question on training injuries that prevent

[tammysinnett]

I was just telephoned and my friends filly just turned two year old is at her basic training....seems she is beautiful without a rider but when someone rides her the gait seems off...when investigating they found the farrier (before she went to the farm) may have clipped her outer walls of her hoof to short causing her to irritate the sole?? they are training on sand, when they turned her out she seem to gait find with no rider and on solid ground....they have been told that she needs to grow out her hooves in front before they are able to tell if this is the real problem....can anyone tell me what to expect, are they just being easy on them and do you feel her career as a race horse just ended. Thankyou

[madelyn]

They could use a compound to build the wall up and glue on shoes now to prevent damage...

It's a timely topic for me. I was just talking, last night, with the fellow that has my big two year old filly who is now broke and ready to head to the training center, and he wanted to put shoes on her. Nope.

When she gets to the track, the trainer's farrier will do the job right. Putting shoes on, or trimming, might be done wrong for the demands expected and a farrier experienced with the demands at the track, directed by the horse's trainer, is the right "guy" to do that.

[tammysinnett]

feeling a little better she is a bigger filly too....and yes he said she may need a special shoe to help protect her ....until they have grown out. Thankyou for the heads up.Wow this is such a nerve wracking process....how do you all make it through their first years of life I feel like I am getting greyer by the moment just from learning about friends babies I cant imagine how it will be with my own

[ratherrapid]

i'd add,possible hoof bruise, but a bruise would go a way in a few days. unnecessary to wait for hoof to grow out if it's a bruise. competent farrier can take care of this today and put a shoe on the horse. if it's an abscess, different matter. i'd hoof test for abscess and bruise. that way you know whether lameness is in hoof or elsewhere. the communication of this seems a little oblivious which also might be a concern.

[LKR]

Whoa!! Wait a minute. Track Farriers are not the Gods they portray themselves. Watch them like a hawk. They like to shoe the horses with no heel and a long toe so they "break over" a certain way. THAT IS THE KISS OF DEATH!! Go see the horses that the potential track shoer has worked on and look at the job they do. Familiarize yourself with a proper shoeing job. Then get a shoer. Most are crappy and are trying to do as many a day as they can for the MONEY!! A good shoer at home is not going to hurt your horse. Watch out for an abscess if they have sore feet.
That usually follows.

[Cathy D]

Sounds like the farm thinks that your filly is ouchy from too much sole pressure. It is not unusal for a barefoot horse to to be ouchy working in sand, especially if she was just trimmed. She is probably wearing her feet down too quickly. She probably just needs to have front plates put on.

Also, I tend to agree with LKR that a lot of the worst farriers work at the track. Way too many horses are getting hurt trying to run on feet that are out of balance. I see horses shod short to the heels, with walls that are rasped down to fit the shoe plus toe grabs on way too many horses.
Some of them are so long in the toe that the feet resemble a duck's bill. You can't be too carefull with the feet.

[tammysinnett]

everything you are describing is exactly what they said toe long sides short and sole being irritated....thankyou everyone you have definitely made me wiser.

[TBLADY]

WOW do I ever agree with LKR.

Has anyone grabbed a set of hoof testers and checked her feet.

No offence to your trainer, but I have seen 2 breaking farms in my life who had tack I would consider "SAFE AND IN GOOD REPAIR AND FIT"

I get a lot of horses...and I'm talking upwards for 45 a year from outside owners who have horses with injuries or issues and the one thing I do see the most in young horses is sore backs and poorly developed top lines, less then proper muscle delevopment, bad nutrition...etc...

I have also seen horses who wereas you just mentioned fine on the gound and on the flat with no rider but show signs of lameness or "SUCK BACK" in their movements. 3/4ths of these are fillies and more then 1/2 have what is called Fall Folicles...their hormones are offkilter and they are not able to properly produce and relese their folicles...instead they build up and collect...making the horse irratable and sore. Thisis very easily fixed with some Lyte. over the courxse of a few days. Consult a vet about haveing the filly palp'd to make sure this is not the issue..if it is...the treatment is easy and cheap too!

There are several reasons a horse shows the signs you mentioned...Im just tossing out a few of my owner observations.

ALSO...if you are in the Northern states...even if they have sand its still frozen underneither...hence adding to her hoof soreness.

[ageecee]

1-Check for an abcess

2-Put some hoof testers on her to check for soreness

3-Take an xray for rotation or navicular.