Two big questions; one on the foal, the other on a mare

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RockinN

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Okay, so our first foal is 4 weeks old today, and i'm a bit worried. I've noticed some odd things in his back feet and mom and dad have NO signs of at all and no one in the lineage has it either. It really scares me. The little guys back legs are perfectly straight, but his hooves, its almost like when he sands he rocks back on them. Is that because they need to be done right away? He runs perfectly normal, just when he stands he stands like on the back. I'm really worried because he is such a beautiful little colt with bright blue eyes and the cutest personality. I don;t know if they just need to be trimmed or is it a deformity?

We have another mare who bagged up after this foal was born (the foal isn't hers). She was producing very watery milk (i guess it was milk). At one point only one side was bagged up. But now shes no longer bagged up anymore. She looks as if she could be pregnant, but why would she bag up and then now she isn't bagged up AT ALL. Could that have been a response to the baby? Could something really be wrong with her?
 
I have seen the "down on the pasterns" look before with some foals.

If the hooves are long I would trim or rasp or just use a hoof knife to bring them to a normal look.

I trim our horses so am used to looking after the feet and they are all so different......some growing like crazy and others not too bad.

I have never had one stay "down" and after some trimming and with some age they correct.

I am not an expert and maybe some others would not be as "eager to trim"

A hoof knife does the job for most of my early trims.

Sorry..missed commenting on the mare question.

We had a friend who bought a mare at auction, supposedly open and also had not had a foal in a few years.

THe mare bagged up and also looked pregnant, then the bag went away for a few weeks and then "bingo" she foaled a nice tiny stud colt. With the timing of the birth she either went quite overdue, or it was his stud which bred her. Thinking likely it was a little early and from his stud.
 
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I have had a few foals that are back like that also. If they do not come up in a few days or a week, we try to get a bit of the toe off and sometimes again in a couple of weeks we get a bit more toe off. I don't remember having any problems after that.

Don't have an answer for your mare--sorry
 
ok good I was so worried about him staying like that. I'll get him trimmed a bit next week then. Thank you guys!
 
My filly was about 4 weeks when she needed her first trim. Her hooves grow very fast and we have been having to trim her every 4 weeks. Her backs grow faster than her fronts so the trims are custom ordered. We evaluate about 2 weeks in and sometimes we rasp a bit to help her out. It just depends on what her hooves tell me. I have no advice on the mare, as I've always had geldings and my filly is my first mare. I've always ran from them before, to hormonal! Just like me
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Our new little colt has the same problem. We asked the vet what it was and he siad that the ligaments need to tighten and get stronger, so excersise, like running will help him. He also said that because he is still so little, he wont do permanent damage.
 
It wouldn't be unusual for your foal to need his toes rasped by now, which may be why he's rocking back on his heels. Can't give you an answer about your mare......sorry.
 
It is surprising how quickly these minis need to be trimmed. It sounds like your foal needs his toes trimmed so he can break over in the back. That will allow him to strengthen his ligaments and muscles. Usually little or no heel will need to be trimmed.

Our farrier will sometime make a straight cut across the toe so they will break over easier. The fronts need to be trimmed as well as they will bring up the hind. I am told this does not happen in full size horses because they have more weight and wear their hooves more evenly as foals.

Sometimes foals can retain their new born slippers and that makes them go off as well. Removing them in 24-48 hours helps this problem.

I agree completly with Bailey about letting them exercise to strengthen the legs.
 
Thanks guys, I had the vet come look at him while he was at my house today and he trimmed up the baby's feet and said he should be fine. Just to keep him on firm footing, no sandy areas (which is common where we're located, the beach is too close for beautiful grass lol) so we will just make sure he stays on firm footing until his feet are correct. Thank you so much for all your help
 

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