Long Toe / Low Heel Xray - Long toe low heel and other stuff.

Distance between footprints stays the same. BUT, the swing phase is shorter for the sound limb. Stance phase is shorter for lame limb. So short is the dimension the eye sees because time is a dimension.

You know the more we all talk, the more I may be coming to understand why he is "crooked." It might be that the reason he drops his right side is he is trying to bring it forward to catch up to the left. ANd it might be why he would throw in a skip behind every now and then. Might be he is one of those horses with a limb disparity? His right hind foot mass is smaller than the left.

Mmmm......

I should change the title to "Crooked horse and other stuff!"

And we (trainer and I ) sure did ponder this for a time.

So if the left is getting better swing, in that it reaches forward deeper, that would point to an unsoundness on the left? bING BING BING RING BONE. And this would be happening cause the right side feels so good?

Makes me crazy to think about it.

Cause that would mean "the clock on the wall says three o'clock"

Oh no. I would still would have plenty to post about... My lovely Cane - right?! SHew... I would be banned for that thread. What I understand is all the local farriers give my Farrier 5 bucks a month for keeping my account off their books.

How do you come up with that? Sounds like your horse needs a new workup for a veterinarian. You are fixated in the ringbone and it should be fairly easy to tell if that's the cause of lameness or not.

No, I was quoting and trying to follow Tom's rationale. I must have misunderstood him.

Vet is involved - accupuncture by her is next - unless she finds something else amiss.

If you are doing acupressure, it sounds like your vet thinks the ring bone isn't the cause of lameness.

Eric Russell

Yes. This is corrrect. He is lame in the back & hips and conformation. The shoes improved his back and hips on the wash rack as they went on. He is not ever going to be perfect and will always need considerations, meds and care. Like Totalis! LOL

Mary Ann, please don't take offense. Your horse appears to be the very common typical asymmetrical equine. Instead of spending thousands on Vets and possibly voo doo short leg shoeing; spend your time/$ with Christopher and really learn how to ride this individual. You said how well your horse went with him on; what more proof do you need? Think of your riding under coaching as physical therapy for your less than perfect horse. Works like a charm. Buy Sally Swift's book Centered Riding.

Hang on a sec. If there is [sub-clinical]discomfort caused by the ringbone that is causing the horse to carry itself differently, then the acupuncture, etc is treating symptoms, not the cause. Even if the ringbone is only partially to blame, it would still be an important factor in the equation. And since these things seem to cascade, once there has been long term asymmetry it often seems to become 'self-perpetuating'; ie: "the dog chasing its tail syndrome", which includes palliating the pain and then returning the horse to the kind of work that caused the pain in the first place.

The speed in which they travel is different, giving the optical illusion that it is shorter. I'm pretty sure we are talking about the same thing just saying it different.

Just watched the video, what about the almost zero flexion in the hocks transfering all the concussion higher up the limb.

If both legs are traveling the same distance I sure hope one isn't going faster than the other. LOL Perhaps the ark is different?

Tough to believe the ringbone is subclicnical but making his hip drop and short on the other leg and then work out of it.
This all seems to be well out of the range of Farriery, especially without seeing the horse or speaking directly to the vet to know what she did and what she thinks.

The sound leg travels faster to get back on the ground quicker. My above statement is based upon measurements with Ontrack software, I could be wrong. The ark was different, it was a big boat with animals on it The arc is flatter on the sound leg. Speed is measured by distance and time. A flatter arc travels less distance than a higher arc therefore it gets to the same spot quicker. Like Tom said above swing phase(duration not distance) is shortened in the sound leg.

Mary Ann,
Does your horse get chiro work done?

If so,what did they say about the sacrum/hip problems?

(You may have said already but there is alot of info to weed through)

Do you have pics of the hind feet?

Yes to the chiro. SHe said the hip was out/reactive to the device. The two boney points at the peak of the croup show they are not symmetric. He is always better after the Chiro. No pics of the feet. Sorry bout all the info. I went into more than I intended to at the start of the thread.

He was ridden again yesterday. Nothing but walking. He started with pretty level hips and finished the same. He was cooperative at home but excitable when he was off property - wind, sprinklers, 4 wheelers.

And thanks again all for your perspectives. It has been very helpful.

EXACTLY!!! Faster swing through the air.

TIME is a DIMENSION without which there would be NO SPACE.

Yes correct.
in a front limb; the raidail carpi muscle will lock or contract the knee into place' in the lame or compromised limb. subtle, but correct. when it is vet student lame it's too late..........some would say sub-clinical. clinical is diagniosed; sub- clinical is wait and see.....

oops forgot the the home work... insert/origins and function of the muscle

It exists to flex and (radial) the limb (carpus)