How to measure foot balance?

Did B shoe? I wince at teh very idea of a "standardised foot balance" and think the farriers who get a set square out want some CPD training in barefoot horses.

The way to "measure" foot balance is to look at the lines on the hoof


1. The hairline should be a smooth line from the toe to the heel. It very often has an upward kink at the quarter, which is a horse taking too much pressure at that point.

2. The hairline should be level viewed from the front. If it is higher on one side than the other, that's an unbalanced foot.

3. The growth rings, if any are showing, should be parallel to each other. If they are not, the foot is growing faster where they are further apart and this probably indicates that the horse is taking more pressure from the ground at that point, or has inflammation at the coronet at that point.

4. The growth rings should be level looking from the front, like the hair line. Higher on one side is an unbalanced foot.

5. The horn tubules which can be seen growing down the foot should be parallel. If they change angle, that's a foot growing unbalanced, which often results in a crack at the change of direction of horn tubules, usually the quarter.

Lastly, barefoot horses show that there is no point trying to balance the foot to the pastern, or even the cannon bone as many farriers will do, if the horse is unbalanced in the knee or shoulder.
 
cptrayes said:
Did B shoe? I wince at teh very idea of a "standardised foot balance" and think the farriers who get a set square out want some CPD training in barefoot horses.

The way to "measure" foot balance is to look at the lines on the hoof


1. The hairline should be a smooth line from the toe to the heel. It very often has an upward kink at the quarter, which is a horse taking too much pressure at that point.

2. The hairline should be level viewed from the front. If it is higher on one side than the other, that's an unbalanced foot.

3. The growth rings, if any are showing, should be parallel to each other. If they are not, the foot is growing faster where they are further apart and this probably indicates that the horse is taking more pressure from the ground at that point, or has inflammation at the coronet at that point.

4. The growth rings should be level looking from the front, like the hair line. Higher on one side is an unbalanced foot.

5. The horn tubules which can be seen growing down the foot should be parallel. If they change angle, that's a foot growing unbalanced, which often results in a crack at the change of direction of horn tubules, usually the quarter.

Lastly, barefoot horses show that there is no point trying to balance the foot to the pastern, or even the cannon bone as many farriers will do, if the horse is unbalanced in the knee or shoulder.
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thanks thats helpful! This is for my uni dissertation measuring the static balance of shod and unshod horses! That has given me an idea. Do you know any papers that show this? I am struggling to find complete papers. B... they did studies and came up with the method of measuring static foot balance but the name has gone out my head...
 
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