What do you think of these hooves...

S

Scot123

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 November 2011
Messages
367
Visit site
Hi! To sum up - new pony (lovely!) but stumbles/trips a LOT. Especially in walk and especially downhill. I'm waiting for the farrier to come out for a look, then vet if necessary. But in the meantime I'm interested in your views of her front legs. Is it just my imaginition or does her near fore long quite turned in?? Could this potentially be contributing?

1)
attachment.php


2)
attachment.php


3)
attachment.php
 
It's really difficult to tell from photographs - better to see her gait, at walk, in a straight line. But stumbling can also be poor saddle fit and if she is new, have you had her saddle fitted? Hard to tell again but from what I can see is she overweight? May be very unfit?
 
Oh dear - is it so obvious just from the leg photos that she's overweight!! But yes, you're right, both overweight and unfit. I'm working on both those problems, but worried about too much exercise if there's an underlying problem causing the stumbling. I'm hoping to get the saddle checked but it actually is just as bad when leading her in-hand too.
 
Looking at the close up hoof photo (could you take a better one with the camera practically on the floor?) it looks like the horn just under the coronet is growing at a steeper angle. This suggests that your pony has long toes, which certainly does contribute to tripping.
 
Hi - I've just added a couple of close-ups of the front hooves. Good to hear what you think, thanks!

Near:
attachment.php


Off:
attachment.php
 
There is a change of angle and the toes are too long, plus the heels are under-run. The new angle at the top is better and once the whole hoof grows out, the pony will have much better hoof balance.
 
Thank you for your thoughts. From the barefoot reading I've done, that sounds like a fairly common problem. Can that - I suppose along with weight/unfitness - really make her stumble so much? I really appreciate you having a look and will be getting farrier out asap!
 
I've just had another thought as my friend had terrible trouble with her horse struggling to go downhill. It then got worse and the horse was lame and began to buck. He was checked over (teeth, tack, vet) and the Vet diagnosed navicular despite nothing showing on the x-rays (assumed soft tissue damage). So the horse had remedial shoeing, which actually caused the hooves to become more under-run. Eventually she got a further saddle fitter in and it turned out that the issue was the saddle. New saddle + the egg bars removed and the horse could walk downhill again, plus he was sound and stopped bucking.

Long toes can cause tripping and over-reaching, but look at the other options too.
 
x2 Faracat on the saddle issue. I ended up with fractured ribs, as saddle was too narrow in the front, horse wasn't wanting to move out and stumbling and we ended up on the deck.
 
Hi. Yes, from trawling the forums etc I see that navicular is also something that potentially fits with the symptoms - though of course am keeping fingers crossed it's not that option...

Then as you say, there's the saddle as well.

There's so many possibilities it's hard knowing where to start. I think farrier may be the best option in the first place, maybe followed by vet, then by saddle fitter.

Until everyone can come out for a look, would you keep exercising her (as her weight is also an issue)? Unfortunately it can only be on the roads.
 
Sorry, I didn't make it clear. My friend's horse DIDN'T have navicular. He was incorrectly diagnosed with it and went through unnecessary remedial shoeing which made his hoof balance worse and the problem the whole time was actually the saddle. As she'd had the saddle checked when the horse first had issues, she had crossed the saddle off the list as a potential cause. In this case the saddle was too long, it was a second saddler that identified the issue and solved the puzzle.

I would exercise her in-hand. This would be good for her hooves, good for her waistline and it would also be interesting to see if she trips less without the saddle and rider or not. I would get the farrier and saddle fitters out first and second, then the vet if needed.
 
No, that was me, I didn't read it propery. It just demonstrates how terribly hard it is to find the cause of these things. You think you've found it, then the problem continues, then another professional tells you something else etc etc. It's a bit daunting. I appreciate your advice and am just waiting for the farrier which will at least start the whole process!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top