Horses while in their first year carry out a lot of growing with regards to height, weight and bone ossification. When a horse is born, there is a lot of room for manipulation with the bones having not yet hardened. Because of this, it is possible to carry out work to ‘correct’ a problem or weakness with no sign of this when the horse reaches the stage of being sold as a yearling.
Corrective work can eradicate or alleviate weaknesses in a horse’s conformation that in the future could have led to soreness, being unsound or a shortened racing career. For this reason, adjustments that can be made early to a horse’s physical make up are very appealing.
Toe Out, Trim Out
For a young horse that is known to be splay footed (toes out), it’s possible for the farrier to trim the horse’s hoof in such a way that can encourage growth to correct the problem. Taking a little more off the outside of the hoof encourages faster growth on that side, causing the horse’s hoof to straighten toward the inside.
Corrective trimming can’t be carried out by just anyone as it’s possible that too much hoof can be taken off or the corrective process be carried on for too long. This would result in the horse being pigeon toed (toeing in).
Toe In, Trim In
If a horse does toe in, it’s possible for the farrier to take off that little more on the inside. This in turn makes the hoof grow that little bit more on one side, causing the problem to straighten out.
If the conformational fault is higher up in the leg, for example the horse has an angular limb deformity in which the leg travels out from the knee; this may not rectify the problem. Also, a horse that is offset at the knee cannot necessarily be fully corrected. However, trimming to alter toeing in or out can help to straighten up a horse’s leg conformation and therefore make it more appealing to a potential buyer.
Periosteal Stripping
Another form of corrective work for legs involves making a cut into the periosteum (the lining around the bone) which is recognised to help a leg straighten. This practice is very common in the thoroughbred industry for young horses that have angular limb deformities that don’t seem to be improving with growth or are becoming worse.
This form of corrective work requires a qualified vet due to the nature of the operation. Before considering this operation, your vet may suggest some corrective trimming by your farrier to see if this alleviates the problem. You may also find that your vet advises you sit and wait to see what happens with regards to the growth of your youngster over the next few weeks.
A young foal may be born with what appears to be particularly bad conformation. Don’t take this to mean what your horse’s legs will look like in 6 months, 6 weeks or even a couple of weeks time, however. A lot of foals are quite narrow and gangly at birth and as they grow stronger and fill out, you will find that things naturally correct themselves.
If you’re unsure about the progression of your foal’s legs as it grows, consider making a note or taking photos weekly to give yourself a clear comparison. The benefit of having your broodmare and foal on a large stud is that a vet is on the property, often on a daily basis and will have access to seeing your mare and foal.
This is particularly so if the mare is being bred again, with the vet regularly seeing the pair as she is lined up to be bred and later checked for a pregnancy. Because of this, it’s possible for the vet to assess the foal’s legs each time it is brought into the stocks or crush.
Ethical Dilemma
Corrective work does seem to raise an ethical question – is it right? Both corrective trimming and periosteal stripping have the potential to provide the owner with a correct or much improved horse. By the time the young horse is around 18 months of age and ready to be sold at a yearling sale, there may be no signs of the previous conformational problems.
Consider that the initial faults that the young horse had could have been due to genetics. When sale time arrives, someone else is then looking to buy this horse that appears to him to be reasonably correct but has the genes to pass on its flaws to the next generation.
Although periosteal stripping does require cutting into the lining of the bone, the method in itself doesn’t show up on x-rays. Neither is it possible for someone to determine for sure if a horse has had corrective trimming carried out in its earlier days.
The result is a number of horses being sold at sales – some for exorbitant prices – that don’t necessarily resemble in their conformation what they would have if corrective work hadn’t been carried out. If you’re buying a colt that is to be gelded and then raced, then this may be of no concern to the potential new owner. If however you’re looking for the next stallion or a future broodmare, it’s difficult to know if a lack of awareness of this earlier work is going to cause you problems in future generations.
 |
