Horses hooves?

[ceresone]

This probably belongs under horses, but since more people frequent here, please forgive me--as I need a answer.
Our mare has had problems since she was 2, she's now 13. She grass foundered several years ago, so she has to be dry-lotted from early spring till late fall. The problem is her hooves, I cannot get a farrier to trim her, they just dont want to work--she's gentle, BTW.
She's limping badly on one foot, and hoof is cracked all the way up, (they're wayy overgrown. Is there anything I can put on her foot to help?
Believe me, I've been franic to get a farrier--isnt going to happen, and I dont know any farmers that can trim.

[Minelson]

Did you try the large animal clinics? That is where I went when one of my horses had HORRIBLE problems. It worked out great because the farrier was on site and he was able to look at the xrays to do the proper trim on him. He also showed us what he was doing and why. If that doesn't work you may have to load him up and drive, sorry to say.
You can give her some bute for the pain until you get her to a farrier..but you really need professional help with the situation...some people drive over an hour away for a good farrier.

[Buttermilk]

The horse needs a good triming, a poor triming is better that no triming at all. www.barefoothorse.com this has a lot of information about founder.or Pete Raiminy book on barefoot trim. You need a pr of nippers,a rasp and a good hoof knife.Cut all the flares off and shorting the toes to a 45 to 50 degrees angle. High heels is a No. NO. I am a farmer that trims my own and taught all of the boarders to trim. A neighbor came by with a problem horse that had been trimed. They cut the wall and the sole the same length. I just lower the sole and he walked O.k. The main thing is to get the horse Comfortable. P.M. me if I can help. Center part of N.C.

[onthespot]

I second that. try trimming her yourself. buy a pair of nippers and just trim the wall to meet the sole, first try. After she walks around on that a week or so, try just paring a little sole to flake off any old chalky stuff and trim the toe to match. If you are really careful you can use the nippers to knock off loose sole, but be careful and DO NOT gouge or "cut" the sole, just loosen old sloughing foot material. A hoof knife will help with that too, as well as help you clean up around the frog. You don't even have to get it all done one shot if you are not strong enough to hang in there for the whole deal. Just do one foot a day, or every other day if you get sore. Wider nippers make a more level line, for beginners, narrower nippers are easier to cut with, for people with small hands, but harder to get the nips level for beginners. Use a rasp to tidy up your handywork and put a softer edge around the edge of the hoof. Remember, the hoof turns toward whichever part is longer, so if you leave the outside heel and quarters longer, her foot will turn out, and if the inside is higher, it will turn in. Just try to trim her so the middle of her foot breaks over in the direction her foot naturally turns.

[Forerunner]

How I wish we lived closer.

I did farrier work in my youth and foundered backyard ponies were always my favorite. The owner was always amazed at the difference and so thankful that I showed up at all....

A foundered horse does grow excessive heel, as was stated above.
Remove, carefully and by increments, all of your bottom hoof material from the heel, keeping the quarters level and gradually shaved as you go.
Any material you take off the toe, take from the front of the hoof, and not the bottom, until you get the hoof growing correctly again, which it will if kept trimmed, say, monthly. Carve the chalky white material out of the center of the hoof as deeply as it goes, until it starts to look a little more "alive". Pare the frog evenly, again, carefully and by increments, to keep it just a little deeper than your outer rim hoof level.
A good hoof nippers, knife and rasp are the essential basics.
It would pay well in job-well-done-satisfaction for any foundered pony or horse owner to learn the basics and keep ahead of the situation.
I've heard it said that a badly foundered animal should be brought gradually back to a healthy angle, supposedly to allow the ligaments time to adjust, but that seems to be unnecessary. I was taught and have always made a practice of setting the hoof back to square one the first time around, and then maintain that healthy angle from that point on.
Like I said, how I wished some of us lived a little closer....

[RandB]

You have been given good advice here. Especially look at that barefoot horse website. You CAN learn to trim your horses' feet! As others said here, just trim a little at a time. We have 3 horses, DH trims them, and he is a senior citizen. We invested in a hoof stand that you can prop the front foot on, that helps a lot. Just take it slow and easy, you can just work on one foot a day, if that is all you can do. You should be able to get nippers, a hoof knife and a rasp at a feed store or farm supply. Or, you can order from a catalog like Jeffers Equine, if you can't find them locally. Good luck, your horse will really appreciate it!

[collegeboundgal]

take her to Tunis on thursday or friday to the Mennonites. or tell us what town your closest to.

-Melissa

[neolady]

You can build a "tripod" to place the foot on while you rasp it from things like a steering wheel with a trailer ball welded on it, or a 3 legged stand with trailer ball welded onto that. If push comes to shove, you can use only a rasp if you are nervous of using nippers. Like told above, do an internet search on "wild horse trim" or bare foot horse, etc. and you can learn a whole heck of a lot there. I switched to the wild horse trim for the last 6-7 years I had my last horse and frankly his feet improved so much that I never used a farrier again.

[MikesMate]

Yes, you can trim your own horse BUT if you're not able to or don't feel comfortable doing it here is a website you can find a natural hoof care practitioner (barefoot trimmer). Go to AANHCP.net and click on your state, also click on adjoining states as a lot of the trimmers are close to the state line.

[HilltopDaisy]

I would urge you to post your question on the horse forum. There are many regular posters over there who may not look here on a daily basis.