HEALTHY FRONT HOOVES

Despite textbook images to the contrary, equine hooves rarely appear”perfect” Further, no two hooves are created equal even on the same horse. If you pick up your horse’s left and right front feet, for instance, you will notice a variety of natural differences between the two. As depicted above, the general shape can vary greatly, and left and right front heel bulbs and frog shape and location within the heel can differ considerably. Notice this left front medial (inner) heel bulb is pushed up slightly, as is typical of many feet. Wall thickness at the toe usually varies between feet due to farrier technique. A line drawn down the middle of the foot reveals a typically wider lateral (outside) half on both feet and an asymmetric radius of the medial versus lateral half of the foot.

The outside appearance is dictated by forces within the foot, coffin bone angle and shape, and internal parameters, which radiographs reveal are strikingly different from one foot to the other. So the next time you start to fret over the fact your horse’s feet don’t match textbook images of the “normal” hoof remember that all feet differ due to factors such as age, environment, genetics, and farriery. Imperfect-looking hooves can often be very healthy, and trying to “correct” them can do far more harm than good .