My horse has a club foot and my farrier is the type to do what you ask him to do, but not give you advice. I know I want to get shoes on my horse, at least. I am just not sure if I should put pads on him as well. I am going to insert a link to pictures of his feet. They are only of his front feet because his back feet are fine. The pictures are recent and it was about 9 weeks since his last trim and the farrier is coming out again in a couple of days. Please help.
My two pieces of advice are:
1. Find a new farrier. I question his abilities that he's unwilling to give advice on how to properly shoe a horse with problems. It makes me think that his education and experience are lacking and that he doesn't offer advice because he simply doesn't know what to do.
2. Follow a professional's advice who has seen your horse in person over the advice over the internet from pictures.
A good farrier or trimmer will tell you the best thing for a horse with a club hoof is to trim him to keep him comfortable - trim according to what the hoof is asking for, NOT what someone thinks should be done to "correct" the horse.
There is no such thing as correcting a club hoof - as long as they are frequently trimmed (4 - 6 weeks, depending on growth rate), the hoof will be fine.
My 18 yr old TWH has a genetic less than grade one club hoof. He's been with me since he was 2-1/2 and has only worn shoes 5% of that time. He is fortunate to have hooves like goat and has been trail-ridden in some places my other TWH's could not go barefoot.
The few times I did have shoes on him, he wore the standard rim shoes with borium head nails, just like my other horses. Nothing special about the shoes -- just the proper size and properly formed for his hooves.
His running walk has always been nothing but champagne-smooth.
He's never been lame or sore but thrush has always been an on-going issue for him, especially in the club hoof because a club hoof isn't real good at self-cleaning.
Lastly, no matter where I've lived in this United States, I've had farriers or trimmers that recognized "trimming him to keep him comfortable" was the proper way to trim him.
There is a certain amount of math and physics that goes into balancing a horse like this. If your current farrier isn't comfortable with all that, please find someone that is before your horse ends up lame; something there is no need for, just because of a club hoof
I would also be a bit leery of a farrier asking the client how to address the club foot, but if you like him, no harm letting him do a few shoeings to see how it goes. I will say, since a club naturally comes with a higher heel, just be sure that whatever shoe option is done, make sure that frog still comes in contact with the ground during the loading phase. Club feet already come with narrower feet and heels that want to contract. No sense exacerbating it with decreased movement in the back of the foot. Definitely put a shoe on that allows room for expansion.
Agree with above & Walkin(as usual) but for the 'there is no such thing as correcting a club'. I do believe it is *generally* a case of managing what you've got, but depends on the cause & on other treatment(eg. bodywork that could resolve the issue that caused it), whether it can/should be 'corrected'. I still believe in working with the foot you've got & if/when it is appropriate to 'correct', the foot will let you know.
I am guessing you're a horse owner with only the usual amount of knowledge about horse's hooves OP? Therefore if your current farrier is willing to just do what you tell him & doesn't even bother to explain stuff, then I suspect(not assuming, there may be more to it) he's either uncaring, &/or perhaps also ignorant of the whys & wherefores himself.
Agree with above & Walkin(as usual) but for the 'there is no such thing as correcting a club'. I do believe it is *generally* a case of managing what you've got, but depends on the cause & on other treatment(eg. bodywork that could resolve the issue that caused it), whether it can/should be 'corrected'. I still believe in working with the foot you've got & if/when it is appropriate to 'correct', the foot will let you know.
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And you're right -- I don't always get out of my brain what I really mean.
When I first moved to Tennessee, my first shoer told me of some the brutal "corrective cuttings" some of the show people would do to make the horse look like it didn't have a club hoof in the show ring:shock:
My TWH is Generator-bred and the Old Man was club-hoofed. Because he was such a great show horse, they just kept putting babies on the ground, club hoof and all. Who cares the long-term results, on the horse, of making those aethestic corrections? They would sell the horse anyway if it didn't win. Thankfully I got hold of my TWH when he was 2-1/2 and didn't "make", so nobody had time to cut him up.
That's where my head was when I wrote that and it really wasn't the right choice of words for this thread:-(
I was thinking that the non-club foot looked pretty upright. Is it possible to have two club feet, or is something else causing the foot to be so upright?
Yes, 'club foot' in a horse just basically means chronically high heeled, for whatever reason. Frequently though people only recognise a 'club' when it's unilateral, or one's a lot more pronounced than the other. I think the same principles apply re 'fixing' them though.
I realize that you can't truly fix his feet, but I have noticed when he gets trimmed and put to a more even angle he is much more willing to go to the right and take the right lead. And when he grows back out its a lot harder to get him to want to go to the right. I figured that shoes would help this problem, but I can see where changing the natural angle can be bad. I just like other peoples opinion because some of my friends say he needs to be fixed and others don't. I like to get as much information as I can before I make a decision.
You might want to have a good equine vet do a set of xrays on the front feet and ask him/her what the nest course of action would be. If you change the angle of a club hoof, you can easily make your horse lame. It's what is inside the hoof that matters. My club hoofed mare has to be kept in shoes because her heel wears too fast. Posted via Mobile Device
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