Loosie, the span of the pictures is roughly 6 months or so. She heel was not nearly as high as the first set of pictures when she had pulled the toe off.
I will try to get more solar pics this week at some different angles.
As far as her sole, she did at one point have pads in her feet and the last farrier determined that she had very hard soles and they were not necessary to have. The new carrier didn't mention anything about her sole being thin, however she may have more to say about pads at our next appointment when she puts shoes on the front feet to give the toe a chance to grow out. Posted via Mobile Device
To add a bit more background history to my mares feet..... The previous owners (not sure how reliable they are based on the condition the mare was in when I bought her) said when they had purchased her as a coming 2 year old, her feet were so over grown that they were curling to the sky.
They also said that she had suffered from a really bad abcess while she was in their care which is what caused her club due to over compensating with the "good" foot (again, not so sure how reliable these people are).
Also, any time my mare eats off the ground she ALWAYS has her left front under her. I always feed her off the ground, but when she is cleaning up they hay that falls she has that foot back.
Not sure if that info mixes in at all or changes any thoughts/opinions Posted via Mobile Device
My farrier did explain to me why it is that the heel grows faster. From what I understood (and please correct me if I am wrong) the heel grows faster for a couple of reasons... One being that most of the pressure is at the toe which pushes the blood to the back of the foot making the heel grow faster, the pressure also causes more wear on the toe preventing it from growing. Also, because more weight is being put on the "good" foot, it has the same effect.
It's called a physiologic response and is the animals means of compensating for the relentless pull of the DDFT on the distal phalanx. The more you lower those heels, the greater the DDFT pull.
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She also told me that lowering the heel will put more pressure/pull on the DDFT. She said that over time, the tendon will stretch and adjust. Posted via Mobile Device
She's half right. Yes, lowering the heels will increase DDFT pull on the distal phalanx. No, tendons do not stretch/adjust. If the DDFT were not so strong, it would simply tear. Not to fear though... the interdigital laminae almost always fails before the DDFT tears. That's why the coffin bone rotates, compressing the vascular bed, resulting in the compromised sole tissue at the toe and the remodeling of the solar margin of the coffin bone.
Eventually, the anterior of the hoof wall simply detaches from the coffin bone and can literally be torn away. You provided excellent evidence of that in an earlier photo.
If one chooses to remove horn at the heels, it becomes necessary to restore that caudal elevation through orthotics.
Managing a club is always best accomplished by using a lateral radiograph to determine optimal phalanx alignment.
Too much heel???
Actually.. not enough.
Forward running distortion of the capsule...
Better...
Remember... the clubbed limb will be functionally shorter than the contralateral limb!
I put a #3 bar wedge on the club foot and a #2 bar wedge on the opposite foot. The horse then presented level through the shoulders as viewed from behind.
Heavy rolled toe on both fronts via Kerckhaert Comfort Fit shoes.
Horse immediately stopped short striding and toe stabbing.
One being that most of the pressure is at the toe which pushes the blood to the back of the foot making the heel grow faster,
Haven't heard that theory before, but excessive wear at the toe & little at the heels is certainly a factor. The toe first impact that tends to happen with club feet is a huge factor in thin soles, etc & why I think protecting the foot is likely necessary.
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Originally Posted by Horseman56
She's half right. Yes, lowering the heels will increase DDFT pull on the distal phalanx. No, tendons do not stretch/adjust. If the DDFT were not so strong, it would simply tear. Not to fear though... the interdigital laminae almost always fails before the DDFT tears. That's why the coffin bone rotates, compressing the vascular bed, resulting in the compromised sole tissue at the toe and the remodeling of the solar margin of the coffin bone.
Yes, tendons contracting or stretching is a kind of a wrong description generally. But tendons attach to muscles & they do stretch. I think it depends, but I don't believe it's generally the pull of the DDFT that leads to separation of the hoof wall or rotation of P3. For one, P3 is pointing to the ground with or without any separation, due to the high heels. The separation is due mostly IME to the excessive pressure & leverage on toe walls, and if relieved, can grow down well attached, regardless of the state of the heels. I think the pics actually evidence this nicely, as there is obviously not a huge amount of toe flare left on the left foot now, despite the heels also having been lowered, which should have caused worse separation if the theory of the DDFT pull were right.
Also want to add in that when standing on a stool behind her, with her squared up on level ground, her left shoulder does still appear to be higher than the right. It is less dramatic than when the heel was very high, however. Posted via Mobile Device
Interesting thread, as my tb mare has the exact same thing going on. I only notice changes to her way of going if she needs reshod, And that's ALWAYS the leg she puts back when grazing.... At 3 and 4, it would almost be back between her back feet.
... I don't believe it's generally the pull of the DDFT that leads to separation of the hoof wall or rotation of P3.
If what you 'believed' were in any way true, it would change forever the way in which farriery and veterinary medicine attempt to assist horses suffering laminitis. I really don't think that's going to happen, but I'll keep an open mind and await your lecture on the topic at the next AAEP, AVMA and AFA conventions.
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Originally Posted by Amberish2002
Interesting thread, as my tb mare has the exact same thing going on. I only notice changes to her way of going if she needs reshod, And that's ALWAYS the leg she puts back when grazing.... At 3 and 4, it would almost be back between her back feet.
Generally valid observation. Do you understand why the mare keeps that foot back?
Contrary to what some may believe, it is likely the animals attempt to reduce pull of the DDFT on the distal phalanx.
The animal certainly doesn't know what a DDFT is, or that keeping the foot back reduces DDFT pull... but it's a safe bet the animal does know that keeping the foot back feels better. We can learn a thing or two from such behavior.
Generally valid observation. Do you understand why the mare keeps that foot back?
Contrary to what some may believe, it is likely the animals attempt to reduce pull of the DDFT on the distal phalanx.
The animal certainly doesn't know what a DDFT is, or that keeping the foot back reduces DDFT pull... but it's a safe bet the animal does know that keeping the foot back feels better. We can learn a thing or two from such behavior.
Cheers,
Mark
Hmm, it seems to me that keeping the foot forward would be the more likely response to discomfort due to DDFT pull. And from what I understand, this is the more common behaviour seen with club footed horses.
Hoof back, with heel on the ground (haven't observed a stance otherwise), would apply more pull to the deep digital flexor tendon. No?
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