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You Are Here: Home > Hoofcare > Pictures > Critique: Red
"Red", a 20 yr. Thoroughbred Mare
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"Here are some pictures of my 25 year old thoroughbred mare, Red. She suffers from
narcolepsy (fainting/passing out) when she experiences pain or if she is spooked badly, which is why she has some soring on the front of her pasterns. Last week, she passed out while I was riding her, which she has never done before and it really scared me. My vet also said that she has some arthritis. Her front foot on the left is looking really weird and different, and I would like your opinion on the condition of her hooves. I just don't think they look right, but my farrier says the problem is that she is just old. She is used for trail and pleasure a few days a week. She is kept outside 24/7."
~ Katie W.
Red's Pictures Critiqued by Cheryl McNamee Sutor, MHG
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Katie,
First I'd like to say that you seem to be doing a good job with keeping your mare outside 24/7 and keeping her active. This is important, especially for an older horse with arthritis. Since Red has narcolepsy, you have to be very careful when riding her, because any pain or spook can cause a dangerous situation. That said, getting her as comfortable as possible will certainly help to prevent this from happening in the future. I did notice some major issues with her left fore, and I'll detail these issues below with each of her photos...
Left Fore, Heel View (1)
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Red's frog in the above photo is severely atrophied. This does not leave her with much "cushion", and causes the hoof tissues in the back half of the foot to drop with each step, without support. One possible cause is that her heels are too high. Another possible cause is that her frog is being eaten away by fungus, which typically leaves "flaps" with stinky, chalky goo inbetween them. Red's heel bulbs are small and weak, indicating that her current trim is not utilizing the heel bulbs properly, to build them up for strength and support.
After rebalancing the hoof and trimming properly, I'd highly recommend a treatment with CleanTrax for hoof infection.
Left Fore, Heel View (2)
From this view, we can see that the middle and back of Red's hoof, in-between her heels, there is a large non-weightbearing gap. This puts a lot of stress on the hoof wall and causes the frog and heel bulbs to become weaker and weaker over time. There is no support for the internal structures in this area of her hoof. I wouldn't be surprised if she was experiencing heel pain in this foot.
Left Fore, Sole View
From the sole view, we can see more bacteria and fungus, and her soles appear thin and flat. This should improve greatly when her trim is modified so that her hoof receives optimal circulation.
Left Fore, Side View
In this side view picture, we can see her hairline (coronary band) bulging upwards in the quarters. This is the result of the hoof wall in the quarters bearing too much weight... meaning that the weight-bearing surface of her hoof wall is not equal all the way around her hoof. In addition, I can see that her heels are too high, and toe too short. She does not have sufficient height or thickness in her hoof tissues directly below the toe to protect her coffin bone, or to allow her hoof to have natural concavity.
Both Front Feet, Front View
In the front view picture, the left fore (further back) appears much more contracted and upright than the right fore (closer). The left fore also appears to have a slight flare on the outside. The right fore appears to be fairly well balanced from side to side, but the jaggedness of her hoof wall indicates a weakness. This can be caused by poor circulation (due to a poor trim, poor environment, etc.) or can be caused by the extremes of excessively wet or dry living conditions. Other than the jagged edges, the right fore appears to be somewhat healthy and well balanced from this angle, so that foot may just need a trim or a mustang roll on the hoof wall to prevent the chipping.
Overall, you should discuss these issues with your farrier and talk with him/her about possible solutions. He/she should know how to work with each of these problems so that they can be improved upon and Red can grow a stronger, healthier hoof. The problems that I'm seeing in these photos are not caused by old age, and they can be corrected with proper hoofcare, environment, movement and diet.
Happy Horsin'
Cheryl McNamee Sutor
Wholistic Bare Hoof Specialist
Certified Mentor Hoof Groom
Response from Katie, Red's Owner...
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"Thank you so much Cheryl, for your insight. I talked with my farrier about your comments and gave him your website address. He read through your website and talked to me about Red's issues and decided to try some of the techniques he saw from your case studies. It has only been a week since her last trim, and Red is doing much better and her movement under saddle has been very fluid and smooth. She seems much happier. I'm sending some more pictures that I took right after my farrier trimmed her. Please let me know if you think we should do anything different. I soaked her in CleanTrax, like you said, and her frog looks a little better, but not completely... do you have any comments on that? Thanks again for your sharing your experience and helping me out with my mare!"
~ Katie W.
Cheryl's Response...
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Katie,
First, please make sure your farrier knows how much it is appreciated that he has taken the time to look into other options for correcting Red's hoof problems. It takes a strong person to do that. You can tell him that I think he did a fabulous trim on Red with a couple of very small exceptions (I'll talk about them below with the photos you sent). The photos are a little bleached out, but I'll do my best to comment on them. About the CleanTrax, give it 2-3 months to see the most improvement from the CleanTrax soak... dead and damaged tissues need to grow out and be replaced by healthier tissues, and you'll see this happen in the coming months. I've also outlined a couple more suggestions for you below...
Left Fore, Heel View
From this angle, I can see that your farrier did a fine job lowering the heels so that the frog is closer to the ground. The length of hoof wall looks good. The only modification I would suggest is to take a little less sole (don't force concavity by over-trimming). During these first few months of changes, leaving a little extra sole can't hurt, especially on the sole that runs alongside the hoof wall and in the toe. If she is more comfortable from this trim, I wouldn't worry too much about it.
If you can find a rubber pad (those old equi-prene black saddle pads work well) and cut it to the same shape as her frog, you can duct tape this to the bottom of her hoof to help with stimulating the frog to grow healthier. It may also give her some relief in the back half of her foot until the structures have grown in stronger. I would apply the rubber pad for several hours each day, and allow her to play in the pasture with it on.
Left Fore, Sole View
I don't have any suggestions for changes from this view... the trim looks just fine. I especially like that he rounded off the hoof wall to prevent further chipping and cracking. This will also allow her to build up "callous" on the sole to support her even more.
Left Fore, Side View
Wow! Now, that's a drastic difference in the bulging hairline in the quarters. I am sure she has received some relief just from this. The pastern angle still appears steeper than the hoof angle in the above photo, realize that without the support and comfort of a full, healthy frog, she is going to try to put less weight on the back half of her hoof resulting in a steeper pastern. When she becomes more comfortable (after her frog has recovered), it's very likely that she will begin to use the back half of her hoof more and her pastern will drop a few degrees to a more conformationally correct angle. This should be worked on over the next few months with small changes at each trim to prevent soreness in her joints.
Overall, it looks like you and your farrier have made some very, very positive changes in her hoof care, and all you need to do now is keep it up. Frequent trims to keep her hooves in the proper shape will be very important, and keeping her hooves clean and free of bacteria and fungus will allow her frogs to grow in stronger. Keep up the great work...
Happy Horsin'
Cheryl McNamee Sutor
Wholistic Bare Hoof Specialist
Certified Mentor Hoof Groom
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