Horse lame after trim

[Birchcrestminis]

Hi all! I have a mini that suddenly came up lame - she had a trim in the morning - turned out later in the day. I noticed she was walking gingerly - thought it was maybe because of the trim and also the new snow which might have been alittle slick. Back in her stall overnight. Now today she is the same or worse. Not moving around much- from what i see, I would say she looks like she is walking like all four feet are sore. I am no vet, but I think I can feel heat in her feet - feel alittle warm compared to my other horses that don't.Left her out for the day, figuring any movement she got would be better than standing in place in her stall. She is eating just fine. Called my vet. He felt a trim shouldn't cause lameness, told me to give banamine. There is no reason for her to be developing laminitis - no grain overload , not pregnant... Should I be panicing(I am but thats normal for me) and have the vet out on emergency. Or is it likely from a short trim and I should give it a few days? Stay in her stall tomorrow or go out? Ground is hard. Thanks!

 

[JMS Miniatures]

A horse can certaintly go lame from a trim, does her feet look like they were trimmed short? What I would do is pad her feet or better yet keep her in a padded stall. Go ahead and keep her on the banamine. But being out on hard surfaces and out in the snow won't help.

 

[horsefeather]

I agree with JMS. A horse most certainly can go lame after a trim if he/she was trimmed too short. Personally, I would do as JMS said, leavae her stalled with plenty of straw or something deep for bedding, even if you have mats down. Keep her out of the hard dirt. If it is from trimming, she should be much better in a few days. I would give her just a little banamine, take her off of it as soon as you can.

Pam

 

[Birchcrestminis]

I agree with JMS. A horse most certainly can go lame after a trim if he/she was trimmed too short. Personally, I would do as JMS said, leavae her stalled with plenty of straw or something deep for bedding, even if you have mats down. Keep her out of the hard dirt. If it is from trimming, she should be much better in a few days. I would give her just a little banamine, take her off of it as soon as you can.

Pam

 

[Birchcrestminis]

Thanks for your replies. I have never had a horse go lame after a trim in almost thirty years of horse ownership.

But I figured thats what it must be, seeing as its all four feet and directly after a trim. I will keep her in like

she is now on matted stall with thick bedding. Forgot to ask the vet, but don't think you are supposed to give banamine

again for 24 hours or more right? Thanks again, I would much rather hear that is probably sore feet - than any of the alternatives.

Cathy

 

[Little Hooves]

I just want to throw my two bits in as well.

If, on the chance, your horse went without a trim for a longer period than normal, and the person trimmed her hooves to where they normally trim back to, this can cause some tenderness. As the hoof grows out, and if it grows long, the corium (similar to our quick) also grows down with it. So the longer between trims means you will need more smaller trims more frequently to get that hoof back to where it should be without causing lameness.

If this was a regularly scheduled trim, then perhaps the trim was just too close.

There is also the chance she could have an ulcer in the hoof, which might have been exposed with the recent trim, or any number of non-emergency reasons. So, remain calm and watch her behavior to see what actions you should take next. It might help if we could see the horse's hooves to know what advice to offer.

Hope she gets better soon!

 

[targetsmom]

My farrier told me that in the cold weather this can happen because the hoof acts as insulation! He doesn't trim them quite as short in the winter. Makes sense when you think of it. I would keep an eye on her but try to keep her off the snow and cold footing.

 

[jleonard]

My horse was trimmed horribly short a few weeks ago. Everyone on the forum gave me fantastic advice. She was kept in for about a week in very thick shavings and on the vet's advice given banamine 1x per day for 3 days and was doing well enough to be turned out after that. Hope your little one is feeling better soon.

 

[wwminis]

Cathy,

You can help your horse if you have some Iodine! Swab her feet with Iodone or you can just stand one foot at a time in a shallow pan of Iodine! This will help the quick reseed and toughen up the sole! You can give her Banamine paste also, about 1 inch on your finger! Banimine can be given at 1cc per 100 lbs. of body weight every 24 hours!

If you don't have any Iodine you can also use plain old bleach!

Bill

 

[Birchcrestminis]

Thanks!I'll be keeping an eye on her, keeping her in, she can stay in my 12 X 12 foaling stall, deeply bedded, and I'll go from there. Interesting about the insulation. Watching her today I did think to myself that she looked like a cat not wanting to put her foot down in the cold snow.