# Toed out horses



## shellybean (Dec 28, 2012)

Anyone?


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

Hi, Welcome to the Horse Forum.

Yes! I've had many horses that toed out. There are two things to remember when dealing with them:

First, do not let any farrier talk you into trying to 'correct' him. You can make one 'appear' straighter, but all you really do is put more stress on their joints. Just have him trimmed or shod 'level'. Hopefully, you can get him to the point where his feet hit flat and do not land on one side first. They stay most sound when shod level.

Second, get a pair of cheap splint boots and put them on him any time you ride or longe him at all. Horses that toe out have a real predisposition to interfere and hit themselves on the inside on their fetlocks with the opposite front hoof. It is not unusual to see these horses with scabs, bumps or scars on the insides of their fetlocks. I have seen them hit themselves so hard that they fractured their medial sesamoid bones or had permanent enlargements on them.

You want to protect those fetlocks whenever you ride him.


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

One of my mares toes out quite noticeably on one front leg. Because of that, I would never ask her to do high power performance work (that involves excessive amounts of concussion and twisting) as I suspect she would not hold up. However, she is just great for trail riding which all I really want to do anyway.

I like the look of your guy and I'm sorry to say he's got my mare beat for smoothness by a long ways.


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## shellybean (Dec 28, 2012)

Thanks for your help!

Do you think he will benefit from having shoes? He has not been shoed his entire life (11 years), but if you think it will help him I'll defiantly have him shoed. 

Also what size splint boots should I get him (would medicine/sport boots work too)? He is 15.3hh. I ran out to the tack store to pick some up and to ask the employees there what they thought, but they were closed so I'm just going to order some online.


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## Abnormal (Mar 12, 2012)

His trot is beautiful! I once rode a mare whose trot was like riding a jackhammer!


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

I would leave him barefoot. The weight of a shoe will accentuate any problems. It also makes him more likely to interfere. 

You can use the sport medicine boots, but simple splint boots that fasten around his cannons and extend down far enough to cover the inside of his fetlocks will work just fine. 

You can tell if he is hitting himself by keeping a eye out for a muddy spot or a scab on the inside of his fetlock joint on the lower part of it. If you see such a spot, it means he needs to be trimmed more often. They are worse when they get too long.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

I would like to see a clear daylight picture of his front end, standing square.

The videos don't show anything regarding his splayed feet.

In the world of Tennessee Walkers being splay-footed is more common than not. Nobody, including the most idiotic of farriers, try to trim the splay-footedness out of a TWH. Just asking for leg problems but they do need to be trimmed with a conscience; meaning the trimmer or farrier needs to trim according to what the hoof is telling him/her to do, NOT what they think they should do.

I can't speak to how common and acceptable that is in walk/trot horses, which is why it would be best if you could stand him on something solid and take a pic (standing squarely in front of him) that shows his hooves clear up to his head


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## spurstop (Mar 22, 2012)

There are plenty of fantastic performance horses who don't have the best legs under them. It's not the end of the world. A good farrier will keep their feet balanced and they will be fine.


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