club foot

Hi everyone

We've been offered a QH gelding for free lease who's got a club foot. What exactly is a club foot and how does it affect the horse? His owners are friends of ours and they just want him to go to a good home because he's no good for showing, which is what they wanted him for. Apparently he's got really good breeding and his club fault is his only fault.

All we want him for is trail-riding and pony club so it doesn't matter that he's not suitable for showing.

What are your thoughts and experiences on club foot?

My new mare was just bearly diagnosed with Club foot. You can't even see it, and the vet says we caught it just in time. The only thing we need to do is trim her heel a hair shorter then the front, and it creates a constant pull down on the tendon that is trying to contract.

A place where I boarded at last had a rope horse that was worked daily, and roped off of every weekend with a club foot. He showed no problems at all.

He was shod, not barefoot, I want to keep mine barefoot.

Good site: http://www.horse-diseases.com/clubfoot.html

Most of the time, when someone calls a horse "club footed" it just means there is a front foot that's more upright than the other. It's usually nothing to worry about with proper hoof care, and is really more of a cosmetic issue than anything.

There are extreme cases, and true club foot is the result of contracted tendons and is most noted when the horse is a foal.

As an adult horse (or adolescent) if the upright foot persists, esp in spite of attempts by the farrier to "fix" it, then it's likely something the body has decided it needs to do to cope with an issue higher up, such as the shoulder. Leave it alone, as it's a coping mechanism and the horse will be fine.

Some so called club feet are created by years of crappy shoeing, and it's really more of a case of contracted heels.

But, in general, it shouldn' t affect his usablitlity. The horse will adjust accordingly and be quite sound in most cases. I find I start out with some "club footed" horses and pull the shoes, change the trim and over time they aren't clubby any more.

There is a qh in the circuit that I show in (it's shown by a youth) I think her name is sister clu, she wins all the time and I think they took her to congress, it's a palomino, clubbed hoof must not effect her because I saw her listed on dreamhorse for $25K