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Re: [RC] coon-footed - Dyane SmithMary, I so completely relate because my perfect horse is coon-footed. What worked best for me was to put him in egg bar shoes and to get him shod every 5 1/2 weeks without fail. I rode enough that by 5 1/2 weeks, the handmade egg bars were paper thin anyway. My horse has always had thin walls and flat feet. However, he also has very thick soles and has only abscessed 3 times in almost 32 years. Like your horse, mine has large functional joints. At one point, I was told by a very well-regarded veterinarian that his pasterns would eventually drop to the ground (subluxation). The news was devastating but the advice was good: nothing you can do about it, so just ride him. The bad news is that my horse was retired because of debilitating arthritis in 1997. I think you have more and better information than I had at the time so you might well prolong his soundness. One thing I have realised over the years is that movement is more useful than any prepartions such as biotin or anything you paint on the hooves, so 24/7 turnout is best if possible. Also, my horse will never really have a heel like horses who aren't coon-footed. All that being said, my horse was incredibly sure-footed and had wonderfully ground-covering gaits. He never did endurance and might not have had the conformation to do so, but the reason we never tried was because of no trailer, not because of his conformation. He did very well in the few CTR's we were able to do.Anyway, I would never change the time I have spent with this horse in spite of the problems. I wish you well with Leo. Dyane ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mary Krauss" <lazykfarm@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: "ridecamp" <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, January 29, 2010 10:21 PM Subject: [RC] coon-footed Ok, so I now know coon-footedness generally spells doom. Does the size of the bone/tendon/ligament structure have any bearing on how long a coon-footed horse's pastern will remain functional? =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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