hores feet 'clicking'. Dont know what to do next?! :(

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el_Snowflakes

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Hi all,

When my mare is walking (and very occassionally in trot) you can hear the front of her left fore striking her left hind hoof. My farrier (who has a very good reputation) is a little baffled by this and cant seem to find the problem. He has rolled her front toes and she wears 'natural balance' shoes on all four. The problem does not seem to be getting any better and she actually has a dent in her hind left hoof where this has obviously occurred :( she is now turned out 24/7 for summer and I have started putting over reach boots on her hinds (but i dont really feel they offer much protection) Im worried she may become lame, I feel terrible for her when she walking around the field as i can hear her 'clicking' as she goes :(.....

Has anyone experienced this with their horse? if so what farrier techniques were used if any? and did you find any short term rememdies ie. hoof boots??


many thanks ;)
 
Thought the same was happening with my old horse but it turned out he would catch his toe on his front on the floor on the returning stroke then... Do you see what I mean? This was occuring more often than the over reaching strike....I used to turn him out in front and rear OR boots and it did seem to help but it was never rectified
 
AndiK said:
Thought the same was happening with my old horse but it turned out he would catch his toe on his front on the floor on the returning stroke then... Do you see what I mean? This was occuring more often than the over reaching strike....I used to turn him out in front and rear OR boots and it did seem to help but it was never rectified
Click to expand...

Thankyou AndiK :)

Very interesting. My mare is definatly strinking her rear hoof with her front shoe as she now has a dent in her rear hoof :( I was actually just thinking it might be a job for a physio? She has had the chiropracter do her twice since i have owned her ( owned her for 1 year) and both times he was impressed with her pelvic strength, although on his last visit he noticed tightness in her rear hip area which he 'adjusted'. I am now wondering however, if the adjustment was not enough to correct the problem.
 
Mine used to knock his fronts together but it stoped after he muscled up a bit and relaxed in his work more. Sorry not much help really.
 
Your farrier is baffled?

This is called forging and it's as common as daffodils in spring. It's because she is not getting her front feet out of the way of her back ones quickly enough. The remedy is either to shoe the horse with a set-back breakover in front (which your horse already has in the shoes your farrier uses) or to school the horse to take more weight on the hind end to lighten the shoulders and let the front feet move out quicker.

If your mare does it loose in the field then it sounds as though she is naturally on her forehand and you may struggle to get her into a better balance. If she is young it is likely to get better with strength. If you don't like the noise/damage, then go barefoot :)
 
SOunds very like she is 'forging' the toe of the hind foot hits the toe of the front foot.

Basically the horse is going to fast for her balance and she can't quite get her front foot away before the hind toe goes to the ground.

How to deal with it. As soon as you hear the noise, slow down with a half halt - use legs and hands together to help her rebalance.

She needs lots of transitions between paces and within paces to help get her off her forehand. As she becomes better balanced you'll notice the noise gets less.
 
Evelyn said:
SOunds very like she is 'forging' the toe of the hind foot hits the toe of the front foot.

Basically the horse is going to fast for her balance and she can't quite get her front foot away before the hind toe goes to the ground.

How to deal with it. As soon as you hear the noise, slow down with a half halt - use legs and hands together to help her rebalance.

She needs lots of transitions between paces and within paces to help get her off her forehand. As she becomes better balanced you'll notice the noise gets less.
Click to expand...

Thanks Evelyn, but its more prominent when im not riding her. When im on her it only happens if i have her on a loose rein so its not much of a problem. Its far worse when she is just walking slowly in the field.

ps. farrier says its not forging as its not shoe striking shoe if you see what i mean?
 
If it is actual clicking of the joint I wouldn't worry about it. Get the vet out if you are concernet but my last mare had a clicky stifle. It would click in walk when I rode her and when she was led inhand. I was told by a vet that it wasn't anything to worry about it, it just happens sometimes.
If it is she is forging, wack over reach boots on her and see if they make a difference.
 
How much muscle tone does she have, and are her fetlocks relatively close to a 45 degree angle?

Just wondering about her tendons. This would be made worse by poor muscle tone and improved by good muscle tone.
 
Naturally said:
How much muscle tone does she have, and are her fetlocks relatively close to a 45 degree angle?

Just wondering about her tendons. This would be made worse by poor muscle tone and improved by good muscle tone.
Click to expand...

Nope, she is fit and has excellent muscle tone....


and 'Damnation' Its not her joints its her foot striking... she wears overreach boots on the back and iv tried the front too but to no avail. I think this is why my farrier is a bit puzzled! :S
 
My horse does it too. He has a big walk, overtracking massively and often clips his front shoe with his hind. He lives in overreach boots. He does it occasionally in trot, when I push him into medium trot or try to get him more active. His shoes have been left longer to support his heels though as he was long in the toe and that hasnt helped.
 
forging is when the toe of a hind foot strikes the solar surface of the front foot
scalping is when the toe of the front footstrikes the dorsal surface of the
hind foot or even higher
first and foremost is to make sure the feet are trimmed and balanced correctly
chris
 
ferrador said:
forging is when the toe of a hind foot strikes the solar surface of the front foot
scalping is when the toe of the front footstrikes the dorsal surface of the
hind foot or even higher
first and foremost is to make sure the feet are trimmed and balanced correctly
chris
Click to expand...

thanks Chris :)

sounds like it could be scalping? Although its very low on her foot (hind) shes never injured her leg from it. Its actually so low that brushing boots dont cover the area?
 
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