Foot balance x rays

[little_critter]

My horse has some arthritis of his front fetlocks.
X rays were taken yesterday to check foot balance and see if there is anything further my farrier can do.
The vet suggested the toe be taken back further to reduce strain on the fetlock.
I’ve sent the images to my farrier and passed on the suggestions (they never take it well do they ?)
His reply was that if he takes the toe back further, the quarters will collapse more.
The vet is an excellent vet, but I also trust that my farrier is good and out of the two is the shoeing expert.
Is his comment fair?

 

[ycbm]

I'm afraid I'd be questioning how good your farrier is, those shoes look too short in the heel to me, especially the right hand photo where it looks like the end of the foot is sagging over the end of the shoe.

And I understand what your vet is saying but the issue looks more like one of collapsed heels (though long toes go with that) and you'll need a very clever farrier to correct that without removing the shoes.
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[ycbm]

Is there any chance of going barefoot (with boots maybe)? I would have thought fetlock arthritis would benefit from the reduction in concussion.
.

 

[little_critter]

I'm afraid of be questioning how good your farrier is, those shoes look too short in the heel to me, especially the right hand photo where it looks like the end of the foot is sagging over the end of the shoe.

And I understand what your vet is saying but the issue looks more like one of collapsed heels (though long toes go with that) and you'll need a very clever farrier to correct that without removing the shoes.
.

Vet did also suggest a longer heel to the shoe.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Vet did also suggest a longer heel to the shoe.

Vet is right. The farrier is shoeing with the heel far too short. The heel is bulging out over the end of the shoe. Tbh, if a vet has to point that out after an x ray then I'd ditch the farrier - it will be very evident to the naked eye.

Sorry, been there, done that, sacked off the farrier, who had shod for some top names in showing and racing and who I had thought must be good. Foot balance x rays can be very helpful to an educated farrier, but some farriers are stuck in their ways.

Many clients like the fronts shod short as the horse is less likely to pull the shoe off. Grand, except it damages the horse .

Good luck. I would try barefoot with hoof boots to help the transition.

 

[little_critter]

Thank you. I’ve just contacted a recommended farrier to ask if he’d look at and comment on the x rays too. But I would understand if he doesn’t want to comment, they can be funny like that.

Actually, he’s already replied saying he’ll take a look, which is a miracle in itself given the common communication issues we have with farriers ?

 

[TheMule]

Needs the toe to be a fraction shorter and much more length to the shoe. I'd look for a new farrier if your current one isn’t open to constructive comments that you're spending a lot of money on

 

[sbloom]

I'm afraid of be questioning how good your farrier is, those shoes look too short in the heel to me, especially the right hand photo where it looks like the end of the foot is sagging over the end of the shoe.

And I understand what your vet is saying but the issue looks more like one of collapsed heels (though long toes go with that) and you'll need a very clever farrier to correct that without removing the shoes.
.

Yep, I'd not be shortening the toe, the heels are the issue but the approach of The Equine Documentalist and Progressive Equine Services can work well, and in some cases better than barefoot...I'm a BIG barefoot fan, but there are new, better approaches to shoeing that are leading to rapid improvement for horses.

 

[paddy555]

Sorry, been there, done that, sacked off the farrier, who had shod for some top names in showing and racing and who I had thought must be good.



Good luck. I would try barefoot with hoof boots to help the transition.

re the first para, how often has that been written by so many people?
the only way round this is for people to educate themselves so they have some idea if the farrier really is good. ( I think I would be sticking with the vet here)

I would take the shoes off, get some boots and make a start that way whilst you research barefoot and shoeing options.

I hadn't seen the equine documentalist FB page before so thanks for that.
Birker,
I expect you are probably reading this. There is a post on the ED facebook page dated 30.8.21
I haven't seriously compared it to Lari and KS but it could be worth a read in case it has useful info.

 

[Celtic Fringe]

My vet recommended quarter clips rather than a toe clip for the fronts on my little cob - so that might be worth considering if your farrier is wiling to discuss. My cob has great big round hoofs! Fortunately my lad 'only' has a deep bruise which will take another couple of weeks to resolve. We also changed farrier a while back and he has definitely improved things - the adjustments are the final phase.
I transitioned my old cob to barefoot using boots with pads at first and his heels improved dramatically in a short time and we had many years of happily hacking over a very wide range or terrains so in my opinion this is definitely worth considering especially if your horse is a bit arthritic.

 

[Birker2020]

I've taken the liberty of comparing our x-rays, hope you don't mind OP. Here are my x-rays top and yours below for comparison. Mine can't have too much support at the heel as he over reaches so much.

 

[sbloom]

I've taken the liberty of comparing our x-rays, hope you don't mind OP. Here are my x-rays top and yours below for comparison. Mine can't have too much support at the heel as he over reaches so much.

We have to move beyond this - why is the horse overreaching? It's a balance issue, the thoracic sling (sorry!! This is going to end up being my middle name!) isn't lifted, the hind legs have nowhere to go, the forelegs are too grounded. Not providing adequate heel support is not the way to go and will only make the causes of the overreaching worse, ie the front feet can't breakover properly as the hoof collapses down in the rear and forwards.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Love threads like this!
It’s all such a learning curve

 

[milliepops]

Not shoeing with any length is mainly just a tactic to get the shoes to stay on a sub-optimal horse IME.

My 4yo has been shod short for his first fronts (short like birker's not like OP) but would not ever plan to continue in that vein. If he stays long enough then he'll only do a 4 week cycle . I'd describe him as suboptimal at the moment fwiw as he is only a few weeks under saddle and still finding his balance ?

 

[little_critter]

And we don't even have an issue with pulling shoes
Looks like we have room to put longer heels on then.

 

[tristar]

the toe looks to long to me, and the heel toe angles don`t match

collapsed heels recover quicker unshod i have found

 

[Tiddlypom]

And we don't even have an issue with pulling shoes
Looks like we have room to put longer heels on then.

Yes, there is plenty of room to shoe with longer heels if you go down that route.

Don't beat yourself up. Horses shod (badly) by the farrier I referenced above have featured on the front cover of H&H in their various disciplines. It took even the top pros a while to work why they had so many lame or poorly performing horses .

 

[spotty_pony]

It happened to me too. My old farrier shod my old boy for many years short at the heel as he said it was fine and would stop him Overreaching and pulling off his shoes. I didn’t know any better and trusted what he said and the result was he developed navicular changes and DDFT tears due to lack of heel support and sadly I had to let him go last year. Never compromise heel support and properly balanced feet. I now have a new, very good farrier and only wish I could have met him sooner.

 

[Lucky Snowball]

The heels are not being supported. I'd be changing farrier or going barefoot.
(Although, the lateral balance looks pretty good and the xrays are very clear - might be worth discussing with the farrier if he's reliable in other respects.)