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Bad hooves.....

5K views 14 replies 13 participants last post by  Lizz 
#1 ·
Well, I'm in the market for a new trail horse, and I have had a few I've fallen in love with and almost bought, but nothing has worked out yet. Here's another one. I love this horse, he seems to be everything I want, but his hooves look awful to me. What do you think? Is this just a bad farrier job? Could his feet be corrected with proper trimming, or does he just have bad legs? I like this horse enough that I am willing to put some money into getting his feet fixed, but I'm not sure if it's a fixable problem. Thanks for the advice!!!!

 
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#2 ·
I dont think that is anything that cant be fixed with a good farrier and some time. Was he shod or is he always barefoot? When I bought my OTTB he had terrible feet and they were also very long like your boy's. It is taking a while for his feet to grow the cracks out from a poor shoeing and his soles to toughen up, but it hasnt been too pricey. If you keep him barefoot, trims arent very expensive ($40 down here by San Diego) and his feet are almost a normal angle now. Good luck!
 
#4 ·
There is nothing that can't be fixed on his feet. I would suggest keeping him barefoot. If you get a good farrier in It won't take long at all to get his feet in good shape. I can't believe people let there horses feet get that long.

If you really like him then get him, the feet can be fixed.
 
#5 ·
If I were you I would go barefoot! My horses have been barefoot for years and I have not had any problems. And yes the horses hooves are in terrible shape! My barefoot horses do great on rocky trails and everything. It is healthier for the horse to go barefoot. I have been trimming my horses hooves for years and they look great and are very solid with no cracks or splits. I would highly suggest just getting them trimmed and going barefoot!
 
#6 ·
His legs look fairly decent, from the pictures I would believe that he has had a horrible farrier for a long time. He is not just long- his angles are horribly off and it looks as though he has little to no heel. As far as shoeing him goes, I would talk to your farrier about it. A good, competent farrier will give you the answer you need.
 
#7 ·
Looks like just poor farrier work, or not enough farrier work. If he's not too far from you, have your normal farrier/trimmer come out and look at him for you. With the proper trim schedule, you could probably keep him barefoot, but I'd imagine he would need really frequent trimmings for a while to get him back in order, like every 4 weeks.

He is a lovely looking boy otherwise. I would consider him if I were looking to purchase.
 
#9 ·
Thanks everyone! I really like this horse, so it is good to know his feet aren't a permenant problem. I definitely prefer barefoot, so if he works out it sounds like I can have his feet fixed up okay. Thanks!!!
 
#13 ·
He's very nice looking boy. His toes are horribly long, but it's certainly fixable. Just to be on safe side if you could ask good farrier to look at him (s)he can tell for sure how bad they are and how long it takes to fix it (if there is something worse than just a long toe).
 
#14 ·
Looks fixable to me, but you've got a long haul here... don't expect to put him through his paces for a while. His feet are in trouble:long toes, forward heels, uneven all around -- that's just from the side. What does the bottom look like? It looks like being in this shape for a while has inflamed his fetlocks, but it's hard to tell from a photo. Check for heat.

I wonder if the bad angles have caused such funny muscle development. Interesting. He is overweight which doesn't help. Between the feet and the weight he probably has some real muscle/soft tissue development ahead of him.

But he does look generally good. It's kinda hard to tell because he can't stand properly, but if the price is right and everything else checks out, I'd be willing to take him on. He sure is pretty. I just love the dapples!
 
#15 ·
I think he is beautiful just a bad job on his feet. His little face says "Take me home and get my feet trimmed!"
 
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