Boxy feet

[taffy]

i was reading a horsey book the other day and i came across boxy feet. then i wondered, is there any way u can correct them ?????

[Wally]

No, and you shouldn't try!

They are made this way, the bones, tendons and ligaments are all designed to go with a boxy foot! If you alter the shape you will lame the horse higher up his leg by putting strain on his other joints.

They tend to be very upright with long heels, sometimes very concave, but you should always look at what the Almighty gave the horse on the end of each leg and then try to go with it as much as possible and not try to radically alter the shape.

All the boxy feet I have come across have been very hard horn and easy to shoe.

I'd rather have a horse with strong boxy feet than flat, splatty weak feet!

[ponyvet]

Absolutely wally my friend!! :D

What most peole consider to be boxy feet is in fact the ideal foot shape in horses.

In this country it's common to see horses with long toes and low heels, which is in fact a bad idea and can lead to unexplained lameness. I might get more peoples attention if I say that I do know of someone researching navicular who thinks there MAY be a possible link!!

Because we see horses with bad feet all the time, we tend to think that's normal, and a horse with good feet is considered "boxy". We need to change our idea as horse owners, and realise that just because we see it every day doesn't mean it's normal. Imagine, 100 years ago it was normal for horses to be worked to death before they reached 10 years old. now that would be scandalous. I hope one day it's scandalous to see a horse with long toes.

[Wally]

I've never measured Kvikurs heels, but I estimate them to be about 2 inches long, or thereabouts.

He has hugely concave feet, very upright and "boxy".

One horsey person suggested that we try to lower his heels! If I were to do this he would be permanently lame. I'll admit he is in the extreme end of the scale but his feet were meant to go with his legs, they work, so why did this wife want to change them?

[ponyvet]

Ideally you want the length of the heels to be 1/3 the length of the dorsal (front) wall of the hoof, and they should be parallel to each other. Often horses have a 4:1 ratio of front to heel, and the heel wall slopes towards the front. That's a problem and can lead to lameness.