Deviations

Roasted Chestnuts

Roasted Chestnuts

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Has anyone got any experience with deviations in horses feet causing schooling issues???

Would much like to hear either on the thread or by PM if not wanting to say on open boards :)

Kia has had a deviation on one of his fores for years and RI picked up on something the other day that has been spinning on my brain since :)

All infor or experience gratefully accepted!!! :D
 
The deviation is there for a reason. It may be that without it he will be unsound. It may be that it is compensating for a problem further up the column and that deviation is the only visible manifestation.

I think that is a red hering as far as your RI is concerned.

What was the problem you were concerned about in his movement?
 
NiknKia said:
Has anyone got any experience with deviations in horses feet causing schooling issues???

Would much like to hear either on the thread or by PM if not wanting to say on open boards :)

Kia has had a deviation on one of his fores for years and RI picked up on something the other day that has been spinning on my brain since :)

All infor or experience gratefully accepted!!! :D
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Sometimes a deviation is temporary, sometimes permanent. They only really cause a problem if humans try to 'correct' them artificially. A nice example of a temporary deviation is shown in the two blog entries below. The horse remained in full work and sound throughout.

http://barefoothorseblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/deviated-hooves-now-you-see-it-now-you.html

http://barefoothorseblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/deviated-hooves-and-abscess-updates.html
 
brucea said:
The deviation is there for a reason. It may be that without it he will be unsound. It may be that it is compensating for a problem further up the column and that deviation is the only visible manifestation.

I think that is a red hering as far as your RI is concerned.

What was the problem you were concerned about in his movement?
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On the left rein no matter how much I strengthen both reins or school he has the tendency to fall in, and that is the foot he has the deviation on. Now we have been working tirelessly on this for about 2 years and its just no any better. He tries he really does and I do manage to get him up off the shoulder on that rein with sheer force and determination but then next time I ride him we are back to square one.
 
That's maybe not a hoof issue.

It could be your seat, you may sit one sided, the saddle is perhaps causing impingement in the shoulder....all sorts of things.

I have an asymetry myself and need to have any saddle adjusted - after years of competitive fencing, I have a right leg that is more muscled than the left.

How old is he - sometimes young horses just have that problem and it's a maturity thing.

Are you stronger on that side and over bending him? Are you not giving him adequate support with your inside leg on the corners? Are you turning your body into the corner and leaning so he has to drift to "catch" you? Do you look down on that rein?

One of mine does this on the left rein, and I think he has vision issues in that eye, he shoulders trees out on hacks on that side.

It may be worth taking all the tack off. Just stand him square, relaxed, and look at the front fdrom shoulders down, look at the hind end from croup down, see if you can see any asymetry.

You need a bodyworker I think - the hoof is probably a result, not a cause. And you maybe need a lesson from another instructor - they may just see soemthign different.
 
In summary :-) hooves reflect overall health etc of horse. So a deviation will reflect what is going on higher up.

Reason I asked about different hoof shapes is high/low in front is often a reflection of a horse not moving straight and naturally.

A good square horse on good feet can end up with high/low quite quickly if the rider is crooked, even if all other movement is not so bad.

To get them out of it requires a multi pronged approach - just working on the feet won't do it.
 
His butt sits higher on that side than the other, his saddle does slip to the right (deviation on the left) but this has been corrected with balance straps and shims, as I can be straight, he can be straight but he has one butt cheek higher than the other (left butt cheek looking from the back)

It was just something that stuck in my head :) He is 20 just about and he has been like this pretty much forever with that foot, got worse after a farrier bodged his feet and took him from a slightly upright boxy foot to long in the toes and heels running under him :mad:

:)
 
He has muscle wastage on the left of his bum and there is a deviation in the forefoot on the same diagonal (the right fore), and he falls in when the hind leg with the muscle wastage is on the inside??

Without seeing him, my money at the moment is on a hock or stifle or sacroiliac issue in the left hind.

My own hunter was woefully lacking straightness as a baby. He "would not" carry my left buttock, and his front right foot was very asymmetric. The better he got at carrying my bum equally, the more symmetric his front foot became, but his problem was most definitely in his BACK end, not the forefoot where it showed physically. These things often affect the forefoot on the same diagonal.

I think you need a VERY experienced bodyworker to see him.
 
Confusion now over which side the deviation is on relative to the asymetry at the bum!!!

and took him from a slightly upright boxy foot
Click to expand...

Exactly what I meant - that upright boxy foot was like that for a reason. The deviation is an adaption.

Maybe you can post pictures for the sad hoof nerds!!!
 
All his feet were upright and boxy :) and I meant right butt cheek. I had just ripped up 100m of post and rail fencing and was knackered when i was typing earlier :o sorry

I had a body worker seeing him and to be honest it made absolutely no difference to him.

He has had bowen in the past and THAT i noticed a difference with.:)
 
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