It’s not uncommon to observe minor asymmetries in any horse’s feet. But when there is a significant difference between a pair of hooves, typically the front, the unevenness may be attributable to club foot. Club feet are estimated to be present in 5% to 20% of the equine population.
“You don’t want to shoe lames horses, trust me.” Bob Marshall tried to warn the confident young farrier, but the then 18-year-old Travis Koons had made up his mind. The Hemet, Calif., youngster had printed business cards, announcing that his farrier practice specializes in pathological, remedial and corrective horseshoeing.
As footcare professionals know, the angle formed by the bony column of the phalanges with the hoof wall is referred to as the hoof-pastern axis (HPA), and is considered ideal when the dorsal surface of the hoof is parallel to the alignment of the digital bones (Figure 1).1
Over the past 28 years of my shoeing career, clients, veterinarians and other farriers have asked three common questions about hoof angle.
What is the ideal hoof angle?
What angle do you like the front hooves?
What angle do you try to achieve for hind hooves, etc.?
Horse owners have all types of backgrounds and motivations for owning horses. Some have vast experience while others have next to none. While working with this variety of clients, farriers must know how to handle and advise each one individually. Educated owners will be able to recognize subtle signs of discomfort. However, today there are many clients who lack that familiarity and knowledge.
Case study supports theory that trim is more important than shoe choice in correcting broken-back bony column alignment and easing caudal heel problems.
This case study presents base information to assist farriers working with long toe, low or underrun heel (LTLH), low palmar angle (PA) and broken-back hoof pastern axis (HPA), resulting in clinical presentation described as caudal heel pain and navicular syndrome.
Does a rolled-toe shoe really have any effect on breakover? Farriers have long felt that it does, but scientific evidence of this — as well as for many other questions regarding the effect of trimming and shoeing — has been sadly lacking.
As a hoof-care consultant, I run into some truly unusual cases now and then, but on a whole, the cases I see usually involve the same problems — deep thrush, quarter cracks, white line disease, chronic abscessing and sore heels.
It's called horseshoeing, not footshoeing, says Jim Keith, explaining why he rejects the traditional approach of aligning the hoof-pastern axis as the starting point for bringing a hoof into balance.
In this episode, Mark Ellis, a Wisconsin farrier who learned the ropes with Renchin, recalls Red’s relationships with area veterinarians, his legacy and the second career as American Farriers Journal’s technical editor.
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Kawell develops and produces copper alloy horseshoes and inserts, giving horses the care that they need to fight issues associated with white line disease, seedy toe and thrush.
From the feed room to the tack room, SmartPak offers innovative solutions to help riders take great care of their horses. SmartPak was founded in 1999 with the introduction of the patented SmartPak™ supplement feeding system. The revolutionary, daily dose SmartPaks are custom-made for your horse, individually labeled and sealed for freshness.