High Heels are not a good thing

High Heeled Shuffle

This horse had been lame on/off for two years.  The list of issues
was lengthy.  Movement resembled an old man with a Zimmer frame.

Compare the heel height in photo 1 with the good foot in photo 2.  You can see the likely consequences for the pedal bone of the hoof in photo 1, even without an x-ray.

The high heel was added to with a further wedge. Note the event lines and rasped out toe.

1 Compare the heel height with that of the photo 2 below

2 Dissection of an excellent hoof, note hairline at heel

3 Heel is the narrowest point of foot.  (incorrect)

4 Sheared and contracted heel, note excessive

 heel height

The shuffling horse became something of a tank on overdrive when shoes were removed.  Ridden work commenced earlier than usual in the rehab process because the horse was so strong in hand.

The photos below are just 7 weeks post de-shoe - change can happen fast in the right circumstances.  The owner has worked hard to achieve this. 

5 Same foot, seven weeks post deshoe, note

decontraction already happening

3 months post de-shoe and the horse is moving really well. Thrush is still an issue - it had got so deep into the foot under the pads and up into the sheared heel.  But it is getting better.  Horse jumped out of his field a time or two, so obviously feeling well.  Congratulations to the owner for seeing this through and sticking with him.

6 No longer shuffling, hacking out several times a week

and jumping out of field (boots are overreach not hoof)

What did Christmas bring?

Besides dislocating my thumb about 3 times?  Well these (only to nurture, the horse attached is not mine, but he is lovely lovely, lovely.)

Shoes on too long, toe has shot forward, heel collapsing
 and not under leg

Weak heel

Angle incorrect, too long, proportions out

Shelly hoof wall - lacks quality horn and is soft

Long toe, heel forward not under leg, shoe on too long

Thrushy, contracted, skinny weak frog

As above - the stink was really bad

With shoe off this frog was ridiculously
 skinny, full of thrush and really squishy

All horse owners should come to learn that heels like this
are unacceptable

Not one good foot on this horse, but they will be

Currently with sore feet, sore back and a very weak hind end this horse is another which has been dismissed for 'attitude'.

To be honest with feet like that (and the knock on consequences) I think any of us would be quite justified in having 'attitude'. But you know this guy was lovely to deshoe - I didn't get any negative feedback down the leg at all. He just stood there like a proper trooper and within 20 minutes post deshoe went from looking really sad to beaming from ear to ear. (IYKWIM)

His new owner (who got me in to deshoe within days of acquiring him) reports that he has in 24 hours post deshoe started to move better and become much more cuddly.

I'll post updates of his hoof progress as I get them - but so far so good :-)

Post Script - the sad thing is that many horse owners would think that these feet were fine - even good. 

Well where do I start?

Apologies for lack of posts! So much to blog about I don't know where to start.

Thought you might find these interesting. Older horse, started tripping, shod 7 weeks ago. Clenches not risen at all.

1 Frog not touching ground,
 foot clearly peripheral loading

2 Note inverted 'V' of back of foot/heel bulbs &
detrius under toe of shoe

3 Note height of foot and nail holes in
relation to ground

4 Note narrowness of heels, and tiny frog

5 Compare with 1

6 Inverted 'V' very noticeable, heel too tall and contracted

7 Compare with 3 note excessive height

8 Compare with 4



9 Post trim, compare with 1 and 5



10 Post trim, compare with 4 and
7, note nail holes, multiple event lines and
 change in angle

11 Post trim and short road walk
 compare with 4 and 8, note dip in toe

This horse has quite hard feet, not bad at all for such a long time shod. But they are quite contracted, the frog hasn't been in contact with the ground for ages and there appears to be some dietary issues.

There have been lameness and tripping issues. Some related to the feet, but others ? Whatever happens, this guy is going to be able to move more comfortably now he is not on stilettos. I am expecting him to have a few good and a few bad days though as he gets used to his new feet, as they decontract and while we figure out what regime is going to suit him, especially as he has many of the symptoms of Insulin Resistance.

His owner is considering setting up a track and we may fit boots in order to be able to step up his exercise a little more sharply than we would otherwise.

Heels

Aug 10 - slightly contracted - note lack of substance and the
groove between bulbs

Aug 10 solar view of above - note weak butresses and
deep central sulcus

Oct 10 - heels decontracted - note how groove has disappeared



Oct 10 solar view of above - note changes to buttresses,
central sulcus, sole and frog generally

Note weight bearing section of heel is towards middle of foot
Note weak structure, poor horn quality, excessive wall rasping

Slowly weight bearing section moving back to where it should
be - toe still really long, quality improving a little

Heel in suspension, lami rings, excessive wall rasping

Contracted, infected, sore and weak

Few weeks later, decontracting, infection cleared, not sore

later still, note heel bulb position and shape











































































































































Of all the structures most abused in the horses hoof, my current bug bear is heels. Remember 'Fred'? Tall heels, contracted heels, infected heels and underrun heels.  None of these are normal or healthy and with appropriate care, diet and exercise they can all be improved.  A good heel is vital to a horse and sentiment aside, a horse with a well formed hoof is going to stay sound longer.

Oh and for those debating shoes/boots - if you need to put something on your horse's foot, boot everytime.  I have yet to deshoe a horse that had a good heel, but they can usually grow/build one pretty quick once that shoe gets taken off.

NB - building good heels doesn't happen by magic or overnight - a good diet and an appropriate management regime are important. And even horses living in less than ideal conditions can have a good foot/heel if they work hard enough

Slightly gruesome - don't view if you are squeamish



Shod - hoof wall rasped 'moderately'





Note how foot is running forward, heels are collapsed
and are forward of the back of the foot which is in suspension

 



Shod solar view note overlaid bars,
position of shoe against frog







Deshod view of above



 





Cleaned up view of above





 



Detail of above







Reminder - 'ideal' nail placement -
oriented on water line





Nail on pair of above







Detail of above







Very thin sole





I don't know what killed this horse. I do know it had the most enormous abscess - pus was blowing out through the frog in huge quantities - so I have my suspicions.

I chose this foot for this post, because you see feet like it on every yard. Probably the majority of shod feet I see look something like this.

The hooves are running forward, the heels are collapsed and the sole is thin. In an attempt to reduce the duck bill impersonation the hoof wall gets rasped - further weakening the foot. This leaves little space for the farrier to place the nail and mistakes happen.

My question is - you can see the issues the foot has, you know how to fix them (diet, exercise, natural living as much as possible) - what contribution to foot health did the shoe make for this horse...

Hard working feet can still get better

RF Mid May 10

RF Mid March 11

LF Mid May 10

LF Mid March 11

I first met this horse May 2010. Never shod, but largely ridden out in boots because of footiness. It was clear that the horse had some degree of LGL because of the soup sinking event lines on her hooves. There were a few structural issues too, massive corn and feet that were spoon shaped in front (narrow, contracted heel and flaring toe).

Now 10 months later the hooves (finally!) are decontracting, they are shorter, with just as much depth to the sole.  These hooves also remind us that they respond to the going they are familiar with - a sudden 1000% fold increase in road work has worn the March 11 hooves a bit too much. But the carer/rider is aware that if they are consistent with the road work they will be fine.