Re: Pastern Angles

[Sue Brown <sbrown@wamedes.com>]

>I think I'd rather say that each hoof should be shod to match its own
>leg.  This kind of thing can happen when a horse grazes habitually with
>one leg forward and the other back.  Not necessarily a "conformational"
>problem in the permanent sense of the word.
>
About 5 years ago, I bought a young TB mare that appeared to have a club
foot...not something I would normally jump to do, but she was a pretty
impressive mare so I opted to go ahead and vet her...and I have her feet
x-rayed during the vet check.  She had been in a pasture for a while (24/7
for a good portion of her 8 years) and always ate in the same position.  As
a result, one foot appeared to have a low heel/long toe problem (not
unusual in a TB anyway) and the other appeared clubbed.  

The x-rays showed the bone angles being off a fair amount...and that they
could *possibly* be corrected.  (Like what they say when you ask if
something can be improved or corrected! ;-))  With the blessings of my vet
to give it a try and a farrier that was totally awesome, we *gradually*
(and I mean VERY slowly over several shoeings) brought her feet around to
match, slowly changing the angle of the club foot and gradually bringing
the other foot up with careful trimming and wedge pads.  Her coordination
and balance improved tremendously --  and her hooves continued to grow in
the proper direction once we had stabilized that position and her legs had
adjusted.

The key was the vet exam and x-rays...I would not have tried to change
something I couldn't, but this appeared that it may be possible.  I
wouldn't have considered doing this (nor would my farrier) had I not seen
what was going on inside that hoof in relation to the rest of her bone
structure.

Sue 

sbrown@wamedes.com
Tyee Farm
Marysville, Wa.


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