Everyone in the horse industry has, at one time or another, picked up a horse’s hoof and looked at the bottom. Many of us do this every day. When viewing the bottom of a hoof, the eyes are drawn immediately to a focal point, the frog.
In my last two articles, I started discussions about lower limb function. Having written about the superficial and deep flexor tendons, I believe it would be a mistake not to bring the suspensory ligament (SL) into this series.
To follow up on the article on the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT), I believe some thoughts on the deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) are in order.
Anybody associated with performance horses as a career has seen, and had to deal with, tendon injuries. A bowed tendon is one of the most prominent and debilitating injuries in horse racing.
The regular egg bar shoe is essentially a therapeutic device. The extreme depth of the shoe and the wrap around the bar creates a great deal of support for the lower leg in the caudal (rearmost) portion of the hoof.
I've been shoeing horses for more than 20 years at The Red Mile in Lexington, Ky., as well as at other tracks. When I started, the standard shoes for a trotter at that time were 5/8-inch half rounds, often with a big leather pad. A trotter with 4-inch toes wasn’t uncommon.
Loss of hoof wall could be the result of several factors including injury, disease, and infection. Often a horse can lose what appears to be massive amounts of wall, but still be sound and moving well. Other times the smallest crack can result in lameness. The important factors are the location and cause of the damage.
American Farriers Journal is excited and honored to celebrate its 50th anniversary of publishing the hands-on magazine for hoof-care professionals. Learn more about our special edition, which comes out in December 2024.
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