Posted by Phil Armitage on September 17, 2003 at 23:31:39:
In Reply to: Re: Corns not caused by shoeing posted by Sarah on September 16, 2003 at 13:38:30:
: : : : I know that most corns are caused by incorrect shoeing, however I seem to have a horse who is prone to corns due to her conformation (this is what the vet said) and am wondering how to help her. I have had her four years (two farriers during this time), and this summer is the third time I have had lameness from the corns, which are on the insides of both her front feet but usually cause lameness only in the LF (this summer was both feet, possibly exascerbated by wet weather). You can usually see the corns but she is mostly sound on them. She lands on the inside of her foot. I have an excellent farrier and two other farriers plus two vets have examined her and told me that the shoes are not causing the corns. They were set quite full.
: : : : I would like to know what else we can do. We have started taking off more on the lateral side of the foot at the suggestion of the vet, and now she is in heart bars to relieve the pressure on her heels as she was very lame in both front feet this summer(she's sound now but off and on for a couple months). It appears that the corns had abscessed this summer which is what was causing the pain. I am concerned about how this might cause other problems by putting stress on her legs. Can you tell me more about strategies for shoeing horses with corns (medial side)?
: : : Does this horse have extremely small feet? Might just be that his heels are contracted due to not taking off enough heel when trimming? I have clients that used to scream "Don't take off ANY heel, stand him up!" Of course, I always try to do what the client wants but now I argue my case alittle better than in the old days ,when I was needed more work. Just a thought. Good Luck! Gary
: : Good Point Gary, I use to run into the same thing and now argue more then I use to, all in the best intrest of the horse. You have to trim the heels, long heels can also cause corns. If the feet are trimmed properly and you are still having a problem then I would consider using equipak or impression material and frog support pads with a wide web aluminum shoe for support instead of a heartbars. I think this provides better and safer support and better shock absorbtion. I like to use Natural Balance principles to achieve correct medial lateral balance, this will balance the horse to its conformation. If there is not enough foot to do this then X-Rays are inorder and let some foot grow so the farrier can see the landmarks on the foot. The foot should be trimmed to the sole plane, if to much sole is removed then it will be difficult to do this. There is very good information about this on the Hope for Soundness web site or Equine Digit support system page you can get there from this site from the marketing section. Hope this helps, it really sounds to me that the medial lateral balance is not correct and the heels may be to long.
: : Phil
:
: Thank you. Her feet are not very small (size 2 I think?), they actually tend to dish out as they grow. But now that you mention it, my farrier also said that we may be trying too hard to get her to have more heel, some horses are just not meant to have high heels.
No horse is meant to have high heels. Some horses have stronger thicker hoof walls like alot of morgans and they grow straight and tall instead of dishing, however they also should be trimmed down so the frog can do its job. Have you ever noticed that those long heeled deep feet start to contract and get thrush and the frog atrophys. Eventualy the horse has all kinds of problems, from sore frogs, sore in the heels from corns and senstive structures in the heel area. Also some people think some of the Qaurter horses should have high heels and they are lame also. the frog and sole supports the bone columb not the hoof wall, the hoof wall is there to look pretty and protect the sensitive and supportive structures of the foot. In my opinion anyways.
Phil