{"id":2195,"date":"2018-02-26T11:33:25","date_gmt":"2018-02-26T16:33:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.farrierproducts.com\/blog\/?p=2195"},"modified":"2018-02-26T11:33:25","modified_gmt":"2018-02-26T16:33:25","slug":"basic-shoeing-working-with-a-club-foot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farrierproducts.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/basic-shoeing-working-with-a-club-foot\/","title":{"rendered":"Basic Shoeing: Working with a Club Foot"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Dave Farley, CF APF<\/em><\/p>\n

When asked to work on a horse with a club foot, take extra time to evaluate the whole horse. Look at the horse from all angles. Watch the horse as it takes a couple of steps; this can help you see where the foot cannot take stress.<\/h2>\n
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Above: Right Front Foot<\/p><\/div>\n

A horse will protect himself just as you do when hurting. Learning this and understanding the lame horse is mandatory for a farrier to have a successful, positive shoeing experience.<\/p>\n

Doing anything less is simply application, not correction.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Above: Left Front Foot<\/p><\/div>\n

The condition of the foot, the way the horse stands and your shoe modification ability will
\nhelp determine the end result.<\/p>\n

With all this in mind we worked on a
\nclub foot case recently:<\/p>\n

This particular horse, a six year old gelding, has what I feel is a grade three club foot (on a 1-5 scale).<\/p>\n

Apparently the club foot condition has been
\nwith this horse since it was a foal.<\/p>\n

This horse found it difficult to stand square or under himself before shoeing.<\/p>\n

\n

In photo 1<\/strong> you can see the dish in the hoof wall is at or just below the coronary, a grade 3, whereas a dish at or just above the end of the toe would likely be considered grade 1 or 2. This club foot, as seen in photo 2<\/strong>, has very straight medial and lateral walls, versus only medial or lateral. Look closely at photo 3<\/strong> and you can see hoof growth at the heel is approximately twice as much as the toe growth. There is separation of the wall from widest area medial to widest area lateral shown in photo 4<\/strong>. The bars are starting to close in or point towards the frog as you can see in photo 5<\/strong>. If the end of the bars are not opened as I did on the right (I simply use a rasp and knife) they will start to pinch and narrow the frog.<\/p>\n