Hoof Angles - a Must See

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Jean_B

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Revisiting an old topic but it never gets "old".

Everyone who has a mini should print this out and show their farrier, or if you do your own, study it carefully. It boggles my mind how TERRIBLY mis-informed most so-called farriers are on proper foot angle (owning a nippers and rasp does NOT make a person a farrier - that simply means they had enough pocket change to buy the tools). It's not just the 'pasture pets' that are subject to bad trims. I've seen lots of horses at shows that just make me shake my head. And form follows function because a bad trim will result in poor motion.

hoof_angles.jpg
 
Thanks for this Jean. I have two mares presently re-inventing themselves with club feet. They grow a lot of heal in the first place, but the problem is they are also pawing a lot thus taking their toes off to nothing. One of them hits with the toe first which doesn't help. These two paw about everything. For breakfast, at lunch time, at supper and when they are tied for grooming which is like every day or after baths. "UGH!! Drives me nuts. I'm going inbetween trims and rasping the back half of the foot to let the heels down so when the farrier gets back, maybe she'll have something to work with.
 
I love the image and would like to have it bigger. I need a microscope to see it. Can someone make it larger without blurring it out? I've never seen this image before.

Marty - if your girls are doing that much damage to their hooves by pawing - maybe you should hobble that leg up while they are eating. Swap legs each feeding so that they aren't having the same leg tied up all the time. You can use a special hobble, or use a wide, personal leather belt and figure 8 it over the front leg and buckle it to the outside so you can release it in a hurry....

Or here is one made with an extra ring for easier hobbling, but they don't show a picture - http://nextlevelhorsemanship.com/nlhshop/one-leg-hobble

Here's a better one - doesn't show it on, but shows it laid out w/ for each step and explains how to put it on. 1/2 way down the page. http://www.wyomingsaddleco.com/TRAININGEQUIPMENTANDTACK.html

AH - here's one that shows the hobble in position. http://zinkellongearsandpack.glhenterprise.com/for_mule.html again, about 1/2 way down the page.

I've found that tying the leg up with this type one leg hobble works well - unless you suddenly have 20 of them pawing! Mine know when I'm watching and they won't paw when I am (the new boys having come home haven't figured it out yet - one got sprayed with the hose a lot the other day - neat/bad thing is - he enjoyed the spray and was grunting in time with the pressure of the spray, only stopped his pawing while I sprayed him)
 
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You could also use glue on shoes to help prevent damage to their toes. I have one stallion that I will shoe 6 months out from a show to get his hind hoove back to normal as he paces and really drives his hooves into he ground which wears them off unevenly. I do the shoes on balanced trims and in 6 months have normal hooves as the wear is on the shoes!
 
Thank you Jean_B for posting on this topic. I specialize in the care of miniature horse feet and my husband is a farrier for full size horses. In the past 4 years I have seen 10 times more hoof care related problems in minis then my husband has seen in full-sized horses. Those people who have the 'pocket change' to buy the tools but do not invest the time and money to learn this trade are causing so much suffering and decreased quality of life for the miniature horses they work on. Having said that, I also see far too many mini horse owners who do not comprehend that their horses' feet need to be trimmed on a regular (6-8 week) basis. Owning horses costs money and if you don't have 50 cents per day to spend on the care of your horse's feet, then don't get a horse. Hoof problems also result from lack of knowledge on how to properly feed a miniature horse and many suffer the effects of founder as a result of incorrect feeding. Proper foot care should be an ongoing topic among the horse industry simply because of the fact that if the horse has no foot, you have no horse. Thanks again for bringing up this topic and I hope it continues to be an ongoing topic of discussion so that everyone can be educated on proper hoof care for miniature horses.
 
So important to recognize hoof angles. I have a driving horse who normally moves just fine. He spent some time a few months ago with a big horse trainer to broaden his skills, and came home with his stifles sticking. He NEVER has stifle problems, and it was an easy fix - we changed his angles in the back to where they should be, and he hasn't done it since as long as I keep him trimmed right. Just an example of what can go wrong, and how quickly. They are all so different, and all need to be really looked at whether it's the athlete or the old foundered mare.

Marty, I had a confirmed pawer I used to show who drove me nuts. We tried the glue on shoe, as he was tearing his feet up, but he knocked them off within a week or two everytime banging on everything. Never tried hobbles but I did use a slightly bent in horseshoe "bracelet" on a big mare who pawed badly. It's a nuisance!

Jan
 
My trimmer was here yesterday. I have been working with him for nearly a year. He is fairly new to barefoot trimming, but is very open to learning. I have one horse that wants to grow coffee can hooves and must be trimmed every 6 weeks. He also wears off his toes, so keeping his heels down is a real challenge.

My new trimmer is learning to understand miniature hooves and some of their special challenges, such as that their feet are as hard as big horses, but they don't weigh as much to wear them down. Farriers are precious, but seem to move around or have life changes a lot. So, I'm happy to have this man and am willing to work with him as he gains experience.

My boy that wears his back toes drags his feet, and has done so for years. I've asked vets, trimmers, chiropractors about this and the consensus is that he just doesn't bother to lift his feet! I wonder about the glue-on shoes; I will ask my trimmer next time he comes about them. I would love to my boy to have normal-looking toes.
 

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