Hoof Care Provider/ Farrier Services

Toe first/ heel first

Denys Antonenko • Nov 21, 2022

One Minute Discussions #33


Discussing Natural Hoof & Horse Care 


TOE FIRST / HEEL FIRST


Get up and walk a couple steps in a straight line on a flat surface. Usually your heels will land first and your toes will follow. This is a normal walk for a person that doesn’t have any foot pain/pathology. Same goes for horses. 


See, we’re used to pathology, so for a majority of owners and equine professionals horse toe-first landing is a “normal thing”. But what is the landing telling us about the health of the foot?


It’s simply a way to indicate heel pain. If there’s pain in the heel, horses tend to avoid it, thus constantly landing toe-first. This results in tissue damage and foot pathologies. If the structures in the heels are healthy and functional the horse will land heel first while walking in a straight line on a flat surface. Next article will be about ways for helping a horse land heel first! 


What are some other ways you find helpful in indicating heel pain and why?


Denys A. 

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By Denys Antonenko • 21 Apr, 2023
One Minute Discussions #66 Discussing Natural Hoof & Horse Care LEAVE OR REMOVE THE LAMELLAR WEDGE? The lamellar wedge is the adaptation of the hoof to internal problems. And although it’s a sign of inflammation, it may still serve a purpose during rehab. It’s still responsible for “glueing together” the wall and sole, but that “glue” is not as strong as it’s supposed to be. So how do we address it in the trim. Everything depends on the horses comfort level and the condition of the lamellar wedge. It won’t be a wise decision to totally remove the lamellar wedge if it is soggy, weak and not fully keratinized. But in a lot of cases it is safe to remove most, if not all of it, if the lamellar wedge is keratinized, dry and sturdy (especially if we’re putting the horse in therapy boots). In some cases it is a good idea to trim the bottom, flared growth evenly with the well connected top growth in order to reduce leverage on the lamina as much as we can. Denys Antonenko

What causes lamina separation?

By Denys Antonenko • 21 Apr, 2023
One Minute Discussions #65 Discussing Natural Hoof & Horse Care WHAT CAUSES LAMINA SEPARATION Yesterday on my group I posted a question… what causes lamina separation? And although we’re used to hearing the most common things that separate the lamina, such as poor diet, metabolic problems, excessive toe leverage, etc, we don’t often hear about the less common things that can lead to a path of lamina failure without us noticing it. You’ve heard me say it many times before that lamina failure is not a result of just one thing. There’s always multiple factors contributing to the problem. As an example, bacterial and fungal infections weaken the foot, and that can result in lamina separation. Mental and physical stress can increase hormone levels which may result in poor hoof health. Many different problems happening elsewhere in the horses body (skin issues, allergies, dental problems) can be a factor that leads to a weak lamina. Denys Antonenko
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