I have tried to study this some on here and am still coming up short. There is quite a bit of mention of negative palmar and plantar angles, but not enough information. I think that these conditions are largely overlooked and uncorrected (I believe I have missed some myself) and I would like to learn all I can so that I may not miss another one.

What I would like to see on this thread is pictures. Especially pictures with lines and such drawn on them. Show me and others interested what it is exactly that you are noticing in a pic when you say that it has a NPA.

Brian Purrington, I am hoping you will post some pics here, as well as others.

Simply put NPA is when the solar surface of the coffin bone in relation to the ground or bearing surface is dropped behind the COA and higher at the distal end of P3.

Note* Palmer would refer to forelimb Plantar would refer to hinds.Sometimes you can see it sometimes it is not really visible without rads. It's like most things... you develop an eye for it over time and with experience. You are correct there is a huge amount of it out there. Mostly on the hind end.

Classic NPA is commonly noticable by the dorsal aspect bulge. This is not to be confused with a worn off or dubbed toe. To confirm that it is not just a toe dragger or dubbed off foot all you need is a visual of the toe wall on the solar surface.
I'll help with what I can, there are much more experienced farriers here to draw from.

Here is a classic NPA hind.
[ATTACH]10333[/ATTACH]

This is the typical convex shape you will see in a foot with a probable negative palmer angle. As the nice radiograph showed , the distal/dorsal surface of the bone is literally pushing against the hoofwall. this wll create a bruise in the lamina of the toe and that will often be seen as a chronic red line in the laminae of the toe that just never goes away.

These are the front feet of a 34 year old.

Jonathan Wilson

Jonathan,

You need shootin' advice?

tbloomer wrote:
There is a Vet around here that always says it is just a lead deficiency, that 1shot will cure them.

Jonathan Wilson

Brian Purrington wrote:
I agree with Brian that especially with hind feet you see the dorsal aspect bulge.

Jonathan Wilson

westtxshoer wrote:
Typically the coronary band points up at the horses belly when there is a negative plantar angle. The central sulcus is also very shallow to the bulbs where you can almost touch your fingers together if you were to palpate that area.

Thanks everyone for your posts. In the hinds is where I think I have seen it most. I don't see many rads and wanted some visual indicators of the condition. I knew that a bulging dorsal wall could be an indicator. I didn't realize that the horizontal red line was also a good indicator. Thanks for that.

Question? Without rads, could a horse with low heels on the hinds, a coronet pointing just below the shoulder, and a bulging dorsal wall be a candidate for NPA? There are three horses in particular I am thinking of and I have studied their hinds quite a bit. All have the condition I describe here and are bare on the hinds. None of the three have any lameness or gait issues that the trainer is aware of.

westtxshoer wrote:In a word, yes.

Denise, thanks for the pics. I can spot the obvious ones, fortunately:D. It's the less than obvious I am looking for help to confirm:o.

The top two pics in your last post is what I am looking for, Denise. These two have a negative plantar angle without a doubt?

westtxshoer wrote:
With hind feet like this I have tried barefoot it is a good thing to try if they can tolerate it and do not need shoes.

DeniseMc wrote:
Hey, this may be a **** question on my part, but how do you trim with the intention of correcting the neg. coffin bone angles? I know what should happen- the horse needs more heel and less toe. But on a lot of horses with neg. angles, the heels are running under and not as supportive as a healthy heel should be. What can be done about that, especially barefoot? I ask because I have been maintaining my 26yr old Arabian gelding barefoot, and I never had luck getting rid of the neg coffin bone angles on his hinds.

Here are some "diagnoses" that are highly suspect of negative hind palmar angles:

Sore back
Sore stifles
Sore withers
Sore hocks

Other signs:
Mild hind lameness defying diagnosis
Stopping at jumps
Missing leads
Cross cantering
Heavy on forehand

These are some areas that can either be caused or exacerbated by negative palmar angles behind.

Even more signs:
"My horse needs regular hock injections"
"My horse gets regular chiropractic/acupuncture/massage therapy"
"My horse needs a saddle fitter"
"My horse needs regular Adequan/Legend/(Other) injections"


M. W. Myers, D.V.M.