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Club Feet and Bent Legs
by David Farmilo
Accredited Master Farrier, Oakbank SA
PH 0418 835 186
www.horsefarrier.com.au
Club Feet and Bent Legs in foals are an agonising
problem for all concerned.
What is the difference?
A Club Foot is one that is high in the heels and short
in the toe causing a broken back hoof/pastern angle when viewed
from the side. A percentage of club feet is hereditary, while
others result from overweight mares during pregnancy which restricts
the foal’s development space in the womb or from lack of
early trimming.
Bent Legs are viewed from the front and can be either
bow legged or splay footed.
This can be caused by hereditary offset canon bone or pastern
or, if these are straight,
unbalanced feet due to lack of early trimming.
In both situations, it is my belief that unless previous
foals from the blood line have a history of growing out of the
problem or have been successfully straightened by either veterinarian
or farrier intervention, it is not wise to continue breeding from
that line.
History has shown that if we start off a young horse
with inherent lower-leg problems, it creates a never ending risk
of unsoundness, which usually occurs when the horse is at the
peak of its performance. They may be kept sound for a short career
by good farrier or veterinary attention but is this really fair
on the horse?
Overweight mares producing foals with bent legs nearly
always straighten naturally once on the ground after a short period
of time. Despite our efforts, care should be taken to regularly
inspect the foal’s lower leg hoof alignment, say weekly,
for the first two or three months of its life, as things can still
go wrong.
As the foal’s hoof begins to harden and the
ground dries out, the foal’s body weight increases at the
same time and wear on the tiny hoof begins. Often, just as this
tiny hoof capsule begins to grow any length, one side breaks away.
This creates an uneven hoof which unless corrected quickly, will
start to turn the foal’s lower leg either inwards or outwards.
Correction may be simply a matter of trimming the
hoof wall back to level again. Viewed from its front, the rule
is that if the foal is pointing his toe in, trim the inside edge.
If his toe is pointing out, trim the outside edge; if he is standing
too upright, trim the heels, or if he is standing down on his
heels, trim the toe.
With a club foot, if veterinary assistance in the
first couple of weeks has not corrected this problem of restricted
tendons, the problems are likely to be ongoing, and will require
weekly visits by the farrier to try lowering the heels for the
first 6 months of the foal’s life. If this hereditary, rehabilitation
to normal is a lost cause.
With Bent Legs there is also another likely scenario.
If upon inspection you find his toes pointing in but you have
no hoof wall to remove inside, the foal must be fitted with an
extension to the outside of the hoof. An extended shoe on such
an immature hoof will be very hard to keep on (a hoof this young
is not ready to be nailed). Also, a nailed on shoe is going to
cause restriction to the rapidly developing and expanding young
hoof,
Over the past few years, many farriers have been using
synthetic hoof materials to achieve these corrective measures
with a great degree of success. Bonding quickly to the hoof wall
without the need for shoes or nails, these synthetic materials
can be used to extend the hoof wall in any direction and do not
impede the natural development of the hoof and the extension can
be reduced in size as the leg straightens.
Bond-N-Flex structural hoof material is one such product.
It is very reliable and user friendly and also is cost effective
for its owners. It is very important to thoroughly clean the hoof
wall with acetone and a wire brush before application to achieve
the best bonding capacity. Once bonded, the synthetic material
will grow down with the hoof wall and can be trimmed and rasped
the same as a normal hoof wall.
Stud owners and breeders have now realised the importance
of correcting bent legs in their foals as early as possible. Prices
at yearling sales reflect this as well as extending the competitive
life of their valuable stock.
It is imperative to thoroughly inspect every foal
daily for the first 3weeks after birth and not be blasé
about any imperfection. You have spent all this time and effort
to breed the foal – why waste it.
If you have any doubts at all, email me and
arrange an immediate on-line consultation. Have 2 digital photos
on hand for my diagnosis. Time is of the essence!
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