Tripping

There are lots of reasons why a horse trips.  But a very common one is poor foot form. So let's use the foot from yesterday as an example -and provide the extra shots requested.

Compare this foot with the mustang foot

Note:

Heel in suspension

Coronary band distorted

Quarters need relieving

Very long/tall

Toe heavily rasped

Although this is a hind foot (and hinds have a slightly different shape), you can see how the relationship with the red rectangle are quite different to those of Fred's front.  From this view and for the purpose of comparing relationships the fact that one is a hind and the other a front doesn't matter too much.

Hoof does not appear balanced

Outer wall heavily rasped, inner wall can be seen at toe

Event lines

Deviation

Shoe slipped

Impinging on frog

Thrush

Contraction

Heel very high

Contracted

Thrushy

Lateral cartilages skinny and under developed

Remember the owner has done her very best to seek professional advice for her horse and the farrier has done their best too, according to how they have been trained. The purpose of this blog is not to point fingers or criticise, but to try and illustrate good and bad examples of hoof form, so that we can all do a better job of caring for our horses in the future.

After all, the welfare of our horses comes first.