Horse leg health experts highlight the importance of showing horse owners and hoof care professionals exactly what the problem is with a horse’s foot and what you hope to achieve with treatment that he uses for his maintenance.
Something as simple as the use of a ruler, one of those popular tools, the transparent ones at school, would be enough to achieve hither precision. They help us to look a little more objectively at the hooves instead of just with the eyes and the brain.
Experts never leave home without a ruler, at least when they are working on paws (or legs) and helping owners, veterinarians and blacksmiths to see and understand what goes on inside them and recognize if they are balanced and, if not, how to get there.
Always remember that improper treatment of the hooves in the cattle, including horses, is among the major reasons that cause the premature loss of an animal. Here at Victorian Hoof Care Services we’ll be happy to assist you.
Reach the correct proportion
Experts measure each foot, take photos and drawings of feet shown in book or seminar presentations to illustrate balance, evidence of his passion for equine hoof health.
The general industry guideline for hoof balance is approximately 50:50 (toe: heel), which means that the middle of the foot is facing a perpendicular line dropped from the center of rotation of the P2 bone (pastern short), with the other half being behind this same line.
This ratio would be reasonable in most cases, if it was practiced by the majority of hoof care professionals. However, most don’t seem to be using this guide, as most feet are roughly 60:40 or even 70:30. Most people don’t measure it, they just rely on observations.
Helmet cut to improve structure and function
Experts research studies, farriers, and trimmers from the US and other countries, particularly Australia and Sweden. An expert compares his findings on cadaver limbs with what he sees on live clients’ horses, their X-rays, photographs and the like, and tries to help owners understand what the interior looks like in different situations. Most of the cases experts have to deals with are extreme, because he usually takes calls after all traditional treatment options have been exhausted.
These cases generally involve periodic lameness in both anterior feet that has persisted for many months and even years, with radiographic changes in the navicular apparatus, experts explain. Horses have been handled using corrective shoeing methods, with pads or trimming with boots, etc., during this time, as things are going backwards. Each horse generally has one thing in common: an overly long toe and a heel under the toe. He believes that this scenario can be avoided with careful and correct trimming.
Helmet cut to improve structure and function
Experts explain that the mechanical forces of 60:40 and 70:30 ratios put pressure on the coffin joint, eventually leading to navicular disease. Everyone knows this and understands some of the biomechanical problems with this type of foot, but few try to aggressively correct the problem. Many foot professionals say that such feet are not fixable, or only manageable. With this “long heel under heel” foot, the long toe continues to lengthen. We mean, the royal coffin bone begins to lengthen: its conformation is gradually changing.
As the coffin bone lengthens, the vasculature under it must change at the expense of the back of the foot and the frog; Basically, the enlarged toe area demands more blood supply from the foot, moving it away from the back of the hoof, which he claims is detrimental to the hoof and your overall long-term health.
Of all these rearing practices, the low, long-toed heel is probably the worst that will lead to navicular and will definitely make any bout of laminitis worse. With a long toe, low heel, the tissues that support and surround the coffin bone are compromised and the distal (lower) end of the coffin bone receives less and less support and becomes thinner and thinner throughout from the edges, especially the lateral from the midline) on the side of the foot. These changes will often result in pedal osteitis; many people have heard of this problem.
When there is an outbreak of laminitis (and pressure is added to the toe through some rotation in the toe, the bone cannot support the horse’s weight with this peripheral thinning of the bone, and the coffin bone it is crushed.
We are setting the horse for failure by having a long toe with our trimming methods, regardless of whether the horse is shod or barefoot.
Experts’ method trims to shorten the toe and promote caudal migration (towards the rear) of the heels to bring the central groove (the cleft between the heels) back to the sole of the foot to make light contact with the ground. Cutting these goals can improve foot health and bring the ratio closer to 40: 60, allowing the back of the foot to enlarge and regain its robust health.
Our (industry standard) trim is such that very few people trim within the white line, and not only does the hoof wall lengthen, the coffin bone lengthens, this reshaping changes the’ conformation ‘ of the bone and its bone density. We think we can correct that, but it will take time and effort.
It is best in these cases to carry out a thorough review of the circumstances that lead to injuries to the legs of dairy cows. In general, this type of injury is related to trauma or due to the special physiology of the legs of an individual. There are three main injuries that can affect the extremities of cows, especially in the hoof area: heel hyperplasia, putrefaction and erosion.
For early identification of hoof lesions, it is important to note that not all cows examined will need a hoof trimming, as excessive trimming can lead to a higher incidence of lameness.
Remember that improper treatment of the hooves in the cattle is among the major reasons that cause the premature loss of an animal. Here at Victorian Hoof Care Services we’ll be happy to assist you.