Re: Requesting Advice on Gait Irregularity

[Kim <kim@redhorsetech.com>]

On Mon, 3 May 1999 23:14:23 EDT, Tivers@aol.com wrote:

>> In a message dated 5/3/99 1:33:27 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
>> robin_everett@yahoo.com writes:

>>  The vet noticed that the angles of his front feet are not equal.  She
>>  suggested we have them evened up and see if the problem goes away.  I
>>  talked to the farrier.  He explained that the horse, having been
>>  barefoot for so long, and with the right front foot higher heeled than
>>  the left (he doesn't like to say club footed), wore down the right foot
>>  more and needs to grow more hoof.   >>
>> 
> 
> Pass. Often a horse becomes "club footed" because he's staying off that foot. 
> Or that leg. There's an injury there somewhere. Maybe it's higher than 
> they're looking.
> 
> ti
---------------------------

Have recent experience with Tom's observation right here with my own 24
year old mare.  She fractured her left front sesamoid in January, and
although is healing up nicely, her front feet look very different now. 
They used to be nearly uniform in slope and toe/heel length in the
pre-fracture days, but now the left front is clubby, while the right
front has more of a slope to it and *trying* to develop an underrun
heel. 

She is trimmed more frequently now (5 week intervals) to avoid any
problems with healing because of this "club foot" and to prevent the
underrunning of her right front.  Happily, I have noticed that the
clubbiness is starting to develop a little less over time between the
same trimming intervals.  She bears her full weight on that foot now
except when turning sharply, and is her lively self again in pasture
(uggghhh!  Stop playing so hard with the kids!).  She has never been
lame in any of her front feet before while I have owned her (since 1985)
until her January injury, and has spent most of her life barefoot except
when packing in the mountains.  In July, she will get radiographs taken
to see how much further she has to go, and she'll still have quite a
vacation until fully recovered.

Kim


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