Re: RE: forging/club feet

["Cora" <bandc@teknett.com>]

if you can stay oe get back to moses gonzales.... hes is the best farrier i
ever had ...am now in nevada and cant begin to use him...wish i could
Cora----- Original Message -----
From: Kathy Mayeda <kathy_mayeda@atce.com>
To: Bette Lamore <woa@stormnet.com>; <Tivers@aol.com>; <WarEglWa@aol.com>
Cc: <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2000 4:20 PM
Subject: RC: RE: forging/club feet


> My gelding HAD a club foot.  Had his opposite hoof shimmed for high/low
> syndrome (a la Tony/Moses Gonzales)  by one farrier, who often acts as
> consultants for other farriers.  My horse was going great after that.
>
> But this farrier was 3 hours away and my local farrier started messing
> around with the angulation on his club foot.  The shim eventually came
off,
> because he started to look balanced without the shim.
>
> Had other issues, took a Gait Abnormality class, the instructor/vet
> suggested front lateral x-rays to double check angulation because I
> expressed concern about the change. X-rays taken a couple of months ago,
> they were clean, no angulation problems - almost perfect.  And no club
foot.
> And no special farrier work, just kept on paring down the "high heel" over
> time.  (And chiropractic, dentistry, new saddle and dressage - the
high/low
> syndrome was just part of the overall balance issues).
>
> I did have to talk my new farrier into using a wider web on the hinds.  He
> was a little reluctant to do so because he thought the extra weighting
would
> cause forging.   On the other hand, I read in a book about horses's backs
> (memory lapse here) that wider webs will help the horse use his back more
> correctly and that in itself will help the horse move his front legs out
of
> the way of his hinds.
>
> But it sounded like Beau started forging this last weekend, or we were
> hitting a lot of rocks, I don't know!!!!  He never really forged before
and
> he's still on the same set as we did the 50 with last week without
problems.
>
> There were rumors of Bey Shah lines producing club foots, too. (My guy has
> no Bey Shah in him.)
>
> After this experience I am more likely to say that even if there is
heredity
> that might predispose a horse to club foot,  in my horse's case, the club
> foot can be managed.  An x-ray of BOTH front legs to compare them would be
a
> good idea (and in my case cost the same as one.)  At least I'm wasn't
> wondering about the way the farrier was dealing with angulation anymore.
It
> might take awhile to sort through all the body balance issue related to
> this, but it's worth it to get a sound horse.  Believe me, I've been
> learning a lot over the past few years about  equine body balance, and it
> has FINALLY paid off this year.
>
> Another thing that Diana Thompson told me to look for is to see if the
> chest/pectorals are even looking straight on from the front.  If one side
is
> farther up than the other and/or more or less bulgier than the other,
there
> may be leg length/club foot issues to look at.  And yes, it is true that
the
> club foot reflected which leg would be behind in his habitual grazing
> stance, which is another thing to note.
>
> And I was happy not having the shim to pay for.  I was always paranoid
that
> it would cause "red flags" with ride vets.
>
> Good luck!
>
> Kathy Mayeda
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bette Lamore [mailto:woa@stormnet.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2000 2:20 PM
> To: Tivers@aol.com
> Cc: guest@endurance.net; ridecamp@endurance.net
> Subject: RC:    forging
>
> Hi Tom
> It is not that unusual to have 2 different front feet in Arabs--- lots
> of theories--- the way they stand when babies, eating off the ground
> with same foot forward, heredity.... Whatever the reason, farriers are
> always commenting to me how they have to work with balanced shoeing to
> keep same angles.
> Michelle Kaplan, the neurokinesiologist who works with the Olympic
> horses taught me to watch horses walk from the back to see if one hip
> rose higher than the other. If it did, then they was something which we
> could work with chiropractically, with neurokinesiology, with TTouch, or
> call in the heavy artillery-- vets with their x-rays and ultrasounds.
> So far as club feet, same as above. Could be use or just plain heredity.
> Real McCoy breeding produced great athletes; unfortunately, the line
> also had more than their share of club feet.
> Bette (whose own feet are one-half size different--- poor
> bloodlines????)
>
> Tivers@aol.com wrote:
> >
> > In a message dated 6/7/00 9:18:55 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
> > guest@endurance.net writes:
> >
> > << My arab forges in rough terrain or when he gets overly excited
> (like
> > during endurance rides!). He does not forge when training or working.
> He has
> > a club right foot and I keep him on a 6 week schedule. It was
> suggested to me
> > to use bell boots, unfortunately I found out on the last 50 that the
> bell
> > boots rubbed his fetlocks raw! Does anyone have any suggestions as to
> how the
> > forging or the rubbing can be prevented? Thank you. >>
> >
> > He forges on the left side? That would be my guess.
> >
> > The right fore is probably clubbed because it is not being used
> > hard--something's wrong on that side.
> >
> > This leaves the left to take up the burden, and the left may dwell on
> the
> > ground (stance phase)  longer. You can reduce stance in the left by
> > shortening or squaring the toe, or by using heavier shoes. However,
> all of
> > this is treating symptoms rather than the underlying problem. I'd
> x-ray that
> > right foot, seeking a longer term solution.
> >
> > ti
> >
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> --
> Bette Lamore
> Whispering Oaks Arabians, Home of 16.2hh TLA Halynov
> (yes, REALLY!)
> http://www.arabiansporthorse.com
>
>
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>
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> Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp
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