Dr Jill Curo article Elite Equestrian magazine Sept/Oct 2021 issue

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DRESSAGE at Devon

HOOF Balance FALL Fashion VENTILATION in your barn Volume 21 Issue 5 Complimentary

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Hoof Balance Story & Photo By Dr. Jill Costello Chavers

In the last issue we talked about fascia, and how careful training should balance the tension in the fascial lines from top to bottom and side to side. The top and bottom lines are the superficial dorsal line and superficial ventral line, and they come together on the coffin bone within the hoof.

While most horses, like most people, are not perfectly symmetrical from side to side, proper hoof balance is vital to maintaining a fit and sound horse. Keep in mind that each horse’s conformation will dictate the shape of their foot.

There is no one “perfect hoof shape” or “perfect hoof ratio” that works for every horse. The horse that is pigeon-toed will always have a different hoof compared to a straighter limb, or compared to a horse with one foot taller or one leg longer than the other. However, there are some basic guidelines to help you evaluate your horse’s feet.

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“ The toe is too long.”

This comment makes up a big chunk of my radiograph descriptions when assessing trimming and shoeing balance.

Long toes often correlate with low or flat palmar angles, which is the angle that the coffin bone sits compared to horizontal. This angle matters because it’s a predictor of stress on the deep digital flexor tendon and navicular bone, where every degree flatter than ideal causes a 4% increase of stress on the deep digital flexor tendon. Longer toes also mean prolonged break-over which is the time from when the heel comes off the ground to when the toe comes off. Longer time for the foot to be on the ground means there is a higher chance that they interfere with another foot. But before we jump on our farriers’ case here, lets remember they don’t have x-ray vision and the last thing they want to do is make your horse sore by taking too much foot off. When in doubt, ask your vet and farrier to meet and shoot radiographs during the trim.

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General Guidelines:

• The angle of the dorsal hoof wall should be roughly symmetrical to the angle of the pastern. If the hoof wall seems flatter than the pastern there is a good chance the toe is too long and the horse has a flat palmar angle. The opposite is often seen with a club-foot conformation. This is true in the front and hind legs. However, in the hind legs the horses will often tuck their hooves farther underneath their body, giving them a sickle-hocked appearance, or the hoof wall will look rounded at the toe, called a “bull nose.”

As a rough guideline, the coronary bands on the hind hooves should point at the back of the forelimb carpus or lower.

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2.

• When looking at the bottom of the foot, the widest part of the hoof should be nearly halfway between the heel and toe. The foot should also be symmetrical from side to side. However, if the horse is significantly toed-in or toedout this may not be true.

• Looking at the back of the foot and the front of the foot, the coronary bands should be fairly level from side to side and roughly a straight line from the heel up. When the coronary band pushes higher and starts to curve there is the chance that side of the coffin bone is sitting higher than the other which puts unequal stress across the joints and can cause a quarter crack.

If your horse’s hooves have any of these characteristics ask your farrier about them and see if he or she has noticed them or if its something they’ve been working on. Scheduling xrays at the end of the next trim or shoeing cycle can give your farrier a lot of extra information and help them correct any inmbalances that may be present before they start to cause problems.

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1. Broken back hoof pastern axis 2. Bull nose hind foot 3. Rehab shoeing for Low Palmer Angle 4. Mismatched coronory band 5. Long toe and medial to lateral imbalance 6. Fascia lines on a jumper 7. Fascia lines

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You may contact Dr. Jill for further information or make an appointment to see her directly at www.magnoliasporthorse.com Dr. Jill is a graduate of the Auburn University College of Veterinary medicine. She is certified in Equine Rehabilitation and Performance Medicine (CERPV) and trained with the U.S. Equestrian High Performance veterinarians in VA. Dr. Jill is a member of the Large Animal Diagnostic Imaging Society, a group formed by the American College of Veterinary Radiologists, for practitioners on the cutting edge of improving diagnostic imaging quality. The cornerstone of her practice includes sport horse fitness and rehabilitation, building strength, preventing re-injury, and difficult to diagnose causes of poor performance. Dr Jill is an expert in clinical research, has authored various scientific abstracts and articles. She is familiar with the rigors of training and showing because she is an FEI Dressage rider herself.

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