Comments on: Dealing with Club Foot in Horses

By: ashley

ashley — Thu, 05 May 2011 03:04:27 +0000

I was wondering if anyone could help me out. Ive never dealt with a club foot in my life and have recently been given a very nice bred qh 3 yr old gelding that has a slight one. He seems to be fine with it but previous owner did not keep up with trimming. he really does seem to be slightly club footed, you can see it, its noticable. but i get such bad reviews from friends saying to not keep him because of it. is it harder to sell a club foot horse? do people see or read that and turn away? and really how expensive is it to have it taken care of? i mean he picks up his lead on it in the round pen (he is currently not broke) but he doesnt seem to stumble on it that i can tell. several people have looked at it and said just break him and use him. but i think that alot of people see or hear of one and think the worst. is it purely because of the extra money you have to put towards it sometimes?? he is a real sweetheart and i would love to give him a fighting chance on being something great in life since he is so young, but i am worried due to mixed reviews on if i should even take the chance.

By: Kim

Kim — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 19:10:12 +0000

I have a horse with a club foot, just got him. His thrush got out of control down to the sensitive portion of his frog. I clean it everyday and he has a hospital plate on it. I pack under the hospital plate. A month before the thrush truly appeared, he started becoming very bad when I tried to mount to ride. Also very touchy on his withers. Could this be related to the deep thrush?

By: Megan

Megan — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 10:39:41 +0000

I have a 2 year old with a EXTREME case of “stilt hoof” both front, Here has had the operation on his tendon,for a small improvement but he is exceptional long legged with a lot of problems. due to bad conformation,(we saved him) please show me any more solutions I can try or I will have to get him put down,
Thank you

By: sue

sue — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 07:19:10 +0000

I had, and still have a TB mare that is club footed.She won races,and I never had any trouble with her feet.She never went lame,and never stumbled,she was the best horse to ride,and had such a smooth canter.My farrier used a full wedge pad with a frog support..My mare is now a broodmare,and has had 2 foals,that did not have clubbed feet.I traced her history back as far as I could,and her mother,grand mother,and great grand mother did not have clubbed feet.
To people that say they can’t be fixed…and don’t breed from them !! I am so lucky I didn’t listen to them !! and so is my horse !!

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 23:46:19 +0000

I own a tennessee walking horse and he is club footed. He is 6 years old and the woman I bought him from never broke him because she said it would be a waste of time. I broke him and have been riding him for 6 months and he is all natural gaited. He is the smoothest horse I have ever owned and he will ride all day in a four beat rack. He also has a beautiful headshaking running walk. This golden palomino walking horse was borne to ride. He rides like a experienced 10 yr old, so don’t give up on your horses. I even qual hunt with this horse.

By: Roberts

Roberts — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 14:05:48 +0000

I recently bought a horse with a club hoof for a ranch horse. This is probably the best horse I have ever owned. She will trip after heavy riding (about 8 hours) and were talking working. Not just trail riding. She has had a bad hoof since birth. No, shell never be a show horse of have “proper conformation” because of how she moves on it. But I dont regret buying her at all. For all those people out there who say that the horse is “unusable”…thats not true. Do more research before you throw the horse away. My girl will pick up both her leads under saddle with only a little bit of hesitation on the bad hoof. My farrier and several vets have said shes not in any pain because she moves out fine. Sometimes the canters a bit choppy and i have to have her extend. I just bought this mare 3 months ago from someone who said she would never be a good horse. Best purchase of my life.

By: Cindy S.

Cindy S. — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 18:05:15 +0000

I have a 10 year old Dutch Warmblood who has a club foot bad enough they had to do surgery on his ligament when he was younger. I have known this horse for years through his previous owners. They attempted shoeing him and it was a nightmare! He’d pull shoes and lose what good growth he had, he was constantly lame, and always sore in his shoulder. Then they tried letting him go barefoot. He’s now schooling for fourth level dressage! I use a barefoot specialist who works with ‘natural hoof care’. http://www.barefoothorse.com/index.html It’s a different way than how farriers trim. They are not prepping for shoeing, they are prepping your horse according to the wild horse model.
Also, to Carrie with the thoroughbred, I have an OTTB too. And we have had our bout of issues with the canter! My trainer has attributed this ‘excitement’ to racing and also to a slightly mare personality! She has pretty good feet but she will crow hop, tilt her head and gnaw… etc. Good luck!

By: Tammy Huntridge-Hocking

Tammy Huntridge-Hocking — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 17:47:13 +0000

I have a 6 year old grandson of Hollywood Dun It with a slight club foot….
So much for not breeding due to there club foot…
Very mild corrective shoeing on his front… makes him comfortable and keeps him in the game!

By: Mark M.

Mark M. — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 05:25:39 +0000

Dash for Cash had a club foot and was one of the most highly bred quarter horses to have ever raced or sired. I spoke to the farrier that used to shoe him and he said that the horse ran faster when he left him natural and didn’t try to fix him. They bred the heck out of him. His offspring are still winning to this day. I also own a Dash for Cash granddaughter, she is 14 I use her for roping and she is still sound. Yes one of her feet is steeper in angle than the other. I do try and fix her with a 2 degree wedge bar pad and it seems to help her stride. To each their own.

By: Nathan

Nathan — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 01:59:40 +0000

I’ve got a six yr. old gelding quarter horse with a club foot on his front left hoof. His hoof looks like it grows in layers. The previous owner said it was from an injury as a colt. Trimming it seems to make him more sore and he’s figured out how to pull off the rubber boot I’ve tried to put on him. He’s got great personality and ambition, so I’d like to know what I can do, if anything, to make him “sound”. Let me know of any possibilities. Thanks.