I don’t think fannie mae means tall as in unpalatable… Tall as in really lush. Ie. max. 12 inches tall… which for a foal, is enough for them to be able to munch without taking this particular stance.
That I could see, as a couple of inches could make a difference. I don’t think it’s a cure-all, but I can see it at least mitigating the issue 
My guy is so tall he had to splay legs to nurse so I’m sure it “started” there although it really developed once he started to graze. He is a June (2010) baby but the grass was short. There was a roundbale in his pasture but he probably used it more as a playtoy!
This is the first time we have one like this, always grazes with the one leg waaaaaay back. Our dutch filly swaps and even walks and grazes, so it is painful to watch the other one absolutely will not try anything different. We got her at 4 months, with the routine established, and not good with her feet - so getting her to let us trim the heels has been a training work in progress. In the mean time, we feed up in a bucket and hang her hay in a net, but the 23 other hours of the day she is out in the pasture…we’ll continue working the trimming angle but its a slow process with a baby that doesn’t want her hooves handled. It’s all about making it a good experience and getting her better at picking her feet up and holding them up right now vs doing any concrete good with a rasp. JB - so you had good luck with every other day trimming the heels down on the upright hoof?
Regarding tall grass in the field, I too believe this is very helpful. About a foot tall (through the whole pasture so they have no choice) keeps the foal from straining all the way down to the ground. They may still prefer to put on foot in front of the other, but this is why my very knowledgeable farrier comes out frequently! Nip it in the bud!
Hey JB! Very cool that the massage and chiro helped so much! I can’t remember if we ever discussed this, but Adam’s club foot seemed to be helped by making scoops at the quarters. Even though the hairline didn’t really indicate there was too much pressure/wall height there…when I made little scoops, I swear a few days later there would be twice as much heel there ready to be filed off. He used to do the extreme grazing foot thing ALL the time. Nowadays, it is a lot better. He still does not put the left front (clubby one) way out in front of him, but occasionally I see it directly under him bearing most of the weight. That is a big improvement from the way it used to be where he always had all his weight on the right front and had the left front so far underneath him his whole hoof would often be tipped onto the toe. Just wanted to share
Not to forget – that forward foot will develop a low (and possibly underrun) heel and overlong toe if the trim isn’t done often enough to kept things carefully in check. More often than not, this grazing stance will cause the feet to develop into two different sizes.
For the older horse, just keep them shod - religiously - with shoes that are beveled around the edges, or in front for a fast breakover when that foot rolls forward. Here is where barefoot really isn’t all that good for them. Those shoes will help mitigate the stress of that stance throwing those growing hoofs all out of whack.
(Me: a farrier for 30 years, and have ponies that can NOT go out on lush high fields of grass - so forget THAT idea! :lol:)
Okggo, yep, every other day rasping of the higher foot’s heel, just a swipe or two, AND about twice a week rasping of the lower foot’s toe, can make a big difference.
Fivesocks, interesting! Maybe that’s allowing for some added expansion when weighted?
Gothedistance - I’m not entirely sure the older horse requires shoes for this. Some? Absolutely. Many? Maybe.
My old TB gelding was hi/low and I was able to manage him much better barefoot by trimming that higher heel more frequently. However, by that point he was pretty well retired.
