Are your horses feet and other horsemanagement aspects connected in some way? (and how does training influence the feet!)

When it comes to how we look at horses, we tend to have a main focus on one thing. This this is different for each person and can even change over time. It often depends what we're focusing on in our own learning journey. How is the horse moving? How is the horse mentally? Is the horse behaving well or not? But also a thing many pay attention to is the feet. 

Last week my farrier visited to give my horses their regular manicure. We got to chat about the angles of horses feet because especially 'low angles' seems to be a hot topic lately. Obviously, as what people do in the horse world, the blame often goes to bad professional hoofcare. When it comes to kissing spines, I see many trimmers and farriers comment that one should start with the feet first. But is this really true?

Let me take you through what came out of our conversation!

Natural stance of the feet

The first question I asked was what his opinion is about the 'hoof angles' topic. 'Every horse has it's natural stance. But due to domestication and the way it can highly differ how horses are being kept, this natural stance can be influenced at young age. The way the feet develop depends from the type of footing they walk on, the food they eat and the way they move'. As we know a trimmer or farrier can do a lot of things in trying to fix how the feet develop and support the horse where needed But if these other aspects are not being adressed, nothing is going to change really. The horse will always go back to it's natural stance in the situation it's in. 

So what's the problem with the angels?

Besides the 'natural' stance. There is also an 'ideal' angle for each horse. Balanced feet make sure that in the movement of the horse, the horse can put it feet down in such a way/angle that all tendons and ligaments are alligned and working together with pressure that fits the working of that particular part in the leg. If the horse is not balanced on it's feet the distribution of pressure and the working of the suspension in the body is comprimised. Which in the end will lead to compensation, certain parts getting overworked which eventually will lead to different types of injuries. This is the result working from bottom to top.

Not what we want right?

But if your horse is moving in a compensating way due to backpain, tendon issues or simply by the way your horse is moving and is being trained, the pressure on the feet is also different working top to bottom. Because your horse is not moving in balance, the feet will not develop in balance. So you can already see how movement and training can influence the way the feet of your horse look, right?

(picture from google)

Correcting bottom up

So where should you start? Again, I see so many people comment that the farrier/trimmer is the issue. But you can see that if you only depend on the trimming for the quality and balance of the feet.. you might not be looking at the bigger picture enough. 

Of course if the feet aren't balanced, the movement is comprimised in a way. The imbalance will work it's way up. But, as a trainer I've seen so many times how feet are corrected too much at once because the owner wants straight feet. In the end the horse ends up struggling with moving and gets sore. Or even worse, get's injured because the components who've been having a 'time off' all of a sudden need to work a lot harder than they're used to. Guess who get's the blame? Right, the farrier! Is this really fair?

The solution?

To our opinion: working together! Ask your farrier what things he or she notices in the feet. Is the angle the only thing that stands out? Or do you also see that the inside or outside of the feet are getting shorter? If yes, this might mean you need to work more on the balance of your horse. It might also mean you need to work on your own balance because: 'It's very common to see back in the feet if the rider is stronger in the right or in the left hand, for example.' So if you're not riding straight and balanced, your horse won't move straight and balanced and the feet will also not develop straight and balanced.. 

'The angles are good within a certain range. As long as the feet stay within that range, you don't have to correct too much. If there's a clear downward spiral in the angle it's important to figure out where this is coming from.' So yes, it nice to have perfect feet, 100% balanced and with ideal angles. But if your horse is functioning well the way it is, you need to wonder how much you want to correct. If your horse is not functioning, it's vital to do your homework and assess your management and training. 

If you make a change in the feet, what do you notice in your training? Don't work your horse as hard as usual but give your horse's body time to adjust to the changes. If 4 to 8 weeks later the feet go back to how they were and the same changes need to be made, it's time to take a look at nutrition and how your horse is moving. 

The Kissing Spine horse

A horse with kissing spines often moves in a compensating way. There is discomfort in one or multiple places in the body and obviously your horse will do whatever possible to stay away from pain. If that means moving the body in an unbalanced way.. then that's what your horse will do. This you can see back in the feet. 

Improving a kissing spine horse is always working from different angles. I will always support you in developing your training skills, adapting the training to what fits the horse and systematically bringing your horse back into it's best shape. But in the end it's always a team effort. Only focusing on training and neglecting medical care, bodywork, nutrition and hoof- and dentalcare will not give you results. The hoofs work their way up, the training will work it's way down. 

Aligning the spine - working top to bottom

If you already want to start working top to bottom, it's important to know how much spine alignment influences the feet. By creating length in the spine the horse makes itself more straight. Think about a wire. If you pull on the both ends it will become straight as well. 

The more the spine is straight, the easier it will be to bend from the left to the right and back. Your horse will become more balanced and distribute more equal pressure down to the feet. The suspension will improve, joint mobilization will increase and this also influences the feet. This all is better for the tendons because they will be working together better which prevents injuries. This is better for the joints because the tendons and ligaments will catch the blow of the feet coming down more. And of course this improves the stance of the feet.

Shoes

Another way to influence how the feet develop is by putting your horse on shoes. You NEVER want to make their feet straight AND put them on shoes at the same time! This creates too much pressure on the body and will make your horse really uncomfortable. If you indeed decide to put your horse on shoes, realize that working towards more ideal lines is a process that can take over a year, depending the current situation. 

Conclusion

The way the feet of your horse develop is not only influenced by the quality of your farrier. Nutrition, footing and training also highly influence your horse's feet. Of course it's very important to notice what the feet of your horse look like and what is acceptable and what is not. Movement and it's quality is the biggest influence and in the end you will always see this back in the feet of your horse. 

Do you want a better stance? Then it's likely you need to take a look at your entire management. Get a check from an osteopath, get your saddle checked, get the teeth checked and adust your training to whatever your horse can do balanced and without compensation. And not blame your farrier/trimmer too much! 

Of course I asked the question..

Do you notice anything special in Reaven, Didi or Pura her feet? 'Didi and Reaven are quite ideal and I don't notice any inbalance from movement. Pura on the other hand has low heels and we always need to pay attention to them. Of course this is a horse with many physical issues. She needs a lot of management and that's not always easy to keep balanced. For sure not a horse to put into a walking mill too often.'