Arthritic Changes and Balance

[matryoshka]

I've got a 22 year old Anglo-Arab that is short-backed, slightly cow hocked, and has always toed out slightly in the back, starting at the hock. He is a brilliant mover. In the last couple of years his hind fetlocks have swollen a bit and he now toes out from the fetlock joint down. He also grows much more lateral hoof wall, and the medial walls are getting more upright.

I trimmed him today, and I believe I took off too much of the medial hoof wall because I followed the level of the sole. It is hard to sight down the back of his leg through the joints to check medial/lateral balance, because he kicks whenever I try. I'm trimming a moving target! (He used to stand still for trims, but I think the discomfort of the arthritis, even with bute, makes him grouchy.) When he put his foot down, my mistake became obvious. :( I then took off the outside flare and rolled the wall. I couldn't achieve balance without rasping into the sole on the lateral side, so I left it at that.

So, my question is whether I should fight the toeing out, since it seems to result from progressive rotation of the fetlock joint. Or, should I just try to keep him comfortable? I definitely plan to leave more medial hoof the next trim, and in the next couple of weeks, I plan to rasp down the lateral wall some more and leave the medial wall to grow.

Is this a sensible approach? Any suggestions? :confused:

[calshoer]

Generally trimming to the sole is going to be your the best bet. (and the least confusing)
From your description of the medial wall being more upright and a lateral flare, the medial side is the one that actually needed to be trimmed more to balance the foot. I doubt the lateral side was growing more...it probably just flared because the medial heel was too tall and it creates a false apearance that the flared side is the l;onger, when in fact it is not. The taller the medial heel, the more flare will develop on the opposing (lateral) side,and the more toed out /twisted the foot becomes.
Removing the excess length of wall on the medial side and reducing the flare on the lateral side wil beging to fix it and the flare will not come back. And the medial side will naturally widen out (if it had become narrower).
These are classic cases where sighting down the leg will only confuse you. So don't sight down the leg. Just TRUST and trim to the sole and you will be more accurately balancing the coffin bone medial laterally. And believe it or not, he will be less toed out. The flare is the optical illusion.
The coffin bone (and consequently the sole plane of the foot) may not be naturally built at a right angle to the leg and that is just fine. Trying to make it so is what wil lame him as it stresses the joints in the foot and fetlock. As long as the foot is trimmed to the sole it will be balanced medially laterally pretty close to where THAT foot should be.
The practice of trimming the bottom of all feet to sit as near to a right anlge to the leg as possible is the very thing that causes the hoof distortion you are now dealing with.
If in doubt, get some AP Xrays taken by the vet to assess medial lateral balance of the bone column. Internal pictures don't lie. Patty

[Jason Maki]

Patty gave you sound advice. The hoof will flare lateraly almost the exact amount that the the medial wall is longer. It will also shear, jamming up and bending the sole and lateral cartilage up from the bridge to the buttress on feet like this. The lateral toe quarter will also jam slightly, as the horn will compress, though not toi the extent of the medial heel.
Jason

[matryoshka]

OK,

So I'm trying to translate what to do...not sure what "jamming up" means.

Here's what I think you want me to do:

Take down the medial and lateral walls to the sole plane. Remove lateral flare as much as possible without thinning the wall too much. Make sure heels are same height, regardless of whether they line up while sighting down the joints (which is almost impossilbe to do anyway.)

Thinking back, I probably removed too much lateral heel. I'm new to this and still trying to figure out how much heel to take off. I use the widest point of the frog as a guide, but that seems to put him right on the sole at the corn. He's got thick hoof walls and a meaty frog. Hasn't worn shoes in 12 years.

Do I have it right?

Thanks for all your help! I want to keep him comfortable, not make him sore.

[Phil Armitage]

You have the right idea, I tried to post a reply a few days ago and it did not get in. Patty and Jason gave you great information, and your idea of what to do is correct. Jamming the heel up is also called shearing, if this occurs then you will notice one bulb hiigher than the other and the other thing that happens is the bars are weak and the hoof capsule becomes very unstable. Sometimes the horses conformation will cause this and poor trimming will make the problem worse, you might never achieve the ideal, but you can make the situation better with good trimming on a regular basis.

[matryoshka]

Thanks Patty, Jason, and Phil! Maybe the horse will even get less grouchy. One can always hope. :D

[Jason Maki]

Phil,
I think of shearing or distortion in general this way. Under load, a foot will find balance. If it is trimmed to carry weight evenly and ideally, then no shearing or flaring occurs,. If any section is wrong, it will jamm, roll or flare untill the foot IS bearing weight evenly. Of course, all of the bending, tearing and stretching damages the capsule. That is why proper trimming is paramount!
Jason

[Phil Armitage]

You, bet!! Lots of weight on a Keritin capsule, I wouldnt expect it to stand up to all that weight and pressure. ;)