Shaping shoes for a foundered pony went against the usual advice

Most farriers I talk to say you need to use a rolled toe shoe for founders, but I found that just makes the breakover weird. I had this pony last spring that was really sore, and everyone kept telling me to go with the standard fix. I mean, maybe it's just me, but I decided to try a flat shoe with a beveled edge instead. I watched how she placed her feet and saw she needed support more in the back. After trimming and putting on my version, she started walking easier in a few days. I figured it out by trial and error and paying close attention to her step. Now I'm not so quick to follow the crowd on this one.

4 comments

4 Comments

margaret7361mo ago

Wait, hold on. Isn't the big thing with founder getting the heel supported so the bone can rotate back? A flat shoe with a bevel just changes where the foot rolls over. If she got better, maybe your trim did more by getting the heel where it needed to be first. The shoe just let the foot do its job. Isn't that why it worked, and not really about the shoe type itself?

sean_barnes241mo ago

Actually shocked you'd say the shoe type doesn't matter. That rolled toe wasn't just a bevel, it stopped the dragging that was tearing up her heel. The trim set the stage, but that specific shoe let her move without pain for the first time.

sam4371mo ago

That rolled toe shoe worked because your trim set it up right.

quinnm7719d ago

But if the heel was already in the right place from the trim, why did the flat shoe fail before the rolled toe? What was it actually fixing?