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  Discussion on Yearling Hoof ....questions
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Member:
Vthomas

Posted on Saturday, May 28, 2005 - 6:33 pm:

I remember hearing a long time ago that foals will/can have their entire front legs slightly turned out, to include toes out, but that the growing process usually takes care of this as the shoulders widen, and the legs "turn in" such that the legs and toes are then facing straight ahead. I have a lovely yearling, no lameness, moves very straight (no paddling or winging), but still his whole front legs face slightly to the outside. His hoof is well aligned w/his leg and everything (hoof, knee) points in the same direction. Should I be worried? At what age can I expect that his front legs should face forward? Thanks.
Member:
Mrose

Posted on Saturday, May 28, 2005 - 9:12 pm:

Vicky, are you getting the yearling's feet trimmed? And is the farrier lowering the feet a little on the inside so he'll toe in instead of out? Usually, you just take a little off every week or so and it helps straighten their legs out, and you start dong this when they are quite young. (Someone here will make sure I'm telling you the right side to lower as it's been awhile since I've done this.)
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, May 29, 2005 - 8:50 am:

I believe it is true that most foals toe out a bit more than they do as adults and that the mechanism of the change is as the body thickens with maturity the elbows rotate out a bit. The reason I say this is from what I have seen and others have said but I have never seen a actual study on the phenomenea.

Sara I disagree with your prescription. What happens in these case is you can trim to rotate the foot and pastern in but the leg does not follow, the result is a set of feet that are straight but out of line with the rest of the leg. I think it is better to keep the feet in line with the rest of the leg. A common thing you see in adult horses is a front where the legs are straight but the feet slightly toed in. These were foals who were straightened when a foal then the legs rotated as they matured.

As to whether you have a reason to be worried it depends on the degree of turning out and as to whether he will ever be perfectly straight we will have to wait and see. But there are many sound horses that toe out a bit.
DrO
Member:
Christos

Posted on Sunday, May 29, 2005 - 9:09 am:

It is lowering the outside that brings the toes in, Sara.
Now I have to say that I do not agree at all with all this forward looking hooves concept. Whatever angles you see are there to suit the horse in his movement, not our aesthetics and prejudice.
Unless there are specific studies to prove that a deviation here or there is a bad thing, I believe it is better to let it be.
And you can call me silly, stubborn or whatever, but I insist that a horse moves better when slightly toed out.
Member:
Mrose

Posted on Sunday, May 29, 2005 - 11:22 am:

Thanks Christos and Dr. O for setting me straight. I was reaching back into the memory banks.

Dr.O., is keeping the hoof trimmed lower on one side (side determend by crookedness of the leg) something that used to be accepted and isn't any more? Or just something that show people did to make horses feet appear uniform? I ask because many years ago I was told to do this by both a well known breeder and a show person. Luckily, I guess, for the horse, I never had the time and patience to go in and file our foal's foot every few days. But, I was under the impression this was common practice for knowledgeable people.
Member:
Vthomas

Posted on Monday, May 30, 2005 - 11:52 am:

Thank you all for your comments. The deviation is slight; I was worried because as a yearling they haven't faced straight yet. Since the whole leg is lined up nicely, it seems this simply requires the "tincture of time" remedy. Again, thanks.
Member:
Christos

Posted on Tuesday, May 31, 2005 - 6:30 am:

Sara, I read this is unfortunately still the practice in many yearling sales.

Vicky, even the veterinary texts that support this adjustment in foals warn against "fixing" yearlings or older. They say the torque in the joints may cause DJD.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, May 31, 2005 - 9:43 am:

If the deviation is slight and in line with the rest of the leg, this may be what you get. As alluded to above this is perfectly OK, the take home message is to look at the whole leg when evaluating rotational deformity. Christos comments make a complete circle with the joint cartilage remodeling topic we had recently: the joint caritlage does all the remodeling in line with stress only during the horses active growing phases. To change the lines of stress after remodeling has stopped results in a weaker joint.
DrO
Member:
Imogen

Posted on Wednesday, Jun 1, 2005 - 2:34 am:

My farrier is well-known in the Irish thoroughbred world for this type of work and his opinion is that it is only useful to avoid toe in and toe out problems, not anything above the fetlock such as leg rotation, plus the trimming has to be done once a week/once every two weeks up to three months, then usually once a month to six months. There is no point in doing anything after six months, you just make things worse.

He is also more inclined to do it on thoroughbreds whose working life ends early than on sport horses/halfbreds/showjumpers that start later and go on longer.

My own sport horse mare was never straightened, has one quite bad pigeon toe and put up an awful lot of miles hunting and eventing before starting to go a bit dodgy on the opposite leg at 11 years old (she's now 14).

I am trimming her foal slightly under his guidance since she is growing like stink (no I'm not feeding her!) and although not turned in yet looks like she might get Mum's club foot if not treated conservatively.

All the best

Imogen
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