"Club foot" and Under-run (low heels)
Why do horses have one flat foot and one club foot? I read recently about a research team from The Netherlands that analyzed the conformation, genetic, and performance records of 44,840 Dutch Warmbloods (that's a LOT of horses!) competing at the top levels of dressage and show jumping. They tried to determine if uneven feet (one forefoot that is differently shaped than the other) affect a horse's performance career, and if this trait is related to other conformation traits. They found uneven feet are not highly heritable. But conformation of the forelimbs (such as heel height and pastern angle), height at the withers, and neck length do contribute to the prevalence of uneven feet in the Dutch Warmblood population. Probably all horses.
In the study population, they found that tall horses with short necks are more likely to develop uneven feet. They tend to put one foot forward and one back to graze. Then they develop a habit of doing this causing the one that is put forward to become more under-run with the one put back more high heeled and contracted.
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Injuries of the forelimbs are the main reason for early retirement of sport horses, and uneven feet are more prevalent in lame horses than in sound ones.
The researchers found that uneven feet may develop as the horse grows.
"Foals have a preference for standing on one foot or the other while grazing," according to Ducro. "In humans, we would call this right- or left-handedness."
A shorter neck and greater height at the withers might cause an uneven weight distribution in the growing foal, which causes the hooves to grow at different rates. There was a correlation between uneven feet, the height of the withers, and the neck length. Uneven feet were more often associated with tall horses with short necks.
The study underlines the need for care in breeding programs and managing young horses (trimming feet!)
Checking early to see if a foal has a preference for weight-bearing on one or the other foot while grazing can help offset the development of uneven feet. Feeding on a pasture with higher grass, for example, will cause less pressure on the legs because the foal with a short neck and long legs can hold its head higher while grazing.
I can't believe they ended the article with this statement: "Proper shoeing at an early age can also help to prevent further development of uneven feet."
I'm sure they meant proper trimming!
In the study population, they found that tall horses with short necks are more likely to develop uneven feet. They tend to put one foot forward and one back to graze. Then they develop a habit of doing this causing the one that is put forward to become more under-run with the one put back more high heeled and contracted.
.
Injuries of the forelimbs are the main reason for early retirement of sport horses, and uneven feet are more prevalent in lame horses than in sound ones.
The researchers found that uneven feet may develop as the horse grows.
"Foals have a preference for standing on one foot or the other while grazing," according to Ducro. "In humans, we would call this right- or left-handedness."
A shorter neck and greater height at the withers might cause an uneven weight distribution in the growing foal, which causes the hooves to grow at different rates. There was a correlation between uneven feet, the height of the withers, and the neck length. Uneven feet were more often associated with tall horses with short necks.
The study underlines the need for care in breeding programs and managing young horses (trimming feet!)
Checking early to see if a foal has a preference for weight-bearing on one or the other foot while grazing can help offset the development of uneven feet. Feeding on a pasture with higher grass, for example, will cause less pressure on the legs because the foal with a short neck and long legs can hold its head higher while grazing.
I can't believe they ended the article with this statement: "Proper shoeing at an early age can also help to prevent further development of uneven feet."
I'm sure they meant proper trimming!
Example in a TB of uneven front feet.
 RF lateral view Before  RF Lateral view After  RF frontal view Before  RF solar view Before | RF lateral BEFORE trim you can see the high heels and long lateral walls causing a steep "clubby" foot. VERY steep toe angle of 60 degrees! This causes a poor attachment for the coffin bone. This would have been the foot that recurrent lameness would have occurred. The heels and bars were very long causing the long lateral walls to flare excessively and the heel was starting to fold under. It would have eventually collapsed into an underrun heel. After trimming, the toe angle is close to 45 degrees and the hairline is close to 30 degrees..
 RF Frontal view After  RF solar view After |
Left foot of same horse is under-run
 LF lateral view Before  LF lateral view After  LF sole view Before | The left foot has long bars and heels too but this foot is more under-run and less "clubby" than the RF. I find this is very typical that one foot is more contracted with a higher heel while the other is flatter. You can see the quarter crack in this wall forming all the way to the coronet. What pushes the lateral wall out? Long under-run heels and long bars! With the vertical rasping on the lateral walls, I will look for the tubule growth to realign itself in the proper direction. When the tubules are aligned, there will be no crack in the wall.
 LF sole view After |
Under-run feet
Many people falsely believe that "all TBs need shoes". I believe this comes from the fact that some TBs do indeed have thin skin and fine haircoats which translates into weak hoof horn. Just like some people have hard fingernails and some people have soft thin fingernails. I do believe it is in part genetic but I also believe that the horn can be strengthened through good nutritional support and detoxing the liver. Shoes however, would not improve the horn quality. It would just confirm what everybody thinks about TB feet.
This Left Front before trimming shows a folded under heel with bars that are curved in an S. Heel quarters are flared out and white line in the lateral walls are stretched. Sole is of poor quality. One thing that I would say positive about his feet is they're not very contracted and with the coffin bone tipped forward and all that bar under the foot, i don't think he was feeling any pain. This is due to lack of blood flow from excess horn.
Another thing that complicates trimming is when the legs are not straight. This horse's front feet are splayed out with his right front being the most crooked. It's usually the hoof that looks the best that has not been weighted as much over the years. Just like if you were to have a painful knee for many years, you might wear out the opposite shoe due to weighting it more over the years. If you want to see more photos of this horse's case study, go to www.superhoof.org my studys are Sandy's. |  Under-run LF before  Under-run LF After  |
Another TB with one club foot and one flat foot
This rescued 20+ yr old mare will never have front feet that look the same nor will she ever be totally even in her gait due to joint adaptation. But she had made a tremendous improvement in her over-all condition and feeling of well-being. She has delighted her owner by going from a nervous, distrustful timid mare to now being a sassy healthy horse. Its hard to "fix" these kinds of foot problems and it would be a whole lot simpler if people would learn what causes these situations in the first place.
There was a veterinary study I read a while back that showed that TB's with short heads and necks were more likely to develop a club foot (see also above study on Warmbloods). Due to the fact that they have to put one foot back and one foot forward, they tend to develop this habit which causes the feet to grow disproportionately.
There was a veterinary study I read a while back that showed that TB's with short heads and necks were more likely to develop a club foot (see also above study on Warmbloods). Due to the fact that they have to put one foot back and one foot forward, they tend to develop this habit which causes the feet to grow disproportionately.
Before first trim Right Side
Upon arrival in her new home.
 7 months later  Before 1st trim  RF after 3rd trim  After 7 months  Before 1st trim  RF after 3rd trim  RF after 6 month  After 7 months | After 3rd trim Left side
  Before 1st trim  LF after 3rd trim  LF after 6 months  After 7 months  Before 1st trim  LF after 3rd trim  LF after 6 months  Although some decontraction has occurred, I have begun to think that it should not be the end goal of trimming. The end goal may be to maintain soundness, if possible, or to create soundness if it's not there. To the degree that drugs and shoes may do that, maybe it's not such a bad choice. If life is short, why not enjoy it in a state of bliss verses pain. I think that's the point of cutting nerves! In cases like this, a trimmer is trying to resurrect the dead.
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