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This is how
"Louie" looked before we got started on the correction
of his feet. Both front feet are out of balance and the
angles are different. The length of toes are also
different.
The rear feet
are excessively long and are also at different angles.
"Louie's" feet are also pointed, this will make it
more difficult for the foot to break over in a smooth and clean
manner. Not being able to break over smoothly will greatly
limit his gait abilities and his ability to be able to push
through and allow his front end the freedom necessary co any
major competitive moves. "Louie" will feel
unbalanced and less confident in his own ability, thus not
allowing him to achieve his greatest ability and smoothest ride
-- for both himself and the rider.
What we are
going to do is to start by pulling the front shoes and looking
at what we have to work with.
This is the left
front foot as the farrier sees it. Although at a glance
the shoe looks to be quite well placed and overall an adequate
shoe for the horse there are some details that need to be
addressed. First is the shoe itself, although it looks to
be a wide webbed shoe and offer great support, we need to look
at it more closely. Yes, the shoe is wide, but offer a large
area of support, NO! If you look closely at the
"ground bearing surface" of the shoe (the part that
hits the ground) it is only about 1/2 the total width of the
shoe itself, only the heal area of the shoe gets the benefit of
the entire width of the shoe. The second thing to look at
is how the heels strike the ground. In this particular
case the inside heel of this foot is longer. That means
that the inside heel will strike the ground moments before the
other heel and then the toe. A three point landing
-- so to speak.
So this adds to
our list of things to correct. Not only do we have to
shorten the toe and balance the front feet but we have to align
the heels for proper strike and then find a solid shoe that will
give balanced support to the entire foot.
This is the same
foot with the shoe removed. Here is where we can see the last of
the problems that need to be addressed so that the horse can be
comfortable and balanced. All in a manner that will allow
the rider to continue to use the horse on a daily basis.
For it will be the daily exercise of the horse and the using of
his feet that will aid us the greatest in any type of correction
that is to be started and completed to this foot.
If you look
closely at this picture you will see certain indicators that
there is more foot to work with here than some farriers have
seen in the past. One that the frog area is cleaned out at
the heel area there will be a much greater use of the heel and
more flexation will allow the heel to grow more. We also
noticed that heel on the inside of the front was somewhat higher
than the outside of the foot. This needs to be corrected
again this will make the foot twist and turn when the heels
strike the ground. Anytime that you have unnatural
movement or twisting or turning it creates an uncomfortable
state and then the horse will hold back in it movements and
actions. Thus, interfering with a good ride.
Again looking at
the picture, the inside heel (the right side of the picture) is
not as full as the out side heel. When one heel comes in like
that, be either an inside or an outside heel, it is called a
"sheared heel". This horse has sheared heels on
the inside of both front feet. This is another problem
that needs to be addressed and started to be corrected.
Let's recap what
we need to accomplish to the front feet:
·
Overall balance has to be achieved,
·
The length of toe has to be shortened,
·
We have to maintain a balanced and even heel strike with the
shoe,
·
We have to use a shoe that will provide a good area of support
to the entire foot,
·
We have to make sure that both heels are the same length, and
·
We have to start a program to repair the "sheared
heel" problem.
Let's go to
work!
These are the
same front feet after we trimmed them correctly. And
removed the excess wall that gave them their unnatural look. If
you compare the two photographs you will see a great improvement
already. What we did was to trim the excessive sole out of
the foot remove the excessive toe make sure that both heels were
the same length and then dress down the outer wall of the foot
to be a more natural shape. That was created by following
the shape of the hair line and allowing for the
"belling" factor of the foot.
This is the shoe
for the left front foot of "Louie", if you look
closely at the right hand of the picture you will see a beveling
of that area of the shoe. If you can imagine the foot
sitting on top of this shoe and that it is the left front foot
-- the beveled area is the inside heel. This is the heel
that is affected by the sheared heel problem. This will
help push out the heel each and every time that
"Louie" takes a step.
This is the left
front foot of the horse. What I want to explain here is
that in order for the beveled heel to accomplish the necessary
correction to the sheared heel problem, certain things have to
be accomplished. Namely you have to undermined the
strength and integrity of the foot and the hoof wall. This
has to be accomplished so that the affected heel area of the
foot is somewhat weaker and able to be manipulated.
The farrier's
eye view again. This time the shoe has been attached to
the foot showing the amount of bevel and how it is
"floated" or allowed to have space between the foot
and the shoe. This is done so that the greatest amount of
pressure can be created with each and every step that this foot
takes. Constant pressure and then relaxation will create
the necessary action to start to push the heel out to the edge
of the shoe. This is a process that is in constant action,
whether the horse is being ridden or not. If it is moving
it is working.
This is the left
front foot of "Louie". After all the work is
accomplished to this foot we need to see what was accomplished:
·
We trimmed the foot flat and level,
·
We removed the excessive sole and toe,
·
We opened up the area of the heel by the frog, allowing the
heels greater freedom of movement,
·
We created balanced and equal "heel strike" --
allowing the foot to hit the ground correctly,
·
We "accessorized" the shoe for the start of the
correction of the sheared heel problem, and
·
We used a wide and flat shoe that will allow for better support
and balance of the entire foot.
This is
"Louie's" right front shoe. It shows the amount
of turning in of the inside heel (the right hand side of the
photo), and how much of the heel has turned under. We had to
bring the end of the shoe out that far for two reasons, 1.) for
proper heel strike. That would eliminate any and all
twisting and turning of the foot on impact with the ground.
And, 2.) for the proper allowance of the beveled shoe to do it
function. Namely, start to correct the sheared heel
problem.
This is
"Louie's" left rear foot after we have taken off the
shoe. What it shows me is that the foot is striking wrong
and that it is has too much point to it. Both of these
things can create major problems in a horse's way of going.
First the way the foot is both striking and working are evident
in the way the frog is being compressed. Since this is the
left rear foot the pressure is to pull or draw the foot to the
outside. It also tells me that the toe is way to long since more
pressure is being put to the toe area and not enough to the heel
area. Since there is not enough pressure to the heel area
it is sort of loose and is sliding to the outside. The fact of
the pointed toe makes it that much harder for the foot to
complete it's cycle and break over both correctly and in the
proper time. This will have a definite effect to his way
of going behind.
This is
"Louie's" rear legs showing how much toe was removed
with this one shoeing. It was accomplished by the removal
of the excess sole and then determining what amount of toe could
be removed without making him sore. After all, the whole
idea is to keep him working on a daily basis and continuing the
program that we started today.
This shows
"Louie's" rear legs after the shoe was added to the
right foot. Notice that the toe has been brought to a more
natural angle and that there is more than adequate "heel
area expansion" (area for the foot to flex on the shoe).
This will greatly aid Louie in his ability to drive from the
rear and balance himself and make the maximum use of his
strongest muscle, his hindquarter. This will also make him
more sure of his ability and allow him to relax and give the
greatest ride to both him and the rider.
This photo shows
"Louie" as he was when we finished the entire work on
him. Somewhat better I would say. So, if you feel that
there is not enough to work with remember that there is
sometimes more than you thing there is.
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