"I keep hearing differing opinions re: heels and how close they should be to the ground..."

I just wrote to the vet re: my horses popping in his pastern joints. It is just the "creaking" sound. I have tried a new farrier that is growing out more heel. The popping has gotten noticeably worse. My horse is a little constricted in the heels - has been since birth. I keep hearing differing opinions re: heels and how close they should be to the ground. Thank you

Herb Richardson's Answer:

Sheree,
The popping you describe can be caused by any misalignment of the pastern, with the heels being either too high or too low. There is no special figure for heel height, but on most horses pastern alignment will be achieved if the hoof angle is between 50 and 55 degrees on a trimmed and dressed foot.
Herb Richardson, CJF

"how long you think it will be until they grow back..."

My 4y/o mare has gone lame and she is getting better, but slowly and I have a camp coming up. My instructor says the farrier must have trimmed her too short, so I was wonder how long you think it will be until they grow back.

Herb Richardson's Answer:

Mary Kate,
It is possible that your horse is sore from being trimmed too short. How long it will take him to get over it depends on how much too short he is, and his own threshold of sensitivity. If it doesn't look like he will be better in time for camp, I would suggest shoeing him with pads.
Herb Richardson, CJF

"other farriers have recently told us the cracks are because he is too short..."

Hi. Our 8 yr old gelding has had quarter cracks, one in June and one last Nov. When he had no shoes in the back over the winter, they chipped quite easily. The quarter cracks were repaired and we were told to keep him shod every 4 weeks. That has been the practice since we bought him in Nov. Two other farriers have recently told us the cracks are because he is too short. Do you feel it could be the case? Does a supplement need to be given and if so, what do you recommend. He is on 6 flakes alfalfa/mix hay per day and 3 lbs sweet feed per day. Thanks

Herb Richardson's Answer:

Troy,
There is no way for me to know if the cracks were caused by the farrier, it is possible, but it is unlikely that cracks were caused by being trimmed too short. Hoof supplements may help. It sounds as if your horse is getting plenty to eat, but supplements provide nutrients specific to growing hoof. Hoof-Rite and Farrier's Formula are two supplements that my customers have had success with.
Herb Richardson, CJF

"My 4 yr old mare refuses to get her hoofs trimmed..."

Herb Richardson's Answer:

Lenore, I suggest that you find a good local trainer that you trust, to assess the horse's problem, and to work with both you and the horse to find a way to work through this problem.
Herb Richardson, CJF

"started limping on both back legs and what I donft understand is one day he'll be fine and the next he'll limp and drag his left foot..."

I just recently bought a horse, He seemed fine there and she said he had shoes but had them taken off. When I got him home about 3 days later he started limping on both back legs and what I donft understand is one day he'll be fine and the next he'll limp and drag his left foot. I know he doesnft have thrush so maybe you can help me?

Herb Richardson's Answer:

Sarah
I can't say for sure what is wrong with your horse without seeing him, but dragging a hind foot suggests a possible stifle injury. You should probably have a vet examine your horse to find out exactly what is going on with him.
Herb Richardson, CJF

"She was very good for the Farrier, but now she is acting sore..."

I just had my new horse trimmed 2 days ago for the first time since I got her (she 5 yrs old mare) She was done 7 weeks before I got her and her hooves were in new of a trim because she was tripping and stumbling. She was very good for the Farrier, but now she is acting sore, especially on hard ground and stony driveways. She doesnft mind getting her hooves picked out, but didn't want to go any faster then a walk since the trim. I just pleasure ride her around the farm.

Herb Richardson's Answer:

Evelyn,
It sounds like your horse got trimmed a little short. You can either wait it out and let her grow some foot, or you can put shoes on her, which should provide her with some immediate relief.
Herb Richardson, CJF

"HELP!!!! My horse has bad underslung heels..."

My old farrier used to trim him prior to shoeing in a different way to help encourage the hoof to grow down and out, rather than curl under at the heels. Can you tell me how I should advise my new farriers to trim my horse in preparation that the heel wants to naturally grow this way (underslung)? What about putting on a wedge pad? Would that help or hurt the situation? My horse is the ONLY non-gaited horse at the barn and the farriers are specialized in gaited horses. I need to be able to explain in words they will understand what I want done. They are 3rd generation farriers in the gaited world and are GREAT for gaited horses, but my non-gaited horse has problem hooves and need specialized shoeing. HELP!!!!!!! I can't move the horse and asking another farrier to come by for ONE horse isn't fair either. What should I do?

Herb Richardson's Answer:

Dawn, your horse has probably had a predisposition for underslung heels all his life, and always will. The best thing you can do trimming-wise is to keep him short and trim often. Wedge pads will help correct angle. Open style bar wedges will raise the heel, but tend to crush new heel growth down and perpetuate the problem. I prefer a full wedge pad, as these make the correction without crushing the heels.
Herb Richardson, CJF

"I have a horse that has a crack in its inside front heel..."

The crack is behind the buttress of the heel and heel bulb. The crack also runs inside of the heel. I'm not sure on how to handle this issue. Ifm sure his medial/lateral balance helped to cause this problem. But, now do I cut out part of the heal and put on a bar shoe? What is your suggestion?

Herb Richardson's Answer:

Steve,
What you describe sounds like the product of an over-reach, or a blown abscess. Either one will cause the kind of crack you describe as new tissue grows in the affected area. You can leave it as is, or if it is loose you can cut it away. Either way it should grow out in time.
Herb Richardson, CJF

"has had many issues with sensitive feet..."

We have a 10 yr old Thoroughbred gelding, which my daughter Julie rides competitively in a Hunter/Jumper setting. We have had him since March of this year and has had many issues with sensitive feet. We have changed Ferrier and don't know where else to turn now. It seems every other show he is lame and limping. Is there a shoe with some sort of padding in it for his sensitive issues with his feet? Where we are it seems they don't heat the irons, and fit the horse to the shoe not the other way around.

Herb Richardson's Answer:

Paula,
If all your horse has are sensitive feet, then the simplest solution is to shoe him with pads. These can be made out of leather or plastic, with plastic being the most common choice in the hunter/jumper arena. Feet with pads should be packed with either pine tar based packing, or with what has become very popular in recent years, dental impression material. What I would wonder about is why the horse is lame. Are his feet just sensitive, or is there some other problem making him lame. I would suggest you consult a vet so that you know exactly what kind of a lameness issue you are treating.
Herb Richardson, CJF

"and you are exactly right... he IS very much predisposed to this just as he is to having his front feet flare around the toes and that the medial lateral wall (inside wall) on his front feet tend to be more perpendicular than "coning" out..."

Herb Richardson,
Thank you so much for responding! I looked up MANY websites as I wanted to know more about what his problem was... and you are exactly right... he IS very much predisposed to this just as he is to having his front feet flare around the toes and that the medial lateral wall (inside wall) on his front feet tend to be more perpendicular than "coning" out. He is Paint with heavy QTR horse lines and he's naturally bulky... I've done nothing to encourage his size; in fact he is constantly on a diet, as I know the more weight he carries, the worse this will get. However, his conformation is such that the broadness of his chest encourages all of these things. He was also bearing more weight on his toes, causing them to flare out even more so then they used to. Me, being a total novice, I had to take the nippers and rasp and trim off the flared part as best as I could as it was starting to curl up and break off "chunks of hoof wall." The farriers come every 5 to 6 weeks and they were just there 4 weeks prior. The person who boards him for me (he's in SC, I'm in NC going to school... again) swears he's been done every single time they come. So... this is what I had them do this past visit last week... please tell me if I made the correct choice. The LAST thing I want to do is further hinder my horse. He's 9, I've had him since he was weaned and could travel from Kansas to SC safely. He's had a hard life due to his poor feet quality and his conformation. He'd do great in the conformation ring, but that was not why I bought him.

Rather than shoeing, I chose to keep him barefoot so that I could make more frequent visits back to Charleston and "DR" his feet up on the in-between times. Since the hooves were flaring, the Right worse than the left, and both were underslung and even had little "mountains" growing around the bars of the heel? Sorry if the terminology isn't correct... I'm in medical not farrier, but the little mountains were between the white line and the bars next to the frog. To ME, that said he wasn't wearing down his heel/sole normally. That he was more or less walking on mostly his toes. I would think that if he were using his "whole" sole on the ground, there'd be no "mountains?".... I call them mountains b/c when you'd turn the hoof over, they were prominent pointed processes growing from the sole of the hoof on the heel area of the hoof... it had only been 4 weeks since he'd been trimmed last. Anyway, that was how I determined that he wasn't walking normally on his heels. To me, with my science/medical background, growth is going to follow the path of least resistance. I may be WAAAAAAAAAY off on this, but I had to make a decision, so I took from my personal experience with farriers (been into horses for 28 years), took my medical/science background, did a lot of research, and then formed a plan. I just hope I did the correct thing.

So... I left instructions for the farriers to rasp down the heel on the sole to "balance" the heel, which would also remove the curled over part of the heel. I then had them take more toe and remove the rest of the flares (what was possible without laming him since I had just done this 2 weeks prior). Then I had them "rocker" his toe to cause a faster break-over and to relieve the stress on the toes, which caused them to flare. It is my hope that as the hoof grows out, and the toe grows, it will not pull the heel forward as much, and that by rockering his toe, it will cause him to use more of the sole of his hoof (set him back onto his heels a little bit). All of this done with the horse's comfort and wanting to maintain the integrity of the hoof, front of mind. Since the shoes have been "off" of his feet (about 4 months now) the degree of underslungness (if that's a word) had diminished somewhat, but is in no way near what it should be. The way they were shoeing him was really encouraging them to grow forward with the toe/shoe. They did not leave enough of the bar on the outside to support the heel as the hoof grew... follow me?

So... In my round about, rather lengthy email. Do you think I have "chosen" wisely? As I said... I am going to "work" on them in between their visits, with my limited knowledge, but I can reshape and rasp flat, check angles and use a hoof knife fairly decently. I guess I'm comfortable using the rasp because of all the time I spend doing my own manicures, etc. LOL!!! I am tremulous about having to use the nippers though, but I will if need be. However, as I said, I'm rather handy with a rasp and hoof knife... So... what do you think? Did I do "good" by my horse? Did I suggest the wrong things? Any other suggestions? Especially ANY thing that I can do during the interim visits would be great!

Anxiously awaiting your reply and I do very much thank you in advance...

Herb Richardson's Answer:

Dawn,
My compliments to you. If more horse owners were like you my job would be much easier. Your approach is sound. Leaving your horse shoeless will allow you to trim more frequently, which will keep the dishes and flares from getting out of hand. Dressing the flares and rockering the toes will help minimize distortion as the foot grows, and in time help restore normal form and function. Leveling the heels is also important to help the foot load properly. Some people are afraid to do this with a low-heeled horse, but hoof wall that has curled under has no strength, and needs to be removed in order for new, strong hoof to grow. The "mountains" that you refer to occur because the wall at the point of the heel is supported by the bars, and is therefore stronger than the wall just in front of the heel. This is generally the weakest part of the hoof and the part that will break down first, leaving the "mountains" sticking up, and the heel unsupported and subject to breaking down. Keep doing what you are doing, and good luck.
Herb Richardson CJF