Balanced Stride

This is how "Brownie's” left foot feet looked before we got started on the correction of his feet.  Both front feet are out of balance and the angles were different.  The lengths of toes are also out of balance.  There is also the indication of "underslung" or "run-under" heels in the front feet. There is also the major problem on the outside area of the left front foot.  The "quarter crack" has advanced into the area of the hairline and due to the treatment and bandaging process used created a sore that needs to be treated and allowed to heal and close. This is where the major part of our correction process will be concentrated today.

"Brownie's" feet are also too long (even though he was shod less than one week ago), 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 support himself comfortably through the correction and healing process.

What we are going to do is to start by doing an overall evaluation of the body structure, much the same way a halter judge would do.  This will allow for us to evaluate the body conformation of the horse in question and be able to see both strong and weak points of the horse that we are working on.  Looking at the horse in this manner will allow us to also see any skeleton structure that may be affected by the balance of the body and how those particular deviations and/or strong points will effect the movement of the horse.  Then we can evaluate whether this is a positive or a negative point.  Evaluation will then tell us what needs to be accomplished to make the horse as comfortable as possible.

Initially we need to look at the horse from the angle of the shoulder and over the top of the back of the horse to look for the levelness of the hips.  Both hips should be equal and the area of the croup should also be level.  In this particular case this is not true.  The left hip is somewhat higher than the right hip.  What this does is to relay to the farrier that there are two problems that are being created.  The first is that the horse is uncomfortable with each and every step that it takes.  The second is that the operation of the two hips is not equal and/or in unison and will cause the horse to be out of time and be an uncomfortable ride.  A horse with this particular problem is often thought to be sore backed and will have a tendency to fight with the rider (due to being sore or uncomfortable).  This problem can easily be corrected with correct and balanced shoeing that is correct for the skeleton structure for this particular horse.  Upon fixing this problem the horse will have a change of mood (due to the removal of the pain factor), be willing to work more freely as well as more often and will generally be easier to get along with in all areas of interaction.  One other point, as in all animals that are inclined to motion, there is the point of biomechanics.  Biomechanics is the science that studies how animals move and what happens if their bodies become out of alignment.  The fact that the area of the lower back of the horse is out of proper alignment (the area of the hip joint forward about six to eight inches), the area of the neck will also be out of alignment.  This is not chiropractic, this is biomechanics.  Biomechanics stresses that if allowed to do so the body will correct itself.  So, if we get the hips and the lower area of the back into the correct alignment ~ will also get the neck back to its proper alignment and operation.  Let's look at the flexibility of "Brownie's" neck to see if this can be true. 

As you can see from the two photographs, the area of the neck is not flexing the way it should.  There is a stiffness in the center area, from the back of the head to the shoulder.  This is a perfect indication as to the biomechanical relationship between the lower back area and the neck area.  Looking at the area of the eye will also allow you to see that the horse is experiencing some pain, the eye itself is not soft and has somewhat of an "wide-eyed" look about it. There is also stiffness in the facial expression of the horse at the same time.  Much the same as we would get if we had to strain to accomplish a restricting move with our bodies.  If you are to stop and think of your own personal experiences and remember if there had ever been a time when your own lower back was out of place it also affected your neck flexibility as well.  After all, bone is bone and tissue is tissue ~ no mater if mankind or equine.

The next thing that we need to accomplish is to look at the horse from the full side view.  This will again show us many things that most people will never see.  Looking at the horse from this angle allows us to see that the horse is in somewhat of a pain stance.  The front legs are not under the shoulders for maximum support of the bulk of the body weight.  The rear legs are not under the horse's hindquarters to allow for additional support and to aid the horse in support of the total body weight.  The withers of the horse are, at this point placed higher than the croup; this again is from the misalignment of the skeleton structure starting at the area of the hips.

At this point we need to remove the shoe on the effected foot.  These three pictures are what we found to be aiding in the overall problem that had escalated to the quarter crack.  The first picture shows the bottom of the foot and the inside heel of the foot is to the top of the picture.  What was found here was that the inside heel had sheared from the pressure of the foot being out of balance.  The second picture was the bottom of the foot as it appeared when held to look at the flatness or "level" of the foot.  The inside heel is to the left of the picture.  The inside heel, in addition to shearing was also lower than the outside heel.  In addition, the area from the inside quarters to the outside of the toe area was higher than the same area opposite it.  If you look close at the outside of the foot (to the right of the picture) you will notice that the hoof wall is not as wide as the hairline, compare it to the other heel on the same foot.  These were the main causes of the imbalance of the foot itself.  It is also that point that aided in the advancement of the gravel becoming a quarter crack.

This is how the foot looked once that the shoe was removed and allowed to fall naturally under the horse for support.  There is misalignment in the area of the knee.  There appears to be upper pastern joint irritation and swelling through the pastern joint to the lower joint area of the pastern.  This is quite evident by looking at the two front legs and comparing them side-by-side, section-by-section.  Looking also at the hairline of the foot and the plane of the ground you will notice that the length of hoof from the hairline to the ground is longer to the outside than the inside.  All of these items show that the lower leg is totally out of balance and will cause pain whenever used.

Now that we know the problems that we have to work with within this foot, it is best to get started in the repair and correction of this foot.  We will start by removing all of the loose material around the area of the gravel with our nippers.  This is weak or dead tissue and will do the horse no good.  We need to be able to have a new foundation for the foot to build upon and start to repair itself from the inside out, in other words we need it to start to replace itself.

The first picture shows how the foot looked when the weak and dead tissue was removed from the area of the gravel.  The second picture shows the same hoof when additional removal of the weak tissue from the area of the quarter crack was removed.  Excess hoof wall was also removed from the area of the toe.  This was accomplished due to the need to allow the foot to operated in more of a correct manner and allow for better dissipation of shock throughout the entire foot.

These two pictures show how the horse was able to start to support its own weight once that balance was achieved.  The knee is faced more forward than before and the straighter line can now be drawn through the center of the entire lower leg structure.  The toe is now facing forward and the balance of the hairline is also achieved at this point.

The picture to the right shows that the horse has a much easier time positioning the entire leg and foot structure under the shoulder.  This will allow for the proper support of the body mass and will allow for greater comfort and aid in the alignment and operation of the flexing of the neck.  The parallel alignment of the foot to shoulder is more to the proper angle that is required for the specific body structure of this horse.

These two pictures show how the remaining loose and dead tissue is removed from the foot.  The tool used is an adjustable high-speed dremel.  By using various bits and tips that are available the removal and cleaning out of the cracked and under-minded material can be removed carefully and safely.  This is a very important step in the correction of this kind of problem.  Removal of the bad tissue needs to be accomplished to allow for the greatest bonding of the repair material.  The understanding and patience of proper preparation is the best basic to have mastered.

These two pictures are to show how the foot should look after all of the necessary material has been removed and the proper preparation work has been accomplished.  It is at this point that the cleaning of the prepared area needs to be accomplished.  The cleaning of the prepared area is crucial for the repair material to bond to the foot correctly.  The proper cleaning of the foot is accomplished to remove any and all dirt and dust from the area that is to have the repair material applied to it.  If any dirt or dust is left within that area it could undermine the bond of the material and start the process of loosing the repair and possibly creating a bigger problem than you first had.

These two photographs show applying the repair material and the use of a heat gun to aid in the proper drying and curing of the material.  There were a total of four layers applied to this particular foot.  The drying and curing technique was used for each and every layer.  This assures that the bond will be correct and that the horse will receive the greatest benefit.  What is being accomplished here is to make it easier for the horse to move around.  Lets make sure that the process only needs to be accomplished as few times as possible.

This picture shows what can be accomplished with experience, knowledge and an understanding of the balance factors of the equine.  The knee is now facing us straight on, and the left knee is still turned to the right.  The hairline is even with the ground (accounting for the hairline soreness caused by the quarter crack).  The size in the area of the pastern is already starting to dissipate and the horse is much more calm and relaxed.  It was at this point that the horse started to process of licking their lips and breathing much deeper.

This picture shows the left front foot once that the shoe was attached to the foot.  Looking closely you will notice that the shoe is wider from the toe on a graduating scale until it get to the end, where it is the widest. This was accomplished to aid in the support of the foot and allows the foot to start to widen out to its proper and correct shape.

In the process of the imbalance of the foot and the creation of the situation that caused the quarter crack the foot started to atrophy and somewhat shrink in size.  In doing so the outside of the foot actually indented at the hairline and to a certain degree rolled under the hairline.  This made the hairline wider than the actual wall of the foot.  In order to allow the foot to start to correct itself, through exercise and care, the proper support must be available for the foot to use and depend upon.

The next area that needs to be considered is the rear feet.  When looking at the rear of the horse and giving some care in doing so, certain points are quite evident.  They are the horse has bad posture.  It is not supporting its rear part of its body correctly.  You can also see that the heels are not equal or even and that the horse is turning in form the hock.  But, above the hock the leg is straight.  That tells you that the turning in of the hock is due to the way the foot has been trimmed.  If the rear feet are to be trimmed correctly and using the principles of balance the turning in of the hock can be eliminated.  This too is a point of pain that the horse has to contend with.  Our job is to help create comfort and eliminate the pain factor.  

These are "Brownie's" rear feet.  As you can see the right rear (the one closest to the left) is shorter than the left rear.  In addition, the angles are also different.  The balance of the foot (the distance from the hairline to the ground) is not equal on the left side or the right side of the foot (either foot).  All of these need to be corrected, the only problem that there is ~ the horse was shod less than a week ago.  I would like to see the horse go two to three weeks.  This will allow the foot to get some growth and have less of an effect on the outcome of the program.  After all, we have done a major repair to the front foot and the horse is better off to receive some rest before proceeding to the next level of correction.  This was the advice given to the owner and the program that is to be followed in this particular case.  Other cases the choice could be different, in this case I felt it best to follow this path.

Going back to the conformation and biomechanical part of the horse we need to see what has been accomplished with the repair and correction that was accomplished.  What has been accomplished so far is the starting of the smoothing of the back; the hips are still out of alignment and will continue to be so until we are able to reshoe the rear feet.

These pictures show a much more definition and suppleness in the operation of the neck.  The greater flexibility is evident also in the eyes; notice that there is not the wide-eyed look of pain this time.  Notice that the head is more relaxed and in a lower position than before the repair and correction work was started.  This shows me that there is less pain involved with this horse's life and is actually quite tired.  In fact I have seen many horses go through the same situation as a human being that has been sick or sore for a period of time.  Once that the pain or sickness is gone we become exhausted and need to rest for a day or two.  The same happens with horses.  The horse is definitely tired and wants to rest.  It is best to do so and come back another day to finish the remainder of the correction.