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Hoof advice - arabian mare

1K views 10 replies 8 participants last post by  loosie 
#1 ·
This is my little arab whose vetting - pre purchase exam - gave me cause for concern. Anyway, I bought her and she's been with me for 4 weeks today and is an absolute delight. She is a four year old, unbroken fully. She was a complete blank canvas, other than being lead around; she'd never been off the farm on which she was born and had never seen any traffic.
We've been hacking in hand every day around my yard. It's in a busy village on the outskirts of a small city in Wales, UK, so a real culture shock for her, but she's taken everything in her stride. I don't plan to back her until next spring, but she's had a bit in and a saddle on, without batting an eyelid. Anyway...
Her foot and pastern conformation isn't great - very upright - this was noted on the pre purchase exam but the vet didn't think it was too much of a problem and passed her fit for purpose. My farrier has trimmed her and said that he doesn't want to lower her heels very much because he thinks that will cause more problems than it'll solve. He also said she's got strong, hard feet and I'd be a fool to shoe her. She probably wouldn't need trimming very often either. I've taken some photos - the ones on the right are from 3 weeks ago and the left, yesterday after a trim. She's out all day on not great pasture and in on ad-lib hay at night. She's eating speedibeet, just grass, linseed and pro-hoof morning and night - I've just added half a small scoop of soaked grass nuts. If anyone has any thoughts I'd be very, very grateful.
The last photo is of the pretty girl herself.
 

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#3 ·
Frogs look very nice. I have some concerns about the toe area on some pics that could indicate a seedy toe although can't tell without other pics.

Can't tell for certain but it looks like the heels are being taken to the back of the frog which is about right. For barefoot many leave the heels around 1/8" above the live sole. Looks ok from what I can tell.

Solar concavity is an important indicator of sole thickness. Can't really tell from the straight on shot what's there.

If she is sound and not ouchy where she needs to go, I would not put shoes on her if she was mine.

If it turned out she had flat feet and was ouchy in the rocks, then I'd decide whether to shoe her or boot her for rides.
 
#5 ·
Congratulations on your lovely horse! Her feet look good and her frogs are big and healthy. I'm not an expert but I can't see any causes for concern - I would be very happy to have those hooves on any of my horses. Arabs are renowned for their hard, strong feet and if you keep her barefoot and well-trimmed I doubt you'll have problems.
 
#6 ·
Thanks for all your input - I appreciate it! My farrier is great and I really trust his judgement. It's nice that he doesn't automatically say to shoe.
Her angles on her front feet are not pretty though, but the farrier is keen not to make changes - too quickly especially. I'll see if u can attach some pics. The front right is the worst.
 

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#7 ·
Hi, frstly, if you want a good critique on her hooves, need some different angles. You can check out the link in my signature line below for what is required. Yes, her fores are quite 'clubby'. Was that the only 'cause for concern' of the PPE? And what is the 'purpose' you're hoping she's fit for?

While it doesn't appear they are hugely clubbed, and she may be 'fit for most purposes' for a long time, this hoof confo does place undue strain on different structures of the hoof, as well as joints, tendons, etc, throughout the legs/body, so even if 'low grade', if it continues, can cause unsoundness down the track. Your farrier is correct though, that just trying to cut the hooves to 'ideal' parameters, regarding heel height, could cause more problems. That's because it is highly likely the *cause* of the problem stems from her body, not her feet. Especially as she's only 4yo, I would indeed be wanting to correct it if possible, but it's vital for it to be a joint approach, between hoof care practitioner & bodyworker, such as a veterinary chiropractor or such, so you can address both 'sides'. The pros should consult with eachother, and there will be a good chance it's fixable with this approach. Of course, it may end up still being 'the way it is', but doing it this way, there should be no risk in trying.

Her feet appear to have a little bit of 'seedy', and toes(esp right fore) appear a little 'stretched' forward, which can/should be addressed. Other than that, from what can be told of those pics, they're not bad looking feets.
 
#8 ·
agree with Loosie that the fronts look clubby
I guess I would wish to map those feet and see how much those heels can be brought down, plus treat that separation.
Overall though, nice feet that should respond well. The right fore most likley has the greater amount of seedy toe, just through the mechanical forces of a 'clubby foot, being the worst
Right now , the bars are not indenfied as to where they should end, and without finding live sole at the heels, no idea as to how much dead sole, and thus, how far heels can be brought down, even if not done all at once
 
#9 ·
Thank you for your thoughts. She was vetted for endurance and upright feet was the only issue. He just suggested lower ring heels gradually over time via trims over a 2-3 week interval. He recommended shoeing to protect the toes, but I'm not too kind on that yet as she isn't broken in and I'd ultimately like to keep her barefoot.

Farrier didn't suggest any sign of seedy toe, but I'll ask him to look again when he comes to trim her again. I'll get a chiropractor out to her soon - I was planning on doing so before beginning the backing procedure.

I'll look in your link too and try to take some better photos.
 
#11 ·
lower ring heels gradually over time via trims over a 2-3 week interval. He recommended shoeing to protect the toes,
Yes, assuming heels are really high, lowering gradually is necessary - shouldnt change angles more than about half inch heel off in one go. Depending on how high, might want to do more gradually.

Re protecting toes, yes, IF heels need to stay high, in cases of chronic club foot, the horse can mechanically founder, due to the excessive pressure on toes. 'Rotation', and the toe wall 'stretching' forward from leverage causes the sole to become thin & flat. Therefore it can become important to protect underneath P3. That is, the toe *sole*. With padding under the foot, not metal under the walls. The toe *walls* however, as mentioned, have a tendency to pull/flare forward, so they need to be kept short, rolled, with 'breakover point' well maintained.

Also, much more importantly, if heels stay high or the horse otherwise impacts toe first all the time, hoof function & shock absorbtion are seriously compromised. The digital cushion - inside back of the foot - is not used/developed well. Therefore, IF that remained the case, for artificial shock absorbtion at the toes id want to use rubber hoofboots or such, and would absolutely avoid steel. I'd also want to provide extra support under the DC's (under frogs, NOT heel walls), in the form of frog support wedges or some such, to ensure frogs were comfortably in a weightbearing role, to enable dc's to function/develop.

So... IF heels had to remain significantly clubbed/high, i do believe artificial protection & support may be necessary. But IF that were the case, rim shoes, particularly if metal (tho plastic only dampens concussion a little) are absolutely contraindicated IMO. I wouldnt put normal shoes on feet like that in a pink fit.
 
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