Club Foot X-Rays, Many Different Opinions HELP??!

[froggy78]

I have attached pictures of the x-rays. I'm having trouble uploading my photos, I'll try again later.

[Phil Armitage]

Your farrier probably sees slight remodeling in the distal end of the coffin bone from going barefoot. If this is what he sees, it is no big deal, I would protect him with shoes also to prevent further remodleing and/or damage to soft tissue. Just something inherent to a club foot.

[froggy78]

Thanks for the response

[mwmyersdvm]

I would need to see radiographs to comment objectively. However, if you cannot afford the possible treatments this horse may require to keep him comfortable, have you considered how fair this is to the horse?
If you need an easily maintained animal, it would probebly be wise to let this one go very inexpensively with full disclosure to the purchaser and save some money while looking for a more suitable replacement.

[froggy78]

Why won't it let me post pictures, everytime it tries to upload the picture, it goes to the internet site not working page. Is there another way I can get my pictures of my xrays and hoof pictures put on here?? Thanks :confused:

[kanderso]

Why won't it let me post pictures, everytime it tries to upload the picture, it goes to the internet site not working page. Is there another way I can get my pictures of my xrays and hoof pictures put on here?? Thanks :confused:

Here are the xrays: "I have attached pictures of the x-rays, the far left is the previous x-ray from the seller dated in Dec '04, and the middle one is his club foot in June '05 and the right one is his normal foot."

[calshoer]

Well, looking at the the small pictures,there is certainly some significant bone remodelling but there is not enough visible detail in this format to thoroughly evalute everything. Your vet may be seeing more stuff that negates a good prognosis.
In general though, I have seen feet with bone edge deterioration worse than this that were manageable, and the horses able to do *light* work comfortably ,as long as they got the correct type of shoeing. (no jumping, speed work, endurance racing or the like) Barefoot would absolutely not be an option in my opinion with this much chronic bone change. The tip of that bone needs protection and the hoof capsule needs ot be trimmed to align with the bone ,which will not be possible barefoto without causing more damage. The heels of the foot need to be trimmed, but the foot may well need to be wedged back up afterward to prevent excess tension in the deep flexor tendon.

The shoeing needs to be geared at re-aligning the hoof capsule with the bone(derotating) ,wedging it back up after that as much as needed to insure a heel first landing, protecting the tip of the coffin bone without placing shoe or pad pressure over it, setting the breakover point near or under the tip of the bone(or behind it ,if using a banana shoe type system) , and reducing the distorted front hoofwall. Basically it is the same as shoeing to correct a chronically foundered foot.
I personaly use EDSS for these in the beginning, graduating down to Natural Balance and a frog support pad, then hopefully eventally just a natural balance shoe.
Some farriers use a banana shoe for these with very good success. Given the deterioration in the bone already though, I prefer a system that includes pads. No matter what shoe or system your farrier chooses, the foot preparation geared for applying that system is critical for success.

Patty