As a horse owner we all want our horses to have good feet. No hoof, no horse, right? But what should we be looking for?
80% of front end lamenesses occur in or below the knee. This means that feet and lower legs are really important for maintaining soundness. To me, this means we should have a large focus on the foot and distal limb in order to keep our furry friends sound.
When the hoof is on the ground, the wall should look healthy and shiney. We want a relatively straight hoof pastern axis. A lot of horses have a ‘broken back’ hoof pastern axis, this means that the heal is low (and often underrun) and the toe is potentially longer than it should be. Your horse’s conformation will determine the angle of the hoof, however those with a long sloping pastern, tend to do well with a slightly more upright trim. When we look at the coronet band, it should have smooth curves without changing direction dramatically.
Once we have picked the foot up and picked it out we should be able to see a plump frog in the middle of the foot. The white line should be intact without disease, cracks or stretching.
If you look at any of these things and aren’t sure or have any concerns it can be a good conversation starter with your farrier at your next appointment.
