Colt back on his heels- normal??

[1keegan]

Our (very first!) colt is 3 weeks old. I'm wondering about his rear hooves- He sort of stands back on his heels, and I'm wondering if this is normal? From some angles, you can almost see daylight under the front tips of his hooves.

Pasterns look good and he is very active and runs around alot.

The farrier is coming in a week; I'm hoping he'll be able to tell me, but he has very few mini clients, so I thought some of you might offer insight- what causes this and does it correct inself?

Thanks,

LG

 

[Joanne]

Our farrier is usually here within a few days (2-3) of a birth to start trimming.

I would think if they could get there sooner it might be a great help to your foal.

 

[SandyWI]

My foals always get a shot of selenium within two days of birth, as it helps with lax tendons and horses who look down in the heels. I've also found that at as the horse gets older, the laxity disappears.

I don't have my foal's hooves trimmed that early.

 

[Mr.T]

if you mean the horse is walking on its heels, like the heel is flat with the hoof. I've had a normal sized baby with that problem. what we did was we got door stops and put them on to lift up the heel. it worked like a miracle.

 

[Miniv]

It's actually not a big deal, but having his toes nipped isn't a bad idea, since the farrier is going to be there.

At his age, so much is exercise and growth right now.

 

[PromiseAcres]

My two year old colt was that way. We just kept him trimmed every 6 weeks and by the following spring he looked great.

Danielle

 

[wildoak]

I've had a number of foals born that way and they generally come up on their own with little or no interference beyond regular trimming. I always have my babies done - or at least checked - when the farrier is here. Sometimes takes nothing more than nipping the toes a little.

Jan

 

[1keegan]

Thanks so much for your replies

I'm going to see if the ferrier is available sooner-

LG

 

[albahurst]

I agree with having the farrier take a look. We had one baby that we finally put glue on heel extenders ( a vet actually did this) and she ended up lightly bruising her heels- so never again (well- I won't say never). I took her to my new great farrier and he said all she needed was to be kept trimmed- we trimmed a little every two weeks for about 3 months and you would never know she ever had any problems. She has perfect legs and hooves now.