Not trimming foal feet - an update

From a purely anecdotal point of view, I have met many horses with good straight limbs and feet whose owners have told me were twisted/had problems as a foal which were corrected through careful trimming. I was very surprised to hear it as they were all sound, performing well and showed no outward signs of any issues. I also know two foals, now grown up, who had twisted forelegs as foals, again corrected with special trimming. Both mares are fit and sound to this day so as far as we know, the trimming was successful. On the other side, I also have met a few rescue horses with wonky legs, poor feet, and it is almost certainly because they were left as foals and weren't managed correctly. OP I'm not saying you're entirely wrong in the case of your foal, the lack of consulation worries me though. I'm sure that some foals can self-correct - the problems start when they are compensating, meaning the issue may not be confined to the dodgy leg/hoof.
 
You ask what can actually be done, I had a TB mare who had turned in front feet - "pidgeon toed". Whilst treating her for an unrelated issue, the vet commented that had she been treated when only a few days old, it could have been rectified. He said they would have cut into one of the tendons on the inside of her legs, not all the way through, but enough to elongate them. This would have allowed the tendon on the outside of the legs to pull the feet into better alignment. Has to be done very soon after birth though, to be effective.
 
All interesting, thank you. Cutting into tendons sounds pretty serious, not sure I would be a fan of that treatment! In terms of the rescue horses with wonky legs, I wonder if a different environment would have allowed them to develop normally. I suppose that is part of my thinking on this - that perhaps the environment is at least as important if not more so than any form of direct intervention. A few people have mentioned welfare cases but not really what the welfare issues were.
 
Foals generally speaking coming off the hills and forests are naturally grown especially if rounded up at weaning not after their first winter which may well cause them a welfare issue so bent legs etc are not caused by environment in fact if your scenario were true there would never be a bent foal come off the hill or moor as they would all have had a variety of terrain to wander over sadly that is not true many that do are bent twisted and in some cases it is cruel to leave them alive so they go for zoo meat. Hence my belief that every foal should be given the very best of professional care and every foal bred should be a wanted and cared for if not loved one but that is utopia.
Ignoring what is in front of you is criminal and cruel I dont know if you bred that foal or if you bought it so its condition may not have been of your making but if you owned it before it was 9months old you should have at least tried to remedy its twisted leg It is likely now too late anyway
 
cptrayes said:
They were a few weeks old when she started the trimming.

They were never allowed to go clubbed, SE. If they had started to go upright she would have lowered the heels to ensure that the tendons didn't contract.
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So presumably the twist was present at birth i.e. genetic or something to do with the way the foal lay in the womb? I've gone back and had a look at the pics of mine when she was newborn - it's difficult to see clearly, but I'd say her feet were a pair at that point which reinforces my idea that the foot changed during her period of stabling. What is needed now is for your friend to let her next foal develop without intervention to see if a good environment can allow similar changes as those which happen when she trims..... (and yes, I know you all think I'm mad, and in some cases evil and cruel (!?!) so that is almost tongue in cheek).
 
soloequestrian said:
So presumably the twist was present at birth i.e. genetic or something to do with the way the foal lay in the womb? I've gone back and had a look at the pics of mine when she was newborn - it's difficult to see clearly, but I'd say her feet were a pair at that point which reinforces my idea that the foot changed during her period of stabling. What is needed now is for your friend to let her next foal develop without intervention to see if a good environment can allow similar changes as those which happen when she trims..... (and yes, I know you all think I'm mad, and in some cases evil and cruel (!?!) so that is almost tongue in cheek).
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SE there are plenty of examples of horses growing up with twisted legs which were left alone, we don't need to deliberately create any more for research. If trimming appears to fix some limb problems and does no identifiable harm, why would you not do it?

I have owned brothers who self trimmed perfectly. I got one at three, when he was twisted outwards from the knee but had beautiful feet. I had his full brother at two when he was straight and had beautiful feet.

Self trimming cannot, imo, cure all ills, particularly not in a foal.
 
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soloequestrian said:
What is needed now is for your friend to let her next foal develop without intervention to see if a good environment can allow similar changes as those which happen when she trims.....
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Why on earth would anyone take such an unnecessary risk with a foal?

I don't think you're mad but I do think you're trying very hard to convince yourself that your chosen course of inaction, which has resulted in your yearling having a twisted leg - which may or may not limit her career - was the best one to take.
 
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The thing I was originally worried about was the upright nature of the foot. That has corrected itself, which is what this thread was originally intended to be about - an interesting observation about change without intervention.
Of secondary (and minimal) concern, she also has a VERY SLIGHT rotation in one limb. Both her front limbs turn out, but one turns out very slightly more than the other. I will show some of the relevant literature here for those of you who are convinced that intervention by trimming is the appropriate route:

http://www.roodandriddle.com/images...ITIES AND CORRECTIVE FARRIERY-Summer 2012.pdf
'Rotational deformities are a common finding in young foals (Fig.). This is a rotation along a
horizontal plane of part or the entire limb. A slight outward rotation of the limb in the
newborn foal is normal, and care should be taken not to confuse it with carpal valgus.
Rotational deformities that originate high in the limb are likely to improve with time, but
deformities originating distal to the carpus generally don’t improve. It is important to not
try to correct rotational deformities through trimming or shoeing. Trimming to maintain a
well-balanced foot reduces uneven stress on the hoof capsule and will reduce hoof capsule
distortions'

http://www.thehorse.com/articles/18501/foal-deformities-new-treatments-bluegrass-laminitis-symposium
'A rotational deformity is very different from the valgus and varus deformities, Redden explained, because in this case the whole leg is rotated outward. Also, it is muscular in origin rather than due to bone alignment. "The forelimb attaches to the body by muscle, not bone," he explained. "If you tranquilize this foal and gently pull his elbow out (while he's standing), you can actually derotate the limb. This is an easy way to distinguish this deformity from the often misdiagnosed valgus fetlock, which is a very rare deformity.
"Do not try to correct that with a rasp," he warned. "If they're rotated outward, they will not land flat--they will always land lateral side first. If you make them land flat, you can cripple them. When you create mediolateral imbalance as a corrective mechanism, take a radiograph and see what you've done to the joints. The goal is to load the joints as evenly as you possibly can."
It's quite likely that no correction is needed, he said. "As they develop a chest, most horses, especially Thoroughbreds, will self-correct a rotational deformity and push that elbow outward," he reported. "Colts do this quickly, fillies slower. If you try to crank these things early, you'll end up with a good limb, but a warped foot, and now you've got a different problem. Leave them be.'

The general idea is the same if you keep looking, including Stashak, who does have a suggested correction for severe rotational deformities which involves screws into the bone with torque applied. Yuk.
 
We have just bought a mare with similar problems to your foal, she is not a rescue, but has done very little except from eat, apart from being backed at 4 yo- she is 8 and has a slightly twisted front leg, as a result her foot has grown to compensate for this. Bare and self trimming would perpetuate the problem, shoeing offers support to the outside (loaded) part of the foot but keeping shoes on is also a problem and boots would prevent self trimming (hence perpetuation of the problem) but would not offer sufficient support to the outside of the foot and may cause problems higher up. I asked the farrier today, after reading this post, what, with hindsight, would have been the best thing to do- she replied- that if she had seen our mare as early as possible (ie when she was days old) then she would not have the problems that she has now. Trimming can prevent the problems occuring in the first place.
BUT, and it is a big BUT, SE bought the foal at 8-10 months old, by which time it was really too late for intervention. One thing I would be wary of though OP, is overfeeding your mare, too much protein and food in general will only make matters worse- just the basic balanced diet is more than enough.
Our mares problems have been made so much worse by being overfed from a young age and growing too big and fat to cope as well as she might with the conformation fault.
She has lost a lot of weight, but we are still having to work very much within the limits of her problem- something that could have so easily been avoided.

Edited to add- her wonky foot was also more upright than the others and has now levelled out with more exercise.
 
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