Tequilas HoofMakeover

HORSE HEALTH
TEQUILA’S
Hoof
Makeover
BY HANS WIZA
Tequila is a Thoroughbred mare
that I was asked to shoe a couple
of months back. She stands splayfooted, is badly over at the knees,
and her hind legs were quite sicklehocked. Her feet were smashed,
flared, chipped, and cracked. She
was just the kind of project that I
wanted to do a “hoof makeover”
on ­— I do love a challenge.
Notice the nearly horizontal hairline, and the up-arc in the hairline.
Up-arcs in hairlines indicate a hoof joint surface that does not load
correctly and does not allow for a congruent alignment of the limb.
20
www.HORSEJournals.com • August 2015
PHOTO: HANS WIZA
T
equila’s owner wants to show her in hunters.
The hunter ring calls for a horse with a rhythmic,
flowing way-of-going without too much knee
action, and a forward-moving canter capable of making
the distances, along with nice round self-carriage.
To achieve this, Tequila was going to need better
posture. Her knee action was exaggerated to the point
that she left her front legs underneath herself and was
just heavy on the forehand. Her canter was simply a
rough, plunging, porpoise-like wave, not the nice linear
lope called for in the hunter ring. She would also break
into a four-beat canter when she lost impulsion. The left
lead (the more upright foot) was very difficult for her to
pick up and almost impossible to reliably depart on.
Both front feet were cracked, chipped, flared, flaking,
bent, broken, hyper-expanded, peeling, and irregular in
shape. The hairlines at the coronary band were irregular
in their slope from front to back with a serious up-arc
surfaces is paramount to the horse’s safety, health, and
comfort. A nice way-of-going naturally follows if these
criteria are met. It is built into almost every horse, but
sometimes it just needs a little coaxing.
I followed the H.A.N.S. TRIM protocol (H.A.N.S. is an
acronym for Hooves Are Naturally Strong) which took
about 20 minutes for the front feet with a couple of
stops to take pictures, and another 25 minutes to shape
up the shoes and tap them on.
I developed the H.A.N.S. Trim method to provide a
consistent technique of assessment and hoof trimming
methodology. I had acquired a big, beautiful German
Warmblood who was also over at the knees, and through
him I first learned about shifting the fulcrum on the
bottom of the hoof to bring “over at the knees” back to
straight. The results have been nothing short of
astonishing.
There are literally hundreds of different styles of
horseshoes, all of which are used to enhance specific
geometries or at least mitigate damage to the hoof. The
foundation of every shoeing job is the trim, barefoot
trims included. All too often overlooked are the
potential ramifications of preparing the hoof without a
mechanically useful outcome in mind. The large
number of hoof deviations and permutations often
leads people to believe that certain hoof types are the
result of disease.
In fact, the hoof shapes themselves are the main
contributors to many a lameness diagnosis. A healthy
hoof shape is almost invariably a sound working hoof
and the restoration of good hoof geometry leads to the
rehabilitation of many horses. In the immortal words of
Jessica Rabbit: “I’m not bad, I’m just drawn that way.”
Today, Tequila is showing well and getting call-backs
in the jog. b
Visit www.Hoofmakeover.ca for more information.
ARTICLE PHOTOS CONTINUE ON PAGES 22 TO 27
PHOTOS: HANS WIZA
just above the navicular joint, and the hooves lacked a
uniform taper from front to back. The cannon bones
were hanging behind the hoof. The hoof joint, the front
of the carpus, and the scapular hinge weren’t in vertical
alignment. The carpus was unable to lock at rest, and the
mare’s neck and withers were quite hollow. The carpus
needs to be locked in order for the stay apparatus to be
brought into equilibrium. The knee needs to lock during
the stance phase of the stride, albeit momentarily
during the stride phase where the weight passes over
top of it. The test to see if the carpus is locked is to
swing one’s leg very lightly and bump just behind the
horse’s knee. It ought to remain locked and there should
be a rebound of your foot. (If you try this remember to
swing very lightly as if you were pushing a kitten out of
the way while you had an armful of hay.)
Tequila also has a history of being a shoe picker and
has had shoes glued on which lasted only a maximum of
ten days before she banished them to the “shoe trolls.”
Traditional hoof trimming is predicated upon the
excavation of the soles and frogs. This secures adequate
purchase for the nippers to bite off a chunk of hoof, and
then provides sufficient wiggle room for a hoof rasp to
render the ground surface of the hoof wall flat enough to
receive the horseshoe nail. It is the hope of every owner
and farrier that this will suffice the horse’s needs and
that everyone is satisfied with the job. Most of all, the
goal is for the horse to not limp and to keep the shoes on
for a suitable period of time.
This is where it gets interesting. The visualization and
the vector geometry calculations required to make all
this happen are staggering in their complexity. This is
the reason so many shoe jobs fail – because the
traditional approach and the dogma that surrounds it
simply does not work. Hoof trimming is almost
universally taught from a two dimensional aspect and
the hoof is very obviously three dimensional. The need
to have congruent alignment of all the bones and joint
BEFORE: Tequila’s near fore, showing high
heels and broken out quarters.
Notice how the hairline is beginning to level
out and how there is a uniformity to the taper
of the hoof from heel to toe. The boxy appearance is gone and the cannon bone is fully supported by the hoof.
The near fore, shod for second time at 27 days.
August 2015 • Canadian Horse Journal
21
THERAPEUTIC
PADS
To aid in preventing and relieving
many of your hoof care problems
CUSHION FROG PADS
SMALL: 6 1/2” x 5 7/8” x 1/16”
LARGE: 8” x 7 1/2” x 1/8”
TWO DEGREE: 6 1/2” x 5 7/8” x 5/16”
TWO DEGREE LARGE: 8” x 8” x 5/16”
EGG BAR PADS
SMALL: 6” x 6 1/2” x 1/8”
LARGE: 7 3/8” x 7 7/8” x 1/8”
TWO DEGREE: 6” x 6 1/2” x 5/16”
PERFORMANCE PADS
above: This is Tequila on our first meeting. She is over at the knees and hollow at the withers. Her
front feet are in front of the break in the withers and behind the scapular hinge. She has an exaggerated slope to her croup and is severely sickle-hocked. Her posture shows that she has difficulty
standing with at least one hind leg in a vertical position. Both hind legs ought to be able to stand
in a vertical position or at least in a nearly vertical posture. This enables the weight of the horse to
be borne by the boney column as was intended, rather than being held up in a sling comprised of
back and gluteal muscles.
#4: 6 3/8” x 5 3/4” x 3/16”
#5: 7 1/4” x 6 5/8” x 3/16”
#4: 6 3/8” x 5 3/4” x 1/4”
#5: 7 1/4” x 6 5/8” x 1/4”
IMPAK PADS
PHOTOS: HANS WIZA
#8 IMPAK ABSORBER:
5 1/8” x 4 3/4” x 3/16”
#8L IMPAK LARGE ABSORBER:
6 5/8” x 6” x 3/16” (For Prolapsed Frog)
CASTLE PLASTICS
1-800-9-CASTLE
castle@net1plus.com
11 Francis St., Leominster, MA, USA 01453
www.castleplastics.com
22
www.HORSEJournals.com • August 2015
above: Tequila after her first shoeing. Her front legs are much straighter. A vertical line through her
hoof joint lines up with the front of the carpus and the scapular hinge.
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PHOTOS: HANS WIZA
(Before) Tequila’s front legs are splayed.
The heel flares on the off fore contribute
significantly to that posture.
(After) Now Tequila’s legs don’t turn out as
drastically as in the barefoot photo.
August 2015 • Canadian Horse Journal
23
s
BEFORE See how the yellow and red lines intersect,
crossing just below the chestnuts. The red line shows the
slope of the cannon bone. Notice how far the red line
extends up the neck showing the extent of the
unsupported portion of the forehand. The blue line
denotes the placement of the heel in relation to the
vertical axis of the cannon bone. The yellow line shows
the position of the toe relative to the break in the withers.
s
Notice the
intersection of the
yellow and red lines,
which intersect at the
chestnuts showing an
increase of support.
AFTER Now the yellow and red
lines intersect and cross at about
the same height as the point of the
elbow. The entire boney column of
the leg of the horse is now within
perpendicular lines. The hoof is
directly under the withers and the front
of the carpus is vertically aligned with the
scapular hinge. This stance enables total and complete
support of the forehand of this mare.
s
PHOTOS: HANS WIZA
s
H
24
www.HORSEJournals.com • August 2015
The boney column of the leg is now entirely within the blue
and yellow lines. The slight forward slope of the forelimb
supports the withers and the scapular hinge (star). This
stance is a power posture enabling crisp departures and
transitions. The hind legs are in a more vertical posture
and this in turn creates more engagement of the hind
quarters while allowing the front legs to stretch out.
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s
(Before) Tequila’s off fore, showing the heavily
flared outside quarter and broken quarters.
s
Off fore nicely and conservatively dressed
according to the H.A.N.S. Trim protocol.
Effective flare management does not require the
entire hoof to be over processed in order to hit the
key target points. The H.A.N.S. Trim is a very
minimalist approach to hoof trimming as you
can see by the photos.
s
The whole posture of this horse has now
changed for the better. She now
looks athletic and strong.
Her neck set is finally where
it ought to be,
low and relaxed, not
sticking up and hollow.
Her forearm has a nice
congruent slope to it in relation to the
cannon bone. Her feet are under her withers
and the hoof joint and carpus and scapular
hinge all line up beautifully. Both hind legs
are capable of weight bearing without undue
reliance on the musculature. Although the
cannon bones are not yet vertical, the hooves
are nicely under the hocks and just behind the
point of the stifle. She exudes grace and
athletiscm (and she needs a bath!).
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www.HORSEJournals.com • August 2015
The off fore trimmed and reshod.
PHOTOS: HANS WIZA
s
The off fore hoof after it lost its first shoe.
Notice how the outside wall is not as pulled away
at the heels and quarters as it was originally. The
owner’s thumb shows a nice leathery toe callous
resulting from the contact of the hot-fitted
horseshoe, which enabled the sole to bear weight
without compromising the horse’s comfort after
the shoe came off.