Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

I guess what I should have said was, don't try to make the hoof look like a normal hoof. That is what will cause problems.

My endurance gelding, Gambler, was born club footed in both front hooves. he had surgery when he was younger, and other than having the same growth problems you mention, you wouldn't really know it. He is more upright, but with constant proper trimming, his hoof is starting to look normal. My past farriers wanted to keep his heels too long and he was having problems with constricted heels, frogs almost none exsistant and laid over bars. And he is ridden barefoot or with boots.

Kathy Mayeda <kathy.mayeda@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I do my own trimming on Beau.  If I don't keep on taking his heel down, he's lame.  The heel will start contracting, and his frog disappears to nothing.  I fired my last farrier because he didn't take enough heel off, got a seriously contracted heel, and took a long time to get any frog back.  Now that he's barefoot in pasture and not really working hard, it seems like I'm taking a 1/4" of 3/8" of heel off and cutting down the bars hard every 2-3 weeks, otherwise the bars will start folding over which will create lameness.  With nice concavity in his clubby foot he goes just fine, can't see any difference in his gait due to clubbiness.

"Just make sure you trim the hoof as it grows, don't try changing it...or he will be lame.

 

Lori