Posted by Alexandra Wikner on July 15, 2003 at 12:29:58:
In Reply to: Re: Pictures! posted by Patty Stiller on July 15, 2003 at 09:46:49:
Tree - Of course I can take pictures when she stands on hard ground. I focused on the knee and the angle in her fetlock, and forgot about the hooves ;) I will fix more photos right away!
Patty - A long, informative answer, but I am unsure that I "followed you the whole way". English isnīt my first language *sigh* But just a few "add-ons". The filly has been growing fast since birth and stills grows fast. The mare is really a good doer and produces quantites of milk that would make an milkcow jealous.. They are out on grass for 19 hours a day and stabled 5 hours (with ad lib hay). No hard feed as the filly is growing fast already and the mare is fat only on grass. They are supplied a mineral and vitaminesupplement that should cover their needs.
Iīm not sure what you ment with to "rocker" the toe, so if you please could explain.
The farrier (very good at foalhooves nad corrective shoeing) looked at her at 7th of July, and her hooves lokked fine, even and so on at that point. But since then her knees have worsened a bit, so it might well be that her hooves have changed shape too.
I will go out and get those pictures now =)
: : Nice filly! However, most of the photos hide her hoof angles in the grass. Is there any way you can take photos of her feet in shorter grass or on a hard level surface? Any comments I could offer, based on the photos so far, would not be as accurate.
: : It would be nice to see sole views too (see the bottoms of her front feet).
: : In one photo it appears her hoof angles are steeper than her pastern angle. This would lead me to suspect she toe weighting those feet and causing her toe walls to be more compacted and thus shorter. Horses will do this in an attempt to avoid placing weight onto their heels. The end results can be slack in the deep digital flexor tendon which allows the knees to go forward in an effort to take up some of that slack. Shoulder angles will steepen as well and the heels will grow at a faster rate than the toes.
: : Is it possible that you can get photos showing the feet better?
: : Tree
: tree, when the knees go forward, it *decreases* the tension in the DeepFlexor Tendon, because the tension comes from tihtness in the inferior check ligament, not the muscles.
: A common reason that the feet get upright and the knees buckle forward is that simply because the check ligament behind the knee,(and consequently the deep flexor tendon) gets too *tight* probably due to fast growing bones or a mineral imbalance, or both.
: The check ligament(which connects below the rear of the knee to the deep flexor tendon) gets painful, as well as the attachment of the DDFT to the bottom of the coffin bone. The coffin bone is mechanically pulled upward bythe tension,and the foal will also avoid loading the heel because it hurts to do so asthe DDFT attachment is stretched. Then the knee is also held forward to reduce tension in the painful ligament and in the attachment of the DDFT under the coffin bone. The remedy (believe this it works) is to rocker the toes well to reduce pull on the check ligament and tendon as the foal moves.
: As well, sometimes wedging the heels up for a short while(a week or so) reduces the tension and thereby stops the pain cycle so and the heels let down and the knees come back.
: It is not usually toe pain which causes all this, it is tendon and check ligament pain. Standing the feet more upright a short while is NOT a problem is if can break the pain cycle and allow everyhing to relax. Besides, wedging the heels loads the HEEL more, not the toe.
: Patty