Flat Feet

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ellabetty11

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Hi my lovely horse betty has flat feet and im told this increases the risk of tendon/ligament injuries.... is this true? if so is there any way to reduce this risk? is there a way to shoe her that will lift the heel slightly to reduce tendon strain? she is the first flat footed horse ive owned so its all new to me!
 
ellabetty11 said:
Hi my lovely horse betty has flat feet and im told this increases the risk of tendon/ligament injuries.... is this true? if so is there any way to reduce this risk? is there a way to shoe her that will lift the heel slightly to reduce tendon strain? she is the first flat footed horse ive owned so its all new to me!
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Diet can affect how flat a hoof is, in which case it doesn't have to be flat. :)
 
As far as I'm aware, the D&H Pasture Mix is about 22% starch. Also depending on which pony nuts you are using, they also could be quite high in starch and sugar. Sometimes people find that reducing the sugar and starch levels in the feed helps with the concavity of the feet. In the case of my old TB, it didn't make any difference whatsoever, but in my current mare it's made the world of difference, and my 4 year old New Forest who has only ever had a low sugar and low starch diet since I got her 18 months ago has the most amazing feet I've ever seen...it might be worth a try. Good luck!
 
Oberon on here is the best one to get advice from re feed for feet. She will be able to tell you what you should be feeding for good hoof health. :)
 
ellabetty11 said:
thankyou for that advice ive never heard that feed could affect the shape of their feet it is very interesting!
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My late Clydie came to me with very flat feet 16 years ago. He was constantly getting abscesses and bruises in his front feet. He was seen by the farrier every 5 weeks for his whole life here. When I asked the farrier if diet could help his feet, he said diet could help the quality of the horn, but not the actual conformation of his hoof. We decided to shoe his front feet, and the result was remarkable. By lifting him off the ground with the shoes, he never had an abscess or bruised sole. He wore front shoes until the day he died and it was the best thing for him.

I know you asked about tendon and ligament injuries, for which I have no answer. But, I felt compelled to respond re: diet affecting the shape of feet.
 
RutlandH2O said:
When I asked the farrier if diet could help his feet, he said diet could help the quality of the horn, but not the actual conformation of his hoof.
.....
I know you asked about tendon and ligament injuries, for which I have no answer. But, I felt compelled to respond re: diet affecting the shape of feet.
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Your farrier was unfortunately incorrect and there are many of us who have changed the conformation of our horses' feet with diet changes.

He may, or may not, have been right in the case of your own horse, but he would certainly out of date in his overall lack of understanding of how diet affects concavity if he were to say the same thing today as he did to you 16 years ago. All I have to do to change mine is to feed copper or not feed copper.
 
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cptrayes said:
Your farrier was unfortunately incorrect and there are many of us who have changed the conformation of our horses' feet with diet changes.

He may, or may not, have been right in the case of your own horse, but he would certainly out of date in his overall lack of understanding of how diet affects concavity if he were to say the same thing today as he did to you 16 years ago. All I have to do to change mine is to feed copper or not feed copper.
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I can only speak for my horse, a one tonne, 18hh Clydesdale. The results were dramatic once his fronts were shod. Perhaps the sheer weight of my boy prompted my farrier's comments.
 
I thought some horses like my pony just have flat feet. It was only after a one off mild acute lami episode, moving to a good trimmer and learning more about her hoof mechanics that I realised very few cases can't be drastically improved by good trimming. She no longer has flat feet ! She's never been shod so the only change has been moving from basic farrier trim to more frequent and thoroughly considered uknhcp trim plus low sugar diet.
 
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