# Are her feet too small?



## SallyRC123

Oh and I realise it could be hard to tell from the photographs, but is she sickle hocked too?


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## LizAndCollin101

Little teacup feet and an upright pastern. Nothing wrong with that only that she will be more prone to corns and could get a bit more jarring.

Our Quarter Horse has these type of feet and she's really quick and agile! Most horses with these type of feet i have found to be very quick, agile and good sporters/cow horses etc anything that requires surefootedness and agility.

I know a lot of people will disagree with me and say that her feet and legs are wrong but i think you will find this will be a good thing for the future.

However, I cant tell if she is sickled hock i would need a picture of her back end but from the other photos i will say she is a nice looking quarter horse.
A lovely hip she haves.

Hope This Helps!


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## Solon

They are really small and looks like she's in need of a trim too. I disagree with with Liz. It could potentially be an issue depending on what you are going to do with her.

Other than the feet/leg issue - she's a nice looking horse.


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## Britt

I don't think her hooves are too small... Her hooves remind me of my mares hooves and my girls hooves are small (at least that's what my farrier says)... They look like they need a trim to me.


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## jacken around

Quarter horses in general in Australia anyway (may be different elsewhere) have smaller feet club feet are also very common, it's not a problem for the performance horses i have been around so should not be anything for you to worry about with your mare.


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## upnover

actually teacup feet and upright pasterns are the causes of lameness in several QHs... somewhere along the line people thought it would would be a great look for them. Unfortunately you need a good solid foot and a proper pastern angle that's going to support the horse. Not saying that EVERY horse with a small foot and upright pastern is going to be lame, but it's not what I'd call a great asset in conformation.


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## Solon

upnover said:


> actually teacup feet and upright pasterns are the causes of lameness in several QHs... somewhere along the line people thought it would would be a great look for them. Unfortunately you need a good solid foot and a proper pastern angle that's going to support the horse. Not saying that EVERY horse with a small foot and upright pastern is going to be lame, but it's not what I'd call a great asset in conformation.


Exactly.

What exactly are you wanting to do with her?


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## Sullivan17

I agree with Liz.

She has small feet but it isnt to much of a problem.. a lot of quarter horses seem to have small feet like that.. I had one mare.. she was a "really" big bodied mare.. and had tiny teacup hooves... I see most halter horses have small feet like that.. some people say that they are more prone to breaking down... but i don't exactly think so... She may be in need for a trimming soon tho.. =]
and she doesn't look over weight to me.. looks really good.

Really nice looking horse.. I love her butt!.. Typical quarter butt =]


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## Sullivan17

one thing is tho.. is trimmers don't really like horses with small feet... My trimmer says it's just a pain lol


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## starlinestables

In my farrier science book it said that it could up their chances for navicular....... but that is usually a condition that has a later onset in life.

As the other poster said.. its not conformationally desirable but its not a death sentence or anything.


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## farmpony84

starlinestables said:


> In my farrier science book it said that it could up their chances for navicular....... but that is usually a condition that has a later onset in life.
> 
> As the other poster said.. its not conformationally desirable but its not a death sentence or anything.


Those were my thoughts. The fear of founder would come w/ weight and diet I would think. Concerns would be more with the potential for navicular. She's a cute horse, she has normal tiny little QH feet. My older gelding has tiny QH feet as well... if it makes you feel better... he's been lame twice since I've had him. both times were absesses caused by stone bruises (he's barefoot). I have had him for 21 years. He's 24 years old.


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## SallyRC123

Thanks for the info guys, she is in need of a trim at the moment. Is she able to be trimmed with the stone bruise?

My plans for her.. Well, I'd love to do a bit of everything. I do lots of trail riding on her and flat work and a little jumping but not much. I'd love to enter some casual shows and competitions especially in hacking. Maybe a dressage comp here or there and I would love to do some cross country! Although we both need to be trained a bit more in these areas and I cannot afford that at present so its just casual riding at the moment.

So she doesn't look over weight?


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## farmpony84

I didn't think she looked too fat. She can have a trim w/ a stone bruise, in fact, it would probably be a good idea as it could potentially turn into an abscess....


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## SallyRC123

Can anything be done to reduce the risk of navicular?


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## equineangel91

To me they look a bit small for her. If she is comfortable with them though, then it shouldnt pose a problem, its natural for her. Theyre def small though


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## drop_your_reins

She doesn't look fat to me at all, though I'm sure she could stand to lose a few pounds. As long as you can feel her ribs, your in good shape. If it makes you feel any better (or worse, potentially), founder sometimes occurs for no reason. My trainer's mare foundered apparently from nothing, she was not overweight (she wasn't skinny either, but I digress).. It could be genetic, since her sire foundered and was known to produce horses who eventually foundered. Anyway, she went on a diet regardless and is doing well now.. but to be fair, she was not overweight to begin with. (And her dam, who is still alive with my trainer has the largest baby-birthing-broodmare tummy and Cushing's and has not foundered.. life is strange that way sometimes) 

So its good to do as much as you can to avoid things like founder, just to warn you, it may show up for no reason, and it doesn't mean you did something wrong.. It's one of those things that just happens sometimes. I think QHs are more prone to foundering too, so preventative measures are a good thing, but if it does happen, there can be a variety of environmental, genetic and conformational conditions, some might be obvious others might be hidden, its probably not your fault.


Like I said she looks good to me, as long as you can feel her ribs, she's probably fine. If you want to put her on a little diet, it won't kill her, she can probably stand to lose some weight... but I don't think she's at risk.


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## Hoofprints in the Sand

She's a cutie, I think she looks like a healthy weight  

BTW where did you get your saddle pad?? That's the color/shade I've been looking for and can't find ANYWHERE!!!


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## drop_your_reins

Keeping her trim though, I might add, will probably keep her more comfortable on her feet, if you do think their small. They do look small, but not extremely. I noticed her pasterns before her feet anyway. But the more overweight she is, combined with her small feet will probably magnify her chances of founder, just because she'll have less surface area to distribute her weight evenly, and it will be more concentrated on her coffin bone, so I don't think she's overweight.. but it will probably be an issue you should be concerned with, especially as she gets older, I also wouldn't let her get any bigger than she is.. But that's just me though. 

I don't think its something to obsess over though, just make yourself more aware of what she's eating, maybe weigh her monthly and make sure she's not gaining... If she is gaining either work her more or cut her feed a little bit. Slight changes will make the difference!


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## NorthernMama

Hi, SallyFoal... I think she has or did have some issues with her feet... Can you get photos of just her feet for more detail? Brush them first with just water and then take pics from the side and front. The bottom would be nice too. I'm just thinking of her fronts, but maybe the backs... can't really see in the photos... Has she foundered in the past? When was her last trim?


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## Solon

I was wondering about founder too but wasn't sure if it was just the pictures.

The person that mentioned navicular above is right:

"We're still not sure why some horses develop pathology in the foot and others do not. "Certainly it can occur in a horse with genetic predisposition to these problems, such as a Quarter Horse with small feet, or a horse with poor foot conformation, such as low heels and long toe," says Stephen O'Grady, DVM, BVSc, MRCVS, owner of Northern Virginia Equine. "Some horses are susceptible to problems due to excessive, repetitive stress on the navicular bone. Yet other horses doing the same work will never go lame."

from thehorse.com article (you may need to register to see the whole thing)

The Horse: Hope for Navicular Horses


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