I recently bought an endurance horse and I have noticed he drags his right hind foot. Only that one. He is quite well bred and his conformation really is good, except that he is a bit croup high. I had the fisio out but was wondering about other horse owners opinions experiences. Would appreciate it, thank you.
Did you do a vet check on purchase? It could be many things from a bad hoof trim to anywhere up the leg and back. What did the physio say? I’d have the vet out to do a thorough check before doing much with this horse, as it is better to catch a brewing problem sooner. It could be a training issue too, as some (sadly) endurance horses go around head in the air strung out, dragging themselves behind. Best of luck!
One of my horses drags his left hind. Shoer squared off his toe but he still wore it down. Had vet perform a lameness exam and found he has arthritis in his hocks.
1 Like
To be honest I didn’t. I know 🙈. He has quite a few “minor” problems due to never being schooled properly. Head in the air, hollow frame, etc. He came with quite bad neck spasms and a sore right shoulder but with lots of exercises and treatments his neck and right shoulder is almost 100 again. The fisio said he drags his hind foot because he has a pinched lumbar vertebrae facet joint but with exercises, stretches and treatment it should clear up. So we are working on his issues and there is def improvement. I was just curious what other people’s experiences with something like this was.
Glad you have a plan! The only horse I rode that dragged (both) his hind feet was a saintly arab schoolhorse. In the arena he was safe and plodding and would stop as soon as those little kids got unbalanced. Wore his toes down barely picking up his feet. I’d take him on the trail (lease horse) and I don’t think those feet ever dragged! So in his case it was a lack of impulsion. I wonder if the recent research into wearing one bell boot on the less-strong leg might also help your horse “remember” his foot and use it better? Happy trails!
