Dragging Hind Toes

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Fanatical

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Can dragging/ catching the hind toes ever be ‘normal’ and just a weakness? Or is it always a red flag?

Whilst I was lunging a young horse this evening, I don’t know why it popped into my head but I thought about an older horse who used to drag his hind toes as he got older and was diagnosed with suspensory issues. This older horse hadn’t always done it - it was a symptom of his condition and did it ridden as well - you could hear it when he trotted on the road.

Anyway, because of the above I specially focussed and looked at this young horses hind feet and noticed he was just catching a toe with both hinds and dragging the surface slightly. He does lock up/ trip behind occasionally (that hind foot down a hole feeling) and now I’m wondering if he has an issue or whether I’m looking for an issue and he is just young / weak.

Thoughts please.
 
Perhaps monitor for a while then get it checked if you're still concerned.

Even if there isn't a problem, if you're the type to a)spot these things and b) dwell on them, the cost of a vet check for peace of mind is money well spent.

I hope It's nothing - I would personally get it checked but others would monitor and others would ignore until it develops and others would be oblivious!
 
My mare did this. I got her checked out, and she had a slight reverse rotation in her hinds. Shes now being shod every 4-5 weeks as opposed to 6, with wedge heart bar shoes. Shes absolutely fine now. So its not always doom and gloom, and definitely worth checking out. If I had left her, the vet says she would have eventually done her suspensories.
 
Asha said:
My mare did this. I got her checked out, and she had a slight reverse rotation in her hinds. Shes now being shod every 4-5 weeks as opposed to 6, with wedge heart bar shoes. Shes absolutely fine now. So its not always doom and gloom, and definitely worth checking out. If I had left her, the vet says she would have eventually done her suspensories.
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This is interesting - thank you. I will mention to my farrier next time. He is shod every 5 weeks max as all mine are and currently is only shod in front.
 
We had one who did this as a youngster so badly that he ended up squaring his feet off even with rolled toes behind. It was with him not a physical issue, but a symptom of his previous training where he had trotted on the walker extensively and become very bored. He was lunged in a pessoa which helped, although I don't tend to use them anymore and we did lots of pole work with him. He was checked out at the time too. Glad to say he is still in full work 16 years later, so can often be just a baby weakness.
 
That's reassuring to know zaminda - thanks.

Think I'll continue the varied workload he is already doing, including pole work and also get the physio out to have a look and take it from there. Thanks all.
 
Mine used to drag her hints really quite severely- squaring off and wearing her toes badly. Really good schooling is what sorted us out- it's been a long road and even nowadays just mooching around the field (she doesn't have a lot of natural 'go') she'll still scuff them a bit but that's rare nowadays
 
My horse did this, it turned out he had tightness in the back portion of his back. A physio session with an amazing therapist followed by lots of good schooling with raised poles and hill work has sorted him out and it's never been a problem since!
 
I wouldn’t be panicking in a young horse unless other undesirable behaviours were coming to light. Just continue to work on strengthening the horse and maybe a slight tweak to foot balance
 
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