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Hoof Contraction From Shoes

5K views 30 replies 9 participants last post by  Hondo 
#1 ·
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#2 ·
When shoeing is done correctly, it does NOT cause contracted heels.

Of course, bad shoeing can cause problems with the hoof. But even still, bad barefoot trimming can cause just as bad as problems. When something is not done right ... well, then it's not done right. I find it interesting that the author of that little article assumes there's plenty of BAD horse shoer's out there but makes no mention of the bad barefoot trimmers.
 
#3 ·
I just re-read the article and did not see a mention of bad shoeing other than leaving the shoes on too long exacerbates the problem.

It was my understanding in examining the sketch and reading the artcle that it demonstrated how proper shoeing contributes to hoof and heel contraction. From my readings it seems that this was in at least some ways better understood in years past when horses were left barefoot for a significant part of the year.

Examining the sketch and thinking about the hoof even in 4 week resets back to back it seems the foot could not avoid being slowly contracted over time unless there was an interval left for re-expansion while barefoot.

The above comments are not offered as an argument but rather just where I am at the moment.

I am still learning and trying to understand the hoof which is why I posted the thread.

All comments are educational and appreciated.
 
#4 ·
Shoeing can cause contracted heels BUT I have a horse with some of the worst contracted heels you'd want to see.

He has been barefoot since 2007 and has been thru a handful of farriers and barefoot trimmers including me.

One farrier told me that his long pasterns lend the hooves to contracted heels.

Don't shoot the messenger. This guy was AFA certified and was supposed to be rehabbing this insulin resistant horse after he foundered. He was also the farrier who took too much heel and one strike and literally tore the tendons on both front legs.

He could, therefore have more "crap than the Christmas turkey".

ill be interested to hear from the Pros, if there is a correlation of long pasterns to contracted heels on a barefoot horse:)
 
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#5 ·
The article claims that a line extending through the collaterals should be outside the bulbs, otherwise the heels are contracted.

Based on that, Hondo's heels are at least still slightly contracted. He was barefoot for around 4 years before I got him, shod once and reset once, before I decided to go the barefoot/boot route.

The article also says if the contraction is severe enough P3 will remodel and contract. Says that if that happens, the heels will never fully open up.

I'm starting to think that may be the case with Hondo. I know nothing of his history beyond 7 or so years back. If that is the case he may always have an underdeveloped back of foot also.

I may still wind up with Ground Controls on the front but if I do, he'll get an ample amount of time barefoot in between. I'll be taking some good measurements prior to shoeing if he does get shoes.

I've just been searching for every angle do the best for his feet.
 
#6 ·
That diagram is so wrong. First, no foot will grow as much as they make it look like in 8 weeks. they are showing nearly an INCH of growth! Most hooves will grow about a quarter inch a month at most. Second, the reason heels contract in shoes is because they were not trimmed correctly to begin with, allowing them to run forward and under. Third the TOE has been allowed to drift forward, pulling the anterior sole, insensitive frog apex and HEELS forward with it. The trimer has only two things right, that leaving artificially tall heels contributes, and leaving shoes in too long, thereby eliminating the frig function . Those issues have NOTHING to do with the metal shoes. It has everything to do with hoof balance around the coffin bone, heel form, breakover, and frog support. I doubt that trimmer (nor whoever mentored them) has ever seen a really PROPER shoeing. Most have not as their websites show only traditional. IMproper shoeings as examples.
 
#7 ·
And Harold, be aware that no foot can expand more than the shape of the wings of the coffin bone will allow . So if the BONE is a little narrow due to years of contracted heels you will never, ever get a perfect hoof so dont sweat it. If the frog is relatively healthy, nice central sulcis, not stretched, and the horse is sound, and the foot maps well, then its a good foot.
 
#8 ·
Thanks Patty. I was hoping you'd come around. Being a Mathematical/Engineering type I was drawn to the picture.

Of course he does say that it is exaggerated to show the effect.

But I decided, yesterday I think, to see what it would amount to in real life. Using a hoof that was sloping outward 1/2 inch and 3 1/2 inches tall, 1/4 inch growth would "theoretically" contract the hoof by only 1/32 of an inch.

I am curios about one thing, which is what I was looking for when I stumbled upon that link. I've looked for some kind of rough definition of what defines a contracted heel and am wondering if the lines down the collateral grooves exiting outside the bulbs is a fare assessment, or not. From the way he says, it sounds like it is Strasser's definition.

And curiously, he mentioned dissection of hooves that were shod too young having a long coffin but didn't talk about any dissections of hooves that were shod at four years or later.

Maybe I should use his contact form to ask if long toes and underun squashed heels contribute to contraction.

Interesting about the sole pulling the heels forward. I was just reading last night (again) about Bowker discovering the major role of the bars in sole formation.

Thanks again!
 
#9 ·
...Perhaps if there were side clips on the heels of shoes, that diagram would be more accurate... I think it's lack of good hoof function, lack of good heel use that is the main 'cause' of 'contraction', which can happen shod or bare. 'Normal' shoeing does contribute to a lot of issues IME, not least when they're badly done or left months overdue, but that's not to say that physiologically correct shoeing does. I've been quite surprised for eg at the extent I've seen Easyshoes help feet DEcontract and become stronger caudally.
 
#10 ·
The definition of a contracted hoof that *I* was originally taught is this: Draw an X through the foot with the center of the X on the frog at the widest part of the foot. If the X is narrower at the back than it is where it contacts the toe corners, the foot is contracted. But really, the frog condition is the key. There are definite measurements to do on the frog that will tell you if it is too narrow or too long. Both conditions go along with contracted heels. (and it usually corresponds with the old 'X' assessment anyway) .
 
#12 ·
There are definite measurements to do on the frog that will tell you if it is too narrow or too long.
Thanks for the answer on the X, but now you've got me wondering about the frog measurements.

BTW, took Hondo on a killer rock ride today sans shoes or boots fore and hind and he never winced a bit. Since he had that chip that you said was "oh, hit a rock, no big deal", I've been trimming his feet all around to match each chip as it happens. Nary a chip today! Yea! He may make a rock cruncher yet.
 
#13 ·
It's been hard for me to grasp. The thing that turned me around, or things I should say, is beginning to understand that hooves that have been damaged from metal shoes sometimes need more aggressive back of foot stimulation than is provided by occasional or even frequent rides in boots. They need it 24/7 and shoes, metal or plastic with frog supports is the only way some can break the cycle.

Looking back and knowing what I know now, I believe Hondo would have been better off staying in shoes with frog supports than barefoot and riding in boots.

But I didn't know what I know now. Doesn't seem all that long ago I was Googling 'toe callus, horse' wondering what the heck a toe callus was.

As it is, the almost 1 1/2 years in boots and barefoot appear to "maybe" have done the job, with still a little ways maybe to go.
 
#14 ·
Patty, how would you de-contract a hoof using shoes?

My mare has had contracted hooves since we rescued her over 15 years ago. (She was a neglect case. Shoes were put on and her feet were not trimmed for a prolonged period of time.)

I've had several farriers over the years. No one has been able to improve her feet and most farriers do not even comment on the contraction.

I would have bought hoof boots for her, but I don't think they had them 15 years ago! Now she is retired due to arthritis. Her feet have improved just moving her up "the hill" and out of low-lying pasture. But the contraction is still there. I had a farrier associated with the local university tell me that hoof contraction was permanent.
 
#15 ·
Patty, how would you de-contract a hoof using shoes?

My mare has had contracted hooves since we rescued her over 15 years ago....

Her feet have improved just moving her up "the hill" and out of low-lying pasture. But the contraction is still there. I had a farrier associated with the local university tell me that hoof contraction was permanent.
Not going to butt in on your question to Patti, as aside from recently noticing Easyshoes helped, I have no personal experience specific to shoes.

If your horse was contracted from before maturity, the pedal bone and 'structure' may have never become wide enough for your horse to be ABLE do develop a wider heel. On top of that, Dr Bowker & others that have studied this believe that the caudal hoof(internal soft tissue, digital cushions etc) CAN'T develop fibrocartilage etc, if it's been too long, or the tissue has been 'hamburgered' by chronic damage. Therefore it may well be impossible to develop a really strong, wide caudal foot on many older horses.

BUT as you've seen with environment change, there are many factors which can at least *improve* the state to some degree or other, and I have much experienced first hand that even chronic contraction & weak heels is improvable, if not completely 'fixable'.
 
#16 ·
This is just all wrong. Look at an old shoe job and you can see what happens. Horses left in shoes too long grow OVER the outside of the shoe because they do grow at an angle and the shoe is static in shape. Many times you dont even know a shoe is still on there till you pick up the foot on really neglected feet. Patty is correct on what causes contraction. It was never the shoe itself. Its the skill in the trim and set of the shoe.
 
#17 ·
The article very briefly mentions disease of the frog, but can be a cause of contracted heels. Deep central sulcus infections can be very painful and keep the horse from weighting the heels. I've seen horses that had deep, narrow cracks in the heel where the central sulcus was, along with contracted heels, and after treatment for thrush they opened up.

I agree that there are many factors that contribute to a healthy digital cushion. Fibro cartilage has very poor blood supply, which means it takes longer than other tissues to regenerate. The blood supply and generative ability gets even worse as a horse ages, in a similar way to human knee cartilage.

So many domesticated horses also did not have a chance to develop their heel cartilage when they were growing. Many foals are kept in stalls or with limited turnout so they don't have the amount of weight bearing exercise and movement needed to grow a strong, healthy cartilage (studies have shown that pressure and force are needed to stimulate the growth of the digital cushion).

I have also seen that the shape of the heel does not necessarily mean the heels are contracted, as Patty said. Oval shaped coffin bones will have narrow heels even if the frog is flat, open and as wide as it can get.
 
#19 ·
In UK farriers have to have 5yrs as an apprenticeship, it's illegal for anyone other than a qualified farrier to put a shoe on a horse here... We shoe with new or refit approx every 6 weeks, the old shoes that may have been barely worn down need very little adjustment but around 1/2" of hoof wall may be clipped/pared and trimmed off again... these are shoes that aren't loose but clenches on the nails are rising due to hoof growth. New shoes are matched to hoof size, hot hammered/adjusted to fit and still 1/2- 3/4 growth depanding on length of time between shoes. The shoes do widen slightly as the hoof wall grows as well as the clenches lifting (folded top of the nails) so origninal picture isn't quite accurate ans we also have many types of shoe for various issues and sports.

Personally I have one horse that is shod all 4 feet as he needs the support but another that is shod on front but barefoot on back.. needs the shoes for roadwork on the weight carrying front but back good without. I also work in a riding school where some are fully barefoot, some semi and some just need full set to keep them sound. A good farrier knows when and when not to shoe plus when you need remedial work such as heart shape shoes, barefoot, rubber pads etc.
 
#23 ·
I'm a pretty hard core barefoot person. Not because it's more "natural," but because it's healthier for most horses, and the booting options are so great nowadays. I've found boots to be much better than shoes in rough environments.

But metal shoes are sometimes the answer.
For a horse I knew, they were the answer. This horse had terrible hoof care until after age 20. At that point, she came to a good home. After trying to help her feet for several years, the horse was still unsound barefoot in a soft pasture, developing constant bruising and abscesses. Hoof boots could not be left on 24/7 without thrush developing. Plastic shoes wore out too quickly in this particular environment. Metal shoes made it so the horse could live without constant pain.

Part of the decision depends on the goal for the horse. Shoes might be needed for a horse that has already deteriorated past the point of ever regaining sound hooves, and where protection is needed constantly. If it comes down to putting shoes on and making a horse comfortable vs. having a horse suffer constantly, to me it is a no brainer.

However, I've met people who are so against anything "unnatural," that they will not put shoes on an old, debilitated horse, or will not feed grain to an old, skinny horse, or will not put a blanket on a sick, shivering horse. I feel like saying, "Why don't you just throw them out so the wolves can eat them, because that would be the most natural thing to do."
 
#24 ·
feel like saying, "Why don't you just throw them out so the wolves can eat them, because that would be the most natural thing to do."
I hear ya... & sometimes I feel that would be the vastly more humane option than what some 'horse lovers' do...
 
#26 ·
They were Epona shoes.
The horse has passed on by now, lived to over 30.
Nowadays I might try the Easy Shoes to see how those would work if I knew a similar horse.

With some of the products you can paint on the sole to prevent thrush and protect it, I think glue on boots might also work. A friend had Pete Ramey put a set on a horse last year and he customized the boot by cutting a hole in the sole in order to get air to the frog.
 
#27 ·
I tried cutting a hole in the gloves. Just packed in with mud. Didn't really help. But if there were no mud, it should help.

From what I've read the Ground Controls are supposed to equal or better iron in terms of wear. But that said, I haven't heard of a report of really rugged wear on rocks. I have a full set waiting for me to decide, which I may well never do.
 
#28 ·
The clinches do not rise due to hoof growth. The nails and shoe move down along with the growth. Clinches rise because the nail shank actually gets pushed farther up into the foot, IF the nail heads were not seated very solidly down on the shoe crease to begin with. ( not blocked hard enough) And in a wet fragile foot (the UK) you can not block very hard or you will tear the wall. So the clinch just eventually gets shoved up away from the hoof wall. That's all there is to that.
 
#29 ·
Patty, how would you de-contract a hoof using shoes?
IF the foot has not suffered permanent contraction due to the coffin bone remodeling or other internal pathology, it can be de contracted by the following method. Number one, TRIM IT CORRECTLY. that means mapping it, taking the heels back far enough and mapping for the shoe placement to insure reduction of abnormal leverage at the toe. Use a shoe designed to ease the leverage. third and very important, insure there is frog support, even ADD frog support with artificial frog support pads and sole support materials if necessary. Lastly make sure the shoeing gets re-set at regular intervals so the heels and toe do not grow forward. Map it EVERY time to insure the bottom of the foot is not sneaking forward and pulling the heels with it. Decontraction ,as much as is possible in that individual may happen in a few shoeings, or up to about a year. Most in my experience are significantly better in about 4 to 6 months.
 
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