Pre-Purchase Hoof tester

[shamrocker]

My friend is vetting out a horse today, 6 years old. Horse has done some light eventing this year, and is worked 5-6 days a week.The horse displayed a mild reaction to the hoof tester in one area. She is having x-rays done today as well.

Can a horse have a positive reaction to a hoof tester and have nothing wrong with it? The horse passed all flexion and trotting on hard surfaces, circles etc.

Just want some opinions.:)

[merrygoround]

Sure, the horse could have a stone bruise, or a hidden small abscess that doesn't make contact with a ground surface that is hard and level. It may show discomfort or shortness of stride on uneven or footing into which the foot can cut in.

This is usually a not serious problem. Radiographs may not show anything.

[shamrocker]

I forgot to mention that the mare is not currently wearing pads...

[Ghazzu]

Hooftesters are a useful but relatively crude tool.
It is difficult to be precise about the amount of pressure applies, even with the ones that have a gauge built in to measure the force.

Somewhat like a flexion test, they indicate where to look closer, but may be a "false positive" in terms of actual pathology.

[merrygoround]

I forgot to mention that the mare is not currently wearing pads...

IMHO Attempting to use hoof testers with pads on is hand exercise only. :lol:

[shamrocker]

Follow up: Radiographs look good. Vet said some young horses have soft and more pliable feet than an older horse. After both shoes were removed, reaction to hoof tester was same on both feet, a little reaction but not a lot. :)

[Fharoah]

Which area of the hoof was the horse sensitive to?

[Go Fish]

You'd be surprised how many perfectly sound horses with perfect X-rays will test positive to hoof testers.

Sure, things can be missed (soft tissue injuries) with X-ray, but if the rads are good, and the vet sees no problems, I wouldn't let it bother me. Sometimes it something as simple as a bad trim or shoe job, such as an unbalanced hoof.

[Ghazzu]

You'd be surprised how many perfectly sound horses with perfect X-rays will test positive to hoof testers.



I would say that it is possible to get a reaction out of virtually any horse, if one cranks hard enough:D

[matryoshka]

I would say that it is possible to get a reaction out of virtually any horse, if one cranks hard enough:DYep. The technique involves finding how much pressure they take before flinching at a spot you know is healthy (I don't actually try to make them flinch, rather just get an idea of how much pressure is reasonable for that hoof). Then you have a gage for that horse. When looking for an abscess, you find where they flinch with less pressure than they tolerated elsewhere. It's a tool for finding areas of particular sensitivity. Good for finding abscesses.

If the horse was reacting in the heel/frog area, the vet may have been looking for navicular issues. I'd check the center sulcus to see if it is a crevice rather than a divot. If so, it'll be sensitive and would benefit from daily application of mastitis ointment until the crevice opens out. Chances are that a horse with a crevice rather than a divot has thrush growing in there and needs help getting rid of it.

[yellowbritches]

Considering the time of year (end of summer) I'm not surprised at all that a horse may be a little sensitive to hoof testers, especially if she has been doing the normal amount of work needed to stay fit and sharp in eventing. I'm pretty sure that at least half of our horses (all eventers) would be a little sensitive to hoof testers right now. As long as the radiographs look good (how was the depth of sole??) the horse should be fine.

[grayfox]

I've had lots of horses vetted, probably at least 100 horses. I've had positive hoof tested at least 50% of the time and probably more. Vets are always a lot more worked up about it then I am. Since I always xray I've almost never found that the xrays agree with the hoof testers. I wouldn't give it a second thought. It the horse xrays fine don't worry.