The Degree or Angle of a Horse's Foot Before Shoeing

Horses are flight animals and rely on their feet and legs for escape. Domesticated horses must be carefully taught to lift their feet for care and cleaning, and are normally at first reluctant to do so as it reduces their capacity for escape. Horses are also extremely heavy animals and carry a large amount of weight over four small points. There is therefore a huge strain on a horse's feet and legs, and this is aggravated when the weight of a rider and equipment is added. Most horse owners know the saying "no foot, no horse" -- therefore it is vital to look after a horse's feet properly to avoid problems, whether the horse is shod or not.

  1. Hoof Angles

    • To find the angle of a horse's hoof, draw an imaginary line down the front of the hoof wall from the hairline to the ground. The angle at which the line meets the ground is called the hoof angle. Ideally, this angle should be between 45 and 50 degrees for a fore foot and between 50 and 55 degrees for a hind foot. However, these ideal angles do not take into account a horse's individual conformation, and a hoof should not be automatically trimmed to an "ideal " angle without the rest of the foot being assessed.

    Incorrect Angles

    • Stand your horse up squarely on a level piece of ground, and run a piece of string from the point where the toe meets the ground, along the pastern or ankle to the bottom of the fetlock or ankle joint. This is called the hoof-pastern axis, and in an ideal hoof, the line should be unbroken. However, the line may be broken if the angle of the pastern is different from that of the hoof. If the foot is too long, with a low hoof-pastern axis, the pasterns will be pushed back and strain will be placed on the back of the heel. If the foot is very short and boxy, with a high hoof-pastern axis, the pastern will push over it and place strain on the suspensory ligaments.

    Correcting Poor Angles

    • Poor hoof angles are sometimes a result of incorrect trimming. Correcting the angle is a job for an experienced farrier or veterinarian, as it is easy to make the situation worse. For a low hoof-pastern axis, the farrier will trim the length of the toe to reduce the strain on the back of the heel. For a high axis, it is sometimes possible to trim the heel. However, the horse may need to be fitted with special shoes that will elevate and support the heel and encourage more weight onto the toes. A foot that has poor hoof angles as a result of poor or insufficient trimming can normally be corrected, but if the problem has been neglected for a long time, it may already have damaged the ligaments and joints.

    Other Causes

    • In addition to poor trimming, there are other causes of poor hoof angles. Some horses have naturally poor conformation, being born with very upright or elongated feet. These can often be corrected by trimming or specialist shoes, particularly when the animal is young. In other cases, poor hoof angles can be a sign of disease. Horses with naturally upright feet can also be prone to a condition called navicular disease. This refers to the degeneration of the navicular bone in the foot, and is treated with remedial shoeing and heel supports to try and correct the foot angle.