Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

As a shoer, I don't generally attempt to force feet to match.  If I encounter a "low" heel, I consider the overall conformation of the horse in deciding what to do.  In most cases, the "low" heeled foot will be attached to a leg with a lower pastern angle and a more steeply sloped shoulder than the "normal" foot.  If the hoof/pastern angle is not broken back, I'm not going to fool with the angle of the foot.  I have, however, put a wedge pad on a horse with a broken back hoof/pastern angle.  Generally within a year, I'll take the wedge pad off, as the heels have recovered and the natural hoof/pastern angle has been restored.  If the angle is never restored, there was probably never a problem in the first place.  Additionally, if the wedge pad isn't needed, the foot will go through all sorts of machinations to restore itself to the "low" heel.  You'll usually see warped, crushed heels and bars and the wall in the back part of the hoof
 will often start to break up.  This is all an attempt to restore the appropriate angle to the foot.