Foal Feet Question and Picture

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CrazyMare

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My farrier came to see my girls about 10 days ago, trimmed Mummy and played with Callies feet and legs and she was an angel, except trying to put both feet on his leg...

On Saturday when she was laid down I noticed this small split at the top, with a band around the foot, all four feet have the band, which I presume is a growth band? The little split is concerning me though, there is two in her off hind in symetrical positions and on in her near hind. I took a pic...hopefully you can see what I mean.

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I'll get my farrier to come have a look, will call him first thing tommorrow and hopefully he will be able to come out on Thursday (I'm at Uni sitting exams until Wednesday, and my Dad is on duty!!)

Any thoughts/advice?
 
Hmm. do you mind me asking why the farrier is messing around with a new born foals feet??
just wondering because if they were left alone..they would naturally mould into their shape....
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just a friendly question thats all
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i dont see hoe the split will affect her at this age..hopfully she'l grow it out..if not..i shouldnt think it'l do much damage at this age
 
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Hmm. do you mind me asking why the farrier is messing around with a new born foals feet??

[/ QUOTE ] A lot of farriers like to handle a foal's legs and feet whilst they are trimming the dam, as it is good to get them accustomed to the farrier at an early age.
 
so hes not actually fidling with them then????
as i said in the lower half of my post..it might just grow the crack out as he is still young..i wouldnt think it will cause much damage
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I always get the farrier to look at a foal early on as if there is a problem it can often be easily rectified with trimming or a little plastic extention.
My foal is only 3 months old and has already had a trim and is ready for another one.
 
God blimey.....what happened to nature??
all these years we have been breeing not once has the farrier tampered with our foals baby feet.
sorry lol, just thought id add that
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I am of the understanding that the line on the foot is just the 'cap' that is on the foot when the foal is in the womb - this grows out slowly. A good cap is actually a sign of good feet.

As for the crack - was your farrier concerned at all? It is hard to see from the photo. If he wasn't then I would just keep an eye on it for now.

Helenhorse - I handle my horse's feet regularly and she is 3 weeks old. When the farrier comes to see the mare he will take a look at foalie also. I do not see what the problem is??
 
Crack wasn't there last time the farrier came. I think I'll have him out this week just to have a look.

And with regards to why the farrier is 'fiddling' with her feet is to prevent the problems that crop up later down the line of having horses that don't stand for the farrier, or those with problems that could have been fixed at an early age.

Arwen - I was fairly convinced thats what the band around the foot was, and wasn't overly concerned about it, both mare and stallion have fantastic feet, just the little crack that worried me. Photo was taken on my phone as I didn't have my camera with me

Will ring farrier first thing tommorrow to arrange a visit. Will let you know what he says and how we get on.
 
Hi

I would just keep a close eye on it to make sure it doesn't get infected or anything... keep all muck out of it - there isn't a lot your farrier can do about it anyway - it's down to general growth of the foal....

Hooves have to grow along with the rest of the foal, and the hooves that a foal is born with grow out quickly... hoof growth rate is FAR higher in youngsters than older horses...

Also, if you think about it the hoof not only has to grow downwards towards the floor, but also has to increase in circumference and diameter, to keep up with the growth of the foal's legs. Otherwise you'd end up with tiny feet on the end of huge legs - lol!

Horizontal lines in hooves usually indicate a change of environment and/or nutrition (some kind of 'stressor'), so the hoof that your foal was born with will have a line where it ends, this will gradually grow out and be replaced by 'outside' hoof that has grown since she was born. This is usually of different appearance than the 'in utero' hoof as well.

So I wouldn't worry too much - just kee an eye on it and try to keep it clean and dry.

(_)(_)

PS far better to have a foal used to having its feet picked up, especially by strangers such as the farrier and vet, than get to a hefty 6 month old (or older in some cases) with attitude who wont allow it's feet to be touched - ask any farrier and they'll agree!!!
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We were picking up our foals feet right from birth (within reason!) and as she's now a nice natured but strong willed yearling, I'm glad we did, we still have a few battles though. Ours had to have a lateral extension on at 10 days, it sorted her out and her legs and feet are great.
 
What happened to nature?

Nature produces toed in, toed out, boxy and flat footed horses along with other conformation faults such as misalignment of the cannon bone being over at the knee etc.

Foals born with widely deviating cannon bones overly upright pasterns collapsed pasterns and many other abnormailities can all benefit from corrective trimming, plastic shoes and careful observation and intervention from a remedial farrier often in conjunction with specialist orthopeadic vets.

Some conformation issues of the limbs are not genetically prediposed and some are created by the positioning of the foal in the mare during gestation whilst the bones are still soft and growing.

Breeders that work closely with a good remedial farrier can achieve fantastic results with the most deformed of foals and the the best time to intervene is when a horse is in the early stages of development before the growth plates close.

A great deal of corrective work can be carried out by making small adjustments to the balance of the young horses hooves. Changes are never drastic but frequently attended to assure that progress is being made.

For example a foal going through rapid growth can quickly become over at the knee if the bone grows more rapidly than the soft tissue causing the lower pastern joint to rotate inwardly, by trimming the outer hoof slightly the weight of the limb is rebalanced and growth is encouraged in the right direction. Ignoring such an issue frequently creates the over at the knee stance often coupled with being toed in, if left alone.

Of course not all foals have problems and many need no corrective intervention but I feel it is important to monitor their development from the very onset of their arival into the world. Regular attendance of the farrier trimming and balancing of a foals hooves is invaluable for his/her future.
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Familarising him/her with having his legs handled from a very early age just adds to his primary socialisation and integration into becoming a domesticated and confident animal if done correctly.
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Carzymare I think your doing well to speak with your farrier next time he is out, the coronary band is from where the new hoof grows, probablity is that there has been frequent changes to foalies environment, dry/wet it could also be caused by a lack of nutirents during a short period, perhaps infleunced by a change of the mares diet or perhaps has had a bout of the scours?

As with adult horses there are many lotions and potions with disinfecting properties as well as conditioning ingredients that can be applied to the coronary band to prevent further deterioration and infection along with additives that can be given to the mare to promote healthy corn growth. Have a chat with him, I wouldn't be over concerned but like you would want to monitor it closely. Keep us posted.
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Thanks Opie!!
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Now you mention it, she did have a very slight bout of scours, only lasted a few days, and it has been altering between wet and dry.

Will still chat to the farrier, I'd rather he came and looked and thought it nothing, than I left it till it was a major problem.
 
yus, corrective work to the foalie feet, while the growth plates are not closed is an easy, cost effective way to avoid permanent conformational defects developing

very wise to get the farrier to have a check of foalie feet and leg straightness as soon as poss
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hahaha, i said i had no prblem with the farrier handling the foals feet, i think thats an excellent and wise decision..im just talking about why anyone would want some one altering the foot at such a young age when there is nothing wrong just for the sake of getting them use to it...i love the idea of just handling them because it gets them quiet for the future....we have never had a problem with yearlings/foals etc growing bad feet.....its just a matter of rasping the foot to keep them in shape when older or shoeing when coming into work with us...gosh..we must be lucky then
 
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God blimey.....what happened to nature??
all these years we have been breeing not once has the farrier tampered with our foals baby feet.
sorry lol, just thought id add that
tongue.gif


[/ QUOTE ]
Well if the foal's feet are growing quickly and beginning to split of course I am going to have it trimmed. It was also knuckling over on a fetlock and needed a foot extention for a few weeks and now is perfect.
It doesn't do any harm for the farrier to look when he trims the mare and it is so easy to catch any potential problems early.
 
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