hoof question?

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evj

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My new horse is barefoot and has been for at least 14 months (he was when his previous owner bought him).

When you look at his back feet from the top they look symmetrical but when you look at the front hooves they aren't, the hoof on the inside is longer and they don't look symmetrical.

The farrier is coming next week so I'll ask him about it but I was just wondering if its normal as I'm used to shod horses and that shape.

We do a mixture of road, stony track and field work 4 times a week.

Thanks
 
The hoof tends to reflect the conformation and the stride, but it may be that he needs a professional trim. Is the coronet band even, and is he fed minerals and vitamins.
My boy had his best feet when doing an hour of tarmac roadwork per day, but now he gets no roadwork, I roll off the hoof once a fortnight or so. Since changing his minerals [added some Equimins Laminator] this month, the fronts show more concavity.
The feet are not symmetrical except when one particular farrier trims him, then he is uneven for a few days. His front legs are not perfect, so he does not have a perfect stride.
 
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He currently gets grass and a handfull of chaff with naf superflex in it, so no minerals and vits. I've been looking at pro hoof and micronised linseed but trying to work out what's best.
 
I'll take some pics tomorrow and put them on. His feet look healthy, they don't crack or chip but I'm a total beginner when it comes to feet.
 
I feed less than a Kg of Fast Fibre plus some 20 gms total of Magnesium and Laminator per day at the moment [24/7 grass] and a half a cup of linseed meal [double that in winter] FF is not a fattening food, hi in fibre, low in sugar and has a good range of vits and mins.
Farrier should be checking the feet every six weeks or so, just like a shod horse, they may need regular maintenance.
 
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Look at the foot from underneath. Are the hoof walls the same length above the sole on the left and right sides?

If so, it is likely that his apparent imbalance from the outside is reflecting less than perfectly straight joints above, but you do need some eyes on the ground to tell you what is going on.
 
There the same length apart from at the toe on the outside which is slightly worn more.
 
Then this apparent imbalance is likely to be what he needs. You do need someone to look at them and reassure you, but if he is sound and his feet look in balance from underneath, then I would personally be inclined to trust the horse to know what he needs. Few of us are perfectly symmetrical ( I know I'm not :D !!) and neither are our horses.
 
Thanks :) I am very good at worrying about him and want to do every thing right. Farrier is out next week so I'll see how much of a hoof general knowledge lesson I can get out of him while he's there.
 
Personally I'm not too concerned about feet which are not symmetrical as this could reflect joints not being true, as CP Trayes has said.
I think people are too used to seeing perfectly symmetrical feet as farriers make feet symmetrical to fit the shoe and often file the hoof capsule, which is a massive mistake.
 
Hi there. Shy walks slighty pigeon toed according to my farrier, and the outside edge can get longer quickly.

I use a Riders Rasp weekly (got it off ebay £30 ish) once a week, more if necessary, to round his hooves off - my farrier is very impressed with it, and how well his feet look using it. You can get that corner off quite easily.

Hope that helps :)
 
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