Posted by Ray Miller on August 22, 2001 at 21:57:01:
In Reply to: interfering posted by Roxann Lane on August 22, 2001 at 17:49:08:
: I have an 11 year old Arab mare who, in the last year and 1/2 has started interfering on her left hind ankle. It is ALWAYS from the right hind hitting the left. She has never interfered in the other direction. She will do it whether shod or unshod...... The other item to take into consideration is her right front is somewhat "club footed", and that heel is always significantly higher than her left front. My farrier does a wonderful job keeping her balanced, however, we can't seem to figure out why she is interfering on that left rear. She is quite base narrow in the back, but it never seemed to cause a problem prior to last year. I have not competed her this year at all, as the interference is severe enough, she goes lame on that hind leg. We have tried trailers on her shoes, but that didn't seem to help either. I was told lowering the outside of her hoof might help alleviate this problem, but am not sure exactly what that accomplishes. She does not "wing out" when she is trotting. my farrier has watched her move and says she moves cleanly up and down. however, when we are competing over rough terrain, that seems to be when she is most apt to hit herself. Again, I competed this mare for two years and never had a problem, and am perplexed as to why it is happening now. I was also informed her conformation may have changed enough to affect her way of going. We have done over a 1000 competitive miles, and I am at a loss as to how to fix this problem. Any suggestions would be most helpful.
Before you can fix the problem you need to find the cause. I would start with pain. I would opt for a full vet check, blocks, raidographs of both the front and back. I would video tape each and block and watch the horse move off, many times. I would also check saddle fit, pads and rider balance.
My first bet would be pain. Changes in the bone somewhere. That is if the horse is trimmed in balance.
Just my thinking.
Ray Miller
Ray Miller