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Discussion on Of long toes and low heels
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Member:
Belhaven
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Posted on Tuesday, Jun 10, 2003 - 10:18 am:
In a long toed horse does the white line follow the long toe?
In other words is it merely the hoof wall that grows long or is the white line distorting as well....
Or to rephrase, if you back up the toe over time will the white line back up as well?
I could keep rephrasing on and on and on ;)
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Tuesday, Jun 10, 2003 - 8:37 pm:
I understand your confusion and the answer is: it depends. The length of the toe is determined by both conformation and the way a horse is trimmed.
If conformation is the reason, no you cannot shorten the length of the hoof without getting into trouble. If the toe is long because of incorrect trimming it will repond well to correct trimming.
The way to answer the question of conformation versus trimming lies in assessing the hoof-pastern alignment (anterior-posterior balance) and the straightness of the wall at the toe. If the toe wall is straight and the hoof aligned with the pastern but the angle low, the long toe is normal. For more on this see the articles on trimming and balance.
DrO
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New Member:
Karen02
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Posted on Sunday, Jan 2, 2005 - 11:34 pm:
My 21 year old horse has been tripping the past few months. She is barefoot for the winter and the pasture is on a dirt hillside. Her front toes are long and the heel is worn down. She will be trimmed this week (which is 6 weeks since the last trim). The farrier does leave her toe long - due to the makeup of her leg. However, today I noticed from the side that her hocks were hyperextended. The longer toe/flatter heel leg was even more over extended. While she is standing, her legs and hocks look normal. She does not have the "best" hooves - she doesn't have much heel and her front legs/hooves flare out a bit, but I am wondering if the farrier might not be helping her by not trimming properly. How and why does the hyperextension of the hock occur? Could this condition lead to tripping while walking?
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Monday, Jan 3, 2005 - 8:15 am:
Karen I am unsure what you mean by the hocks being "hyperextended" could you take a picture for us? Certainly improper trimming will worsen the problem with the long low heeled foot but from here cannot judge the job being done, perhaps a good talk about what your horse needs to get good AP balance is in order, see Care for Horses » Hoof Care » Trimming and Preparing the Feet for Shoes.
DrO
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