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Tom Ivers writes to Duncan Fletcher:
>
> Good question, Duncan. The hoof hits heel first, and rolls onto the toe.
The
> toe generally slices through sand and soil and ceases forward motion a
few
> inches from its initial impact. A squared toe, at least on a Standardbred
> going on a track where these kinds of things are visible after the fact,
> stops the forward motion of the toe almost instantly and causes a much
> quicker breakover.
>
> While squared toes can solve a lot of (interference/gaiting) problems,
front
> and back, the one thing that a Standardbred horseman will tell you is
that
> you're going to have to start paying more attention to the joints,
especially
> pasterns and ankles, when you go to a square toe. Whether these kinds of
> problems are so quick to show up in endurance horses, I don't know, but
the
> mechanical principles would be the same.
-------
Tom,
Then what does this say about a horse than naturally wears the back
feet square? Should the shoer keep the shape, or round the toe
slightly?
My Arab/Walker mare wore her back feet almost completely square
this winter, when I pulled shoes. Though the toes went off,
overall, the foot was not short.
When shod with a round toe in the back last year, she often shuffled
or dragged her back feet. With the square toe, she doesn't. (Of
course this may be breed related!)
Any comments appreciated!
Karen
To: ridecamp@endurance.net
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