Contracted and Sheared Heels

A number of factors must fit together seamlessly in order for a horse to remain sound and healthy: His hooves must bear weight properly in order to stay sound, with multiple structures sharing the load. If there is too much stress on any one part, or if some parts are not bearing adequate weight to maintain proper blood flow and hoof expansion, problems might arise.

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A number of factors must fit together seamlessly in order for a horse to remain sound and healthy: His hooves must bear weight properly in order to stay sound, with multiple structures sharing the load. If there is too much stress on any one part, or if some parts are not bearing adequate weight to maintain proper blood flow and hoof expansion, problems might arise.

Common challenges farriers face include contracted heels and sheared heels. Scott Morrison, DVM, head of the equine podiatry service at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, in Lexington, Ky., says both of these conditions often result from less-than-ideal conformation.

Contracted Heels

"If a foot is too upright it tends to load the toe more and underload the heel portion," explains Morrison. "When the heel is underloaded it becomes contracted. Clubfeet may lead to contraction, just because the heel area is not loaded adequately. Horses lame in the heel area may become contracted because they are not putting enough weight on the heels (the most elastic part of the foot). If a horse favors a foot for a long time, the entire foot can become contracted

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Heather Smith Thomas ranches with her husband near Salmon, Idaho, raising cattle and a few horses. She has a B.A. in English and history from University of Puget Sound (1966). She has raised and trained horses for 50 years, and has been writing freelance articles and books nearly that long, publishing 20 books and more than 9,000 articles for horse and livestock publications. Some of her books include Understanding Equine Hoof Care, The Horse Conformation Handbook, Care and Management of Horses, Storey’s Guide to Raising Horses and Storey’s Guide to Training Horses. Besides having her own blog, www.heathersmiththomas.blogspot.com, she writes a biweekly blog at https://insidestorey.blogspot.com that comes out on Tuesdays.

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