03/03/2026
Been shoeing this cob for the last twenty years.Always managed to keep him sound.He has a false quater that he was born with.I have always shod him with a heart bar on that foot.Recently he developed a growth between the false quater and the normal hoof.This was investigated by the Veterinary surgeon and was surgically removed from the foot as it was thought it may have been a keratom of some type.After biopsy it was discovered that it was a growth from the laminar below the crack and was not a keratoma.Every time I shoe the horse I make a lateral lift on the foot side of the shoe from vettec adhere as due to the way the foot is conformation wise it is not possible to balance the foot by foot dressing alone.By using the adhere for a lateral lift it prevents the false quater from flexing independently from the rest of the foot and causing nipping of the coronary band.I started doing this after discussing the problem with Mark Caldwell FWCF PhD many years ago.The horse also has a very large medial side bone and now has coffin joint arthritis.The way in which this horse is shod seems to help over come all these issues as he still works as a happy hacker and the shoe wear on the bar shoe is pretty even.
