# Has anyone ever seen hooves like this?



## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

So my horse has one of the weirdest set of front hooves I've ever seen. They're literally wide. My horses are on a 6 week trimming schedule. I'll post a picture of when they're all nicely trimmed and a few days ago. (they were just trimmed today) right before they were trimmed this go around was the longest I've seen them but that is generally how they end up looking. (not so long in the toe though) I also know that he has no heel which we are in the process of fixing. My vet also just says he has wide feet but would like some input...

ETA- the picture of his feet after the trim was when I first got him so it's not a completely accurate picture of his feet now, after work I will go take a pic of his feet now after a trim. They still basically are the same shape though. And 2. My farrier said hes never seen a horse his size with feet that big. :shock:

Oh and yes those are heat rings. He had them bad when I first got them and are still trying to grow them out. 

After a trim-









6 weeks later-
















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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

He does look like he's had some sort of a hoof problem for a long time - going by all those rings
It also looks as if someone just files away at the bottom of his foot rather than actually shape it
If he was mine I'd have shoes on him for a while to give him some extra support until he gets a more normal shape back and those rings are showing signs of growing out into healthy hoof


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

Yes when I got him the rings were huge--worse then they are now. And yeah the last time I'm not sure why my farrier did that because he never does. I guess well see when I go to the barn after work. 

My farrier and vet said he isn't in pain but the angles do not look normal.
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## CLaPorte432 (Jan 3, 2012)

I have a gelding that grows his hooves like that. They spread out as opposed to growing straight forwards. My farrier says he has the healthiest feet hes ever seen on a horse...ever.
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## poppy1356 (Jan 18, 2012)

They look flared to me. We can all tell you what our farriers say but it would probably be best to hear from the actual farriers here. But if my girl's hooves looked like that first pic after a trim I would get a new farrier.


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## nikelodeon79 (Mar 3, 2008)

CLaPorte432 said:


> I have a gelding that grows his hooves like that. They spread out as opposed to growing straight forwards. My farrier says he has the healthiest feet hes ever seen on a horse...ever.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


My SIL's gelding is the same. Those things look like dinner plates if we wait too long in between farrier visits! The very first thing I noticed about him when my SIL was contemplating buying him was how FANTASTIC his feet are, though.


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## CLaPorte432 (Jan 3, 2012)

nikelodeon79 said:


> My SIL's gelding is the same. Those things look like dinner plates if we wait too long in between farrier visits! The very first thing I noticed about him when my SIL was contemplating buying him was how FANTASTIC his feet are, though.


I call them pancake feet. ;-)
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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

Well yes - our gypsy cobs are probably worse for splaying out but my farrier keeps them well cut back - if they were allowed to just keep spreading they would soon start to split and crack
We call her Bigfoot
Nothing wrong with her feet and she is barefoot for a lot of the year - just needs shoes when we do a lot of trails as its all so stoney around here
Its the rings that concern me more on those hooves as they do look like laminitis rings. Should be a pic on this link
Natural Horse World Laminitis


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## Jetson (Apr 12, 2012)

It sounds like you havent had this horse very long, is that correct? Its very possible that at some point he went a little too long without being trimmed and now just needs a little time and a few more trims. I think those toes will come back nicely. As for the rings, from my experience, I wouldnt be overly concerned. Rings come from all sorts of things not just laminitis. My horse ended up with terrible rings on all 4 after tie back surgery. He was never ill, just stressed from surgery, medication, who knows what. I hope you can get a sole shot, will be interesting to see whats going on under there.


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## mammakatja (Nov 3, 2009)

CLaPorte432 said:


> I call them pancake feet. ;-)
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I had to laugh because my paint has wide feet that always look flared even after a trim. I've had my farrier for 2 years now and I'm really just a peon on his schedule because he works on huge dressage barns, racing thoroughbreds, as well as high dollar rodeo horses so I know he knows what he's doing and yet, every time he trims my paint, he apologizes and says if he trims or rasps what looks like flares anymore, he's gonna start doing damage. And each time I remind him that I know....he's just got "pancake feet". :lol:


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

I've had him for a year now and theyve always looked like that. In the winter we use to go 8 weeks between trims and did fine but in the summer they were put on 6 weeks and now they're growi like nuts. He's never taken a lame step and his feet are rock hard.
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## crimsonsky (Feb 18, 2011)

i owned a TB gelding that had feet like that. it took a year or so of proper trimming but my old farrier (he has since retired at age 72) to get his feet to grow down instead of out. his feet were never bad before that, but i think he benefited from having more appropriate trims.


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## AlexS (Aug 9, 2010)

I wouldn't be very happy with this, if you have had him for a year. What does your farrier say about it?


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

Vet and farrier both say it's because he naturally has big feet
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## Sherian (Aug 28, 2012)

He has big feet if your're used to upright quarter horse feet, average feet if your're used to draft crosses with platter feet. They don't look that bad, yes he has flaring and yes he has some minor rings, but if he is sound and healthy I wouldn't loose any sleep over it - you will want to watch for seperation or stretching of the white line. Your farrier will want to keep working on the flares but reality is that some horses have big round feet that will always tend to flare. A tight trim schedule will minimse it or with good shoeing it will be minimised the most. 
I would rather a horse with feet on the big side than too small a foot.


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

This horse is as sound as sound can be and those platter feet are rock hard! 
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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

Platter feet, that's what I call them!
Last place I worked at had some TB broodmares, same feet. They all had good, tough feet.


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## mudpie (Jul 15, 2011)

Mudpie has pancake feet, too. :/ His feet grow pretty weirdly, and he needs new shoes every 4-5 weeks, versus 6-8. Maybe your horse needs more frequent trims?


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

He's on a 6 week schedule already. I mean I'm sure I could have him trimmed around 4 weeks but during the winter he goes around 8 for a trim
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## Trinity3205 (Dec 21, 2010)

This horse has a very significant amount of toe flair. Farrier and vet are both ill informed in this case. His feet look like that due to improper/unknowledgable trimming/hoof care. The horse is sound IN SPITE of his current hoof care. No heel is due to the fact that long toes create under run heels. If you drew a stright line down the toe of this foot following the fetlock angle and new growth angle, you have inches of toe happening there that need to be brought in control. 

Sorry.

The good news is that he has a pretty decent looking foot trying to grow out. A few proper trims would really have his sitting pretty.


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## Oldhorselady (Feb 7, 2012)

Do you have any pictures of the bottom of his feet? To me, the toe looks way long and heel. I would be interested in seeing the bottom of the hooves to check the white line.


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

Here's from yesterday after the trim. 


















He said he rasps the toe that way to try and give him a better break over which is what he told the bf yesterday. And I asked him to try and give alittle more heel out
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## LegendsChic (Jul 25, 2012)

Looks to me that you got a whole lot of toe that needs to come off and he needs to grow some heel. My mare has rings all the time, it's been 8yrs, lol! The farrier was out about 3 weeks ago and he still is amazed at the rings she always has, but her feet are nice and strong. I think sometimes it's just the way they are.


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## Jetson (Apr 12, 2012)

I do not claim to be an expert and I hope others with more knowledge chime in but what I think Im seeing in the pics. First - this is right after a trim? Whole foot looks a little long to me. I see how the trimmer is pulling the heels back as they are trying to grow forward but not addressing the toes. If it were me, I would get the toes back and clear the quarters to try to get everything back into alignment, not just try to work the heels back.


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## poppy1356 (Jan 18, 2012)

What are all those dark spots on the sole? Looks strange to me. Do you put thrush treatment on the bottom?


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## aldebono (Mar 15, 2012)

My girls use to be like that. Then I got a different farrier. 
Her flares use to chip off if left too long, and I always knew something wasn't right about her feet. I was very frustrated because I thought "How hard could it be to correct this?!" 
I got a "barefoot" farrier and he was able to tell/ask me if she was heavy on the forehand (she is) and that she was overcompensating in one front hoof for something wrong in her opposite hip (Chiro confirmed this to be true). 
Slowly he has been correcting the flare and even says to keep up whatever we are doing training wise because its helping her feet (working on getting her off the forehand). I still have to rasp her feet in between visits to help with cracks, but he has done a WONDERFUL job and completely changed the way her feet look!

I would look in to getting at least another opinion on his feet.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

If those toes keep growing outwards you will get separation - can see quite a wide line there now on that sole shot and all the time the toe creeps out the heel gets lower and thats going to put strain on his tendons
The line of the hoof has a concave look rather than running in a nice line which could be evidence that the toe is creeping out too far and pulling the wall away from the laminae
Yes the lines can happen when a horse has an illness, a sudden rise in blood pressure, temporary loss of condition etc but they can also occur if a horse has a really mild attack of diet related laminitis that passes without apparent lameness
I'm not sure that this horse would have big feet if he were trimmed and shod differently


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

I haven't put any thrush treatment on his feet. I didn't notice those spots in person but they show up on picture. Weird. And I always thought his toes were oober Long too but he says we can't trim them too short because of his 'big feet'. He is a widely known farrier around here for his good work and experience (hes also a very good family friebd which makes this a bit hard) but this has me stumped. Some say it's normal and some don't.
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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

All I will say is that I wouldn't be happy with this trim if that is what you have after only 24 hours. To me that is a month's growth except for what is missing on one side of the hoof, which appears to have been rasped right down to the sole. He may be popular with a number of owners but perhaps they don't have enough experience to know what a good trim is. We need to have our horses trimmed because we keep them in artificial situations. When running over hundreds of acres their feet wear down naturally, maybe not correctly, but as their conformation permits.


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

I never thought his feet looked right even when I bought him the farrier the owner had trimmed them this way. I believed my farrier dispite that they don't look right at all I do want to try a new farrier just to see how he would do them and his opinion but it's hard enough when my current farrier is practically family.
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## MangoRoX87 (Oct 19, 2009)

Looks like Sassy's feet...
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## Oldhorselady (Feb 7, 2012)

I am no expert and will leave this to the professionals. I am dealing with my own hoof issues too. It seems, to me, that the toe is growing more forward than it should be and causing flare. In time the white line will stretch more and more. I am thinking that instead of trimming the hoof only asthetically and not addressing the actual problem isn't the way to go....something that is not quite as pleasing to the eye may have to be done first. Once the problem is taken care of and the hoof grows out correctly, then the trimming can be done properly and look pleasing again.

I am wondering if farriers are often scared to take measures to correct a hoof due to the owner freaking out because it doesn't look pretty? Plus many of times, owners wants an instant fix?


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## twiz454 (Sep 3, 2012)

I have a friend who breeds TBs. His stallion, an old Seattle Slew baby, has some big, wide, platter/pancake feet, and most of his babies do as well.


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## Oldhorselady (Feb 7, 2012)

twiz454 said:


> I have a friend who breeds TBs. His stallion, an old Seattle Slew baby, has some big, wide, platter/pancake feet, and most of his babies do as well.


My OTTB was a Secretariat/Storm Cat bloodline....I took him directly from the track....he had HORRIBLE feet. Just because a farrier works at a track with big named horses, does not make him necessarily trim great. Plus I am thinking the feet are trimmed much more frequently and using an aluminum shoe....so the feet don't have the chance to grow out as much as they do when they become our pets and aren't working as heavily.....add that to bad foot TB genetics and it's disaster.


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## twiz454 (Sep 3, 2012)

Oldhorselady said:


> My OTTB was a Secretariat/Storm Cat bloodline....I took him directly from the track....he had HORRIBLE feet. Just because a farrier works at a track with big named horses, does not make him necessarily trim great. Plus I am thinking the feet are trimmed much more frequently and using an aluminum shoe....so the feet don't have the chance to grow out as much as they do when they become our pets and aren't working as heavily.....add that to bad foot TB genetics and it's disaster.



This guy and his babies weren't raced, he used them for eventing. They just had some massive feet that would start to spread out by the time they hit a year old


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## AlexS (Aug 9, 2010)

Cowgirls Boots said:


> but it's hard enough when my current farrier is practically family.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I think that's the problem. It becomes really uncomfortable when it's anything other than a professional relationship. 
If I were you, I'd be asking another farrier to come out to the horse.


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

I didn't make another appt for that reason. I think I may get a second opinion. Indont want to offend him but I need the other opinion...
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## Trinity3205 (Dec 21, 2010)

Cant tell much of anything with these latest pictures. Bad angles, poo in the foot. ...Post some good photos as shown here if you want a real critique on the current trim. Dont wait too long. Should be within a week or two at most after a trim. Front feet should be sufficient to tell what we need to.

Good Hoof Photos - How to take Good Hoof Photos


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Normally don't bother looking at threads that already have lots of responses, because I think it's likely someone's already said what I would anyway. The title of this thread caught my eye though, because I thought there might be something wierd & wonderful! But they just look like normal ill managed 'LGL' feet IMO, sorry. Agree basically with what others have said re flaring & such. 

Agree also with Trinity that we need some good hoof pix & more info to give you much, but I have drawn on a couple of your pics to give you a rough idea. Green lines show approx where the foot 'should' be & blue lines show approx how I'd trim to facilitate them growing in better. Sole pic only has a green line because that is also approx where I'd start a strong bevel, effectively trimming the ground surface wall to give me the 'footprint' I ideally want the horse to grow. *Considering the LGL & amount of flaring & depending on environment, etc, I might even bevel right to the edge of the soles for a trim or few, to releive all mechanical force that's 'stretching' the laminae.

(ed to add after looking at the last pic, the 'scooped' quarters are only a VERY rough idea)

Oh & while there are other causes of laminitis, diet is by far the most common, so I'd give that very careful consideration too. Check out safergrass.org & ecirhorse.com Tightening up the trim cycle is likely a good move too, at least until the hooves have been brought to a better state.

Have we been through any of this before with you? If so, perhaps you can point us back to those threads too, for us to get a bigger picture.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

*loosie*. You have picked up on the same problem with the sole of the foot that I pointed out and also the angle of the foot that many of us agreed on
This is not a horse with genetically 'big feet' but one that has been allowed to grow big feet
Those rings still concern me - I did post a worst case pic of a laminitic hoof for comparison as its not just the rings but the direction that the rings are taking and that hollowing out effect of the line of the hoof that makes me think diet related laminitis rather than some health issue. The fact that the whole hoof is still affected and the OP says they were worse than that when she bought him also points to laminitis that may be partially under control but his diet still needs some serious thought. The OP might not be picking up on lameness as both feet are affected in the same way and if he was moving 'wrongly' when she bought him believeing him to be sound she would see that as his natural action and not an indication that something was wrong


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

I've never posted About his feet til Now because everyone I've ever questioned about it said they're normal Because he has 'big feet'. He's never ever taken a lame step for the year I've had him. He did have heat in all four of his feet when I first got him, though. I think the dealer I bought him from had his farrier hack off alot of his toe before I bought him to make his feet look a bit more 'normal' because I'm assuming he had Ill kept feet..hell he was Ill kept when I got him. He's a Camelot rescue so he obviously ended up there for a reason.
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## flyinghooves (Jan 25, 2012)

If it bothers you try and get you horse shod my horses hooves kept on growing out funny so I had shoes put on and it seems to hold the shape better. From what I can see his back hooves look normal.


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## paintedpastures (Jun 21, 2011)

Trinity3205 said:


> This horse has a very significant amount of toe flair. Farrier and vet are both ill informed in this case. His feet look like that due to improper/unknowledgable trimming/hoof care. The horse is sound IN SPITE of his current hoof care. No heel is due to the fact that long toes create under run heels. If you drew a stright line down the toe of this foot following the fetlock angle and new growth angle, you have inches of toe happening there that need to be brought in control.
> 
> Sorry.
> 
> The good news is that he has a pretty decent looking foot trying to grow out. A few proper trims would really have his sitting pretty.


Agree with Trinity on this one. Those feet look similiar to the job I see alot of farriers do.Problem is people start to think that is normal looking:-(.I know I have had horses with feet looking like that over years,but when you finally get a skilled farrier & he gets them where they should be you soon start to recognize a good job from poor.


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

So the vet was out today to do shots so I asked about his feet and she said they are fine..we assume they're like that from lack of hoof care for some time previously. He also doesn't have a heel because of the conformation of his hoof from them being so long previously. She said there's not much else the farrier could do besides maybe trimming off more toe. Otherwise, that's just his conformation.
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## poppy1356 (Jan 18, 2012)

I think you missed PaintedPastures post. Even the draft at our barn doesn't have feet that flared when he is kept up with a proper farrier. We have two different farriers for our barn, the cheap one (aka "the friend"), which I will never let get near my horse, and the one that costs a bit more for a reason. There is a clear difference in the jobs when compared side by side. I think your excuses are blinding you here.


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

The set of photos ive posted were done by the same farrier. I have no 'excuses blinding me' I've had two vets look at him and both said his feet are like that from being lll cared for in the passed. I'm still debating weather or not I'm going to call out another farrier but not really understanding where my excuses are blinding me..
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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Poppy, don't forget we are all just anonymous opinions here ;-) Cowgirl, I agree with Trinity that it does seem your vets & farrier(s) are ill informed. I do appreciate fully that when you've had a few 'experts' to advise you, that you will be (healthily)skeptical about our opinions to the contrary here. So I suggest you do some homework & learn all you can about form & function of hooves & factors that affect them, so you can make more informed decisions & opinions on what's what & what may be best for your horse. Best wishes!


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## poppy1356 (Jan 18, 2012)

hehe yes, yes, misinformation irks me at its best. I had a farrier destroy my horses hooves but I recognized it and switched. I know it's hard when it's a family member or friend but that is why I was always told to never mix business with pleasure. I also take everything my vet says and research it as well. Or any professional at that.


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