ADVICE FROM THE VET
FUNDAMENTALS OF FARRIERY
By Sally Hodgson BSc (Hons), MA, VetMB, MRCVS
‘ N
o foot, no horse,’ as the old saying goes. Without It’s feet in optimum condition, it is hard for
even the most talented horse to fulfil its athletic potential. Sound strong feet are largely the product of genetics and environment (including nutrition) but require skilled trimming and shoeing to compensate for the demands of domestication and the different types of work we ask them to do.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN
THE WELL-SHOD HORSE It is important to remember when assessing how ahorse is trimmed and shod that the ‘model’ we use areference point is an ideal, and may be impossible to achieve in many horses. This is because horses with absolutely perfect conformation are extremely rare –farriers can only work with the materials they are given! However, the ideal model gives us astarting point for assessing a horse’s shoeing and beginning to see if and how it might be improved.
HOOF PASTERN AXIS
The hoof pastern axis is the alignment of the long and short pastern bones with the coffin joint, when viewed from the side. A line drawn from the middle of the
fetlock joint down the middle of the long pastern bone should continue through the middle of the short pastern bone and pass through the centre of the coffin joint in the hoof capsule. A horse with this conformation is said to have astraight or normal hoof pastern axis. In ahorse with alow heel and long toe, the line will tend to pass through the back of the coffin joint– this is called abroken-back hoof pastern axis, and places extra strain on the flexor tendons and suspensory ligaments, predisposing them to injury. In ahorse with an upright, boxy foot, the line passes in front of the coffin joint. This broken-forward hoof pastern axis causes the joints to be loaded abnormally. When viewed from the front, the
same line drawn downwards from the middle of the fetlock joint should enter the hoof capsule in the centre.
FOOT BALANCE
Foot balance is away of describing the proportions of the foot (and shoe). These proportions are based around one central point, called the centre of rotation. This is the point in the coffin joint around which the foot rotates during breakover –the moment in the stride as the heel lifts up and over the toe as the limb begins a new stride (Figure 2.) Ideally, 50% of the foot should be in front of the centre of rotation, and 50% behind –however these proportions are not fixed and may
Figure 2. Breakover diagram
Figure 3. Equal halves of foot
Figure 4. a. Poor medio-lateral balance. b. Good medio-lateral balance
Figure 1. Hoof pastern axis
10 JANUARY/FEBRUARY2018
need to be slightly different in order to accommodate the needs of different horses. Additionally, aline drawn down the centre of the frog should leave equal halves on either side. (Figure 3.) The sole should be trimmed so that the coffin
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