Do any of you ever see a relationship between a long toe/low heel front and a stiffness in the stifle on the opposite hind? If so, do you have any theories as to the mechanics of this? Thanks. Regards
Think about how the diagonal hind has to work harder to push the body forward when the front limb is delayed in turnover due to LTLH. It will come to you.
The long toe low heel as a result of the stride placement or stride placement is a result of the LTLH, it could be either, I guess you are asking about asymmetric feet where one is lower in the heel and one is higher in the heel. In these cases Rick the contra diagonal hind limb comes further forward and more to the center of the horse to take some of the weight and propel it forward. If a horse can be considered as having a 60 / 40 split front to hind, that would suggest split of 30/30 on the front and 20/20 on the back. I recon that it's not as uniform as that. The hind limb will have to extend some of the joints in order to accommodate this anomale. This can put a twist on the hock, proximal suspensory issues and stifle...
Thanks guys. I was thinking along those lines. I have only seen it cause a real problem in a couple of horses. When you see this, do you do something proactively, or wait and see if a problem develops? On the horse that prompted this question, it seems that the other stifle is getting a bit stiff as well, I think because of compensation, but not nearly as bad as the opposite one. I have never worked on the horse but was called in for an opinion. The horse is still in use, mostly as a trail horse. She has never been is serious competition, only local and 4H shows. She is in her mid teens. Any suggestions that might help her out, to sort of prolong the inevitable? Thanks. Regards
i do a jumper with this condition in one front foot, but this guy also has a broken back HPA in that foot. i have him in castle frog support pads, 1 degree. he favours one side (common trait in normal horses) and performs better on the good leg, leading in the canter. there are no reports of hind end problems. mid teens, maybe a touch of arthritis? what is the hind end conformation like. i think a broken back HPA or sickle hocked conformation weakens a horses backend. you could suggest to trial the horse on Pentosan or equivalent. it is a joint drug to aid cartilage etc. its good stuff. its not cheap, here in Australia its $350 a bottle, prob heaps cheaper over there. you can use Cartrophen too , its the same stuff , just the doggy version. but you can buy this stuff in ampules.
