Large Horse, Small Hooves
December 16, 2008
One of Daily’s hoof-care experts answers a reader’s question.
Here to weigh in on the management of large horses with small hooves is Andrew Elsbree of Greenville, New York, president of the American Farriers Association and a certified journeyman farrier.
Question:
I have an 85 percent foundation-bred mare. Blue Valentine is on her registration papers.
She is a little less than 15 hands but is robust in her chest, neck and hips. She has very small feet.
What impact might this have on her, and should I take any special considerations in training, trail riding or hoof care?
Thanks,
Glenda Meredith
Answer:
It’s important to keep plenty of foot on the horse and to always shoe that particular horse with plenty of support.
Any time you have a small foot with a huge body mass, you want to make sure that foot is well protected. If it were one of my clients, I would shoe the horse with either pads or a good pour-in pad to protect the bottom of the horse’s feet, because what you want to do is reduce the pounds per square inch. There are only two ways you can do that: have a smaller horse on the small hooves, or build bigger hooves for a large horse.
I would always make sure her feet have plenty of length, as much as she can work with, and use a pad or pour-in pad to protect the bottom of her feet.
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Comments
12 Comments on “Large Horse, Small Hooves”
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December 18th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
I have a huge mare with teacup sized feet, foundation bred too. I frown on pads, I’m not a farrier, but see more problems with horses that have to wear pads. Feet going longer, I disagree, I’ve also had that experience, and the shorter the better. As always environment, feed, and exercise (blood flow to the feet) will help the overall outcome of a small hoof. Yes, some corrective type shoeing will help, but you need to be careful how and they way you to choose to corrective shoe that will work for your horse in whatever discipline you use him or her for. I have found, that let them toughing up, and be a horse helped with the situation I had. I do believe in my opinion from what I have seen, that alot of folk will go the extra mile to pamper and make a horse “worse off” than better. Let’s go back to making a horse a horse.
December 27th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Kim, when you said you are not a farrier, your opinion went out the door. This is the problem with horseowners, they think they know more about horses feet than a professional that has spent a lot of time and money to learn their trade and be good at it. If horseowners would listen to their farrier more often, the horse would be better off (in most cases). I know that there are a lot of incompetant farriers out there. This is why one should seek a professional farrier that is an American Farriers Association member (AFA Certified is even better). Being a part of the AFA tells the horseowner that their farrier is a least trying to educate themselves and that they take pride in their work.
December 29th, 2008 at 10:36 am
I’d like to add,in my over 40 yrs. experience as a farrier, every case is different. First, you are fighting genetics, regarding small feet in relation to body size. So, an experienced farrier can make the most out of them by trimming to encourage optimum hoof growth and size. This usually means lenghtening anterior/ posterior distance, not toe length. Then a full fitting,supportive shoe,will put more foundation under the horse. Now, better blood circulation will occur, the horse will be more comfortable and move better, thus, growing a healthier hoof wall over time. This takes 6 mos. to a year. Also feed a proven hoof growth suppliment like Right Balance or Farriers Formula and there will be better, larger hooves a year later.
January 13th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
I too deal with a large horse and small feet, lovely 10 yr. old mare with Impressive breeding on her papers. My farrier and vet advise squaring the front so that she breaks over easier. We use an egg bar shoe during the summer and for the winter she goes barefoot to avoid build up of snow under her feet. She seems to do well with no shoes when we ride in the arena on soft footing. During the summer we need to cross several gravel roads to get to the trails and without shoes this is just too painful. She tends to contracted heels, and has a very slight case of founder although the coffin bones aren’t turned. She also tends to contracted heels so we have been working on getting her standing straighter and are making slow progress. I use an OmegaAlpha herb called Antiflam that keeps her pain free during the busy riding season.
January 18th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
I too have a 5 year old registered foundation quarter horse gelding who has small feet. I tried to keep him shoeless due to advise from my farrier. Even bought expensive boots. But if he walked on hard dirt roads with little rocks he was very tender footed. It took me 3 years to realize he needed shoes. He did much better with them. My farrier said not to bother with supplements because his feet are healthy, but I am interested in the comment about a hoof supplement. I feed a supplement for joints, and have read read that you can over do supplements. Looking for thoughts on this. Wow, this is the first time I ever done this. Looking forward to comments.
February 6th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Hi Nancy,
I am convinced that the supplement kept her more comfortable last summer. Her feet don’t crack or split so it’s not for hooves necessarily. It has natural anti inflammatory properties and also natural pain killers so seems to help in all areas. Check it out at http://www.oapharma.com. This supplement is considered safe for humans in much smaller doses and in speaking with a vet at Assiniboia Downs she said it would be impossible to overdose. It is rather expensive but I will continue to use it during the summer.
August 19th, 2010 at 11:48 am
I have a huge QH gelding with small front feet. He had shoes on when I bought him, but had numerous cracks and two quarter cracks on ea. front. I know what you are thinking. Why did I buy him? Temperment. He is very easy to get along with. However, I did not know what problems he would have w/front feet. He can not keep a shoe on because of flare and separation of hoof wall. I pulled his shoes and have been on a two yr. rehabilitaion program. The quarter cracks grew out and he now has better looking hooves. He was very sore when shoes were pulled but now is able to walk around on grass, dirt, or pavement and even small limestone. I use hoof boots when I ride, just on the front. I have been very pleased with them. I am sure that using shoes caused an excessive force on his front feet causing them to break out in quarter cracks. I think some horses can wear shoes and some can’t. This horse can’t and barefoot was the only option I had. He is better off and hopefully I can keep him sound. I soak him in White Lightening solution every now and then, to keep out any bacteria due to any wall separation. Seems to work for him. Hopefully the flare will eventually grow out with proper trimming. I get him trimmed every six weeks and in between trims, I rasp out the rough edges.
August 24th, 2010 at 11:23 am
[...] It sounds as if you’ve worked hard and gotten some positive results with your gelding’s hooves. Maintaining hoof capsule integrity is a primary concern, and it’s vitally important when you have a large-framed, heavy horse on small, “tea-cup” hooves. [...]
February 9th, 2011 at 8:41 am
I am suprised to hear of a foundation quarter horse having small hooves. They usually have good hooves and leg of substance.
May 31st, 2011 at 7:21 pm
I have a gorgeous 11-year old Palomino mare, Foundation bred. She has massively muscular body and little hooves. She has a quarter crack in her right front hoof that just won’t heal up. The farrier has tried squaring up the hoof, leaving more on the outside, cleaning it out and adding glue. He suggested shoes, but after reading Brenda’s comment, I’m not so sure. She’s on a supplement with biotin. Anyone found anything else helpful?
January 1st, 2012 at 3:44 pm
I have a large halter-type Paint gelding who has contracted heels and small hooves. He has started to get sore in his front feet. He has been fine going barefoot for the last 4 years-even during show season. I am still trying to figure why he is sore but the vet said it would be a good idea to put him on a hoof supplement. I have heard excellent testimonials on a product called “Kombat Boots”. Several horse owners that I know that have used it report significant hoof growth within 4-8 weeks of use. I ordered some a few days ago and am anxious to see how it works. I am considering shoes as well.
January 22nd, 2012 at 10:26 pm
We purchased a foundation bred mare that has very small hooves. She didnt pass her pre-purchase exam because she was so sore on her front feet. But….her temperament and training are amazing so we talked to two different vets that said there were things we could try. The previous owner believed only in barefoot. When we got her she wouldnt even run and play with the other horses and walked very carefully(she is only 5). We decided to try shoes on her front feet and within days she was running and playing like a young horse should!! As much as I try to keep all of my horses barefoot it is an amazing change in this mare!