Odd Feet!!!

[ginnyspinner]

Have just had new horse 5 stage vetted and she passed fine. Vet thinks she is robustly sound and a nice type - but he did say that one of her fore feet has the inside wall closer to the vertical than the other foot. Suggested good farriery will sort the problem . Have just chatted to my farrier who says the problem may be cos of confirmation or it could simply be because her feet have not been particularly well tended prior to arriving a couple of months ago from Ireland.
I am super sensitive about feet having had an awful time with my last horses hooves - do you reckon it is something that could be a major problem? or will it be resolved by a good farrier - has anyone else a horse with anything like this? All advice much appreciated.

 

[LauraBR]

I had a very similar problem a few months back- had loads of different views in reply- will see if I can track down thread for you...

(I didn't buy the horse in the end)

 

[miamibear]

My horse has this too, it can change with good farriery and my farrier said the same its confirmational.

Hooves are more pliable than you think and adjust to weight bearing. So i would say when she is schooled up more and using both sides effectively the problem may disappear too!

I wouldnt be worried at all, your farrier sounds like he is knowledgable type, leave her in his hands

 

[kirstyfk]

My old horse (well my sisters, horse was pts after I had him for 6 months, but thats another story) Had awful feet, old, soft and didn't grow! We bought him anyway and with good farriery he was fine - he went on go to the PC eventing champs twice and went round a CC1*. He conformation wasn't the best though which didn't help his feet.

 

[fairhill]

Mine had odd back feet when I got her, and my farrier has done a brilliant job sorting them out. It takes time and patience to get them spot on (it was about a year for her). I took her shoes off for 8 months so that her feet could spread and re-shape themselves slowly. One hoof still has a bulge compared to the other, but they're a much better match.

It wouldn't put me off buying a horse if they're perfect in every other way, especially as she's passed the vetting, and the vet and farrier sound confident.

 

[Tia]

Asymmetrical feet are really not that uncommon. The vast majority of horses do actually have odd feet, so I really wouldn't be overly worried providing there are no obvious signs of them causing a problem.

 

[brightmount]

This was picked up on a vetting of one of my horses, and (ditto) the vet said the farrier could sort it out. I therefore bought the horse and mentioned it to the farrier, was attentive for a couple of shoeings, then didn't give it much thought, I just trusted the farrier was on top of it.

The yard management then changed twice, with two changes of farrier. I didn't pay attention to the issue of asymmetry, I just assumed the farriers were doing their job.

It's only since my horse went so lame from navicular that she was almost pts that I had a rude awakening. The MRI scan picked up a load of issues in the asymmetrical foot, mainly stresses on the soft tissues. The shoes had to come off for the MRI scan, and they were so different you wouldn't have known they had come off the same horse.

We kept the shoes off, removed the hinds, and enlisted the help of an Equine Podiatrist, who has put her right over the course of 10 months.

Basically, what I'm saying is, keep on top of it. Ask questions of your farrier. Check what his plan of action is. It will take a while to correct, but don't let it drift and assume everything is OK, especially if you change farrier. If all else fails, barefoot may be able to pick up the pieces but I wouldn't have chosen to go down this route.