RE: The clubfoot that came and went

Jennifer Heim (JHEIM@gunder.com)
Thu, 9 Jan 1997 14:43:00 -0800

I know in some circles this is called a "grass" foot. My horse does this
and the farrier noticed and treated his "clubby" foot (I took him off his
grazed-to-the-ground pasture and put him in a feedlot with a raised
feedpen), but he said he wouldn't go as far as calling it a clubfoot as
it was acquired and not hereditary.

Jen & the Sunman

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From: Donna L O'Gara[SMTP:dlogara@juno.com]
Sent: Thursday, January 09, 1997 1:14 PM
To: ridecamp
Subject: The clubfoot that came and went

Some years ago my horse began getting notations of "clubfoot" on his vet
card. The first time I didn't worry, just some vet being more particular
than most. Then when another vet made the same notation, I began to
worry.

I stumbled onto an article in a farriers magazine that suggested
clubfooted horses might be causing it by putting stress on the foot when
they eat off the ground. I watched him, and sure enough, every time he
reached down to eat off the ground his good foot would go forward, and
his bad one would go back, causing pressure on the foot.

I immediately started feeding him from a haynet, with a table under it to
catch the droppings. His foot began returning to its original shape, and
after a few months the vets quit mentioning his clubfoot.

I have no idea how common this problem is, but you folks with clubfooted
horses might want to look into it

Donna O'Gara
come see us at:
http://www.concentric.net/~Dlogara