Hoof Pastern Axis.... for all you farriery experts.. photos!!!

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merlinsquest

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What are your opinions of the two pictures....

Before last shoes on

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after re-shod

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Just asking as vet said they were very very long in the toe and broken axis, but they dont look bad to begin with do they??? and do they look much better now???
 
Thanks Shilasdair..... I must be blind as thought they looked ok in first and not much better in second..... are you able to help me by drawing on the photos where they should be??? I know some clever bods can do this (creep creep).

I did say to farrier (who I rate
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hopefully hes not laming poor merl) would it take many shoeings to correct it (not that I could see it, except they looked a bit like slippers but thought it was the stripes on the hoof doing an optical illusion) and he said not really
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[ QUOTE ]
Thanks Shilasdair..... I must be blind as thought they looked ok in first and not much better in second..... are you able to help me by drawing on the photos where they should be??? I know some clever bods can do this (creep creep).

I did say to farrier (who I rate
frown.gif
hopefully hes not laming poor merl) would it take many shoeings to correct it (not that I could see it, except they looked a bit like slippers but thought it was the stripes on the hoof doing an optical illusion) and he said not really
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Sadly my IT capabilities are not up to drawing on photos...but if you know the bone structure underneath...the middles of the pastern should flow in a straight line into the middle of the hoof...there is a diagram on the link I added when I edited.
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No it was helpful thanks.... will try to print it off as usefull to look at!!!

He has always had nice feet but they are falling apart at the moment horn wise.... also the bone scan he had in the summer showed that he had very slight inflamation in the hoof capsule round the pedal bone, so vet thought that the balance was the cause, hence the change in toe clips to quarter clips and bringing the toe back.

Worries me thought that the farrier thinks that is it and wont need to change too much next time (next tue)
 
I agree broken foot pastern axis. It is also shod very short on the heels and there is no support for the heels.
There is an excellent book
'no foot no horse-foot balance the key to soundness and performance' byGail Williams and Martin deacon. It is a real eye opener!
 
The shoe does actually go right to the back of the bulbs of the heel..... not showing too well on the first pic as the horn is over the side of the shoe a bit i think...... does the second one look better, or is it still too short???

When you say short on the heels, do you mean the distance from the coronary band to the floor, if so I have always thought he didnt look as 'upright' as others do.

To be honest Im not sure what to say to the farrier if its not good as I have always thought that he was ok
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the last farrier had to re shoe every three weeks as merlins hoof would grow right over the shoes everytime in front, so much so that you could not see any metal at all, and all in 2.5 to 3 weeks
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The shoe does actually go right to the back of the bulbs of the heel..... not showing too well on the first pic as the horn is over the side of the shoe a bit i think...... does the second one look better, or is it still too short???

When you say short on the heels, do you mean the distance from the coronary band to the floor, if so I have always thought he didnt look as 'upright' as others do.

To be honest Im not sure what to say to the farrier if its not good as I have always thought that he was ok
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the last farrier had to re shoe every three weeks as merlins hoof would grow right over the shoes everytime in front, so much so that you could not see any metal at all, and all in 2.5 to 3 weeks
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If I were you...I'd change my farrier...
S
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I did change from the one who couldnt keep the shoes on for more than three weeks!!!

But I like this one, he is gentle and accomadating and will actually discuss what you want... doesnt take offence at suggestions and spoke at length to my vet about the problem. Like you said, maybe it will take a few more shoeings to get it right. I am going to practice and learn so that I know what is correct..... I think I put too much faith in him previously and didnt question how they looked.
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Also all the other farriers in the area are arrogant a*******s who wont discuss things, they just stop coming if you ask for anything different.

They also close ranks and wont take work off of others, so when I wanted to change from the original one, I had the devils own job to get a replacement. I know if I stop having this one he wont start again as I am out of area for him. Infact I hope he doesnt see this as he will be offended
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Oh god I sound a wet blanket dont I???
 
Reading between the lines...your vet isn't happy with your farrier's work so far...but if your vet and farrier are working together...it might be worth giving it some time to see if there's improvement, and if you have doubts, ask your vet directly if he would recommend you change farriers.
I personally don't like the way your farrier shoes, but then I am well known for my grumpiness...
Hope it works out
S
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I did ask the vet that exact same question and he said that if I was happy then we could work together to get it right... He trained with a very well respected farrier but one who I am told is a very good 'traditional' farrier, whereas my vet is into natural balance etc.

I would not take offence if you were to tell me exactly what you think is wrong., I have other views on photo... pm if more appropriate. I am very open to learning about farriery as I obviously know even less than I first thought.... feelin really bad now
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To be honest I have always been a bit sad that his feet look like carthorse feet, but think that the issues with him going over the shoes in the past have been due to previous farrier maybe using shoes too small for his feet???
 
LOL! Don't listen to me!

However, don't get me wrong, I don't particularly like the first either and I can see where the farrier is going with number 2 - I don't think the black stripe on the hoof helps either TBH. Just the 2nd looks even more down on the heel and the toe seems just as long - angle isn't brill either and seriously, I go against most of the people on my yard as to what I want for my horse's feet, so please do not let me confuse you!
 
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What about these.... they were taken when I first bought him three and a half years ago????


Have I ruined him or has he always been weird.... should I show my farrier these if they are better???
 
Oh Jesus Merlin, believe me, you have ruined NOTHING -
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Oh and I said interesting in my first post as I had learnt something from Shil's link and posts - as I said before, I can see where the farrier is going, and there is a deffo improvement from the above!
 
Ooh, I shall try and remember to take some pics of my Be tomorrow for you - apparently she has the most perfect hoof pastern axis you will ever see on a horse!
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Definitely broken axis. But the quart clips with the shoe pulled back slightly will help this. The pics when he came are alot better than they are now, but as someone has previously said there is no heel support which is something I am completely fanatical about!! But least your farrier and vet are working hard to resolve this, so things can only improve
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