I did a couple of (really) rough sketches to try and show things a bit more clearly.
The first set of photos shows a hoof that while not "ideal", it does give a good look at a more proper growth direction. The foot is able to actually physically stay squarely under the limb of the horse, allowing for better movement and better energy dissipation.
Now- the next set. This fellow is a bit of a drastic example, but unfortunately, one seen all too often. His breed aside (Thoroughbred) this particular issue plagues many many horses. This is the result in failure on the hoof care providers part to address the heel properly. Many would look at this horse and say he does not grow heel, but as we've seen in his sole shot, he DOES grow heel. Unfortunately he grows his heel FORWARDS, instead of more up and down. When heels tend to grow forward, you are looking at several things- one is a mechanical issue in that the more forward the heels grow, the more pressure is exerted on them to continue to grow in the same direction (forward). Another is the "treatment" of feet like this, which often times includes the application of a shoe, usually with a pad, thinking that the heel will need more support the shoe offers.
Now you all know, I'm not a shoe Nazi like many people are. But in a case like this, I am against the use of a shoe. Simply because if you continue to add additional pressure on the heels, you will continue to encourage them to migrate/ grow FORWARDS. This is also a mechanical issue of leverage at play.
The sketch is rough, and exaggerated some. But it gets the point across.How on Earth would that situation be treated?
Trim. The. Heel. Begin a slow process of bringing the heel back under the horse where it needs to be. This is going to be an on-going process, and not an instant fix.
The tubules that make up the hoof (laminaie) are flexible. Made of the same keratized tissue as our finger nails, the tubules will flex, bend, and give to pressure. Once the pressure is relieved, as in the case of long under run heels, those tubules will relax and begin to grow in the proper orientation again.
If you look at a foot from the hairline down about the first inch or so of growth, you can see what direction that foot *wants* to grow in. By running a *relaxed* hand and fingers around the outside of the hoof wall, you will be able to feel where flare may be present. Flare is the result of a stress placed upon the growing hoof, such as under run heels or a laminitic attack.
Again- this is a basic explanation of orientation of growth. Fire away with questions, emails, photos, etc.
12 comments:
So in the second picture where u refer to trim the heel. How? I am trying to understand what is left to trim in that picture to trim...seems to me that the heel juts forward almost like a slipper, so how do you trim something that seems to be not really there? Does that make sense??? I'm always so confused by hoof trimming which is why I dont do it :)
Oh that's an excellent question Kristen. That one took me a long time to really understand.
For a long time I dealt with farriers that left that underslung heel alone because 'the horse didn't grow a heel'. Back then I didn't understand either. Now, I look back and go Ugghhh...Duh.
I'm sure MM can give you an excellent explanation.
BTW-Since I know you are not a barefoot 'natzi' MM, I can tell you, Mikey actually did fix a mare for me that started growing a forward heel. Thanks to other farriers failing to properly trim her before shoeing. Obviously, outdoor riding in AZ requires shoes as even if the ground is not 'rocky', the nature of the gritty, gravelly soil will eat a horse's feet to nothing without shoes. So a good farrier can fix it with shoes, IF (think big, bold letters) the farrier starts by trimming the foot properly before nailing the shoe on.
Six of one, half dozen of the other...it can only be fixed by proper trimming.
Kristen- I think the biggest thing to remember too- is this is also an optical illusion. There is heel there- usually two inches or more. There is also a corresponding amount of "extra" foot involved too. So trimming the heels (and I will try to get pictures of the process for you in the next few trims so we can SEE things,) is merely one step in the process. When we get those pictures, I'll also use my hands/ thumbs as a guide, so you can pick out the length and orientation better too.
Next time Cliff is out, ask him too. He loves to teach, and from what you have said of him thus far, I am sure he would also be able to demonstrate to you how it would work.
BECG-- Ahh-- but you said it all in one simple sentence my friend-- It HAS To Start With A Proper TRIM. No matter WHAT you do, or how you treat the hoof, if you do not have a PROPER trim, you don't have squat! ;)
As to Mikey, well, we call her WONDER WOMAN for a reason, right? ;)
I had a hard time grasping this concept fully until I watched my extemely low heel-long toe mare get corrected. You just can't fix something that is being crushed by applying more pressure/leverage to it!
I'm on the ground at least once a week checking the direction of tubule growth on my horses' hooves, I'm probably a little hyper vigilant about checking for under-run heels.
It astounds me that people making a living taking care of hooves don't properly address the heels. Is this something they don't cover very well in farrier school?
Mark's mare, MOlly, has this problem from all of her years without hoof care while she popped out foals. This makes me understand how we need to combat the problem. She has strong hoofs and well shaped hooves so we plan on keeping her barefoot. BTW- I fired my farrier and went back to my old one. He is more reliable. LOL.
This is so cool to learn; I can hardly wait until you get here to show us all this stuff. My Mustangs have been pretty much left alone because every farrier I trust AND trainers say they have great feet and leave them alone. My theory is nobody took care of their feet in the wild and as long as we keep them as close to their wild living conditions as possible, they will stay sound. So far, so good; but I still want to gain this knowledge, such as for my daughter's horse.
Juanita
Obviously all hooves grow at different growth rates, but, on average, how long would a fix like this take?
What are the dangers, to the horse, of having under-run heels?
And is this typically caused by improper trimming, or by something in the horse's diet or genetics?
Great post!
~Lisa
Lisa, I can answer your questions as they applied to my mare. It took a year for my mare's hooves to attain a normal growth all the way to the ground. She had developed problems with low-grade tendonitis in all 4 legs and tended to get thrush much more easily than our other horses and that all cleared up as her hooves improved. Her sire and dam had normal enough feet, and so did she as a yearling; I think the trouble actually started when we put shoes on her in the spring of her 2 year old year and continued until we fired our traditional farrier and went to a more barefoot oriented trimmer when the mare was 8 years old.
~spotz58
As always very interesting - I have seen feet like that and have wondering how to fix or treat them. Fortunately not in my own horses.
Is orientation of growth related to the "ideals" of the 45 angle for the fronts, 55 for the hinds? (or close to it, that is used for a reference). Are there horses's whose orientation of growth differs substantially from these measures, and if so do we trim to the natural orientation of growth, or for good physics? Or am I totally off base?
Not sure if this made any sense at all.
Trim. The. Heel.
Love it.
Saw Grant Moon do a great party trick while demonstrating the necessity for getting rid of the excess heel and backing up the toe in one of these poor cases.
The TB's heels were horribly underrun, bars rolled over and the toe was stretched out long and flat, Grant picked up the foot and drove a nail straight into the sole and out the wall, about an inch and a half back from the front of the toe.
Fully three quarters of the audience flinched. The horse didn't.
By the time the horse was standing comfortably, the heels were back under the bulbs and the nail was in a bit of trimmed hoof lying on the ground.
In some farrier schools, we do get taught the right way to trim a hoof.
Guess it's like doctors and dentists and plumbers and mechanics, there's gooduns and there's baduns.
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