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  Discussion on Just found out..contracted heels
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Member:
Annes

Posted on Tuesday, Feb 14, 2006 - 3:43 pm:

My farrier told me this weekend that my 8 yr old gaited gelding has contracted heels. He has been trimming this horse for 4 years and his feet look the same as when I got him so I know it isn't a recent change. Levi has never been lame, had an abscess or thrush. I always knew his feet were smaller than my other horses and the grooves around his frog were much deeper but I never thought it was a bad thing. He was in shoes when I bought him but has been barefoot for the last 4 years and on pasture 24/7. He is the horse I ride the most. I have read the article and posts about this condition and it appears there is nothing I can do but be diligent with cleaning his feet. I have confidence in my farrier and trust he has trimmed correctly all these years but I am worried this may cause problems in the future. I would love to hear from others who have horses with contracted heels to see how your horses are doing long term. Thanks for any encouragement.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Feb 15, 2006 - 7:09 am:

I ride an ex-show TWH with severely contracted heels Ann and the article represents many of my personal experiences with it. One thing not discussed is that it is near impossible to ride him barefoot on gravel roads because the frog is sensitive to irregular hard pressure. With shoes, no problem.
DrO
Member:
Onehorse

Posted on Wednesday, Feb 15, 2006 - 9:03 am:

Ann,

I have posted in the past about my horses 'contracted' heels. I thought I would update.

First, my horse is 19 years old. He had been shod in front almost his entire life. About four years ago in had 'sheared' heels. To correct, he was put in a 'bar' shoe -- long story short, in treating the 'sheared' heels, contracted heels developed.

Switched farriers.

The first shoeing to correct the problem involved a slight change in angles, a pad to increase pressure on the frog -- to bring it back to health -- as well as some sort of moldable eurythane 'goo' (can't remember the name) to maintain pressure on the entire sole to induce expansion of the foot. The ends of the hoof heel were cut at an angle to further induce expansion. After this period of shoes and pads (about twelve weeks), shoes were pulled and he was barefoot and the goal was to allow the entire hoof to grow out naturally. It took a little over a year for the entire hoof to grow out, but we now have a healthy frog, the horn of the hoof has expanded about 3/4 of an inch, the width of the frog has also expanded, as well as the distance between the frog and the end of the hoof. He now stands incredible square and balanced. Further, the entire hoof took on a different shape -- more oblong than round, which my farrier said "that's what appears natural for him and it works."

He remains barefoot, is ridden all the time, on most surfaces without any problems in all gaits. I do ride for long periods at a time, on all kinds of trails. That's my experience.

My only question to you is: if your farrier has diagnosed contracted heels, is he doing anything to attempt to alleviate or ease the problem? I also don't know if my experience is an unusual recovery or not. My farrier said, when he began the process ..."only time would tell."
Member:
Annes

Posted on Wednesday, Feb 15, 2006 - 12:32 pm:

Rick and DrO, thank you for your comments. I was surprised when my farrier decided to tell me after all these years and I wasn't ready with the right questions. I had read about contracted heels before and thought going barefoot was the best thing to do (for expansion of the hoof) as long as a horse is not ouchy. I have very little gravel and Levi does great without shoes. The former owner rode him in rocky terrain and she had him in shoes all around. If I understand the article correctly, it said special shoeing would not help after a horse has already had contracted heels for a long time. In Levi's case, taking the shoes off these last 4 years did not help his hoof to expand. Your encouraging comments make me feel so much better that Levi can continue to be happy and sound with contracted heels. I will have trimming questions for the farrier when he returns in 6 weeks.
Member:
Unicorn

Posted on Tuesday, Feb 21, 2006 - 6:00 pm:

Well it really depends on what caused the contracted heels, wether it was the type of shoe or the type of trimming applied to the hoof.

One horse I fixed a month ago was a clydesdale/tb cross. Shod all round but the hind feet had forwad set side clips. the forces generated as the foot grew past these side clips caused his contraction.

2 Weeks after trimming him for barefoot his heels spread back out 1.5 inches. His feet were full of bruises caused by his shoes, but because the shoes limit sensitivity those massive bruises were never felt by the horse. 1.5 inches in decontraction in 2 weeks is not normal, it was just that the farrier did not understand the hoof or the effect the side clips had on the heels.

Now he is barefoot he hoons down the road and gravel on his rides. Most of hoof care is about having gravel and rocks in the horses paddock to help the hooves attune to working on roads etc.

A lot of contracted heels will lead to navicular synDrOme. Though it is not true Navicular it is just damage from the restricted hoof capsule causing pain.

A good barefoot farrier should be able to get the contraction out of hooves with good trimming.

A toe that is too long will lead to contracted heels, this is why some horses are still contracted after having there shoes removed.

Regards
Darren
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Feb 22, 2006 - 7:46 am:

I disagree about the relation between contracted heels and navicular Darren. I think it is the other way around: chronic heel pain causes decreased weight bearing on the heels which leads to contraction. Many Walking Horses have contracted heels do to the early use of heel elevation and pads but navicular seems to be quite rare in this population of horses.

Whether you can remove the contraction or not depends on how long it has been going on. After a time tissues become permanently changed in architecture and I have had very poor luck reversing such cases whether using Strasser, Redden, Fergy, or just my own plain common sense bare foot trimming methods.
DrO
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