To even the hooves up, or not?

Holly Hocks

Holly Hocks

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My TB mare is barefoot and has one smaller upright hoof at the front, and one "normal" one. My trimmer doesn't try to even them up and horse is sound at the front.
I had a lesson tonight from my classical instructor (first lesson in three years!) and we got on to discussing feet. She made it quite clear that she doesn't believe in barefoot trimmers stating the old "they only have three weeks training" thing.

I pointed out my horses front feet and said that the feet were left like that as that is how the horse grows them. She said that they should be evened out as how can the horse possibly work evenly on both reins if the feet aren't even.

I'm happy with my horse's feet - this horse has been written off by vets due to navicular, hind limb PSLD, fetlock arthritis in one hind and bilateral spavin. The physio also hasn't mentioned about the feet needing to be "evened up". And despite the vets writing her off on more than one occasion and her almost being PTS more than once, this horse is now hacking happily and starting to school nicely. So what are your views and experiences? Thanks.
 
Stupid phone posted before I'd finished.
Ignore the instructors comments especially as it seems she doesn't know enough about it to make a valid contribution, If he was written off with a list of issues and he's now sound then whatever you're doing now is right for him and if that means wonky feet then so be it.
I don't remember a commandment that says "thou shalt have feet" lol :D
 
Mine had uneven feet both when shod and barefoot.

One farrier did try to even them up, even though he said he had been very conservative, he left the horse so lame he was virtually non weight bearing.
 
Thanks Maggiesmum and Criso. I'm thinking the same as you. She is a fab instructor, but no particular experience of hooves and also hasn't seen the horse for 3 years. She said that she was sound, so not sure what the issue was.
 
About 60% of humans have one foot bigger than the other. Do we try to correct that? :p

Horses have preferred sides - and many horses have a favourite foot, which they usually place forward when grazing. This affects growth and shape.

There does seem to be some evidence that good classical training can help straighten a very crooked horse (in the same way that good stretches and strengthening exercises can straighten out humans like me that collapse their ribcages to one side when riding ;) ), so maybe you will find that the classical dressage approach actually makes the hooves level up slightly of their own accord.

Otherwise, if the horse is happy and sound, don't worry :)
 
Thanks Brightbay. She grazes left foot forwards all the time. So the left foot is the bigger foot and the right one is the smaller foot. She almost grazes like a foal.
 
Horsesforever1 said:
You need to speak to a proper farrier instead of asking lay people on the yard or forum.
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Would those be the same type of proper farrier who couldn't get my two rehabs sound in shoes shoes and wrote them off, when I had them sound in months with a barefoot rehab???
 
HH your horse probably has uneven shoulders and needs uneven feet to be balanced.

It may be permanent and if she is sound who cares about odd feet.

Schooling which straightens her up may also change her feet, as it does one of mine.

But you can't do it the other way round. You can't chop straightness into a foot and expect the body to follow, in my experience.
 
cptrayes said:
HH your horse probably has uneven shoulders and needs uneven feet to be balanced.

It may be permanent and if she is sound who cares about odd feet.

Schooling which straightens her up may also change her feet, as it does one of mine.

But you can't do it the other way round. You can't chop straightness into a foot and expect the body to follow, in my experience.
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Thanks C - I was hoping to have your input on this. Yes she has uneven shoulders after a suspected fall in racing training - its believed there was some injury to her right shoulder. I will continue with my schooling. Lesson was superb tonight with lots of improvement. It will be interesting to see whether her feet change as she progresses. :)
 
Holly Hocks said:
I'm happy with my horse's feet - this horse has been written off by vets due to navicular, hind limb PSLD, fetlock arthritis in one hind and bilateral spavin. The physio also hasn't mentioned about the feet needing to be "evened up". And despite the vets writing her off on more than one occasion and her almost being PTS more than once, this horse is now hacking happily and starting to school nicely. So what are your views and experiences? Thanks.
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... and so long as your horse is happy that's all that matters.

I get so cross about people who think and want to force everything to be even, match and be perfect to look at on a living creature. How that animal performs on it's own hooves points to what that horse wants. :rolleyes: I'm sorry you are having this unnecessary, pointless pressure to deal with, just remind yourself of how things have improved.
 
Holly Hocks said:
Thanks C - I was hoping to have your input on this. Yes she has uneven shoulders after a suspected fall in racing training - its believed there was some injury to her right shoulder. I will continue with my schooling. Lesson was superb tonight with lots of improvement. It will be interesting to see whether her feet change as she progresses. :)
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I see this in front of my eyes all the time. I have a friend with a mare with uneven shoulders and she grows one foot higher than the other in order to get herself balanced. On the other hand, the horse I hunt I broke at 6 and he was the crookedest horse I have ever sat on. In Winter when he is in full work with regular schooling his left hind foot grows straighter and straighter. When he is laid off for a while at the end of the hunting season it develops a huge flare to the outside (which I leave alone!) He does this every year like clockwork. He is fundamentally bent somewhere, but work brings him straight and his foot reflects that.

So your mare's foot will change if she is genuinely brought straighter by schooling, but not if she has a permanent misalignment somewhere due to her injury and schooling is simply making her more flexible. My guess is you'll get a halfway house, with some change but that it will never match.

Like Amanda, I despair of the amount of damage which is done to horses in the pursuit of symmetry.
 
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Agree with the leave alone camp if she is sound. My ex racer has uneven front feet and they cause her no problems. Farrier says although trimming and shoeing can help a little they will never be even and it doesn't matter. As long as she sound and happy don't see the problem with different sized feet x
 
Sensible farrier mudmonkey17.

Hooves are very dynamic and are a reflection of the horses health and physical needs/way of going, they aren't a 'problem' in isolation and they are often the horses solution if given the chance to grow hooves it needs.
 
I think if the horse is barefoot its less likely to cause issues than if the horse was shod and 'evened up',

Providing the the work load is suited to the individual horse, if not I do think poor foot conformation just like poor shoeing/trimming is bound to catch up with a horse one day but also I think if a horses hoof naturally grows differently then it shouldn't be tinkered with, especially if the horse is consitantly sound.
 
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