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"The grazing foot", interesting observations

Sport Horse Breeding
#1

My n=1 observations :wink: but I think a pretty important one.

We’ve discussed before the issue of long-legged foals with small heads in the context of the study published in Equus (link to actual study lost :() and the propensity of these types of foals to adopt a forward/back leg grazing stance, resulting in the development of a high/low syndrome, “the grazing foot”, clubby foot, whatever you want to call it. The study said that regardless of regular farrier care by the same farrier, the feet still developed differently.

I have been dealing with this myself. Having actually dealt with it, having worked more and more towards normal, I think that study was missing a huge, very important piece of the puzzle:

When I noticed this in my foal, I initially FREAKED. Panic. Can’t sleep. I was just terrified I was going to end up having to do check ligament surgery.

Some of you know I trim my own horses. Having never trimmed a foal, I enlisted the help of a really good trimmer who has been here every 6 weeks since he was about 2 weeks old, with me doing work in the interim, doing something to the feet about every 2 weeks since they grow and change so fast. Things were going really well until he was really on full-time grazing. I did notice that he adopted a reliable LF forward RF back stance :mad: His mother does it too, but over the years I have learned that as long as I keep her trim up to date, she is not very splayed and will even work the RF forward.

It seemed literally overnight I suddenly found a RF foot on my foal that was dished and pretty upright. I was horrified! :eek:

Thankfully my trimmer was due in the next week, I frantically emailed and sent pics to a couple of people here I really and truly trust. I began rasping heels every other day - did the farriers in that study do that? I don’t recall, but I’m thinking not. That alone started to make positive changes.

but here’s what I think was 100% left out of the study: muscle/body therapy. As expected, my foal’s left shoulder became more developed than the right. The first trim by my trimmer resolved a lot of the height difference in the shoulders, and that was about 4 weeks ago now. Right around that time as well my chiropractor was out, she has seen my foal 3 times now, the first when he was just a few weeks old where she really just laid hands on him and got him used to someone putting hands on him “that way”. We talked about his shoulders, the deal. He’s had some tightness issues in his left hip for a while now, and we have come to the conclusion that it’s likely due to how he constantly stands while grazing. So, she gave me a little work to do regarding that, which involves getting him to stretch through his whole left side.

Next, and shortly thereafter, came the massage therapist. As to be expected, his right shoulder and tricepts area were tight and sore - not sore as in “touch me and you die”, but obvious issues which she was really, really good at working through, and he was really, really good about letting her and even asking. He would become trance-like while she worked on the sore spots, and let her know when things were just fine move in please :lol: She too gave me to stretching exercises which he’s learned to really like.

What’s the point of all this? Much like the point of many things Horse - rarely is it about 1 body part. As soon as one things changes for long enough, you bet other parts become involved, and it becomes a circle that you can’t break out of by simply addressing that one body part.

Today, Gizmo’s feet are much more similar than they were 5-6 weeks ago. MUCH. He does a much more walking grazing now, where it’s LF forward, RF forward, etc. I still trim his heels every 2-3 days on the RF, and keep the toes in check on the LF (remember, not just 1 body part ;)).

He still has a bit to go, but I no longer lose sleep, no longer panic it’s going to require surgery, and feel this is very, very manageable and may even become a thing of the past in his youth and adult life.

#2

Good on you, JB. Interesting topic and observations. Thanks for sharing and please, please keep us posted.

#3

I am so grateful for your observations. My new 3yo has this exact condition. The vet said that it’s ‘club-like’ but hesitated in labeling it a standard clubfoot. He recommended rasping every 2 weeks, but my farrier recommends rasping the heel every week. I think every other day might be even better. He also recommended taking off some toe when necessary… I’m doing my best as a total novice, it’s most intimidating!

The breeder said that the filly was not born with clubfoot and indeed, her weanling pictures show her with two normal hooves up front. But now her left is dished and much more upright, she still takes the RF out and LF back grazing posture, but it’s improving. The breeder said that she kept her stalled until she was a year then turned her out, and this is when the foot began to have issues.

I so wish more had been done then, but it’s great to hear that there are other things I can do to help her get more even. It is clear she prefers to go to the right, pick up the right lead and, in the pasture, do left to right lead changes. But the other way there is head tossing (on the longe) and bucking into a left lead canter (LARGE circles, but she still bucks) and she also skips behind transitioning from a canter to a trot.

Please continue to share as you learn more about what helps your foal achieve even front feet - I hope this IS a thing of the past for him :slight_smile:

#4

rcloisonne, I wish I had gotten at least weekly pictures in the meantime, but things get so hectic LOL I will try to at least get a new set of pictures of his feet soon. I do have the ones from when I went OMGWTF :eek:

Royal, at 3, your horse may forever have at least a slightly high/low syndrome, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Not GOOD, just not bad :slight_smile: I DO think that at times, it does require very frequent rasping of the heel. If your mare’s high foot is dished, that has to be fixed - it means the toe is too long. It is not correct to try to leave or coax more toe length to try to “stretch” things back down - that only makes matters worse all around. The dishing has to go, meaning the toe does need to be trimmed back.

Keep end eye on the low foot too. Constant pressure in that forward position wears down the heel and/or crushes it, and allows the toe to grow more, so that foot has to be taken care of too (remember, it’s not just about the more blatant symptom :)).

And do take a good look at her shoulders, from up/behind her, her standing square, and see what you have. She would very likely benefit from some MT and stretching on a very regular basis :slight_smile:

#5

Wow, this is so interesting to read. My old horse had this - 17.3hh TB with extremely long legs and a very dainty pretty head. I bought him not having a clue about stuff like this and I am convinced it was a huge factor in his overall lack of soundness. He had an asymmetrical walk and even with chiro/trimming/accupuncture, he was never quite right and I always thought it was because of this (of course most people thought I was crazy).

In the four years I owned him I never saw him graze with his RF forward - I would even try to trick him with carrot stretches and he would get halfway down and then would have to switch his stance. I think in his case he had done it all of his life and it was just too late to try to fix the problem (although we did try!!). So n=2!

I now own an even-footed 3 year old and I catch myself gazing dreamily at his willy-nilly grazing stances. :slight_smile:

#6

My pony is slightly upright in the right front. I tried to keep her barefoot but it did not help, no matter how much she was trimmed. I have been working with different farriers and there seems to be a consensus that there are several reasons for clubby feet, or the high-low feet, and it’s important to know what physically is causing it. My pony does not have a club foot, but does appear to have one leg (her right front) that is slightly shorter than the left, which causes her shoulders to be uneven and the left to grow forward and the right grows up. When you stand her right front on a small step her shoulders become more even.

Anyway, my farrier is going to trim the feet evenly and try putting a thin pad on the right front and see if it helps. believe it or not when this works the feet start to grow out evenly as the legs/feet are weighted more evenly.

Interestingly, my pony has more difficulty with her right lead.

#7

:yes::yes:

My pony does not have a club foot, but does appear to have one leg (her right front) that is slightly shorter than the left, which causes her shoulders to be uneven and the left to grow forward and the right grows up. When you stand her right front on a small step her shoulders become more even.

It’s really rare to have legs physically different sizes. Nearly all “uneven legs” are originating in the shoulder, with the whole shoulder sling apparatus “pulling” the leg up.

Anyway, my farrier is going to trim the feet evenly and try putting a thin pad on the right front and see if it helps. believe it or not when this works the feet start to grow out evenly as the legs/feet are weighted more evenly.

I’ve known this to help a couple of horses (not that it only helped a couple, just that I only know a couple this was done lol) and IMLE it’s a good way to get started on fixing the issue. I wouldn’t doubt at all some horses will always need a lift, but I think more may be able to come out of the lift if appropriate PT is done on the body as well.

Interestingly, my pony has more difficulty with her right lead.

I would strongly guess it’s because she is not comfortable stretching that RF forward, since it spends hours and hours in a “contracted” state. That’s why massage work, even chiro work, and stretching can really help :slight_smile:

#8

That is interesting. Curious if you think shoes make any difference in the body soreness in older horses (i.e. not foals/young ones), since the shoes keep the hooves from getting so out of wack? My mare (17 year old ASB with very long legs) developed a wicked high/low over the summer after I pulled her shoes in April. Even with 4 week trims from a great trimmer, the difference in her front hooves was more and more dramatic, and I finally had her shoes put back on in August. Two shoeing cycles later, she is pretty much back to normal, although if you know what you’re looking for, you can still see that the LF is a smigeon more upright than the RF (which I expect to be gone after she’s trimmed/shod next).

#9

I just went through this with my yearling who also grew so fast the ligaments/tendons couldn’t keep up. A good exercise in hand for the youngins or even older horses is leg yield in hand with the higher foot crossing over in front of the lower foot. This makes the side on the high foot extend and the other side contract. Start on flat ground and the take it to a slope. My guy was high on the rf and came to me that way at 6 months. We started leg yield in July when trimmer pronounced club foot on rf. It’s not a true club foot, but higher and combined with the super fast growth, made it more upright. It was very difficult for him at first on the one side but he evened out. Of course we had thick ligaments that were treated, along with me working on his feet as needed and he no longer looks “clubby”.

#10

RedMare, absolutely shoes can make a difference, positive or negative :slight_smile: Shoes prevent wear on the hoof. If that’s what you need, that helps. If that’s not what the foot needs, it makes things worse.

Robin - the crossing of the feet, with the “outside” leg crossing in front, is very good. It’s correct mechanics from a riding perspective, and it helps stretch those shoulder muscles in a way that’s different from simply extending the leg :slight_smile:

#11

[QUOTE=JB;5915213]
I would strongly guess it’s because she is not comfortable stretching that RF forward, since it spends hours and hours in a “contracted” state. That’s why massage work, even chiro work, and stretching can really help :)[/QUOTE]

JB, any links to share on the stretching exercises you have found to be helpful?

We aren’t quite ready to back our pony yet and this winter would be a great time to try to gain some ground on her flexibility, etc. before she’ll carry the weight of a rider.

Thanks!

#12

I think you will find that all foals have a preferred side when grazing and it’s up to the breeder to make sure that that doesn’t affect hoof growth negatively. A little rasping can go a long way with a foal…

I also will tell people not to get overly upset over two different front hooves in a baby … Case in point, I had sold a weanling to a person who then consulted SIX “experts” because she thought the filly had a club foot. Well, four out of six experts agreed with her diagnosis and I took the filly back and reimbursed the money. When my farrier saw the filly two days later and I told him the story, his response was “if two farriers saw that filly then why in the heck didn’t they do her feet??” She was way overdue and yes, that will make the “grazing foot” look a little clubby. That filly is now 2 years old and has beautiful front (and back) feet! :slight_smile:

#13

Well I sure hope you are correct, and that whatever the answer is the pad will help. Right now I have to keep her on a 4-5 week shoeing schedule and finding a decent farrier to do it is a nightmare. Finding a farrier that cares is even harder, and that is proving to make all the difference.

#14

I have been wondering whether a solution (if available) is to raise them in a hilly pasture -so they can always graze comfortably facing uphill w/o leg in front. One we had–tiny head–long legs-- I was worried about because of her proportions --never developed that “favored grazing leg in front posture” I think because she was raised in field that was one big hill! (I read somewhere in Europe they recommended raising in pasture not cut short–but I find hroses always want to graze in the short grazed areas it seems!)

Good luck!

#15

Trouble with the hilly pasture situation is you can’t keep them grazing “uphill”. My guy has been on hilly pasture since May and was worse in June/July due to growth spurts. He would graze sideways, downhill, but always with the left forward, even up the hill. Of course he was pretty much ingrained in that habit by then…

Even though his “grain” bucket was much raised off the ground, he would still use the same stance. I even tried a pole on the ground and he would just put one foot over it and one foot behind it.

#16

My vet adopted a huge, badly front leg ‘windswept’ and club footed baby. He used him as an experiment to see what could be corrected with intervention (plus everyone at the clinic had fallen hopelessly in love with the little guy). Leg casts, leg braces, almost daily rasping of the feet, gel risers on certain sides of the feet at 1 month, baby corrective shoes on at 8 months etc… He is now 1.5 years and sound at the walk, trot and canter; the very badly dished/twisted club foot that the foal started out with looks like a pretty darn good foot now, still a slight twist to the inside but no dishing; good radiographs. The same one foreleg has a slight bow outwards but he is sound, healthy and happy. It was amazing to see the transformation in such an extreme case, it definitely ‘made me a believer’ in a hands on approach to early signs of clubs.

It is very true about some ‘modern’ (long legged, short necked, refined head) types; this past winter I worked with a stunning line bred Ehrentusch offspring. He could not reach the ground with his nose by many, many inches. He really struggled to either graze or eat his hay from the stall floor, either straddling his front legs widely out or bowing at the knees like foals do. He had 2 upright feet (left worse), I felt awful for him, always stuffing his hay into his elevated feed tub and grazing him at the grass jump ring’s table top (this made the jumpers mad!). Performance wise he was super and is competing at Advanced dressage.

#17

Mine started out by chance in hilly pasture–from birth so I may have lucked out as she never got in the habit–and i noticed tended to graze facing uphill but maybe she never would developed the habit even on flat ground?

#18

I don’t think hills have much to do with whether they develop the grazing stance. I bought my mare at four years old from her breeder. Her farm was literally on the side of a giant hill/mountain. I don’t think there was a flat spot in the whole pasture, and it didn’t do anything to prevent my mare from having the stance.

#19

it’s the hight of grass.
nature has it that (wild) grazing animals are born in later spring/early summer when gras stands high.
every horse prefers it’s individual grazing foot for one reason or the other. even though vertebrates are built “equally”, meaning features of exterieur left/right are “equal”, they never are hundred percent identical, thus, one foot develops to become the less resistant grazing foot.
point is, the higher the pressure they put on one foot permanently, the stronger the “unequal” development becomes the longer they do it (specially in young age up to a year).
the shorter the grass, the deeper they bend, the higher the pressure.
the longer the grass, the lower they bend, the lower the pressure.
it does not necessarily have to happen, but it sure adds to genetically given preposition in bloodlines that are kown to provide for club feet eventually.

reason you see this development of grazing foot more frequently in winter born foals than later foals. at least overhere where lenght of grass is highly depended from variing seasons during the year.
if gras is rare “spare” your single long grass pasture in spring for mares with newborn foals and turn only the elder one’s out on the shorter fields.

#20

I don’t have a link to stretching exercises, but they are basically moving the shoulder through its whole range of motion - in, out, forward, back, and up. It’s hard to pull it down, but you can accomplish something similar by holding the leg up, holding above the knee, and letting it all hang with the horse relaxing.

I don’t know that the height of the grass helps or hinders. As mentioned, most horses don’t want to eat the tall grass - gets less palatable. Sugars concentrate more and more the closer to the base you get, so that’s where they want to eat. But I could imagine there’s a difference if it’s Winter “dead” grass that’s hardly above soil level, vs faster growing grass that’s several inches tall - that couple of inches could play a role to some degree.

I can tell you in my case the grass was not “dead” but wasn’t lush or tall. It was significantly taller in the earlier months, but he wasn’t grazing full time then either, not like he was when this started developing. So… shrug

As for hills, I suspect it greatly depends on the individual. My pasture has flat spots and some sloped areas. I do notice on the more sloped areas he is/was much more likely to stand pretty even up front when facing up hill. However, he would still stand skewed as well.

Can I rule out growing at least as a partial reason why this is starting to resolve? Not at all :slight_smile: But I saw pretty immediate changes in his stance habits once I started body work and trimming every 2-3 days.

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