Posted by Danvers on March 25, 2003 at 10:47:53:
In Reply to: Re: Is falling a symptom? posted by missy on March 25, 2003 at 09:24:51:
: : : I have an immature 4 yr. old who gets turned out most of the time, is shod every 5 weeks, has his toes kept short and has no conformational predispositions. He occasionally will fall to his knees while loping. He doesn't trip or stumble on a regular basis just falls once in a while and jumps right back up. He only does it at the lope and he is fine while working hard and on different surfaces. He has never been lame but my vet said that stumbling is the first symptom. I was wondering if this sounded like navicular or if I should just chalk it up to laziness or being tired? Please help. thanks.
: : : Missy
: : You should have a complete work up done, starting from the top down, by a qualified lameness vet..... you could be dealing with anything from teeth problems to a sore back to laminitis...... dont jump to conclusions, rather get it checked out so you can correct the problem
: : Derin
: The vet is coming to do a workup but she also mentioned that when barefoot he squares all 4 of his toes off, and when shod he doesn't and may be hitting toe first. I'm assuming this is causing his foot to be unbalanced. If shoes were squared off would this help balance his foot. Any farrier input would be helpful before I talk to mine. Thanks
: Missy
Hi Missy,
Derin's right. Stumbling is indicative of a problem; no horse is so lazy that he will trip while loping. Derin's also right in that the causes of stumbling are virtually infinite. It could be anything from a neurological issue to a clogged tear duct to an imbalanced hoof to a hoof bruise that's causing the problem. The important thing is to find out if it's a medical issue or a mechanical issue.
If it's the former, a qualified equine veterinarian is your best resource; if it's the latter, a qualified professional farrier is your best resource.
If it is, in fact, a mechanical issue, simply opting for a generic application of a square-toed shoe is not the answer. Breakover points or leading edges are generally worn in a straight line, which leads to people wanting to square the toes on shoes. And, while the practice has its uses, it has more misuses....
First, if you examine hooves and/or worn shoes, you'll rarely see the "square" in the center of the toe, yet when these shoes are applied, you'll see that 100 percent of the pre-manufactured square-toed shoes place the square dead center. Second, while a horse's "squared" point may be at one point for gait 1, it might well be at a slightly different point for gait 2 or 3.
In effect, the square-toed shoe doesn't facilitate breakover as much as it orients breakover. Subsequently, it's a simple modification with a complex application. Luckily, most shoes are made from materials soft enough that horses can overcome the general misapplication as they wear the shoe in and get it adjusted to their way of travel.
~~Danvers