hooves like tin cans

[splash's mom]

Hey all,

One of my minis has feet like tin cans, tall and straight with a ton of sole. I have talked to my farrier about this and he just says "that's the way he grows them". They look nothing like a normal hoof to me. He gets trimmed every 6 weeks. Do I need to get a second opinion? Or is my horse just stuck with those "romper stompers" (for those of you old enough to remember the toy that you walked around on)

p.s. It does not affect his way of going at all.

Thank's

 

[Jill]

I'm not sure... Could you post some pictures? That might help and others may have some suggestions.

We don't have horses like that now, but I've seen it and think I know what you mean. I even think (but I may be not remembering right) that one of my horses used to have that situation (still own him). If I'm right that he was that way, he is no longer. We do our own hooves now for a long time, but had a great farrier help to get us started, and some books and videos... But I am really thinking one of mine did because I remember calling them romper stomper feet like those toys kids used to use...

I'm not saying this is the case for your horse (haven't seen and may not myself know even if you can share pictures), but I do know finding a good farrier is hard. Finding a good farrier to do MINIS is even harder still.

 

[splash's mom]

Thank's Jill,

I don't have any up close pictures of his feet presently but I will take a few tomorrow. I still don't know how to post pictures on this site except in the gallery so I'll post them there. It has been driving me nuts looking at them. I just know there is a way to get them looking better than they do. My other mini and my Quarter horse have great feet but this guy is weird. Loved reading your political thread by the way

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Get another opinion. One of my horses was almost that bad. He stumbled often. It took my barefoot farrier AT LEAST TWO YEARS to get him more normal. Saying "he just grows like that" is an admission that the farrier doesn't care/doesn't know.

It is an ongoing trimming regimen for my boy, as being allowed to have his feet grow upright for so long, it sort of "trained" them. He will never have a perfect angle, but he is surefooted now and his feet look normal.

Does the frog touch the ground? If not, he is not even getting good circulation to his feet.

Good luck!

 

[Marty]

Club foot maybe?

 

[Minimor]

Some minis do grow hoofs like that, but you don't just let them grow that way--your farrier should be trimming them down properly, to a normal length and a normal angle. It can be a gradual thing--first trim he left them a little too long & upright, so by the next trim they're that little bit worse, and again he leaves them too long & upright--this can lead to contracted heels, which end up making the problem worse.

 

[rubyviewminis]

Yes, they are right. One of mine had white hard hooves that they trimmed him so eventually he looked like he was walking on stilts. I got mad, started learning and now all our minis have nice hooves. I also had the same problem with my filly last year, the vets and farriers kept saying she was fine, she didn't need to be trimmed yada yada. She got longer and longer, she stumbled all the time, then she started falling whenever she ran and I KNEW it was long hooves. Caroline on here helped me immensely. I soaked Gem's hooves about an hour to soften them and to find where his wall met the sole. Still couldn't find it so we judged by his grooves since his frogs were also long. Then I just dove in and started filing a little more aggressively than I was comfortable with, and that is what he needed actually. We trimmed his frog down also. The next two filings (I haven't used nippers yet and don't want to since I am not proficient) his sole started to finally shed off. I also match to the angle of his pastern since with the minis, its hard to folow the grooves which seem too deep to me. I now use the powered grinder. I also take pictures of each trim, and I file every four weeks, which has made a huge difference. In the pictures for some reason I can see things I didn't while looking and filing.

 

[Katiean]

I have a mare like that and I am always fighting with the farrier. I had a vet look at her and he said she definitely was not club footed. However, that is the way she grows her hoof. A ton of heel and not much toe. Then I have horses that grow a ton of toe and not much heel. What can you do?

 

[weerunner]

I had a client with a mare that had hooves like that, the first time I saw her I discounted her as club footed, trimmed her as best I could and figured she'd never improve. Each time I go back for a trim I'm impressed with the improvement in her angles. It's been almost a full year and her hooves look almost normal. So I say find yourself a farrier that is willing to improve her hoof. She may never be perfect but she can improve.

 

[disneyhorse]

Pictures would be very helpful so we can see the angle of the pasterns, too, which contribute a lot to hoof growth.

A LOT of minis are club footed, particularly in front, so it's possible that your horse is club footed. However, minis don't have as much weight as the big horses do to really put pressure on the frogs and have normal hoof spread (draft horses have the opposite problem of being difficult to grow heel, being so heavy) so often they need more heel trimmed than toe when getting their trims.

Andrea

 

[MindyLee]

The way it sounds, the hoofs need to be knifed out better and heel taken down and dont tuch the toes!

 

[shorthorsemom]

I had a farrier that over the winter gradually was causing my guys feet to go from normal to more of a club footed appearance. Lots of heel, no toe. It was the trimming! Gradually over time, the wrong trim can turn the feet into cans like you described. I have a new farrier and we are working the feet gradually back to normal and are almost there. My new farrier showed me with a measuring tool just how far off the feet were in angle.

Because I watched my ex-farrier turn normal feet into something weird, and watched my new farrier create a well balanced awesome foot with correct trims, I am sure you couldn't call them club footed, but poor trimming can cause a club footed appearance in the hoof. I heard one farrier say, "you gotta leave the heels high on the ponies"... he totally had that wrong. Lower the heels and create a natural hoof just like the big horses so they don't land on their toes.

I think a lot of minis grow hoof like crazy and are capable of growing lots of heel and that causes the club footed appearance. My new farrier says it is very important to get the angle perfect in minis and that many minis just aren't trimmed properly according to how they grow foot. I wish I had a series of photos to show you what I witnessed as to how a poor trim and wrong angles can affect how they stand, affect the stifles and make them appear to have club feet. There should be a straight line from the pastern down through the hoof. Read some Pete Ramey and don't believe everything a farrier says. A great farrier is worth his weight in gold. A poor one can really hurt your horse and it can be so subtle a change that mounts up over time you forget what a normal hoof looks like until a great farrier steps in to correct the problem that seemed to sneak up on you.

Best wishes. Adair

 

[valshingle]

Hey all,

One of my minis has feet like tin cans, tall and straight with a ton of sole. I have talked to my farrier about this and he just says "that's the way he grows them". They look nothing like a normal hoof to me. He gets trimmed every 6 weeks. Do I need to get a second opinion? Or is my horse just stuck with those "romper stompers" (for those of you old enough to remember the toy that you walked around on)

p.s. It does not affect his way of going at all.

Thank's

I agree that proper trimming will probably help a tremendous amount. The farrier needs to make sure that the hoof angle follows the pastern angle.

But, my daughter wants to add that "tall and straight with a ton of soul" is just how she likes her men. Sorry, but she wanted me to add this, lol!

 

[chandab]

I have a mare that had hooves as you describe, and hers were caused by a bad bought of laminitis; after 3 years and a new farrier, we are finally getting it under control and her hooves are looking normal and she's walking normal. [Part of the reason for the long time to correct her issues, was a bad farrier to start with.]

 

[Eagle]

But, my daughter wants to add that "tall and straight with a ton of soul" is just how she likes her men. Sorry, but she wanted me to add this, lol!

Smart girl

 

[splash's mom]

I agree that proper trimming will probably help a tremendous amount. The farrier needs to make sure that the hoof angle follows the pastern angle.

But, my daughter wants to add that "tall and straight with a ton of soul" is just how she likes her men. Sorry, but she wanted me to add this, lol!

 

[splash's mom]

Tell your daughter that I needed that laugh

I will be taking pictures today, so everyone can get a look at these feet. I have had 3 different farriers over the course of 2 years and they all left this guy with the same trim. Very frustrating. I know some people have said that their horses started to trip. Thankfully that isn't happening yet. Sounds like I need to try and find yet another farrier. It seems if my horse grows a normal hoof, this guy I have now can maintain them. My other mini and my riding horse look good. But if there is an issue he just leaves it alone. They do look like club feet but I have never heard of a horse having them in all four? That illustration that was posted looks exactly like what I'm talking about. He does have a lot of frog which I also think should get trimmed down. I know usually you should leave it alone but this guy grows it long and then it just starts to shed off. The reason that I started this thread is because Splash is do for his next trim on the 24th and I what to put this guy on the spot. I wish for just once that when you hire a "proffesional" no matter what job you hired them for, You actually got one.

If anyone else has pictures of hooves like this, could you a post them? Especially is you have before and afters. Thank You all so much for your imput, sometimes they just make you feel like your stupid when you know your not.

 

[mizbeth]

It sounds like you are describing a "mule foot". A good farrier can do wonders, believe me. Sounds like yours is not very knowledgeable. A lot of little horses need corrective trimming, it is part of what we have to do to maintain them.

 

[kaykay]

A true club hoof cannot be "cured" you can trim them and make them more comfortable (and look better) but as soon as the hoof starts to grow again its goes back. They do need to be trimmed more often. You can actually cause the horse leg pain and damage if you try to make something that isnt there to begin with.

I will say it can be hard to find a farrier that can lower heels correctly.

 

[wildoak]

LOL Val.....

The boxy straight up and down foot is not unusual in minis, and as others have said it just takes a farrier with know how to trim it correctly. I have several, most related, who will grow a foot like this if allowed. We keep the heels trimmed down and their feet are perfectly normal. A true club foot can't really be corrected. I've seen the results in a club footed big horse that a bad farrier got hold off...he "corrected" him and this otherwise nice and very sound horse was lame for several years afterwards.

Jan