[belle4]

It's a ration balance, a high nutrition feed. And it does contain zinc and copper along with many other things.

[loosie]

That sounds good, if it has adequate & balanced minerals for your horse & your situation. Seems you're probably doing the best you can. Now you've just got to work out whether your farrier is too, or find another that will.

[gluey33]

Originally Posted by belle4

Please take a look at this 11 year old QH geldings front feet and tell me what you think.

Left Front:


Right front:

Interested to know how you can see the hoof balance from these pictures. Does this horse have offset knees and is he Pigeon toed. Stand back and have a look at the horse above the hoof. Maybe Belle you could get pics that show a little more, including front shots and shots straight down over the heels which do show the balance. Its very hard to form an opnion just on these 4 photos.

[belle4]

Here's the whole horse.

[RickB.]

Originally Posted by belle4

Please take a look at this 11 year old QH geldings front feet and tell me what you think.

Left Front:

This is yet another of those times I wish I was computer literate enough to draw lines and circles on a photograph. Nonetheless,

solar view: Obviously a lot of infection present in the frog.

If you draw a line across the hoof just behind the third nails, you will have the approximate location of the widest part of the hoof/COA(center of articulation of the DIPJ.) If you measure from that point forward to where the breakover is set(it appears to me to be at the very leading edge of the shoe), and from the COA back to the widest part of the frog, you will find that there is more hoof mass in front of the COA than behind it. You want the ratio to be , at a minimum, 50:50 and preferably(for me at least)1/3:2/3.

The heels of the shoe are covering the lateral sulci and I would prefer that a better heel check be forged into the shoe so the sulci remain open. Also, the lateral heel of the shoe ends forward of the widest part of the frog.

Lateral view: minor jamming of the coronary band, the shoe is fit to the end of a run-out toe with the shoe breakover at the leading edge and thus too far forward for me. There is some distortion in the toe that I think could be better addressed and as noted, the heel of the shoe is a bit far forward for my taste.

Right front:

Solar view: Much the same issues as noted in the left front except that the branch of the shoe length/heel location is reversed. Based on the shape of the shoe, this foot is irregularly shaped with the medial side being wider than the lateral side. Again, the sulci are covered but not as much as in the left front. Hoof mass ratios appear about the same as in the left front.

Lateral view: more pronounced coronary jamming at the quarters, dorsal wall deformity is present, shoe fit and breakover location the same as the left front. There is more of a 'heel drop" at the coronary band level than on the left front which indicated to me that the heels need better support and are also probably a bit contracted, especially the lateral heel.

Taking a SWAG at it, I would think that this horse can have a tendency to trip/stumble, can get a bit short strided and will at times offer resistance to going forward, even though he probably just grits his teeth and does it.

Looks like a nice horse with a lot of heart who might just be even better once you get his feet straightend out.

[belle4]

His foot does have an irrigular shape. His medial side is wider than the lateral side. He does have contracted heels, always has. His frogs are narrow. I've had this horse since his 2 year old year, now 11.

So if the heel of the shoe is too far forward, does he need a bigger shoe or better placement?

I don't know if you read the whole thread, but this horse naturally breaks over to the outside, wearing the outside heel faster than the inside.

He is short strided, but he also has a neck that is too short a back that is too long and a shoulder that is too steep.

He does not stumble.

Is it possible that he was just born with these things? Can't a horse have a mis-shapen hoof from birth, can't it be genetic?

And he is a gem of a horse. He never refuses to 'go' anywhere, he does like to go slow without much effort put forth. Not much of a work ethic. He deserves the best and I am determined to make it happen.


Thank you for looking, I appreciate your input, time and expertise.

[RickB.]

Originally Posted by belle4

So if the heel of the shoe is too far forward, does he need a bigger shoe or better placement?

Yes.

I don't know if you read the whole thread, but this horse naturally breaks over to the outside, wearing the outside heel faster than the inside.

So he's toed-in? Doesn't look that way from the photos.

He is short strided, but he also has a neck that is too short a back that is too long and a shoulder that is too steep.

Must have been designed by Democrats.

He does not stumble.

Good!

Is it possible that he was just born with these things? Can't a horse have a mis-shapen hoof from birth, can't it be genetic?

Anything is possible. Probable is a whole different thing.

And he is a gem of a horse. He never refuses to 'go' anywhere, he does like to go slow without much effort put forth. Not much of a work ethic. He deserves the best and I am determined to make it happen.

Good on you!

Thank you for looking, I appreciate your input, time and expertise.

My pleasure.