Horse walking stiff, sensitive on gravel, etc! Help!!?
So I've had my thoroughbred for 4 months and the past month or so she has been showing signs of stiffness. Her stall is a bit smaller then her previous one at her old home. My current barn has all their horse in stalls that are the size of 2 12*12 stuck together. Which is frustrating because my horse is the largest and I think is becoming stiff because of this. They said as soon as another border moves out my horse can have the bigger stall. It's nobody's fault its just I came here last. :p The barn owner and I have been keeping an eye on my mare because she walks stiff coming out of her stall and "pivots" in her stall rather then doing a "walking turn". She's 100% fine riding (I leased before buying so I know). She used to be active in pasture but now she slowly walks around. She's also tender on gravel? She was never exposed to gravel until now where she has been walking a bit more on it . She gets real short stepped and acts like shes walking on eggshells but when he get on grass or dirt shes fine.The barn owner approached me today and suggested I get a vet out for a thorough look at her legs/hooves. She said she may need x-rays. Now, The vet wont be out for another 9 or 10 days because I wanted to wait till I'm out of school so I have more time. So What's going on with my horse? IS there anything I can do in the meantime? Any ideas as to what could be wrong? The vet IS coming out but I just wanted to get some info on what could be happening. Thanks!
(Shes also had hoof canker in all four feet 2 years ago before I bought her but it has been surgically removed and has not come back :) ) Not sure if that matter but just some background info.
?2013-05-20T22:18:34Z
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Shoes only temporarily mask lameness, at best. Their long-term effect is always damaging. Do not use shoes to "make a horse sound", because a horse that is only sound with shoes on is not a sound horse.
Please try to find another boarding situation, where your horse has a chance to live like a horse was intended to live - moving around 24/7, with a social network of other horses, not locked away in solitary confinement. (as punishment for what crime?)
Simply moving freely will go a long way toward creating soundness. You said yourself that she "walks stiff coming out of her stall" but she "used to be active in pasture" - so don't put her into that stall confinement that causes the stiffness!
It's been shown many times over that giving a horse a more natural lifestyle will promote better health, from the hooves through the leg joints to the metabolism, digestion, and mental and emotional health.
If her hooves are tender on gravel, get a pair of hoof boots. It's usually only the front hooves that have difficulty while transitioning from shoes to barefoot, and even if the hinds are also weak and tender from past shoeing, boots are usually only needed for 1-6 months. Although the purchase price may seem steep, remember that removable hoof boots usually last many times longer than nailed-on iron shoes. You only use them when riding on rough surfaces, and there are a number of re-sale lists online once your horse is rock-crunching sound, someone else will buy your no-longer-necessary boots for their horse that is transitioning from shoes to barefoot.
Some people will try to tell you that "TBs have had the hooves bred out of them". That might hold water, if there weren't hundreds of former racing TBs who have become rock-crunching sound through a lifestyle that respects and mimics the 10-20 miles that horses were designed to cover *every* day. It's the race-prep lifestyle that creates the sick, weak hooves that can't function properly, and it's the propaganda that it's a genetic issue, that keeps the horses sick and weak and in shoes.
I had a mare that is 1/2 TB, and 1/4 draft - two types that are notorious for "bad feet". Well, TBs are typically shod before age 2, in an attempt to make them look like adult, rideable horses for the sales. Drafters that are shown are shod with horrific Scotch-bottom shoes, which create and promote flaring from the natural round/oval hoof shape into a squared-toe shape. Working drafts are often shod with borium tips, which cause excessive traction which causes excessive torque on the leg joints, which encourages development of arthritis.
My dear mare only endured a couple of years of on-and-off shoeing. (Even when I believed that shoes were necessary at times, I knew they were far from ideal so I always took them off her when I didn't think they were "necessary".) After a couple of years of trimming her myself with a barefoot trim and her living barefoot on a rocky 20-acre pasture, we worked on a dude ranch for 4 months, riding rocky trails every day in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. I had hoof boots for her, but she was never footsore a day so we didn't use them.
The remedy for weak hooves is to make them stronger. They are not simply static blocks of wood at the end of her legs - they are complex, dynamic organ systems that can respond to the environment and the work that they are given - IF given the opportunity. Get your horse out of her stall, get her moving, get rid of any shoes if she's wearing them. Check for thrush and treat it. Control the sugars and starches in her diet. Make sure she gets LOTS of exercise, on terrain that is as varied as she can tolerate - if she's not moving correctly with a heel-first landing, she's not going to develop the healthiest feet possible.
People who have their own horse property can set up a Paddock Paradise track, which encourages much more movement from a horse in a limited space. If you have only one acre and it is fenced on the perimeter, horses will stand around doing nothing most of the day. If it is fenced with an inner fence, creating a 10' wide track, they will move much more and you still have the interior area for other uses.
It's not easy to find a boarding situation that actually considers the horses' needs and puts them above human convenience, but it's well worth looking for one, if you care about your horse's health.
Sounds like your horse is having pain. You did not mention the age of your horse so some stiffness can be due to osteoarthritis or back pain or limb pain. Does she get turnout now? Why not give her more turn out time if she needs it? "Tender on gravel" sounds like hoof soreness. You need to know why? Is this new? Is it after she has been trimmed? Is she barefoot or shod? Short stepping means PAIN.
You should get the vet out ASAP and no riding this horse until this is resolved. YOu need to get a proper diagnosis in order to have proper treatment. I would not wait, regardless of whether you can be present or not. I will presume here that your horse is barefoot. If so, she needs hoof boots to protect her hooves. The boots should be fitted after a trim. I would look at the trim as it could be the basis of the problem. The farrier could be causing the injury to her soles/frogs/ feet. Just best guesses. Again, have vet out ASAP. good luck
Do you know if you horse has foundered? Some horse when foundered their hooves become sensitive and sore of different sufraces. Does you horse have club foot or any old injuries? I would suggest maybe getting a farrier out, your horse might benifit from some shoes. If this still occurs It probably wouldn't hurt to call a vet. Although I didi have a pony who feet where sensitive to gravel and concrete. We put some shoes on him. He walked on it ok but would trot or canter. I hope your horse is ok and you find a solution soon!
Hoof canker can be extremely difficult to get resolved permanently, and the only way to definitively verify that your horse's canker has remained resolved is by performing biopsies. Recurrent cases are common and aren't always readily apparent on physical examination, which is why biopsy is warranted based on her history of canker and the current sensitivity you are observing.
You need to find a vet who is an equine specialist with expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of hoof canker, and I would advise you to schedule a veterinary evaluation sooner rather than later.
Here is an informative article on hoof canker that you may want to read............