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“Miracle” Horse Competitively Jumps Despite Missing Part Of Coffin Bone

New Jersey farrier creates shoeing package that keeps warmblood in the show ring

Czantis appears to be like any other equine athlete. Make no mistake, though, this 11-year-old gray gelding is rare.

While Czantis has found modest success competing as an amateur hunter-jumper, the warmblood’s greatest achievement is that he’s in the ring at all.

“He’s missing probably 20% to 25% of his coffin bone on the medial side of the left front foot (Figure 1),” says Jan Henriksen, an equine veterinarian at B.W. Furlong & Associates in Oldwick, N.J.

Farrier Takeaways

  • To compensate for missing about 20 to 25% of its left front coffin bone, Czantis’ body has compensated for the lack of contact with surface area by growing a foot that is 30 to 40% larger than the right.
  • The instability created by the missing portion of the coffin bone results in a near constant quarter crack.
  • Getto created and patented a copper sulfate paste for Czantis to ensure coverage in his frog and quarter crack. Liquid copper sulfate products would run out or wash away.
  • A trial-and-error process has resulted in the use of a 2-degree wedge rim pad, a plastic pad to contain a urethane pour-in pad and a shoe to keep Czantis sound.

The anomaly was discovered during a pre-purchase exam in Europe.

“The radiographs were sent to me for an opinion on importing the horse,” he says. “I didn’t understand how the horse couldn’t be lame.”

Missing as much as a quarter of his coffin bone was enough for Henriksen to recommend that Dana Hart Callanan…

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Jeff cota 2023

Jeff Cota

Jeff Cota has been a writer, photographer and editor with newspapers and magazines for 30 years. A native of Maine, he is the Lead Content Editor of American Farriers Journal.

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