Well, my trainer/farrier has upped and poof'd just as soon as he was supposed to get my horses hooves done, so first week or so of February (next pay comes in then >.<) I'll be getting them done by someone else. I'm HOPEFULLY going to have a well-recommended guy come out, he fixed Loki's hooves before when his toe/heel was off. But if he really refuses I'm going to take them to the Amish who live maybe 10-15 minuets away from my pasture. Augf, horses x.O

Anyways, Sammy has a club-type hoof on his left side. I read that your supposed to let the flare grow out and trim it a little bit at a time. He had a regular hoof before, then his shoe tore off. No more regular hoof.
The flare is growing out on it's own, and the hoof appears to be evening out again. I've been keeping an eye on it. He shows no pain, unusual gait, or discomfort. He, honest to god, races (not runs, races) Loki when I call them up. He's more careful on boggy ground, but on drier days he can actually beat him. And he's at least 16 on top of it x.X

Red Man, on the other hand, has underrun heels on his front. I would have got it corrected earlier if it hadn't been for 'No no no, we'll do it on such-and-such date just after I get back from such-and-such place blablabla' -Ihatethisman-. Should a simple trim back of the toes and shoes correct this problem?


I want to make sure I know what to expect before I get the boys trimmed. I don't want to be standing there, agreeing like an idiot because the farrier tells me I really, really need to do one thing when in reality I should be doing something totally different. >.<

If Sammy truely has a club foot no farrier can make them even. The foot will naturally grow a long tall upright heal while the other foot will have a much lower heal.
Grass feet are similiar, one long upright heal, one low.

Google a club foot and you can find a chart as to the severity of the club.

If the "club" is a new development, then you could have some tendon issues going on, or just a really, really bad trim for the past 3-5 trims.

As for the underrun heels, I'm dealing with that myself. Lowering the heels, backing up the toe, and rockering the toe should help correct that overtime. He'll need frequent trimmings to keep things on the right track. If you can't afford frequent trimmings, have the farrier show you how to touch up the hooves yourself between trims.

Thanks for the replies guys I don't believe that Sam has a 'true' club foot, just when his shoe tore off (the people I got him from had shod him) the toe was then to short and the heel to high so it grew out wrong. Like I said, the flare is creeping back again (its almost like it's correcting itself) so with several careful trimmings he should have a normal hoof once more. The guys pretty much retired, so as long as he's comfortable with his feet, I'm happy ^^

I really can't wait until I can get these guys trimmed up. There all ok for the time being, but it needs to be done.