Fleet Feet

27/06/2025

📚 What is OCD? 📚

OCD stands for Osteochondritis Dissecans - a musculoskeletal condition in horses, often diagnosed in young horses, characterised by joint swelling, lameness and compensatory issues.

🔎 What is it?

It is a developmental disorder of the cartilage and bone in a horse’s joints. Horse’s skeletons do not calcify until they are 5/6yo and sometimes even 8/9yo in heavy horses. The torque and strain that the ligament/tendons place on the skeleton around joints can lead to separation of the anchoring points from the underlying bone. This can form loose flaps or fragments of cartilage inside the joint - the joint surface becomes irregular, and the shards continue to calcify, now lodged in the ligament/tendon and become bone chips.

Why does it happen?

🏃‍♀️ Doing too much too young!! Placing too much strain on the anchoring points before the skeleton calcifies and strengthens.
🍱 Nutrition - feeding too much protein whilst a horse is growing - this leads to rapid skeletal growth, with soft tissue struggling to keep up, slowly peeling away cartilage at their anchoring points.
🌱 Mineral imbalance - for example, feeding bran without supporting with calcium can create a bone leaching effect due to the high phosphorus content.
👶 Genetic - some horses are more predisposed to the condition, particularly prevalent in warmbloods.

🩻 How is it diagnosed?

Usually through CT scans and/or investigative arthroscopy. In the early stages, it will not be clear on X-rays. Often there is some swelling and restriction around the joint. There can be compensatory patterns present, and lameness in more advanced cases.

💉 Can it be treated?

There are surgeries that can be carried out, although the outcome will largely depend on the diagnosis being made early enough and the rehabilitation following any treatment.

Prevention is better than cure!

❌ Stop riding young horses
❌ Stop feeding inappropriate diets
❌ Stop breeding from broken/injured horses just because they have a uterus

04/05/2025

I’ve signed up for this - looks interesting.

Join our experts as they share actionable insights and methods for managing and preventing gastric ulcers. Designed for horse owners, trainers, and enthusiasts, this session will empower you to make informed decisions for your horse’s wellbeing.

16/04/2025

No comment required here…the pictures say it all.

31/03/2025

Following on from our last post, here’s a handy guide to average permanent eruption dates for you to save, helping you to keep track of your young horse’s dental changes!

12/03/2025

Navicular Rehab and Hoof Adaptability

Looking at these photos, which are of the SAME FOOT by the way, you think I’d be ecstatic with the change in the back half of the foot (and corresponding progress to soundness for this horse).

But to be honest, I almost get a little angry.

I get angry that so many navicular cases like this case are given up on or told to be euthanized just because they have such a weak foot, without attempting to strengthen it or take the time to grow in a healthier hoof.

I get angry that the navicular bone damage or DDFT/collateral ligament/other soft tissue damage is blamed for lameness, without the health of the frog or hoof capsule taken into account.

I get angry that people constantly blame genetics or conformation for things like low heels, long toes, thin soles.

I get angry that people say that the digital cushion and back half of the foot “can’t improve” once it has atrophied.

I look at these photos and see this beautiful gelding trotting by soundly, rehabbed back to ridden work last year walk/trot/canter after so many gave up on him, and want to scream it from the rooftops: diet and movement can mean the difference between crummy feet and rockcrunching feet, proper hoof rehab can mean the difference between, quite literally, life and death.

That’s my drama post for the day.

Photos both show the same untrimmed foot mid-cycle (first was after shoe pull, before hoof rehab), which was the previously lame foot on a navicular case with bone damage and corresponding soft tissue damage, as well as other body-wide compensations. Apologies for the dirty mud season foot 🙃

(If you want to learn more about how we rehab navicular cases, I have an entire ebook on it here - print copy is sold out and on backorder currently) - https://thehumblehoof.com/product/navigating-navicular-disease-an-optimistic-guide-for-a-pessimistic-diagnosis-ebook/

19/12/2024

Scoot’s latest innovation. This will be a game changer for rehabilitation of sick and damaged hooves.

19/12/2024

Worth considering if you’re a trail rider…

“I don’t need a fancy, professionally fitted saddle, I only hack out and mostly in walk!”

I’m going to quote Dr Ian Bidstrup from a recent webinar he conducted on saddle fit from a specialist spinal vet’s perspective – and for those interested there will be a more in depth look at saddle design next year which will be fascinating.

THE SLOW DEATH

This is the terminology he uses to describe slow rides. Now slow walk is important, super important, when we’re building posture and balance for sure, I’m a big proponent. However, when we consider the pressure under saddles and its effect on the skin and blood flow then we have to think more traditionally and look at the role of the saddle in spreading that pressure.

If you sit on your horse in halt, it’s likely that the pressure under the saddle is already approaching levels that prevent blood flow. I’d have to go and look at a ton of research to try and get down to it but we know it’s not always that easy to get our hand under the front or anywhere else under the saddle, your weight and that of the saddle has to go somewhere!

What happens when we move at a pace that’s faster than walk?

Each part of the back under the saddle is at least partly unloaded at one stage of the stride pattern. In rising trot we shift our weight forward and back in the saddle, from our seatbones to the stirrup bars. In canter the whole saddle rocks a little, and the pressure under the saddle fluctuates and transfers from front to back and back again with each stride. Even sitting trot allows for some relief of pressure under the saddle in all areas within each stride.

Racehorses have pretty grim saddles with teeny areas underneath them, the reason that greater damage isn’t done is because whenever they walk any distance they’re generally going to the gallops where they will get immediate relief from the unrelenting pressure.

Walk does not offer any real alleviation of pressure. A lack of blood flow to the muscle will stop them functioning fully, and may be causing damage to the skin and to the fascia. Fascia are layers of connective tissue that wrap around muscles (you’ve seen it if you’ve prepared or eaten most meats) that are critical to the skeletal and biomechanical health of the horse and obviously the skin is pretty important too!

The long riding experts Be Professional. Look Cool. have also looked at this VERY closely in their work, the effect of saddle pressure on the horse’s back and, for riding long distances daily, back to back, for long periods of time where "mistakes" get hugely magnified. He recommends intervals for dismounting and loosening the girth, and for taking the saddle off. This should be done more than once every day, and that’s WITH doing faster work. Here’s a post of theirs on the subject https://www.facebook.com/beprofessionallookcool/posts/pfbid03369vorLPo4PeMYF49a7V6kp1HYm6qH7ixnywNMqApYvHrPzernmJBD13rCpQpuDyl

Remember, they’re not just poorly designed to carry us and a saddle, the way they function in the wild means that riding them will always compromise them immensely unless we’re super careful about how we load them with weight and how we prepare them to carry that weight.

Give your horse a break – if you’re not doing faster work then your need for a well fitting saddle is just as high, perhaps higher, as those working at supposedly higher levels. Take the fitting of your saddle deadly seriously.

17/12/2024

I can’t believe we are already more than halfway through December! 2024 has flown by and been a bit of a whirlwind, and as it comes to a close I’ve been reflecting a bit.

As a hoofcare provider, my considerations when I come to a horse are all about what choices I can make in order to nudge the foot in the right direction. Whether I take something or I leave something, it’s been a conscious decision with an end goal in mind - the horse’s comfort and a healthier hoof. Sometimes I leave a little more of one part of the foot if I know I’m going to be making a correction on another area that could leave them with less protection. I think about the turn out situation, the diet and feed management, the riding schedule, the horse’s previous injuries or issue that can affect how they move and load their feet, and so much more. With these trim decisions we are working towards a healthier foot, and sometimes that takes time.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day,” and sometimes it can take a few months for us to see improvement as the tighter laminae connection, healthier frog and sole, and better quality wall grows down.

Now that I have my own hoof rehab facility, I see where certain things can help “speed along” this process.

Movement/turn out in a herd with resources separated not only seems to improve the rate of growth, but also the stimulation to the frog and caudal hoof especially. I see these areas bulk up faster than I usually see in horses I work on off property where they may get fewer hours of turn out or less movement.

Various surfaces can make a huge difference, and things like pea gravel can be comfortable for a horse to stand on but also stimulate their internal structures.

Diversity of forages in the equine diet, getting a healthier gut, and balanced minerals alongside tested hay can really improve the quality of the hoof capsule and laminae connection as well, not to mention the frog health and help with resistance to thrush.

And for some tougher cases, bloodwork and diagnostics to investigate things like metabolic concerns (insulin and ACTH levels), any underlying health or immune issues, Lyme disease, PSSM issue, etc, can all help find a missing link in chronic hoof problems and lameness.

And still, when it comes to feet, nothing is a quick fix when we are truly growing in a stronger hoof. It takes about 8-9 months to see that new hoof capsule growth down as a result of a healthier horse and better management. Not only that, but horses I have had on this property for well over a year still seem to continue to improve in terms of hoof quality, sole depth, white line connection, and more. We are just giving the horse what we can to help their body and feet, making good hoofcare choices, and hoping they do the rest.

While I will always advocate to make sure the horse is comfortable where they live and when they work, I will also always advocate that we should continually try to implement those building blocks for the healthiest hoof possible for that individual horse and not just accept “bad feet” as something horses are just “born with.” We can always strive for improvement within a horse’s individual hoof health potential.

Picture of the sweetest boy, Wellington, playing “King of the Mountain” with the pea gravel pile on the boys’ track.

08/12/2024

Just to let you all know, I’m going to be out of the country for Christmas and the whole of January.
I won’t be available for fittings until February 2025, although can still answer online queries.

Thank you all for being wonderful clients, and hope you all have a great Christmas and New Year!

14/11/2024

Have you entered yet?

At Scoot Boots, freedom means everything to us. So, we want to know what freedom means to you! All you have to do is tell us what freedom means to you and your horse in 150 words, and you could win the trip of a lifetime to Tasmania, Australia!

03/11/2024

25/09/2024

Please read this, and consider signing the petition.
"Retired" racehorses deserve better. A thorough, objective vet examination (paid for by the racing industry) would save many horses from years of continued suffering (and save their new owners from years of heartache trying unsuccessfully to rehabilitate them). Some of the injuries they sustain from being raced so young will never get better, and these horses should not be retrained for a new sporting career.