<< Tom
I've heard you should square or roll the rear feet as well. This speeds up
both
>> breakovers and keeps the stride shorter.
Maybe--don't know. But squaring and/or rolling toes is a bigger step than I
like to take until I'm sure I can't do anything with a more conservative
approach.
>(I think) If you lengthen the rears you will
>cause the rear feet to stay on the ground longer and then he will reach
farther after it
> does breakover
Correct to this point.
>increasing the likelihood of interference. (clicking)
Nope. Try it and see.
>Also keeping the
>feet on the ground longer would put increased stress on the tendons and
hocks, >areas we
> need to avoid any additional stress on.
Hind tendons seldom bow. Hind suspensories are more frequently injured than
hind tendons, but this is more often due to missteps than shoeing. What
really wants to go wrong behind are the hocks and stifles and the back. For
these problems, you want to avoid stabbing at all costs. High angles and/or
interference will cause the horse to stab behind.
> Also I believe the angle should match the fetlock angle (usually). This
is the angle
> of the hoof wall, not the angle to the rolled or squared point. I try never
to mess >with
>this angle.
> These are my understanding of the mechanics, further explanation of your
answer >would
>help.
See my recent post on matching hoof/pastern/shoulder angles. I think matching
hoof angles with P1 angle might be an interesting concept, but you have to
x-ray for that. What I see in practice with people who proclaim themselves
"natural" shoers is a whole lot of misshapen feet--and sore feet--after a few
shoeings.
In a recent issue of my newsletter we had an in-depth article about "4-point"
shoeing--essentially, hoof balancing. Even with that methodology, though, the
very first consideration is to get the horse off himself. the next
consideration, if you want an efficient trot, is achieving positive
dissociation (a four-beat trot: LH, RF, RH, LF).
> Also maturity seems to reduce the incidence of clicking, unfortunately I
think it is
>the loss of flexibility in maturing athletes that stops the clicking, so it
may be a
>sign of wear as well as a sign of a stronger, more balanced athlete.
I think what you're observing here is the longterm result of stabbing in
order to miss.
> Thanks
Jim Mitchell >>
ti