Asymmetry/deviation and balance

Brief intro - previously shod cob.  Hooves were 'pretty' when shod, but the horse used to trip. I don't think they qualify as 'pretty' anymore, but horse doesn't trip either. I know which I prefer, for the horse's health and the safety of the rider.

LFT - balanced?

Know the difference between flare and asymmetry/deviation? Not everyone does and confusion between the two often leads to unnecessary heartache and drama. It is important to understand why they are different and how each arises. Although if the HCP is practising NHC not too much can go wrong.

We have reviewed deviation before; basically all the structures are synchronised, but the solar area of the hoof has shifted. This might be en masse to the lateral or medial sides or there maybe a bit of a wibble going on see here. So long as the horse is sound and the pedal bone is in balance I don't worry too much.

In an 'ideal' world we might see deviation as an abberation, it does tend to reflect a compensation for another issue maybe higher up. Sometimes if the issue is resolvable the deviation will disappear over time, see here. Sometimes the issue has become fixed, it might be wonky legs or an old injury.

Regardless by applying NHC and with the owners/carers playing their part, the horses I have dealt with have all kept sound and done well.

Flare is another matter and by flare I mean the flare you see when the white line is stretched. See here where the toe is stretched - seen most clearly in the second to last photo of the series (in the linked post, not this one). The hoof in the second photo below has flare, from a stretched white line which you can see extends all round.

It was suggested to the owner of this horse that the hoof was out of balance and that this should be addressed before dire things happened.  As you can see from the photos below the hoof is actually asymmetric or deviated from the outside, but perfectly balanced from the solar view.  If an attempt were made to dress out the asymmetry/deviation you can easily imagine what might happen. 


Asymmetry



Stretched white line, foot in balance

Very subtle flare - can you see it?

My own horse's health is being compromised by the wrong sort of hay (long story for another day) - a situation I hope to correct very soon. But if you just took how she looked and performs overall you might never think there was any issue. (see first photo)


In the second photo you may be able to see the subtle deviation from the healing angle?


But when I mark it up, it is not so insignificant.


The hoof is providing several other clues that all is not 100%:-

Event lines
Rather flat sole
Stretched white line (at toe)
Still footy over stones

If she had shoes on I probably wouldn't have noticed any of these things and Grace could have continued suffering LGL for years until she had a major lami episode.

While we might be struggling (very hard to get the right sort of hay at the moment) at least we are aware that Grace's health is not as good as it could be and can take steps to ameliorate it.

Barefoot horse case study fronts - day one

The owner of this horse has very kindly let me post these 'before' pictures of their horse's feet.

There is a lot going on with these hooves. I will bullet initial observations after each pair of pictures. These are limited - we will be able to tell more when the shoes come off.

For the first stage of the transistion to barefoot the owner is moving the horse onto a high forage, low sugar diet with mineral supplementation (not OTC). This stage will take four weeks as the horse is weaned off a packaged mix.

Right Fore Front, Left Fore Front

• Both feet show stress rings
• The top of the hooves is showing a significantly different angle of growth to that lower down, suggesting flaring
• Left front toe has been damaged, the owner reports an infection

Right Fore Side, Left Fore Side

• Stress rings very clear in left fore
• Heels appear underrun
• Although not clear both fronts have bull noses
• Lateral cartilages appear weak

Right Fore Heel, Left Fore Heel

• Both heels are contracted
• Palpitation revealed poorly developed digital cushion

Right Fore Sole, Left Fore Sole

• Heel contraction very evident
• Frog weak and thrushy
• Infection in the toes
• Bars are overlaid

I will post more pictures of these feet when the shoes come off - and I will post the hinds tomorrow.

Decisions decisions

This is a horse we looked at yesterday. I'm in more than two minds. More body and less bone than I'd like and terrible feet. If we could turn the feet around it would be very rewarding, but it is a risk. Would be a good his 'n' her horse. Probably make a good petting horse for the local kids too. Unlikely to more than clamber over the lowest of obstacles though, so no jumpies.

Technical look at Madam's front foot

Okay, I appreciate this is not the best, but it's a start. The black rectangle gives a idea of the real ground line (I never take photos straight!). The orange diagonal line shows where the front wall should probably be (it's in line with the newest growth from the coronary band). The black diagonal line is roughly 30 degrees - it also shows the slight bulge in the hair line.

What this picture shows to me is how 'off' the hoof still is. Whilst the trim can (must) be improved, we largely have to wait for this foot to grow while we work hard on the diet, exercise and environment.