Posted by Patty Stiller on October 25, 2000 at 00:05:58:
In Reply to: club foot posted by Mona Tobias on October 20, 2000 at 20:50:35:
: I have a 17 month old filly who is severly club footed, I read the posts earlier and understand to do excatly opposite what I have been doing which is to cut the heel down... I also roll the toe... the dish in her foot seems to get deeper and deeper.. she has never been lame... she always puts that foot back while grazing... I have put her in a large corral and set her feeder and hay up so she doesn't put her head down to eat, thus putting that foot back
: What should I do to help her??
: I should let her heel stay alittle longer, what angle?
: how about the other foot... this is her ft. right foot
: should I shoe her? pad her? wedge her?
: I appreciate your help with this... Blessings Mona
Rockering the toe is helpful in reducing the tension of the deep flexor tendon,(which is attatched to the bottom of the coffin bone) so you are on the right track there. In general, applying natural balance principles to a club foot is the best way I have found to deal with them. I do get some improvement in the severity when I carefully place the breakover point back closer to the tip of the coffin bone, remove the toe flare, and respect the heel height. I sometimes leave the heels on a club foot a bit taller relative to the live sole plane,more like a quarter inch instead of the normally recommended eigth inch. This is to insure the foot lands heel first.With each subsequent trimming, the foot seems to create and release more flaskey loose sole, and it will exfoliate more, gradually lowering the heels . If they are not comfortable in letting the heels down to the ground after the trim, then I took off too much heel.
Something to consider in your case is that if your filly has a fairly severe club foot, you need to discuss the possibility of a check ligament surgery with our veterinarian. In severe cases, trimming management alone usually does not completely remedy the problem. The surgery is pretty successful, with no loss of soundness.If you and the vet do opt for that route, THEN lowering the heels is appropriate, at the same time, to insure the ligament remail=ns in it's surgically lengthened state as it heals. Patty.