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FW: Re: [RC] FW: [RC] Query #2: why are low heels bad? - Ginny Holsman

Mary,

Unfortunately, what is normal for each horse, differs per horse. A photo would help; or more description. It would take a book to cover all possibilities -- need more specifics. Has noting to do with bloodlines, though; but instead the horse's structural conformation. For example, one horse, by the way they are built might need lower heels than another horse by the way they are built. If the horse that needs more heel, has less than they need, that's bad; but if the horse needs less heel, and has enough, that's good. Given any horse, the right height for a heel even varies per hoof! For example, a horse with a twisted leg or shoulder or spine or hip, or with a leg injury of some kind might need a different heel on one or more hoofs.

Sounds like that friend of yours understands proper hoof care. If they can't come look; send me some photos -- eWrite to me directly and I'll tell you what photos I need.

Ginny Holsman
Ozark Equitation



From: Mary Krauss <lazykfarm@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Ginny Holsman" <ginny744@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: FW: [RC] Query #2: why are low heels bad?
Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2006 17:32:39 -0800

Thank you Ginny,
I'm wondering because a 3 year-old I've been looking at seems a little low-heeled to me. Problem is, I have a poor point of reference because Salima and Bruiser both have lots of heel--more than most horses I see. I'm not sure what "normal" is.... His daddy is some famous Polish and American English Pleasure horse, so I wondered if the low heel comes from that bloodline--Daddy supposedly had that ridiculous high gait naturally, despite having been a reasonably successful racehorse. I guess it all got me to wondering if low heels might be good for some horses and not for others. A friend of mine who's into barefoot trimming (formerly typical farrier), says she believes that some horses are made to have lower heels and that these may match the horse's particular structure best. I thought I'd ask her to come look at him with me.

Thank you again Ginny.
Mary K.
p.s. I had quite the bonding moment with this wild 3 year-old. He hasn't been handled much so isn't particularly interested in people--not overly bonded to horses, just indifferent to people. His owner, a very nice woman, says she doesn't really play with horses much, just trains and shows 'em. She's very kind to them, but uninterested. He reflects her attitude. I played with him for a couple of hours and watched him get pretty soft and sweet. I think he would enjoy becoming a partner rather than an owned thing.....

On Thursday, February 23, 2006, at 02:54 PM, Ginny Holsman wrote:


Sorry, I answered the body of the message without answering the question posed in the subject.

The reason low heels are bad is because it throws the entire structural alignment of the hores off-balance, causing stress that can lead to subluxations of the spine, injury, muscle strain, ligament damage, hoof problems, bad temperment from sore muscles, tendons and the difficulty of performing under such conditions.

Horse need for their weight to be balanced farther forward on their hooves, closer to center; so that their weight is evenly distributed. Low heels for horses is like a person walking in shoes that normally have a heel, with the heel removed -- off-balance, weight ditributed incorrectly, leading to sore muscles, and increased possibility of injury, under durress.



From: Mary Krauss <lazykfarm@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [RC]   Query #2: why are low heels bad?
Date: Mon, 20 Feb 2006 19:15:23 -0800

Are some horses better off with low heels? Why not? Assuming the farrier isn't doing something odd to the horse that could be changed, would you avoid buying a young horse with low heels?
Mary K.


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