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  Discussion on Stabbing with the toes
Author Message
Member:
Wolfydoc

Posted on Sunday, May 9, 2004 - 1:20 am:

My TWH Elvis, almost 5 years old, is quite a clutz on the trail at times. He's not neurologic per the vets who have examined him, but was recently diagnosed with mild degenerative changes in his hocks based on the following: a recent history of standing with his left hind leg parked under him more often than not while standing and almost never standing with even weight on his hind legs; traveling at a walk with his head and neck slightly off to the left side; sickle hock conformation (a well-known TWH trainer who evaluated Elvis for me before purchasing informed me, before I knew better, that this was very desirable for the breed); positive "spavin tests" both sides, and radiographic changes.

My main question at this point in time concerns his feet: he stabs the ground with his front toes instead of landing flat on his hooves. Could this be a major contributing factor to his tripping/stumbling? He seems to "stub his toes" so to speak more than normal. He is young and VERY curious and thus easily distracted from focusing on the trail, but I am working with a trainer on such issues. The trainer, who shoes her own horses, felt very strongly that his toes are too long and not angled properly anteriorly-posteriorly. She mentioned that wild horses (common here in Reno, Nevada) have toes that are squared off naturally. I am really bummed because his last shoeing was done by a new (to both my horse and me) farrier, who came very highly recommended by several people including an experienced vet. He has been shoeing for over 30 years and is very well liked by many locals including the gaited horse owners.

Elvis's previous farrier had "squared off" the toes to help with breakover, and although I couldn't do much trail riding with Elvis over the winter, I do believe he tripped less than he does now. I don't think I paid as much attention to his footprints at the time so I'm not sure if he was "stabbing" over the time period the last shoer was working with him. This new farrier really feels that squaring off the toe creates "crowns" on the hoof wall near the junction of the toe and the quarters and is not a proper thing to do at all. So he "undid" what the previous farrier did and trimmed his toes round again.

I read everything about stumbling on this site and others, and after having him evaluated by 2 vets and now this very experienced trainer whose emphasis is on training for the trail, I really feel his feet currently may be a significant problem. It just doesn't seem right that he stabs the ground with his toes and it can't be good for him!

If there is a section(s) on this site that I should read to get an answer to my problem, let me know. I wasn't sure what to look under specifically.

Thanks for your help,
Cindy
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, May 9, 2004 - 10:21 am:

It is impossible to make specific recommendations without seeing the horse move but if the feet are too long and improperly balanced you would have trouble with stumbling. And as you have noted before, squaring off the toe helps these horses greatly.
DrO
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