Hind toe wear
- Thread starter MrA
- Start date
Chunky wore his toes. Farrier said caused by not picking his feet up. Its only when he was in the carriage and trotting. He never did it in a ridden trot. It also only occured in the last couple of years of driving him. Not when i first started driving him. I thought at first he was over tracking and catching his fronts but no wear on front feet or feather missing.
I pretty sure that as he got older he was finding it more difficult to trot in the carriage, arthritis etc. Stride pattern shortened, so he wasnt tracking up. Im sure he changed the way he was moving in his trot and therefore was not picking up the feet and was catching his toes. Strange it never happened when ridden. I would go out having been freshly trimmed. When i came back toes were like squared off. Thought i had a picture but i cant find just now. Never squared if i just walked him out. Regardless of the distance.
Farrier was not concerned. Just normal trim. Chunky grows so much hoof though so it didnt effect him. I would have been more worried if it occured on a horse with little foot grow as potentially it could wear away toes to the white line etc.
Could also be caused if toes are too long. In chunkys case not more arthritic changes.
I pretty sure that as he got older he was finding it more difficult to trot in the carriage, arthritis etc. Stride pattern shortened, so he wasnt tracking up. Im sure he changed the way he was moving in his trot and therefore was not picking up the feet and was catching his toes. Strange it never happened when ridden. I would go out having been freshly trimmed. When i came back toes were like squared off. Thought i had a picture but i cant find just now. Never squared if i just walked him out. Regardless of the distance.
Farrier was not concerned. Just normal trim. Chunky grows so much hoof though so it didnt effect him. I would have been more worried if it occured on a horse with little foot grow as potentially it could wear away toes to the white line etc.
Could also be caused if toes are too long. In chunkys case not more arthritic changes.
Toe dragging on the hinds is usually indicative of pain somewhere in the back end ? they break over normally but don’t lift through the stride properly (don’t flex the leg enough) dragging the front of the toe along the ground for part of the stride. Hank does it if his stifles are particularly bothering him and I’ve had a couple of older ponies do it from arthritis.
Haakon does this now. He was always rough on his shoes but now, aged 26, he does it bad.
Farrier, however, is not concerned and said it was totally treatable with the right trim and shoes. I have put Haakon on Formula4Feet and they are growing well. Farrier wants good heels, - he was considering wedgy back shoes to compensate and stop the erosion but now thinks hooves are growing great and he wont need to use them. I am shoeing Haakon in spring, all being well, mostly because he is desperate to do something, anything and is not in pain and loves being ridden out. His little face lights up when we go out (not very far) and he comes back a new horse full of the joys of youth.
So there you go. Me? I was worried as hell.
Farrier, however, is not concerned and said it was totally treatable with the right trim and shoes. I have put Haakon on Formula4Feet and they are growing well. Farrier wants good heels, - he was considering wedgy back shoes to compensate and stop the erosion but now thinks hooves are growing great and he wont need to use them. I am shoeing Haakon in spring, all being well, mostly because he is desperate to do something, anything and is not in pain and loves being ridden out. His little face lights up when we go out (not very far) and he comes back a new horse full of the joys of youth.
So there you go. Me? I was worried as hell.
Thank you everyone, as always a wealth of knowledge and good to hear all your experiences. I'll keep you posted once we know more. I'm glad I mentioned it as I thought some sort of possible pain or arthritic changes
Same as Frances said above, Belle used to do this quite badly, vet blamed her arthritis. My farrier has got her much better over the last few years, probably helped by the daily pain meds too to be fair.
Ale used to do it through his sacro and stifle injury. He doesn't wear the toes now but part of that could be he's not in work. I was worried as the horse has gone from not doing that much really to being ridden daily, jumped alot more often and higher and just a higher level of work expected
How old is the horse?
Is he ridden and/or driven?
How often is he ridden and/or driven?
Is he shod front and backs regularly?
What discipline does he do? happy hack, in the school, dressage, etc.
What level is his rider(s)? - beginner, intermediate, etc.
Does he have many riders or one rider?
Is he overweight?
Has he had any physical problems before?
Is he stabled?
So many factors to this. And it all adds up.
Is he ridden and/or driven?
How often is he ridden and/or driven?
Is he shod front and backs regularly?
What discipline does he do? happy hack, in the school, dressage, etc.
What level is his rider(s)? - beginner, intermediate, etc.
Does he have many riders or one rider?
Is he overweight?
Has he had any physical problems before?
Is he stabled?
So many factors to this. And it all adds up.
@chunky monkey if it's arthritis there's quite a bit a farrier can do to help, but while some are very good others don't seem bothered. No they can't fix it, but changes to trim and foot balance can have quite an impact particularly alongside vet treatment.
Sometimes it is laziness and/or a lack of balance, in which case being ridden properly can help.
Sometimes it is laziness and/or a lack of balance, in which case being ridden properly can help.
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