Sidebones, hoof balance and work.

[Ranyhyn]

C has sidebones, both fronts. Pretty big medially (from memory) and lesser laterally.

She has had almost a year without shoes, being barefoot trimmed and has now gone back into shoes. Already I have noticed her far more comfortable so that I'm happy with.

However, when the farrier came, she picked up on the fact the lateral wall was much longer/higher than the medial wall. Could this be because she is loading the outsides MORE - to get weight off that large medial sidebone?

Also, bearing in mind the sidebones are worse medially could this cause discomfort lunging/schooling small circles?

Also in nl*

 

[LucyPriory]

It's really common for horses to load unevenly. The more work they do and the better the upper body condition the less likely this is to be seen.

The side that is worn more is the side that is receiving more load. The height of the unworn side needs to be addressed.

 

[Ranyhyn]

Oh really? The farrier suggested the longer side was the side getting more stimulation?!

Either way, she made the hoof balanced before shoeing, just surprised to see that level of growth in only 2 weeks on an unridden horse!

 

[TwoStroke]

Are you able to film the horse walking from various angles and slow it down? Very useful to be able to analyse landings.

From personal experience I'd agree with Lucy that the more worn side is the side which is loading more.

 

[flintfootfilly]

The important thing with foot balance is that the foot lands evenly mediolaterally (ie that you don't have the inner, medial edge landing at a different time to the outer, lateral edge of the hoof).

If the horse's conformation is less than perfect, then it may be that in order to achieve a balanced landing the hoof may become asymmetrical to compensate for deviations from "straight" further up the leg.

So I'd definitely make sure whoever does the feet respects that you're after a balanced landing rather than a text book hoof.

Sarah