Other What should I do about a clubbed foot?

theory that to me is not practical . i am trying to work outbwhat i think ,it is pretty much along the lines of what Rick is saying but he is more articulate than me

Is the missing word for the imagination? Or did you forget it?

LOL, I read that several times also. Read further Karen. The rest is in the following post, and makes good sense if you combine them. My PC does things like that to me sometimes, I think its the "shortcut keys" misbehaving.

Regards

I would trade my typing skills for your shoeing skills any time my friend.

Regards

just like humans can be born with a shorter leg; so can horses, and this can be a reason for the club foot ie. LLD. I had forgotten to mention of contracted tendons on one side.

Thought some smart guy said tendons couldnt contract? But flexor muscles can be underdeveloped on one side that might contribute to the problem ya think?

Whom ever he was, he was basically correct. Tendons have two lengths, working and resting and the difference between the two is very small.

My main problem with the "short leg" issue, due to bone length disparity, is that the only accurate way of measuring the bones, for comparison purposes, is done in the necropsy lab and by then worrying about a short leg seems a little foolish.

I'm not disputing you but, I am curious. How does this theory account for the fact that horses' front limbs are not attached by a solid joint like a humans'?

I have an uncle who was born with one leg about an inch shorter than the other and he has a very noticeable limp. However, I've never seen that in a horse.

My guess is because of the way the front limbs are attached.

I tend to agree more with the functionally assymetrical limb theory or the tendon/muscular laxity theory more than I would think actual bone length differences are the cause.


JMO
What do you think?

Boy, don't ya hate it when science and critical thinking, just blows this accepted nonsense, fed to the horse owner, right out of the water? LOL

Except as noted, or in the instance of [some] injury, tendons don't contract. The muscle(s) that control them OTOH...
Ever wonder why, even when the club foot is shimmed out to 'equalize' its length, you still end up with a club foot? Mr. Van Hook, et al, alludes to the reason in his third sentence, above.

Rick I wish there was a way to hit EVERY one of the like/rating icons on the above post. The sling that is the forehand of the horse can undo almost any attempt at simple carpentry. JMOO (just my owner opinion )

Rick, question then; why is it that contracted tendons are still being taught in vet/med school?

you are right about that; only going by what LLD book by Dr. Esco Buff.

That is a question only they can answer. To paraphrase A. Einstein, "doing something wrong over and over and expecting different results, is one definition of insanity." Or, as someone else(and I don't remember who) sagely observed "Doing something wrong a thousand times still won't make it right".

Or, as Forrest Gump noted "Stupid is as stupid does...."

Then I suggest you contact him directly and discuss why he has fallen into the trap of using the misnomer [or, dare I say, 'oxymoron'?] "contracted tendon(s)" He has a Facebook page if that is of any help to you.

My horse has a 2 degree difference that will increase on a long cycle, but is kept relatively the same angle on a short cycle (5-6 weeks). What I've noticed is for 3 years, there was no problem with the one foot getting more upright, but she was eating hay out of a box. Then we moved to a barn with all day pasture, and what I noticed is that the potentially upright foot got more upright between trims. Just an observation.
Delete it if it doesn't pertain to the subject matter.

Probably has to do with her 'grazing stance', Karen.

I've forgotten which book it was (you probably know) but I read in a farrier text that horse with a club will stand with that foot back while grazing. After reading that, I've tried to make note as much as I can and that's usually correct.

Could clubs be caused by "handedness" in horses or do they cause "handedness"? One of those chicken and egg questions that have stumped me for a long time.

Yea Rick, I think so. But what would happen if you kept a club footed horse on, say, a 4 week schedule?