tolerance to grass sugars goes up, they can cope with more grazing time and your margin for error becomes much greater.

 

Trimming

A trim can of course sometimes be beneficial to a horse but if your horse has problems as or soon after he is trimmed and was fine before then the trim has to be suspect number 1.

How to be sure 
Often owners will say something like "Well it can't be the trim because my trimmer is so lovely and sympathetic and anyway he/she only did a very minimal trim and tidied some flare so I don't understand why he is now footy on stones."

Sadly its possible to upset a horse's media-lateral balance with even a few gentle rasp strokes in the wrong place and this will make a horse footy. Obviously an aggressive trim can also really set a horse back. In both cases if a horse is better 2-3 weeks after the trim and was fine before the trim then the finger has to point to that.

Solution
Firstly let the trimmer or farrier know exactly what happened (in any event a trimmer or farrier who doesn't assess a horse's movement before and after a trim shouldn't be allowed near your horse). If they want to come back and try something different and less invasive then by all means work with them and let the horse be the judge of whether the next trim is more successful.

Alternatively - and this is often better for the horse and results in stronger, healthier hooves - allow your horse to develop self-trimming feet by giving him a regular programme of movement. This doesn't have to be formal exercise (though it can be of course) as long as it is consistent and involves some time each day on ground which is tougher than a soft field.

Poor biomechanics

This is another obvious one but a common cause of problems. A horse landing flat or toe first is a horse who is not fully extending his front legs. As well as having a shorter stride he is setting himself up for longer term problems as this way of going puts strain on the tendons and ligaments of the affected limb. This is something I blog about a lot  - there was a recent post last week for instance - so you can search for more about the anatomy if you are interested.

How to be sure
If you have got to the stage of having a lame horse then of course its a call to your vet and a lameness work-up which you need. However if your horse has had some time off or his work schedule has varied and you just want to check his landing then that's fairly simple.

Find somewhere with a flat, hard surface. Walk your horse and ask a friend to film him with the camera held still and no higher than his fetlock. There are lots of apps and software you can use to slow down the footage and with time and experience you can also learn to spot a heel first landing with the naked eye.

If you want to check his medio-lateral balance walk him towards the camera and film his front feet as they land. You want to see the front feet loading evenly on both medial and lateral heels, not landing on one side and tipping to the other.

Solution
A horse who normally has a good landing but has become slightly flat or has developed a slight medio-lateral imbalance may simply need a bit more stimulus to the frog and digital cushion. If so, then gentle roadwork can be a big help but monitor your horse carefully - he should feel comfortable at all times and be landing better within 2 weeks.

Beware of working a horse with a toe first landing on hard surfaces as this can put too much strain on the foot and leg.

Saddle or girth problems

If your horse is landing well, is on a good diet and is self-trimming then the next place to look is his tack.

For the reasons I posted about earlier in the week, saddles and girths can be a major cause of horses being short-striding or even unlevel, not to mention going hollow or tense.

How to be sure
Work your horse in hand and without tack and film him if possible. Take him out led from another horse, ideally, and watch his stride length and soundness and then work him on a circle.

Then do the same but this time with tack and a rider. Again, filming can be helpful because you can freeze frames to compare stride length.

Watch for the elbow being restricted by the girth and the shoulder being pinched by the saddle. A horse who moves nicely without tack but shortens up or hollows when ridden is likely to be a horse with ill-fitting tack.

Solution
Most likely a different saddle and/or girth! Look for makes which allow free movement of the shoulder and back and never, ever believe a saddle fitter who says the saddle is fine if your horse's movement is telling you otherwise!

Nutritional/metabolic issues

This is another important one. Unless the mineral levels in your grass and hay/haylage are perfectly balanced to what your horse needs (which is MASSIVELY unlikely) then you need to feed a broad spectrum mineral supplement. I've blogged about this before too, but there are very few on the market which contain adequate levels of copper, zinc and selenium which are key for hoof health.  

How to be sure?

A horse with inadequate levels of minerals in his diet will be flat footed, sensitive to tough surfaces and have poor faulty hoof wall. He may also have other health issues such as spookiness or dull, lifeless coat.

Solution

Feed one of the supplements in the link above PLUS additional magnesium or have your grass and forage analysed to formulate a bespoke supplement. If the horse improves with 2-3 months of consistent feeding then the problem is solved. 

If your horse's diet is as good as you can get it and you still have problems you should discuss with your vet having your horse tested for PPID/IR. 

Science catching up with the feet

I have found a great talk by US vet Dr Debra Taylor and it was too good not to put on the blog. Dr Taylor has been on my radar since I read an article of hers which I also blogged about last year - http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/hooves-from-veterinary-perspective.html.

This talk was published on thehorse.com but its not clear when the talk was given or who to, though it sounds as if its an audience of vets. Its fairly long - just under an hour - but well worth the time.

Is the hoof "smart"? The adaptability of the equine foot

I am such a hoof nerd that of course I sat down straight away and listened to the whole thing so here is my guide to the best bits!

3 minutes: Dr Taylor talks about exploring the adaptive capacity of the foot and whether it may be possible to create tissue as a result of physical exercise and rehabilitation.

She touches on the fact that instead of using a shoe to strengthen the structure we can look at enabling the foot to develop itself stronger. Sound familiar?

4 minutes: The fascinating fact that until a few years ago, despite being a vet, she was not able to recognise a healthy vs unhealthy hoof because she was so inured to pathology and dysfunction in feet that she didn't realise how unhealthy they were.

Unfamiliarity with a healthy foot is a massive problem here too, of course; she also discusses in the talk the properties of a healthy hoof and how to assess feet - this is something she teaches to vet students now but think of all the vets and students who have never had the benefit of this...

6-12 minutes: Discussion of the role of the frog and digital cushion in absorbing shock and dissipating the potentially damaging impact of the hoof on the ground (heel first landing anyone?!).

Dr Taylor also describes the appearance, qualities and feel of a healthy vs unhealthy digital cushion - something which again many vets, let alone owners, have never experienced.

A healthy digital cushion is dense and fibrous and is hard to deform with finger pressure. It has to be, of course, given the size and weight of a horse - and there are some sobering examples of the types of injuries and pathology which arise when this isn't present.

She has recently published a study herself indicating that increased volume in the back of the foot leads to increased soundness.

She points out that a healthy palmar hoof is, by and large, what the "barefoot folk" get so excited about and she recognises that what we see in the field with barefoot horses is "running ahead of the science". Of course we need more research but in the meantime what research that IS out there is starting to recognise what we see day in day out with the rehab horses here.

Later on in the talk (30-45 minutes) she gives more details of the research which is ongoing or has already been published. As she notes, although many MRIs are being performed of unhealthy hooves, no-one is doing the same for healthy feet - and that's the data we really need (btw, I will happily make Felix and Charlie available for MRI but so far its not been requested...)

33 minutes: For me, some of the hooves used to illustrate her slides were over-trimmed so it was nice to hear her describe a case study showing a horse whose frog and digital cushion became much more robust over a 3 month period. She made the excellent point that no farrier or trimmer could effectively assess what the hoof needed and that nature did the perfect job of providing the stimulus required to strengthen the hoof and build tissue.

Its a talk that would be great viewing for any vet or farrier but it will also appeal to interested owners, and as a bonus Dr Taylor has a fab southern drawl which is just lovely to listen to :-)

The one about saddles

This is a post that will be ongoing - there is still masses of footage from the RRR for me to work through (thanks for your patience everyone who was being filmed - I will get on to it when I have a moment, honestly!) and a lot of it was taken when we were with Kay Humphries learning a little about assessing saddles.

Of course, its no surprise that saddle fit very often causes problems for horses. I see it all the time with the rehab horses because even if they had a saddle which fitted before rehab, usually by the time they have worked on a few hills and increased their stride length it doesn't fit any longer. 

A flexi-curve tracing of the horse's back at the point where the saddle would sit is a useful way of checking whether the horse is wider than the saddle!

The commonest problem is the saddle being too narrow and tight across the shoulders, like this one. Over time, this causes muscle wastage (as you can see in the photo below) but right from the word go it pinches the muscles which are needed to extend and retract the front legs, especially when you add the weight of a rider.

A shortened stride is inevitable and the horse may well show discomfort by bracing through the back and going hollow or even bucking. 

As well as a saddle affecting stride length, there is another place to focus on, which we are often less aware of, and that's the girth. You can see in this photo that there is plenty of room for the elbow to move back without being restricted by the girth but that's not always the case. In fact its possible for shortened stride to be caused solely by girth restriction, even when the saddle fit is perfectly correct.

By contrast, when the elbow isn't going to be pinched, bang into buckles or be rubbed by some hard unsympathetic girth material the horse can fully extend and retract his front legs and take a full stride.

 The really good news is that once a saddle is comfortable the horse will immediately respond. This photo shows the same horse as had the muscle wastage and poorly fitting saddle but now he is in a saddle which allows him freedom of movement through his shoulders and back - what a difference! 

This is such a massive topic that I will be coming back to it very soon - most likely once I have put together the footage we took of different horses in action with different saddles.  

Interestingly, there are many similarities between hooves and saddles.  

Poor quality saddle fitting is sadly as common as poor quality hoof care so its not enough to just hand your horse over to a "professional" in either field and hope that they will do a good job. There are  an enormous number of professionals in both fields who are routinely leaving horses uncomfortable so as an owner you have a huge responsibility to your horse that you choose the right person.

Secondly, as with hooves, there is a massive amount the owner can do to educate him or herself about saddle fit, spot potential problem areas and help make the horse more comfortable. As with feet, its all about anatomy and biomechanics so while its not rocket science, its up to us to keep educating ourselves. 

A good weekend!

Massive congratulations to Krista and Buddy, who were out competing this weekend. The reason Bud looks so pleased with himself is because they went "double clear and 2nd over a v tricky and up to height xc"!

Equally massive congratulations to Susan and Abbey who despite having done little jumping qualified for the SJ at Beaver Hall Championship show and came 2nd :-) 

This is an even bigger achievement because Abbey (who was a rehab here 2 years ago) had a setback last year when he moved to a yard with richer grass than he could cope with. It was only a temporary blip and soon resolved, I am glad to say. However when I blogged about it last year it was partly because his vet hadn't understood about the importance of a heel first landing, so it ties in with Friday's post as well!