Question
Feet close up
I have a 21 year old Arabian gelding, used only for trail riding, who apparently had a bad injury to his right front leg (before I got him so I'm not too sure about it). His right front hoof is 1/2 inch smaller than his left front hoof, and his left shoulder is way overdeveloped. I have had him 6 years, and he has never worn shoes for me. He has a consistent crack in his right front hoof. I live in Fla, on very sandy soil, and it's often dry here. This last time I had him trimmed (Oct 18), I believe the farrier cut him way too short. I am attaching some photos I took the next day. I also tried to ride him the next day & he seemed very sore. My farrier always does 4 things - first he trims the frog, then he peels the soles - a lot, all old surfaces are gone, then he uses nippers to cut the hoof but I noticed this last time he held them at a sharp angle and it seemed to me he trimmed them up shorter than usual (well he didn't think so). Oh, then he rasps the edges and the hoof itself. Can I get your opinion? Do you think my horse's hooves are too short? What about the angle of his hooves? He has never been 'sore' after a trimming before. Every farrier I have used since I got my horse, always says they can get ahead of the hoof crack but nothing seems to help. But actually I can live with the crack it's the short hooves that worry me. Thank you so much for your advice! I actually have several pictures but seem to be able to upload only one to your site, but I can email you some more if you need them for your analysis.
AnswerHello Elizabeth,
thanks for the question and the attached picture. From what you described, I think there are additional things going on that may make your gelding uncomfortable, especially since you mentioned his overdeveloped shoulder. Mismatched feet who have differnt sizes are not a big deal in horses and are quite ok - however, in your case this may not be the case. What I noticed in the pic is that the way your farrier adressed the toe on the right front, versus the left front makes me want to see a few additional pictures. If you can, can you send pics that show your horse, its full body with the hooves clearly visible in the photos that show him from the front straight on (head and hooves in pic), same from either side and from the back? also pics of at least his front hooves from the bottom are critical as well.
Can you also tell me what he feels like when you say he is "sore" after trimming and how long you have used this farrier.
I would be more comfortable giving you my opinion with these additional pics since often conformational or other issues in the horse's body and movement affect the hooves and vice versa.
If you have addl. pics, please send them to my E-mail at jnksize@comcast.net
Thanks much,
Christine
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