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  Discussion on Square toe shoes in fron/back
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Member:
Arvane

Posted on Friday, Nov 22, 2002 - 2:37 pm:

Hi Dr. O,
I have two questions regarding square shoes in the back and in the front:
My TB gelding (10 year old hunter-jumper) has pretty bad windpuffs in his hind fetlocks (he also stocks up badly when he is standing still). My vet says that this is partly due to his pasterns being very long and that a square trim and square shoes in the back would ease his break-over and possibly prevent more wear and tear. My farrier on the other hand is reluctant to trim and shoe him square in the back because, when done too abruptly, it can cause the horse hip and back pain. Do you have any opinion on this - does a square shoe in the back generally help to prevent wear and tear, and should we try to "ease" the horse into a square trim instead of doing it all at once?

Secondly, my farrier put a square-toe shoe on the horse's front feet. The shoe is called, I think, a New Balance shoe, and is supposed to make the break-over easier and make the horse work better from the back. He trimmed the toe square and it looks kind of "chopped off" but the horse is moving well (I havent noticed any difference yet). I have a lot of faith in my farrier but haven't been able to find any information on this kind of shoe. Do you have any opinions on New Balance shoes, or a square shoe in general on the front feet?
Board Administrator
Username: Admin

Posted on Saturday, Nov 23, 2002 - 1:33 pm:

Hello James,
I do not know how squaring the toe in back might cause back pain. There has been a recent move toward what is called most broadly a "natural trim" where break over is moved further back by dubbing the toe and rockering the bottom of the shoes. I think it makes sense. Horses with long pasterns generally have a lot of stress on the flexor side and while moving breakover back helps, these horses also get support by having the heels of the back shoes heels extended backwards or a egg bar shoe used.
DrO
Member:
Parfait

Posted on Saturday, Nov 23, 2002 - 2:45 pm:

James,
I agree with Dr. O! I had my horse with a similar problem put in half-rounds. We moved her break-over further back too. I actually tried the Natural Balance shoes during the off-season for trail riding but she didn't like the fact that they had poor heel support compared to her longer heeled half-round shoes. I noticed a very slight amount of filling. This was on the fronts BTW. (You can square the half rounds a bit and make them function almost just like the NB shoes). On the hinds she prefers a very light plate, squared with heels. We are very careful about keeping her break-over from creeping forward and super careful to watch her bony column alignment of course. I have heard that you can change the break-over faster but not the angles, if that helps. I got my shoer to buy a really neat computer program that measures x-rayed angles/break-over so we can check her against the "ideal"---Just made some adjustments so I'll let you know how it works!
Kerry
Member:
Arvane

Posted on Saturday, Nov 23, 2002 - 4:28 pm:

Hi, thanks Dr. O and Kerry for your replies.
Kerry, what is the bony column alignment (is it the coffin bone alignement?) You seem well-read on all this, would you know where I can get more information on the NB shoe and half-round shoes?
Thanks again for the help, I really appreciate it!
Member:
Equus

Posted on Saturday, Nov 23, 2002 - 7:05 pm:

Another option....and cheaper than NB or eggbar shoes, is a practice that my vet and farrier recommend. They take a regular shoe and put it on backwards! Sounds odd, I know, but it has done wonders for my horse with navicular. Putting it on backwards provides the heel area with the support of an eggbar shoe, and then the open area in front leaves room for the toe to be rockered and squared. Works wonders and still costs me the same as regular shoes.
Member:
Parfait

Posted on Saturday, Nov 23, 2002 - 9:41 pm:

James,
I have a very limited amount of knowledge based on my own horse (and driven by angst) but I learned a lot on the Farrier/Hoofcare Resource Center right here! also... "Hopeforsoundness.com" is a good spot to get info on EDSS/NB/Gene Ovnicek stuff. "The Anvil" here has a really good article that I liked..if you go to search find the roundtable discussion on "Extreme Breakover" during the AFA 2000 convention... you'll see why I think it's important to get xrays before you start to really mess around. But that's if you have a lot of problems. My mare is such a pain in the neck.
Oh, the bony column is the alignment of what they call the P1, P2 and P3 (first, second third phalanx.) If the bones are lined up, then presumably there is less stress on the tendons. This is more important in horses that have long, sloping pasterns like my mare, who might be less able to handle the stress of bad angles due to her weakness--she is also more sensitive to changes in her feet. Good luck! There is tons of info out there!
Kerry
Member:
Arvane

Posted on Monday, Nov 25, 2002 - 1:25 pm:

Thanks Heather and Kerry. Heather - sounds like a great idea but my trainer is so "old school" I'm already in trouble with the NB shoes..
Kerry, I appreciate the leads. I discovered this weekend that I was unable to find information because I though NB stood for New Balance (so I kept ending up at some running shoes site). I will definitely check out these webpages. PS I have X-rays - my farrier insisted on it (not the vet for some strange reason).
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