Q: I have a mare that was recently diagnosed with ringbone in her off side front. The vet said there is nothing I can do, so I am looking for help. I trim and shoe my own horses and have for 20 years, but have limited therapeutic experience.

The mare suffered an injury in the pasture. I treated her, but not long enough I guess. She regained soundness and I rode her again. A few months later, she was lame again after being pasture bred. I took her to the vet for X-rays of what I was already pretty sure of — ringbone. The vet said the mare suffered a trauma.

I know that horses that aren’t balanced when trimmed are at risk for all kinds of joint, leg and hoof problems, but that’s not the cause in this case. I live in an area with little professional help and actually had to haul the mare to another town for X-rays. This is a foundation-bred, American Quarter Horse Association mare that takes a size 0 shoe, opened way up. She has a good foot with no other problems.

— Jon Coriell

A: A keg shoe modified to give more breakover will help. From my experience, ringbone is usually caused by a constant state of imbalance or a sudden traumatic injury to the side of the foot. If the horse is being trimmed so the outside is constantly high, then too much pressure is being applied on the fetlock joint because…