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> Have there been published studies on the nutritional cause? 
Not that I've ever seen.


Europeans don't allow horses with hoof faults to become 
> approved breeding horses. 
I know of at least one example of that not being true---a very well-bred
Hanoverian (I think) that had OCD as a yearling (from being criminally overfed),
had surgery to correct the OCD and the resulting lay-up resulted in extreme 
club-footedness.  Genetic predisposition or not, I dunno, but she later as
as six year old was taken to a keuring and approved as breeding stock.



Do only arab breeders over feed? 

No, but *some* Arabs are digestively very efficient and so can get fat on 
a diet that would barely keep an average thoroughbred sucking air.
Same for a lot of the foundation-type Morgans, thus maybe a factor in 
the incidence in that breed as well.



> If it is genetics that  preposition a horse to over sensitivity to 
imbalances in 
> the diet - it still is genetics. Why knowingly breed for it?
If overnutrition is indeed the factor that predisposes to clubfootedness,
then is it a fault of the horse?  I could turn the same argument around and
say that XYZ line of horses can stay fit and healthy without being fed a ton of
concentrates, supplements and rich hays.  That sounds more like a Good Thing
to me. :-)  I would think he effort neds to go into owner education instead.

JMO.

Susan G


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