# Horses right hind hoof turns inwards



## kiwi79 (Nov 11, 2011)

Hi everyone

After spending over a year looking for a horse, the last one being an OTTB which windsucked (ended up passing on him) I now have a horse on trial from a guy at work. He was given the horse over winter from someone who had run out of grass and had too many horses, when spring arrived the owner couldnt be bothered coming to get him so this guy got him for free. He is a lovely little 6 year old pinto, a bit green but was used by the previous owner for pig hunting. The new owner has said that I can have him for cheap given that he has done a bit of ground work with him, a lady who grazes at the same place has been riding him a couple of times a week but nothing intensive. The only possible problem is that at a walk his hind right hoof points inwards from the ankle down - it is quite noticable once it has been pointed out. It does not seem to trouble him and there is no connection with his other hind leg when moving. The guy got a vet to look at it who said it looks like it has been that way since birth and not due to injury - he said it shouldnt affect him except for being an issue with future buyers. we rode today for almost two hours up and down steep terrain and he did really well - he stumbled a bit but then so did the other horse as it was pretty uneven ground. Other than that I love him already and can see us making a great team, he would only be used for pleasure riding so no heavy competing. I would probably get another vet to look at it before buying although I dont want to offend the owner as he is very genuine and I know he would not try and sell me a horse that he didnt think was sound. Can anyone advise on this or whether it could be (or should be) corrected with trimming and/or shoeing? At this stage he is only shod on his front feet.
Thanks!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Hm, that sounds interesting and it's not a fault that I can really picture just from your description. Does it only point inward when he is moving or does it do it while he is standing as well? Is there any way you could get a picture to show us exactly what you're talking about?

Beyond that, I would be quick to just agree with your vet since s/he has seen the horse in person and, I'm assuming, did some sort of test to ensure soundness on the leg. Could never hurt to get a second opinion from a different vet though.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

Hard to say much without pictures but he sounds either sickle hocked or bow legged.

Here are some pictures that might help you.

sickle hocked horse - Google Search

I have a TWH that is slightly sickle hocked and toes in a bit. His rear toes will get really pointed, the back quarters of the rear hoofs will really flare, and the right frog will literally grow right over the heel (from the twisting motion that hoof makes) if I don't keep it trimmed back.

I do my own trimming so he gets trimmed about every three weeks to keep his rear hooves from wanting to flare. He's also insulin resistant so that's another reason to trim him every three weeks:-(

Anyway, look at the pictures in the link and see if anything matches, plus if you can, get some front, side and rear pics of your horse's hooves and post them.

Get the horse on level flooring or ground, set the camera down in front of the hooves and don't wash them. Wet hooves distort things. If they're muddy just wipe them off good with a towel then brush them with a scrub brush


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

If the vet doesn't think it'll affect his long term soundness or his ability to do what you like with him, I wouldn't be too concerned about it. You might want to get an opinion from your farrier, too.

Generally toeing in/out shouldn't be corrected in mature horses, as their legs developed with the hoof that way and aren't as malleable once they're full grown. Since he's toeing in, you might want to put sport boots on his hind legs when you ride if there's any chance he could brush his other leg with his hoof as he moves.


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

verona1016 said:


> If the vet doesn't think it'll affect his long term soundness or his ability to do what you like with him, I wouldn't be too concerned about it. You might want to get an opinion from your farrier, too.
> 
> Generally toeing in/out shouldn't be corrected in mature horses, as their legs developed with the hoof that way and aren't as malleable once they're full grown. Since he's toeing in, you might want to put sport boots on his hind legs when you ride if there's any chance he could brush his other leg with his hoof as he moves.


I agree with Verona! I wouldn't let a blemish on a free-to-cheap horse stop me from getting it if I loved the horse otherwise. Nobody is perfect.

I also agree that you should not try to correct it on an adult horse because you can cause the very arthritis/soundness problems you are worried about by forcing the leg into an un-natural (for this horse) position. If he seems sound and you have the vet's blessing, and the horse is inexpensive, just get him and enjoy him and don't worry about it.

If you were doing hard competition that might be different. But for pleasure and trail riding, it shouldn't cause him trouble.


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## kiwi79 (Nov 11, 2011)

Thanks
I did think that he is too old now to try and correct it and it would probably do more damage than good. When he is standing it is not turned in, it only seems to be when he is moving. I will put some photos up tomorrow when it has stopped raining.
Cheers


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## usandpets (Jan 1, 2011)

If it doesn't seem to bother him, it should be ok but I'm not a vet or farrier. I don't think corrective trimming or surgery would fix it. Trimming may improve it but not fix it.

Our TWH is toed out in the front and in at the rear. She does fine but she's only 5 yo. Our vet said that she may develope arthritus because of that and the injuries/surgery she had. That may be a possibilty with your horse too.

I wouldn't worry about offending him by having another vet look at it. If I was selling a horse, I would encourage the buyer to do it unless there was something I was trying to hide.


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## kiwi79 (Nov 11, 2011)

Thanks for that. I tried to take some photos today but our entire property is on a slope so very hard to find somewhere flat thats suitable. There is a nice mown area across the stream at the bottom of the property but he didnt want to cross, I'm not sure how much experience he's had with water so I didnt want to make a big deal of it. Hopefully I can get my neighbour to bring her horse over soon, I'm sure he will follow another horse over.


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