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Good foot conformation
relies upon the following:
Symmetry
Both front and back feet should be matching
pairs in size and shape. They should have the
same height of heel and matching dorsal wall
angles (front feet approximately 45
o
; hind
feet approximately 60
o
) and each hoof
should also be symmetrical about its mid-line
with no flaring of the hoof capsule to the
inside or outside.
Straight hoof pastern axis
A ‘broken back’ (fig.1) hoof-pastern axis is
usually seen with a long toe: low heel
conformation and will result in caudal heel
pain. ‘Broken forward’ (fig.2) hoof-pastern
axis can occur with abnormally sloping
pasterns or as a consequence of contraction
of the flexor tendons during the growth of
youngsters.Both are undesirable and a cause
of weakness.
Level footfall and good
medio-lateral balance
Medio-lateral balance is best assessed with the
limb non-weight bearing. An imaginary line
down the cannon and pastern should cross the
bearing surface of the sole at 90
o
. Sometimes
a compromise has to be reached between
trimming for good medio-lateral balance and
achieving level footfall. Unequally worn shoes
are a sign of abnormal footfall.
Straight dorsal hoof wall
The wall when viewed from the side should
be straight - neither concave nor convex. A
concave dorsal wall occurs in chronic laminitis.
Good horn quality
The hoof horn quality needs to be good to
ensure protection from bruised sole and to
provide the farrier with a strong material to
nail into. Horses with poor quality, flaking or
crumbly horn will be very difficult to keep
shoes on and will suffer repeated bouts of
lameness. Horn disease such as seedy toe
or canker will also predispose to lameness.
Even horn growth
An evenly growing hoof capsule is smooth;
conversely, marked changes in nutrition result
in surges of horn production which cause
ridges to develop on the surface of the hoof
(‘grass rings’). These should not cause
concern. If ridges diverge towards the heel,
however, they signal chronic laminitis and
frequently occur in association with a concave
dorsal wall. If inspecting feet, check for rasp
marks over the upper hoof wall as this may
be a sign that abnormal growth rings have
been rasped away.
Concave sole
The solar surface should have a good degree
of concavity. The sole should be firm and not
too thin. Flat feet with little concavity will lead
to bruised soles. A dropped sole may occur
in laminitic animals where the pedal bone has
rotated or sunk within the hoof.
Well-developed frog
The frog should be well developed with a
shallow cleft. A deep cleft will predispose to
thrush. A horse with ‘shear heel’ has a very
deep cleft and the inner and outer heels will
be of unequal height and can be flexed
independently - often painfully.
Healthy white line
The white line is where the horn of the
hoof wall and sole meet and it is an area
of weakness which, if breached, can allow
bacteria into the sensitive structures leading
to ‘pus in the foot’ or ‘gravel’. Laminitis
will cause widening of the white line
exaggerating the weakness of this area.
Another cause of weakness in this area is
a keratoma (a benign, horn-producing tumour
of the foot) which can be recognised when it
produces a defect or deviation in the white
line on the sole.
Veterinary Surgeon
Richard Sutcliffe
XLVets Equine Practice
Bishopton Veterinary
Group
Richard Sutcliffe BVM&S MRCVS
, Bishopton Veterinary Group
FOOT CONFORMATION
19
EQUINE MATTERS
Foot conformation:
What to look for
Figure 1
Figure 2
Mediolateral imbalance