Posted by Barb Peck on June 15, 2001 at 09:58:13:
Hi guys.
I have a horse, RF slightly deviated at the knee,
breaks over to the outside of center (pretty close to the toe corner), and RF wings
in when he walks.
When I bought him as a 5 yr. old the RF was wry, with the lateral
bar closed up and tight against the frog so there was no cleft on that side of the frog. The lateral heel wall was turned under, and the
shoe was actually on top of turned under wall..
It took over a year to straighten his RF foot out to
as good as it was ever going to be..which of course is not ever going to be perfect.
This foot is slightly smaller than his LF.
Because breakover is off-set (laterally) from
center, the wall at the toe Ctr and the medial toe corner always looks like it needs to be dressed (rasped).
(He's barefoot now.. shod of course this was not as noticable)
Ocassionally, he has always interfered, high on the inside of the opposite front leg at the WALK (but never at the trot). He's 15 now, and this has not caused lamness, but over the years (shod 6 months per year) has caused a slight thickening just below the knee (inside cannon). This isn't really
noticable, but when you feel it, it feels like
a tapered splint starting just below the knee
and tapering down about an inch or so, then blending into the bone. It does not interfer with the tendon.
My question:
Since he's barefoot his riding season,
Would rounding & rockering (just the pigmented horn) from the natural break-over point, across the toe center to around the medial toe corner be the right thing to do?
I can't figure out which is worse:
ocassionally bonking the inside of his LF with the rounded edge of a shoe, or with the
sharper edge of the natural hoof.
Thanks,
Barb