# Horse clipping front feet with back hooves



## Bay Lee (Aug 27, 2011)

it seems his toes are to long....You could put bell boots on his front legs, I would have his feet trimmed to bring back his toes..


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## Allison Finch (Oct 21, 2009)

Talk to your farrier. Horses that "forge" can often be trimmed/shod to address this problem. Often, they will "dub" the toes on the rear hooves to allow them to break over differently. 

Forging can injure the front feet and pull shoes constantly. In the mean time, bell boots will protect the feet.


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## gothicangel69 (Aug 2, 2011)

Thanks for the advice. I will pick up some bell boots for him in the meantime.
Next time the farrier is out, I will discuss the issue with her. He does not have shoes on. His hooves were just trimmed last week, and are not too long- could it be a conformation fault on why he's doing this?


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## bubba13 (Jan 6, 2007)

Could be an excessively short back, or could be that his hoof angles are not right.


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## gothicangel69 (Aug 2, 2011)

I don't think his back is too short. He is a little sickle-hocked though.
Here are a few videos of him walking and trotting- maybe there is something I'm missing (lack of muscles or something)?
Walking
MVI_6241.mp4 video by gothicangel_69 - Photobucket
Trotting
MVI_6242.mp4 video by gothicangel_69 - Photobucket


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## gothicangel69 (Aug 2, 2011)

Here's a conformation shot as well if that helps- it was taken a few weeks ago though, he's gained a bit of fat and muscle since then but its the most squared up one I have.


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## Bay Lee (Aug 27, 2011)

I just watched your videos, did you notice that almost every step at a walk he jams his hooves toe first in the sand....Is there any way you could slow down the trotting video?..Also, you mentioned he is newly trimed, can you post pictures of his bhooves, preferably him standing on pave or cement, side views and under the hoof...He is landing toe first alot...
In the picture you posted, he is standing over his front knees..I dont want to be critical,I just want to help.. He looks great in the videos, he is quite handsome.


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## Bay Lee (Aug 27, 2011)

Im posting a picture of my boy from the side...His front legs are really straight.Mabye you could take another side shot of him if he gained some muscle and fat, you can really etll alot from a good side shots, and good hoof shots.


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## gothicangel69 (Aug 2, 2011)

I have not noticed that, so thank you for pointing that out. What could cause this? He is not normally that over in the front, he was leaning towards something, then looked at me and I snapped the picture- hard to get a 3 yr old to stand still long enough to get a good shot:lol:.
I will take some pictures of his hooves in a few hours and post them. He doesn't do it as bad right after he's trimed, but its still there.

Unfortunately, I don't know too much about computers, so have no idea how to slow the video down.


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## gothicangel69 (Aug 2, 2011)

I will try to get another side shot today as well then.


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## Bay Lee (Aug 27, 2011)

> Unfortunately, I don't know too much about computers, so have no idea how to slow the video down


.

would you mind if I try to slow it down?..if you give me permission.


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## gothicangel69 (Aug 2, 2011)

Sure, I don't mind whatsoever.
Here are some more side shots (they are not the best though, he was absolutely WILD tonight:lol


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## gothicangel69 (Aug 2, 2011)

Front Left
















Front Right
















Rear Left
















Rear Right


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## Bay Lee (Aug 27, 2011)

great pictures...his front feet are kind of pointy, you may want to ask your farrier to round off his hooves..Looking at his back hooves, the thing that stands out the most is under run heels, I think his heels could be brought back a bit..Im not sure if that would fix his hitting problem, but you can try.

Im posting a picture of a rounded off hoof, that will help with his toe first landings...next time your farrier is in ask him what he thinks..He might completly disagree with me, and he is the professonal after all...
and I must say, your boy is beautiful, I love Bay's with stockings.Hopefuly, my next horse will be that color..droollll....












in this picture you can see how far the heels are back...


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## gothicangel69 (Aug 2, 2011)

The farrier is comming back out Oct 11, so I will ask her these questions. She did say that he has a bit of wry feet in the back (not quite sure what that means) but did say she would be able to fix them over time, can't remember if she said anything about his heals though so ill have to discuss that with her. She did say that he has nice, hard hooves though .
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Bay Lee (Aug 27, 2011)

His feet do look healthy, his frogs look nice and plump..


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## gothicangel69 (Aug 2, 2011)

Can I leave the bell boots on him while he's in the paddock just in case he bangs himself up, or is that a bad idea? Sorry if this is a obvious question- I've just never had to use these before.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## crimsonsky (Feb 18, 2011)

gothicangel69 said:


> Can I leave the bell boots on him while he's in the paddock just in case he bangs himself up, or is that a bad idea? Sorry if this is a obvious question- I've just never had to use these before.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


i've used pull-on bell boots on horses 24/7 with no problems - just makes sure they are the right size.


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

I agree with the need to roll the toes more. The heels also look very underrun to me.


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## gothicangel69 (Aug 2, 2011)

What exactly does an underrun heal mean and how is it fixed? (I know farriers can usually do something about it, but just wondering what it is they may do?)


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## Bay Lee (Aug 27, 2011)

It means they are to far ahead, the heal should be farther back on the hoof,...I will try to photoshop one of your hoof pix to show you..


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

In an underrun foot, the angle of the front of the hoof is greater than the angle of the heel. In an ideal hoof they are more or less parallel. In extreme cases, the heel flattens out and the horse starts walking on the back wall of the hoof.

This website does a good job of explaining what it is and has some good pictures. It does lean heavily towards the anti-shoe, pro-barefoot viewpoint, so take the recommendations with a grain of salt. Underrun Heels

The website does mention that underrun heels can cause pain that makes the horse tend to land toe-first to avoid it, and a couple people did note that your horse seems to be landing toe first in the videos.

Your best bet is to discuss it with your farrier and see if s/he recommends any corrective action.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I havent' read the whole thread but thought I'd add this regarding forging.
Rather than shortening the rear toes, I was told that the front toes should be more rounded to decrease the breakover time. That way the front foot gets out of the way faster, of the back foot.


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## gothicangel69 (Aug 2, 2011)

That was a great article and very informative. I am pro barefoot, but do understand that shoes are needed in certain circumstances and for certain horses. I have a wonderful farrier, so hopefully she will be able to eventually fix the problem. She did mention when she first trimmed him that there was a lot wrong with his hooves but that she's been able to fix ones in worse condition (can't remember if she said anything about his heels, but knowing her she knows about them). 
Can't wait till she comes in Oct so I can discuss this with her.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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