Gaming

Pigeon-tipped and lame horses

Studies have shown that there is a 98% chance that most horse feet will have pigeon toes. This fact puts the horse at risk of lameness due to instabilities in its gait or movement and mode of displacement. Farrier textbooks suggest and define the perfect conformation as feet, cannon bone, and knees pointing forward. Since 98% of horses are affected by less than perfect conformation, the question is how to understand what the results of conformation defects are and what to do about them to prevent lameness.

Pigeon-nosed horses are the most common. In this condition, the horse does not “break” directly in the center of its foot. In fact, examination of the horseshoe will reveal an uneven wear pattern that will not be directly in the center of the horseshoe. Very similar to the way the heels of your shoe wear to one side or the other or dead center. Closer examination of the dynamic loads that happen to a pigeon-toed horse reveals that the foot is unbalanced and has very poor support on the outside of the foot, resulting in twisting within the joints.

All of these problems not only put the horse at serious risk of lameness due to joint stresses, but when a leg breaks on the side, as mentioned in the case of pigeon toe, when the leg is finally lifted off the ground when walking or running, the leg “wings”. Out” creating interference with the rear leg as it goes. The rear leg moves forward on the outside of the front leg, but if the front leg moves out, there will sometimes be a collision of the two. Interference is the lesser of two evils when it comes to lameness, now that you have identified some problems it is a question of what to do to fix them.

Unfortunately, the conventional wisdom on how to fix these conditions is wrong and will only lead to more problems. Industry standard textbooks for hardware do not have the big picture, thus providing inadequate correction methods. If your horse is not treated and cared for, it will continue to be at risk for lameness.

However, there is a correct preventive method; it’s just an obscure method that the industry hasn’t caught on to yet. It doesn’t involve twisting your joints or costly cushioning your feet with wedge pads or any of the other quick-fix methods. Instead, it is an application of the correct science related to growth dynamics and patterns and the stimulation of hoof growth where needed. You can find the exact information on how to take care of these horse related problems by visiting the website below which is in the author bio.

Drive safe and remember Care4Horses.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *