Maintaining the foundered horse

[RU2U]

Been a zillion years since I have been around a foundered pony. Basically he was no maint.

So we bought a TB mare that has a severely misshapen hoof in front. Other foot is not as bad. She came to us with shoes on. Silly me when she lost a shoe, we pulled the other one, thinkin winter mud. You guessed it stone bruises out the whazoo. So padded her up shoed her up and she was fine. So its time for a reset.

Should the girl get x-rays? Can the the BS shoe fine without them? My thought is the mare is 24 years old. What works for her works for her. I don't want to mess with her and possibly lame her permantely. So what is the routine you do with your foundered horses? Currently she is a fine with soundness. She is ridden lightly by my 10 year old daughter and I want to keep her usable for as long as possible. Real nice girl.

[JB]

You absolutely should get xrays to see what's going on to give the farrier the best shot at fixing things, at least as much as possible.

[PRS]

I agree...x-rays are important because then you will know if there are structural changes inside the hoof and what they are at that point your vet will have his own recommendations. If your horse is more comfortable shod then by all means keep her shod. However...if your horse keeping facility allows her to stay comfortable barefoot (I have nice grassy turnout with no rocks or gravel) and she only needs support while being ridden then you may want to look into hoof boots while being ridden....http://www.hoofwings.com/ Hoofwings were originally designed to help foundered horses find comfort and remain sound for riding and even just for turnout in the pasture. They are just another option that may or may not work for your situation.

[matryoshka]

Agree about the rads. You farrier needs enough information to do a good job and make appropriate decisions about how best to help your horse.