American Farriers Journal
American Farriers Journal is the “hands-on” magazine for professional farriers, equine veterinarians and horse care product and service buyers.
Q: Has anyone had any success with treating a club foot by shoeing the club foot and leaving the other foot bare?
— Tim Medlin
A: It’s better to have the horse shod on both hooves. You need to control the size and angle of two different hooves. Leaving one hoof unshod would not achieve that.
— Brian Hull
A: I have used a rim pad on the clubbed foot and left the other padless. Always remember to trim the club foot first then measure the foot with your dividers and trim the normal foot accordingly.
— Chris Diehl
A: Before correcting a club foot to match the other foot, you need to know how long the horse has had a club foot,what was the cause of it, how old the horse is and what type of work is it doing. Care should be taken not to overcorrect a club foot just in order to make it look like the other foot.
— Brian Hull
A: What grade of club foot are you talking about? Be careful! You can provoke desmitis in the distal check ligament that can be very harmful! I prefer to raise a heel, then subsequently slowly decrease the height. You also need a vet’s help to give a topical anti-inflamatories. Good luck.
— Ricardo Moraes
A: I’m new to this forum. I work in Somerset, England. I have seen several club footed horses over the years with feet in different states of health. I have been…