A Club Foot

Asymmetrical feet is what we desire with our horses' feet, and even if its slightly assymmetrical there is nothing out of the ordinary. However, if one hoof differs tremendously from the other, well it might need some extra care. A club foot might be the cause --- "an abnormally upright hoof with long, contracted heels and a prominent or bulging coronary band." This problem is a "flexural deformity" of the coffin joint from the shortening of the deep digital flexor and tendon (aka musculotendinous unit).

If your horse has a club foot, they can lead comfortable lives, and in some cases even athletic lives with the proper management and care.

Club Foot? 

A club foot can either be congenital (at birth) or acquired (developed overtime).

When there is any excessive pulling on the deep digital flexor muscle and tendon (DDFT runs down the back of the limb to insert on the back of the coffin bone) it causes a complementary pull of the coffin joint. The degree of a club foot varies, from a mild outward buckling of the hoof to it being so severe that the horse (or foal) cannot touch his heel to the ground. With foals, they may unable to fully extend their lower limb joints. A foal can quire a club foot around 2 - 8 months old, usually by 12 weeks.

There are various causes which include genetics - if the mom has it, her baby might have it; diet- excess energy and/or mineral imbalances; excessive exercise - too much/hard; and/or a withdrawal response to pain - inflammation of a growth plate or trauma. A foal will show excess to toe wear and as it progresses, the coronary band can appear to bulge, and leads to the hoof wall becomming dished. The foal will soon have a hard time touching his heel to the ground. The foal's club foot was get attention and fixed, or the horse will retain a club foot as they mature.
There is a Type 1 and Type 2 for a club foot. Type 1 is when the angle of the hoof/ground is 90 degrees or less and Type 2 is when the angle of the hoof/ground is greater than 90 degrees. However, veterinarians can diagnose a club foot with a grading system. Grade 1 - mildy upright hoof; Grade 3 - 5 degrees steeper than the opposite hoof; Grade 4 - most severe, the hoof is severely dished, coronary band is as high at the heel as it is at the toe, hoof/ground angle is 80 degrees or greater. At Grade 4, there are changes to the coffin bone.

Club Foot and Soundness

 Horses' with a club foot alters the hoof's biomechanics, results in secondary lamenesses. A club foot can cause hoof capsule distortion, increased impact stress throughout the hoof and less energy absorbed and bruising from increased heel growth and thin sole at the toe.
If you have an older horse that has a club foot, they probably suffer to issues such as thin soles, bruising, hoof cracks, white line separation, laminar inflammation and an abnormal coffin joint loading and strain on the navicular bone's supporting ligaments. With the strain and stress on the on the deep digital flexor tendon attaches to the bottom of the tiny bone, it has the potential to elicit early onset changes to the navicular bone itself.

  Management and Care

Radiographs are very essential for you and your veterinarian to determine the degree and other diseases in the foot for your mature horses. Helping a horse with club feet means as much as possible trimming their feet at 4-week interval. If the hoof is allowed to grow out, then therapeutic farriery is pointless. Instead of making a dramatic change for a club foot less is more - enhance breakover and possibly add a short wedge shoe/pad to help relieve tension.Talk with your veterinarian and might recommend corticosteroid injections to help relieve pain

Clubbed left front foot of this horse

Just because your horse might have a club foot, does not mean that the horse is done for. Many mature horses  can perform well with the proper care and treatment. Some may have poor performance, but might not be outright lame. Buyer beware when purchasing a horse and consider a club foot as a risk factor for future lameness and be sure to be prepared to take the responsibility for proper management of a horse with a club foot.

No matter the veterinarian or farrier's effort and knowledge, some cases of club feet can still to challenging to manage and in these cases an IFCL desmotomy. Recovery for these cases start with surgery and continue with farrier and veterinarian treatment.

Diligent farrier services is important for horses with a club foot to be as comfortable as possible.
 
"There is usually a reason for a horse to have mismatched feet, whether it be due to conformation, lameness, foot disease, or poor foot care." - Dr Randy Eggleston

To learn more about a club foot in horses go to: http://www.thehorse.com/articles/32785/managing-the-club-foot

Does Your Horse Stumble?

Your enjoying a nice day out riding your horse when you feel him trip on his feet, and stumble down to his knees. You wonder is there something the matter or was it just an accident?

There are many reasons as why to horses stumble. It can be a hoof issues - are their feet too long, is their an imbalance issue? Or maybe your horse is just being lazy or stumbled from boredom and not paying attention. Maybe your horse has learned they can get out of work because a concerned rider may think there is something wrong and ends the ride. Yet a young horse just may not yet use to certain conditions. Stumbling can also be a cause of poor conformation and incoordination or can have a more serious problem such as joint problems, chronic foot pain. Be sure to check with your certified farrier or veterinarian to help find the problem.

However, if it is because your horse has long toes, well, Haslam Shoeing can help!

Long toes is often a sign of poor or infrequent trimming. Because a horse must move with each foot breaking over at exactly the right instant and each foot landing properly on the ground, feet that are unbalanced (such as long toes or low heels) might not move exactly right. The breakover time might be just slightly delayed and the gait altered, and this can lead to stumbling. In addition, horses that have to work in conditions that have loose gravel, rocks, or in a deep footing, they may stumble more frequently.

Some horses however need to be more trimmed more fequently then others. Some need their toes kept very short and when these horse's feet get very long they tend to trip a lot more. Another way to help reduce stumbling is rolling the toe. Rolling the toe is beveling and rounding the toes' ground surface and a rolled toe shoe helps the foot to be picked up quicker.


A rocker toe is another shoe that helps horses that stumble. This is similar to a rolled toe but is ramped instead of rounded. With this shoe it enable the horse to pick up the foot with minimal effort.

 The next time your horse is stumbling check with Haslam Shoeing that he or she needs a trim, a balance correction, or shoe to help your ride be stumble free!

Want to learn more about "Why Horses Stumbles"? You can read this article http://www.thehorse.com/articles/14638/why-horses-stumble  from theHorse.com