05/31/2025
I had a lot of interest, private messages, and comments on the “high/low” post and podcast episode from last week.
Enough that I’ve been thinking about it, and wanted to make another post about it.
I think a lot of people see high/low cases and have something that worked for them and assume they have an answer. And they do- they do have AN answer. High/low hooves in horses can come from so many things, from something like an injury or issue higher up in the body, to a foot that foundered in the past (or currently) more than another, to a saddle fit issue causing a handedness on one side, to a grazing stance while developing, to birth trauma or even limb length disparity. It could even be as “benign” as deep central sulcus thrush in the high foot that’s causing the horse to subtly offweight that foot so it becomes higher- and yes, I’ve seen horses end up with more balanced feet over time once that is treated and resolved!
If you comment on this post to tell me why horses have one foot higher than another, I won’t disagree with you! There are infinite reasons. But the big takeaway for whenever we see high/low hooves is, for me, to investigate WHICH reason may be the cause for THAT specific horse.
My goal when I come to high/low hooves is never to FORCE them to match. I don’t want to stress soft tissue or CAUSE a soft tissue injury by making the feet simply LOOK the same. That being said, my goal is that over time, as we get the horse more comfortable and as the owner works on balance through bodywork, or in riding or groundwork, or figure out issues in the body that could be leading to compensation, that the high/low diminishes over time.
That being said, the hoof and white line follows the shape of the coffin bone, and if a horse has been high/low much of its life, often the “high”/upright foot may have a smaller or more compact coffin bone - sometimes with ossified collateral cartilages that may be more contracted, depending on the severity of the high foot- and the low foot often has a larger or even more “flared” coffin bone.
If we have coffin bones that are two different shapes or sizes, we won’t ever have matching feet- or if we do force them to match, we often end up with a lame horse. So while some of these cases may never look perfect, I still want to see some improvement and more symmetrical movement over time.
This post is basically how I wanted to respond to comments that had the “one singularly reason” for high/low or the “one singular fix” for high/low in my last post. To me, that disparity between hooves is a symptom, and the root cause won’t be the same for every horse.
This fall we are hosting a Podiatry Clinic, and one of our clinicians is Pat Reilly. He specifically asked us to have demo horses with high/low hooves, so we can put some biomechanic sensors on them and see how what we do to their hooves affects their soundness. Should we try to get their feet to match? What happens if we elasitcon a shoe or boot on that makes the low foot higher, or make the high foot taller? I’m excited to see the results with something we can then remove and compare!
I also wanted to take the time to thank Wendy Murdoch and SURE FOOT Equine for making their Sure Foot pads (and for sponsoring our SOLD OUT Podiatry Clinic this October with Celeste Lazaris, Dr. Jenny Hagen, Ula Krzanowska, and Pat Reilly!). I use Sure Foot pads often, and find that it can really help to see what gets these high/low cases more comfortable, or what their preferred angles and stance/posture may be in that moment in time. The clinic is sold out, but you can message or comment if you’d like to be added to the wait list. We do also have a livestream/video recording option as well here!:
https://thehumblehoof.com/product/october-25-26-2025-livestream/
