Pigeon toed horse, advice for a friend.

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Troyseph

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Hi all a friend has had her horse barefoot now for a year,however she's noticed he's becoming more pigeon toed in a way since being barefoot, he always had a very very slight pigeon toe, but since being barefoot it's worse, he's only a youngster (4)

The question being, does she continue with the barefoot, or have him shod remedially to correct it? Thanks
 
I would say that this is the horse's natural way of going. I have a 10hh who turns in behind and whilst that can be corrected to a degree through shoeing you do need to be careful, because you are forcing an unnatural angle by correction. It is basically a conformation fault that is causing this action.
If the bones are not yet set you can correct confirmation to a degree, but imo this horse will always be slightly pigeon toed and personally I would seek the advice and honest opinion of an experienced farrier. My husband is a farrier and he has taken shoes off horses that showed continued lameness shod, because the shoes prevented the feet wearing in a certain way to compensate a conformation fault, which can cause a host of problems.

I don't think anyone can advise you without seeing the feet and watching the horse's action to be honest.
 
^^^^ I agree with all this.
I had a 6yo who'd been diagnosed with navicular (i got him to rehab) he'd been shod and had wonky looking legs, we took him barefoot and his legs straightened up but he grew really wonky feet - he came sound pretty quickly.
My theory is that his feet grew in such a way to compensate for the conformation of his front legs, by trying to force his feet into a textbook shape it put extra pressure on the ligaments which couldnt cope hence the soft tissue navicular diagnosis.

The point I'm trying to make is that I agree someone who's stood in front of the horse and watching it move is best placed to advice but it's important to remember to work with what the horse has rather than against it. :-)
 
First - do either you or your friend know how to check the foot is balanced. And a word of caution - in some circles balance is being confused with symmetry. A hoof doesn't have to be the latter in order to be the former. An unbalanced foot may be less straight than a balanced one.

Second - if the hooves are balanced and still pigeon toed, chances are these feet are exactly what the horse needs to compensate for something higher up.

If you shoe to straighten a pigeon toed (and equally a toe out) foot it creates a 'twist' that has to come out somewhere - often by putting extra strain on the knee. I've seen x-rays of the outcome - not good.

As the saying goes - "if you want a straight legged horse buy one" to which I would add - but don't try to force straightness on the wonky legged horse you have.
 
maggiesmum said:
^^^^ I agree with all this.
I had a 6yo who'd been diagnosed with navicular (i got him to rehab) he'd been shod and had wonky looking legs, we took him barefoot and his legs straightened up but he grew really wonky feet - he came sound pretty quickly.
My theory is that his feet grew in such a way to compensate for the conformation of his front legs, by trying to force his feet into a textbook shape it put extra pressure on the ligaments which couldnt cope hence the soft tissue navicular diagnosis.

The point I'm trying to make is that I agree someone who's stood in front of the horse and watching it move is best placed to advice but it's important to remember to work with what the horse has rather than against it. :-)
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Yes this exactly!!! The problem is that we all seek 'perfection' or the 'ideal'. The farrier needs to start off looking to create a good balanced foot as the 'ideal', but he does have to look at the conformation he is working with and just how the foot is naturally trying to grow. Sadly many farriers don't do this and equally a poorly shod foot will exacerbate any conformation problems and cause unsoundness. I have a beautifully bred WB and he moves so straight - real textbook stuff and he makes me realise why breeding for conformation is so important, because it is all in the genes and a well conformed horse is much less likely to have soundness problems imo.
This is why I am now a great believer in the holistic vet approach and finding the absolute source or cause of any problem before treating a symptom. I have seen it work time and time again successfully.
As another poster wisely said - if you want a straight legged horse - buy one!
 
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