Hello :) My 12 year old Arabian mare has a club foot and I believe it is either a grade 2 or 3. My blacksmith wants to put front shoes on her but I don't think that would do any good. She has a very big crack on her clubbed hoof, it goes all the way up, almost to the coronet band. The leg of the deformed hoof is not normal, the back of her leg below the knee appears to be "rounded" and not straight. I noticed when she grazes she has her bad foot almost under her belly while her good foot takes most of her weight. Her saddle slips to the right, which is the side of her club, and I think it is from a muscle imbalance because she has not used those shoulder muscles correctly her whole life. She has had problems with balking and although she is getting better I can't help but wonder if it is because her bad hoof is affecting her. She has never been lame on it since I have had her (Almost a year now) and I'm just wondering if anyone knows any ways to help her out? Stretches, massage, exercises, anything! Thank you! ~Leslie
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Hi Leslie,
I'm not sure what country you are in, but here are a couple of websites that may interest you. I agree that shoeing her may not be the best thing for her.
www.barehoofcare.com
www.animaloptions.com.au
www.hoofcare.com.au
Hope you find some interesting reading there.
Good luck!
Ruth
Over to Paul for this one, I think! Any thoughts Paul?
Over to Paul for this one, I think! Any thoughts Paul?
I think Paul is the one here too! I do know that if cracks start in the toe and goes up it is not as critical if it starts in the coronetband and goes down. I do not want to upset yet we had one horse were the crack on the club foot started at the coronet band at the age of 15, many different experts tried to put all kinds of screws and stuff to keep the crack not getting bigger . with shoes. One winter day she ran fast and stepped on the frontshoe and the whole hoof opened up and devided in two so to speak. Weather it was due to the shoeing or just time that put a stop to it I do not know. Sorry for the bad english girls and boys! Warmest CI Ann Lindberg
Thanks for the advice, everyone :)
Hi Leslie;
Its not overly intelligent to comment without actually seeing your horse, but, your description certainly sounds like a bowed tendon, when you say, "...appears to be rounded...". You do not indicate exactly "how much rounded". I do not want to frighten you, after all, it could be just severe swelling from being struck by something as well of course. To provide you with some sort of reasonable(?) comparison, just google images of bowed tendons and make a comparison. However, a photograph would certainly be a 98% indicator I would think. Bowed tendons are a nasty thing to deal with and seldom is full recovery ever achieved. It takes a lot of TLC, and careful wrapping, heat/cold application and good nutritional supplementation. You really should get a "good" equine vet to have a look.
You say that you have only had the horse for one year. It certainly is possible that it is a bowed tendon that's come back to haunt your horse or a recurring injury/problem.
With respect to the hoof crack. Your farrier can stop that crack rather simply, he should know that all he has to do is cross file the end of the crack to stop the running. The last thing you need is to let that work up to the coronet band, where the majority of the hoof growth emanates from.
If it is severe, I usually cross file and then just put on a very light aluminum racing plate and fill the crack with a very strong epoxy resin. In very severe cases, one may resort to drilling access holes, (very carefully) and apply what resembles steel sutures as well as the resin, then use a fiberglass cloth cover to provide extra strength. A farrier has to know what they are doing here though obviously. And just very gentle daily walks for exercise until the crack is mostly grown out of the wall.
And VERY IMPORTANTLY, DO NOT LET YOUR FARRIER use an epoxy that cures on its own via heat process. These hit temperatures of 285 degrees F while they cure and have caused severe permanent hoof damage to the laminae of a lot of horses by well intentioned farriers. Use an epoxy that simply "sets up cold" and fiberglass wrap it after is all.
You may not have to do this at all actually, depending on the severity of the crack. They are very common of course and easily and quickly remedied for the most part.
I highly recommend "hoof flex". I know a lot of farriers poo poo it, but to hell with them, I have used it for 33 years and it works great. Apply it every 4 or 5 days to the entirety of the hoof wall and be sure to gently massage a bit around the coronet band as well. Be patient, it does take time and is commensurate with the speed of hoof growth, with respect to the crack.
Please do get that "round or bow" looked at by a good farrier whom knows what to look for or a good equine vet, as I said. I strongly suspect that there is much more here than meets the eye.
I would ask the previous owner what the history was, and face to face for sure....so that you can judge body language to see if they are lying to you....I just have found that people will say just about anything to rid themselves of a horse with "issues" or chronic problems or whatever.
Good luck.
Cheers,
Paul
So informative as always Paul