Noel Parker-Ortiz competed a horse through the three star level in eventing with the worst club foot I have ever seen. NOT SAYING that it should not be corrected, I was just blown away when I saw this horses foot!
You cannot correct club feet, you can only manage them.
I also wanted to mention the High-Low syndrome caused typically from grazing SHORT grass with the same foot forward and the clubby looking foot back. Very common occurance in long legged young horses who don’t grow up out in lush pastures. I have seen it a lot in Arabians who can have VERY long legs and shorter necks.
I remember reading an article by a published farrier about the issue and his recommendation was to move the babies off the short grass and feed them from raised hay feeders. Guess most of us just don’t have big pastures with longer grass. I can say that my one Arab who had a moderately clubbed foot did always look better towards the end of the winter. From Nov -Mar my horses are in the winter lot and eating hay from a raised feeder. In the barn the hay is fed in small mesh hay nets hung along the walls. So for several months each winter he isn’t putting the same stresses on his front feet and both hooves change their appearances a bit more. Even my farrier had remarked on it.
chicamuxen
Hi JB
Here are some solar images of the two front feet of this 2yo.
I had not heard about a club foot causing the grazing stance, I appreciate your response.
Left - http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r673/elwyatt114/IMG_1105-1_zpse50724a7.jpg
Right - http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r673/elwyatt114/IMG_1106_zps1451b6a8.jpg
I would say that the “genetic” part of the high-low syndrome is related to the horse’s right or left handedness. And you see this very early on because even babies will have a preferred lead to canter on. Horses with perfectly matched feet tend to be quite ambidextrous.
A farrier in the Wellington area that has worked on some very high end dressage horses told me quite some years ago that Robert Dover’s Olympic horse Romantico had a pretty noticeable high-low disparity in his front feet. The farrier described the high foot as “clubby”, and said the horse wore two completely different size shoes in front.
Also - “grazing foot” syndrome is quite real, and it does lead to high-low feet. If a horse always puts the same foot forward when grazing, standing, etc., the heel is compacted (“crushed”) more over the course of time, as the horse’s weight is placed toward the back of that foot. Conversely, the heel of the foot placed “back” will grow higher since the horse’s weight is placed more on the front of the foot. Another concern for long term soundness is the fact that the tendons in the back of the “forward” leg are stretched more, while the foot that is always placed “back” will develop shorter and tighter tendons over time. The whole scenario can also lead to disparity in muscle development in the shoulders, chest, back, etc., as the horse matures and moves through its life cycle - and it can be quite noticeable in a riding horse (wanting to fall onto the same shoulder all the time, difficulty with canter leads or lateral work in one direction, etc.).
And I agree that it is a godsend to have a good farrier that will come every couple of weeks to rasp the high heel of a high-low young horse. A lot of farriers seem to not want to be bothered.
Waiting for the farrier to come out is not frequent enough. At least 1X per week rasping (preferably 2X per week) to keep things under control.
I made of video of how to do the rasping. It is pretty easy once you know how.
http://youtu.be/ztb5sOQUCDk?list=UUBPi2aWo9D5dhvt-2P4IBBQ
Dan
[QUOTE=showjumper90;7680263]
Hi JB
Here are some solar images of the two front feet of this 2yo.
Left - http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r673/elwyatt114/IMG_1105-1_zpse50724a7.jpg
Right - http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r673/elwyatt114/IMG_1106_zps1451b6a8.jpg[/QUOTE]
Just some observations, based on these pictures, combined with the “lateral” views earlier. The feet look like they’re due for a trim - not way overdue, but due. One thing to be very careful of on the LF/lower foot is to keep the heels rasped back very regularly, as with the split stance they will have a greater tendency to crush and become more underrun. The toes have to come back too - they look a bit long here.
The whole-horse view of the RF shows a change in growth angle. The solar shows a toe that’s a bit long. What I don’t know is whether trimming is allowing that bit of flare to continue, or if trimming is currently getting that flare grown out, and 4 months ago, say, that change in growth angle was higher up. If that change is moving down, things are going the right direction 
If it’s not moving, or is moving up, things are going the wrong way.
Some farriers/trimmers have an odd notion that keeping the toe of the upright foot longer will help things. It only makes them worse, as it increases tension through the whole back of the foot, and the hoof will actually grow MORE heel in response to that, which worsens the situation.
I had not heard about a club foot causing the grazing stance, I appreciate your response.
It can be a chicken-egg thing. I think it was mentioned earlier about a study done on long-legged, “short”-necked foals that has become more common in modern breeding, for the small pretty heads and long legs (ie a tall rectangle body), and it was found there’s a direct correlation between those foals and “the grazing stance”, and given the handed-ness that’s typical, theoretically related to how they typically lie in the womb, it happens that most of them go LF forward/RF back, which is why most mis-matched feet are a more upright RF and more splat LF. My OTTB mare came to me, as a late 3yo, with mismatched feet, and I’ve been able to manage them, and somewhat correct them, through frequent trimming. Her grazing stance is directly related to how long it’s been since trimming. The longer it gets, the more often she’ll split, and the greater the split is. A good trim will get her with much less of a split, and occasionally even splitting the other way.
But if there’s a genetic club foot, it can cause the split stance, which further exacerbates the mismatch issue, which is why exceptionally competent farrier care is important.
[QUOTE=DownYonder;7680572]
A farrier in the Wellington area that has worked on some very high end dressage horses told me quite some years ago that Robert Dover’s Olympic horse Romantico had a pretty noticeable high-low disparity in his front feet. The farrier described the high foot as “clubby”, and said the horse wore two completely different size shoes in front.
Also - “grazing foot” syndrome is quite real, and it does lead to high-low feet. If a horse always puts the same foot forward when grazing, standing, etc., the heel is compacted (“crushed”) more over the course of time, as the horse’s weight is placed toward the back of that foot. Conversely, the heel of the foot placed “back” will grow higher since the horse’s weight is placed more on the front of the foot. Another concern for long term soundness is the fact that the tendons in the back of the “forward” leg are stretched more, while the foot that is always placed “back” will develop shorter and tighter tendons over time. The whole scenario can also lead to disparity in muscle development in the shoulders, chest, back, etc., as the horse matures and moves through its life cycle - and it can be quite noticeable in a riding horse (wanting to fall onto the same shoulder all the time, difficulty with canter leads or lateral work in one direction, etc.).
And I agree that it is a godsend to have a good farrier that will come every couple of weeks to rasp the high heel of a high-low young horse. A lot of farriers seem to not want to be bothered.[/QUOTE]
One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that the high-low syndrome will sometimes correct itself if you can get the horse to use itself more evenly. So, the even muscle development of the horse translates into better matched feet.
[QUOTE=Dan;7680760]
Waiting for the farrier to come out is not frequent enough. At least 1X per week rasping (preferably 2X per week) to keep things under control.
I made of video of how to do the rasping. It is pretty easy once you know how.
http://youtu.be/ztb5sOQUCDk?list=UUBPi2aWo9D5dhvt-2P4IBBQ
Dan[/QUOTE]
Yes, but not so easy for folks with arthritic hands.
Unfortunately, I have known many farriers through the years who were really negative about clients doing their own trims (understandable to an extent, since it is money out of the farrier’s pocket). Thankfully times have changed a bit, and I have met a few recently who are okay with it on a small scale, esp. if they still get a bunch of horses to work on when they come to the barn.
IMHO it’s in ANY farrier/trimmer’s best interest, because it’s in the horse’s best interest, to show any owner who has the physical ability to do so, how to use a rasp. There is nothing strenuous about a couple of swipes to the heels every 2-3 days. If there are some issues which prevent the person from holding the foot between their knees while bent over (and I get it, sometimes that’s just not happening), then most horses would be ok with resting the foot on a bucket for about 10 seconds (or work on teaching him that’s ok).
That’s very different from doing even a maintenance trim. In the case of underrun heels, they would greatly benefit from a few swipes of the rasp a few times a week. Any farrier who objects to something like this doesn’t have the horse’s best interests at heart.
[QUOTE=JB;7683004]
IMHO it’s in ANY farrier/trimmer’s best interest, because it’s in the horse’s best interest, to show any owner who has the physical ability to do so, how to use a rasp. There is nothing strenuous about a couple of swipes to the heels every 2-3 days. If there are some issues which prevent the person from holding the foot between their knees while bent over (and I get it, sometimes that’s just not happening), then most horses would be ok with resting the foot on a bucket for about 10 seconds (or work on teaching him that’s ok).
That’s very different from doing even a maintenance trim. In the case of underrun heels, they would greatly benefit from a few swipes of the rasp a few times a week. Any farrier who objects to something like this doesn’t have the horse’s best interests at heart.[/QUOTE]
Totally agree - but as mentioned, I have run in more than a few over the years who were more concerned about their bank account than the horse’s best interest. :sigh:
I hear ya, and that’s just…sad. I just mentioned that because it should give an owner insight into where the farrier’s heart really is, and might help make a decision to look for someone else.
[QUOTE=Dan;7680760]
Waiting for the farrier to come out is not frequent enough. At least 1X per week rasping (preferably 2X per week) to keep things under control.
I made of video of how to do the rasping. It is pretty easy once you know how.
http://youtu.be/ztb5sOQUCDk?list=UUBPi2aWo9D5dhvt-2P4IBBQ
Dan[/QUOTE]
It’s usually easier to pull the rasp toward you instead of pushing it towards the toe 
I do it both ways, depending on which seems easier at the time.
[QUOTE=railmom;3347022]
Get yourself a great farrier!!! Many club feet are made, not born that way![/QUOTE]
Well think there are some genetics there. I have one mare with 4 offspring that developed a slightly clubby right front. Always the right. She is not clubby, and as folks noted this seems to turn up as a yearling. One gelding didn’t outgrow it, still needed trim maintenance when he sold as a 4 yo. He has been a jumper and stayed sound. The next mare outgrew it. One sold as a yearling, so don’t know how that played out. And one is only 10 mos old now/ just starting in with it
Honestly, before doing anything I would have the vet out to X-ray that hoof and see if the internal structures are affected. If they are, then that is a true clubfoot.
If the foot is normal then it is a matter for a good farrier.
But I would want to know for sure what was going on in that foot!
I have a horse who had a club foot. It was evident before the yearling year and more pronounced at 16 months. My farrier did the trimming weekly thing for about 6 weeks upon the advice of my vet to no avail so we opted for check ligament surgery at about 21 months of age. The club foot is completely gone and the only evidence of surgery is a very slight bump on the cannon bone and some white hairs. I would advise working closely with a vet and a farrier who have experience treating club feet. Some horses are never bothered by their club foot, but if it’s treatable my preference is to reduce the possibility of it causing lameness.
[QUOTE=dynamite0319;7688483]
I have a horse who had a club foot. It was evident before the yearling year and more pronounced at 16 months. My farrier did the trimming weekly thing for about 6 weeks upon the advice of my vet to no avail so we opted for check ligament surgery at about 21 months of age. The club foot is completely gone and the only evidence of surgery is a very slight bump on the cannon bone and some white hairs. I would advise working closely with a vet and a farrier who have experience treating club feet. Some horses are never bothered by their club foot, but if it’s treatable my preference is to reduce the possibility of it causing lameness.[/QUOTE]
THIS. The condition should be monitored by a vet and a competent farrier, not just the farrier! The vet should preferably be a surgeon/lameness specialist or someone who deals with a lot of conformation abnormalities in foals. Check ligament surgery is a viable option for those that do not respond to trimming or appear to be getting worse.
My 5 1/2 month old filly just had check ligament surgery. Her club foot was from grazing stance and progressed rapidly once it became evident. Tried glue on shoes and they just made it worse. Get x-rays to see what is going on bone wise.
I wished I had managed her a bit differently to see if I could have avoided this surgery. I have lush rolling pasture she is out in now and wished she had been out earlier in her life but had kept her in flatter, smaller area to grow a bit and also to get pasture fertilized/weed killed before putting her out there. Sigh, vet says I just have to be patient now!
![http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r673/elwyatt114/IMG_1106_zps1451b6a8.jpg[/QUOTE]](http://i1361.photobucket.com/albums/r673/elwyatt114/IMG_1106_zps1451b6a8.jpg%5B/QUOTE%5D){kind=link}