NEW MARE WITH A 'DEFORMED'? LEG

[BuckNappy]

I BOUGHT AN OLDER MARE,16 YRS OLD,I WAS TO GET HER A FEW WEEKS AGO BUT THE OWNER TOLD ME SHE HURT HER LEG SO SHE WOULD LIKE TO HOLD ONTO HER FOR A FEW WEEKS.I THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA AS I DIDNT WANT HER BEING TRANSPORED WITH A LEG INJURY,IT WAS SAPOSED TO HAVE BEEN AN INJURY WITH SWELLING.THE HAULER PICKED HER UP TODAY AT 6AM,SHE WAS DROPPED OFF AT MY PLACE AT 11AM.I NOTICED SHE WOULD WALK VERY SLOWLY AS IF SHE WERE IN PAIN.I WATCHED HER WALK AND WAS HORRIFIED TO SEE SHE WAS WALKING ON THE SIDE OF HER HOOF,WITH EACH STEP HER HOOF WOULD TURN INWARD ALMOST AS IF SHE WAS STEPPING DOWN ON THE SIDE OF HER HOOF/ANKLE AREA.IT HAS BEEN LIKE THIS FOR SOME TIME BECAUSE HER HOOF IS CURLED AND SHAPED AS IF SHE HAS BEEN WALKING LIKE THIS FOR A LONG WHILE.IM HEART BROKEN,NOT THAT I GOT HER BUT THAT SHE IS IN PAIN.EVERYTIME I TRY TO LIFT HER LEG TO SEE WHAT MAY BE GOING ON SHE SHAKES IN PAIN,I COULD JUST CRY.I AM GETTING HER TO THE VET FIRST THING TOMORROW BUT WANTED TO ASK ANYONES ADVICE THAT MAY HAVE SEEN THIS BEFOR?I WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO HELP HER AND RID HER OF THE PAIN THAT SHE MUST HAVE BEEN GOING THROUGH FOR SOME TIME.TO MAKE IT EVEN WORSE SHE IS IN FOAL.I WAS VERY EXCITED ABOUT HER BEING IN FOAL BUT NOW OF COURSE IM SAD BECAUSE THAT WILL BE EVEN MORE WEIGHT FOR HER TO PUT ON HER BACK LEGS.I PUT HER IN WITH MY 07 FOALS BUT EVEN THEY PICK ON HER,SHE CANNOT RUN OR KICK BACK AT THEM SO SHE IS IN A STALL FOR THE NIGHT.WE WILL MAKE HER A SPECIAL AREA ALL FOR HERSELF TOMORROW AND MAYBE PUT ONE OF THE WELL BEHAVED FOALS WITH HER SHE ALSO HAS BIG WHITE FLAKES ON HER,I THOUGHT OHHH NO LICE BUT THE HAULER SAID HE DIDNT SEE LICE SO THOUGHT MAYBE IT WAS A DERMATITIS OR FUNGUS?IM NOT REAL CONCERNED ABOUT THAT BUT WOULD LIKE TO GET THAT CLEARED UP AS WELL.THE OWNER SAID SHE DIDNT EXPECT THE HAULER UNTIL NOON TODAY SO SHE DIDNT GET A CHANCE TO GET THE MUD AND MATS OFF OF HER SO SHE DOESNT LOOK SO GREAT IN HER PICS BUT THATS OK-SHE IS STILL A DOLL IN MY EYES.IF ANYONE HAS ANY EXPERIENCE OR ADVICE ON THIS SWEET MARES LEG/HOOF PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT I CAN DO TO HELP HER WITH HER PAIN AND WHAT WE CAN DO FOR A CURE.I FEAR THAT SURGERY IS THE ONLY OPTION?LUCKILY WE ARE ABLE TO AFFORD A SURGERY FOR HER BUT IM AFRAID IT MAY HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL SHE HAS HER FOAL.I DONT KNOW WHICH IS WHY IM ASKING FOR ADVICE.THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR ANY ADVICE!! http://www.allstarpoms.net/TLEG.jpg http://www.allstarpoms.net/TLEG2.jpg http://www.allstarpoms.net/TLEG3.jpg http://www.allstarpoms.net/TLEG4.jpg

 

[Laura]

[SIZE=12pt]It's really hard to tell what I'm seeing in the pictures. She may have been wearing that hoof at an off angle so long that it grew that way and just wasn't corrected. She *could* have wrenched it before she was shipped and it's making her sore on that leg, like a twisted ankle. Hopefully you can get her past the pain soon and then gradually work on correcting the hoof. Since she's older, she may also be showing more soreness from the trip too than a younger horse would. [/SIZE]

I do have one mare with a "weird" hoof. She slid under a metal building several years ago and cut off 1/3 of her hoof wall. She has a contracted area that doesn't grow properly there. It makes her twist a bit behind on that hoof, but she's healthy and lovely.

 

[jleonard]

It's hard to see much through the hair, but it looks like she needs a good trimming in the back especially. A good farrier should be able to help the way she rolls over when she walks, She sounds like a big mare we had with really bad arthritis in the knees. She got to the point where she could not even get a 90 degree angle in the knees, and would pull back anytime you tried to pick up her leg. She too had uneven wear on her hooves, because she would try to compensate for the pain, but our farrier was able to help her by trimming her so it was easier for her to roll over. A trimming seems like a good place to start. Hope you figure something out, she looks like a sweet mare!

 

[JourneysEnd]

I need better pictures.

From what you're describing, sounds like something we see in achondroplasic dwarfism.

If she rocks to the lateral (outside) with each step, she can be helped with a lateral extension shoe. There a lady who's on this forum that makes "magic shoes" that you could learn to apply yourself.

I'm not saying your mare is a dwarf, just that this is something we see a lot of in dealing with dwarfs.

I don't think surgery is even an option, but then, I can't see much in your pictures.

I don't think the seller is being totally honest from what I'm reading.

Let us know what the vet says.

You're going to need a good joint supplement to keep her on, everybody has their favorites. I just started with one recommended on the forum called Sta-Sound but haven't used long enough to tell anything yet.

 

[Fred]

Ditto on the better pictures but those back toes are extremely long. That will cause pain if the horse is very straight or has hurt itself. A LOT of minis have "wry" feet as do big horses. A lot of owners never notice unless they are extreme. She needs a good theraputic trim. Linda

 

[JourneysEnd]

Ditto on the better pictures but those back toes are extremely long. That will cause pain if the horse is very straight or has hurt itself. A LOT of minis have "wry" feet as do big horses. A lot of owners never notice unless they are extreme. She needs a good theraputic trim. Linda

Amen to that !

 

[Miniv]

Start with your vet........and also work with your farrier. I suspect you're going to need the farrier to gradually do some correcting. The farrier will have to do it slowly or it will cause her even more pain. Speak to your vet about pain meds AND ulcer guard while she's on the meds.

Please keep us posted.

 

[Gracie]

One of the rescues we took in about 4 years ago was like that her, the woman told us she had acrooked leg, it WASN"T her hooves were so horrid it seemed she had aleg issue but it was not.

Her outer hoof wall had grown under so you could see nO bootom frog hooves etc.

the inside hoof wall was growing up and curling. It took our farrier every 4 weeks and almost ayear to get her almost normal, she still has hood problems from it but she can walk normal and pain free now,

Good Luck with your girl, Im sure she will be ok with time,

 

[garyo]

A little over a year ago we had a very small, possibly premature colt born to a maiden mare here. His back hooves did not wear off the baby rubber and soon started curling under from the outside as well. Our farrier did not know what to do and we started taking him to the University of Florida's farrier. After nearly eight months of treatment one hoof has totally corrected. The other continues to grow at an angle in from the outside. When an acrylic flange is put on the ouside of his hoof. (It comes in a caulking type tube and activates when applied) it keeps his hoof straight and takes the stress off his ankle area. However, he must be trimmed monthly. Your description sounds just like our little guy. We had him gelded as several sources indicated that this hoof abnormality can be genetic. JUst something to keep in mind in terms of breeding. With his acrylic extension to the side he runs and jumps and holds his own with all the other geldings and stallions despite only being 26" tall. When the farrier at UF first applied the extension it did stress the tendons in the ankle area. Linament and banamine took care of the discomfort. Hope this helps.

 

[lil hoofbeats]

Does not really look that bad to me, hoof wise its nothing that a good farrier cant trim and make right. but since she is older, maybe she hurt the leg, like the seller said, and a little arthritis set up. Seller must have been pretty honest since she told you about the problem before hand, so i dont think he/she was trying to hide anything. You can always get a vet opinion on her, and see if anything else needs to be done, but remember vet opinions are just as varried as "horse expert" opinions!LOL! She looks to have a beautiful head, bet she is pretty when she sheds off!

 

[Little Bit]

Vickie, (JourneysEnd) e-mailed me last night, telling me about this thread. THANKS Vickie, as I don't have time to read here at Lil' Beginnings much any more at all....I'm the lady that makes the *Magic Shoes*, that she referred to.

You will probably never know the REAL story behind this little mare's leg, but I am glad to hear that you will be having a vet check her out....that's your very first step!

It does look as though the mare needs to have a good corrective hoof trim, but the longer hooves would not be causing her to be in so much pain. I am sure the trailer ride did NOT help her leg either, and has probably aggravated her situation.

If your vet finds nothing wrong in the X-rays he takes, then perhaps it was a soft tissue injury, and those can take a couple weeks toeven start to feeling better.

I have a feeling that if it's a soft tissue injury, you can get her hooves trimmed correctly, and your vet may suggests some Banamine for the pain, hopefully your little mare will be OK.

You may find out that this is a conformational problem that this mare was born with and that she just somehow injured that leg, I don't know.

I too would suggest a good joint supplement, I've been using "Arthi-Soothe Gold" made by NaturVet for awhile now, and I am happy with it. That or the human product called, "Joint Care" you can buy at Sam's Warehouse.

I will be very curious as to what your vet thinks, so please keep us posted on her.

 

[pepperhill]

I have a thought, really just a possible theory......

I purchased a horse once that was 3 years old and had never seen a farrier. Her front feet had kept themselves chipped off so they weren't all that bad. Her back feet were a different story. Hooves grow in many different ways: some grow faster in the heels, some in the toes. We have all seen the photos of "elf slipper" toes that have grown so long that they start to curl. There is another way that long feet can go bad, and this is what happened to my mare....

The hoof gets so long that the hoof walls actually break over to the side, usually one side or the other. For example, the outside hoof wall bends under the sole of the foot, while the inside hoof wall on that same foot continues to grow straight up and down, or possibly even bends away from the foot. When this happens, instead of rocking the foot back on its heels, or forward up onto its toes, the foot actually rocks over onto its side. The horse starts walking on the side of her foot. After awhile the foot inside the hoof wall grows crooked to adjust to this new angle. Think of it like looking at a bell that has been cut in half from top to bottom and is sitting on a table. Keep the clapper straight up and down, but tip the bell all the way to one side. Add length to one side and shorten the other side so it can continue to sit on the table in this tipped manner. The clapper represents the inside alignment of the foot. When you think of it this way you can see how one side will grow long and the other will break under the hoof. This problem persists even after a trim or two. A good farrier will be able to trim the foot in such a way as to correct this, but it may take a year of consistent trims to get it back to normal. It has to be done gently, in small degrees or the horse gets sore. I'm wondering if this is what happened to your girl. Maybe her feet were broken over sideways and they did a dramatic cut to try to fix it. This would cause her to be sore, possible very sore, and the foot would continue to want to roll over even after the trim, because her "clapper" is misaligned. Just a thought!

 

[Magic]

Checking in to see what the vet said, I hope that it will be something fairly simple and actually something they can do to alleviate your new mare's pain. Poor thing.

She's lucky to have you!

 

[MiLo Minis]

I have just finished a year of work on a mare that has feet similiar to your mare. The first time I worked on her she would pick her front feet up somewhat reluctantly and I could trim them. With her back feet she would cringe, shake and kick, and really put up a fuss - not out of pain but FEAR. The previous farrier had just not bothered to trim her back feet because of the difficulty and they were in a major mess - overly long, curved to the inside and she was walking on the sides of her hooves. Over time she has come to the point where the last time I trimmed her, just the other day, she allowed me to pick her feet up fairly easily and they are well on their way to becoming normal. We have almost 2 inches of straight normal hoof and just the very bottom is curved. The next time I trim her I expect she will finish with relatively good little feet.

I suspect that when you bought your mare the seller had her drastically trimmed and made her sore. That is likely why she wanted to hang onto her for a bit longer. She has likely not had a lot of hoof care and so is somewhat frightened and that is likely why she shakes and doesn't want to pick her foot up. I too think that with good trimming she will improve although it does look like she may have foundered on that one back foot.

 

[Hosscrazy]

I recently bought a mare who also had horrible feet from improper trimming - the owners thought they could save money so they did it themselves...

I have a wonderful farrier who was able to get her feet back to where they should be - it took a full year, but she's there and much, MUCH happier! She can walk straight for the first time in her adult life, and she's 10 years old.

Best wishes,

Liz R.

 

[Keri]

I would agree with everyone else here. She needs those hooves trimmed. To me, if she had some leg problem, shouldn't there be some type of swelling/soreness/indication she hurt herself???? Her leg looks fairly normal.

I do have a gelding with joint problems in his hocks. He's a bit of a pain to trim becuase he would rather kick and fight. Probably due to the discomfort of having his leg lifted awkward to trim. I have him on some good joint stuff. I also have a 20 year old broodmare that is on joint stuff just becuase she's older and I know her joints are weakening. May try that with this little girl. Especially since trimming her hoof will cause her joints problems since she's been walking funny for a while.

Let us know what the vet says!

 

[BuckNappy]

UNFORTUNATELY THE VET WAS NOT ABLE TO COME OUT TODAY,HE WAS OVERBOOKED FOR TODAY BUT WILL BE OUT TOMORROW.I DID ORDER HER A FEW ITEMS THAT MAY HELP,OF COURSE I WILL GO OVER THEM WITH THE VET TOMORROW BECAUSE I HAVE NEVER USED THEM.PHENYLBUTE POWDER,4-IN-1 H/A (JOINT SUPPLIMENT)PROBIOS POWDER,U-GARD AND ANTI FUNGUS SHAMPOO FOR HER SKIN.THAT MAY BE AN OVERKILL BUT I WANT IT ON HAND SO THAT WHEN THE VET SAYS ITS OK TO GIVE IT WILL BE HERE FOR HER....IM SURE WITH A LITTLE XTRA SPECIAL CARE I CAN GET HER FEELING BETTER AND LOOKING LIKE A MILLION BUCKS,SHE IS SUCH A LITTLE DOLL,SHE HAS THE SWEETEST BIG BROWN EYES.I WILL UPDATE ON WHAT THE VET HAS TO SAY TOMORROW.THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR INFORMATION-ITS A GREAT START AT HER HEALING

 

[wendi leigh]

Good luck with your new girl, I'm sure she is a sweetheart. I hope that her leg issue turns out to be a hoof trim issue that can be gradually corrected. As for the skin, I've had good results with Chlorhexiderm spray and shampoo, which you should be able to get from your vet. Let us know what he has to say tomorrow.

 

[mini1]

Definately agree that it is hard to see anything in the pictures and that the first place to start is with your farrier and a good trimming.

You may want to check her eyes if she is stepping that carefully she may be having trouble seeing. The shaking may also not be from pain but nerves. She was hauled several hours, taken to a new home with new horses and new people. She's in unfamiliar territory, give her time to get settled and get to know you.

Kelly