I’m having trouble searching information as to whether larger horses (particularly sport horses) suffer lameness at a greater rate. Any information or pertinent reading would be appreciated!
There have been a few threads over the years. Mostly anecdotal but interesting to read peoples experiences.
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You want a Farrier used to trimming and shoeing large footed horses. Way too many Farriers try to make large hooves “pretty” by taking off length and sole which prorect the inner works of the hoof. The shoes they put on are too small. A large horse NEEDS big hooves to carry his weight, rider, stay sound in use.
We have large horses, not draft breeding. They all have big hooves, like size 3 shoes on the growing 3yr old, on up thru size 5 on the big geldings, in Kerkhart shoes. Toes are at least
4 1/2inches, but longer on bigger hooves. Hooves are proportionate to their big bodies! People not used to looking at big horses ALWAYS comment on their big hoof sizes. Their eyes are accustomed to smaller horses, smaller hooves when they mentally compare the two kinds of equines.
We call ours Sporthorses because they fit a body type. Like you would recognize a Western horse type, even wearing an English saddle. Ours are capable of doing a variety of disciplines easily, and being good in any of those activities. For that they need big, sound hooves under them, trimmed or shod to suit their size and work. Ours work pretty hard, stay sound and working into their 20s.
Find a good Farrier, who won’t try to make the big horse have little hooves. Breeding may affect soundness, bad footed parents produce bad footed offspring, with short working lives. We start looking at horse prospects from the hoof up. If hooves are bad, no use looking at the rest of him. We won’t buy one who is not going to stay sound because of his poor conformation, has hooves too small for his body.
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From what I have been told, large horses that aren’t really built to be large have more injuries than smaller ones. So TBs, WBs, etc that are huge tend to have more issues. But draft breeds have less, because they have been bred for longevity and size for generations.
Of course, this isn’t some rule. I’ve known 17.3h WBs and TBs that were only pasture sound by 10, and I’ve known 18h TB crosses that were still being competed at 25.
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I think part of the “equation” in having big sound horses, means you buy a breed or breeding lines that are made to perform those jobs you desire.
This means draft horse breeds that are large, are NOT made to be gallopers. Their size and strength were made to move big loads, pull farming machines to produce crops. Their work was done at much slower speeds than riding horses, though not always slow movement. A big walk was very important in getting work done quicker, nice trot, though not usually trotted over mileage. They are bred to be calm and placid while working with the freighters and farmers during long days of work.
Other larger breeds like the Cleveland Bay, Lippizaners, are historic lines of larger horses made to go for distances, stay sound in hard work over years. They have dense bones, large hooves under sturdy bodies. They may also be carriage horses, but are not derived from draft horse breeding lines. Bone and hooves are not the same as draft horses have. They do gallop well for distances, have lovely big walk and trot gaits.
As with any animal species, there are large, average and small sizes in there. We may be breeding some specialist horses in the large size for specific needs, but even there every foal won’t mature to that biggest size. In building specialist horses, we often sacrifice other parts of a horse, like hoof quality, temperment, health, size. So keep that in mind when choosing qualities you like. The half drafts have usually got good temperment, but the draft hooves can need special shoeing to stay sound. Such crossbreds often are not able to gallop all day in the hunt field. It is a trade-off, getting desired traits, but being able to tolerate the less desirable traits.
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I think the big thing here is that those breeds have had that standard for a long time. When someone breeds their 15.2h OTTB to a 17.2h WB stallion, and they get a 17h horse with hooves meant for a 15h horse, you get issues.
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I think a lot of the heavy, pure and purpose-bred draft horses are lame and their reputation for soundness is a myth. Most people don’t have experience with real draft horses and might believe the legend about their soundness and longevity on the farm of yesteryear. Nonsense. Those horses were often chronically lame and otherwise compromised by health issues and those continue to this day. Originally they were just pushed on working in that state for as long as they were able in whatever capacity they could in varying circumstances. Then they were discarded when they couldn’t do the job, or at least some job, early or late in life. It sounds harsh, and I think it really was. But also keep in mind that the farmers who pushed those horses was also likely lame or compromised by health to some extent, sometimes crippled and totally physically failing, yet were forced or forced themselves to carry on in that state for as long as possible. It was a different time. And not a fairytale one.
Drafts are prone to OCD lesions and subsequent DJD. Also sidetone and ringbone issues. They also have an increased risk of laryngeal hemiplagia aka roaring and a multitude of other upper respiratory disorders. Then there’s shivers. And string halt. And PSSM. Exertional rhabdomylosis aka tying up aka Monday morning disease. Heaves. And chronic progressive lymphedema. And canker. They share all the problems we see in modern light and warmblood horses and then some!
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My horse is a pony -size and still suffers from laminitis. According to the vet, it is due to an unbalanced feed. I have changed feed, but still no results. Larger breeds usually suffer from joint issues, rather than laminitis. Are there any tips about how to make my pony more comfortable? I hate seeing him like this
My vet recently told me that my gelding’s size (1400 lbs, 16.1 hands), would predispose him to more joint issues, etc. Not sure what this is based on, but she did make the comment.
My very large WB mare has had nothing but soundness issues since she was 5 years old. She is 17’1, 1600 pounds. Her dam, who is 15’3 has been lame 2 days in 20 years. I would never buy a large horse like this, ever. My other horses, all 16 hands or less, have been sound.
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I’m no expert but I think a lot has to do with their development. Large breeds take a long time to mature 5-6 years and pushing too hard too fast in training could cause long term problems and arthritis earlier in life. Youngsters should have room to move as well to develop strong muscles and joints before they are started under saddle.
