Question: My young Walker is coming along fine with his gaits but is
still learning, as am I. He is being consistently ridden 5 out of
7 days/week for approx. 1 - 3 hours (depending on the type of work) per
session. After a recent 2 hour trail ride I was grooming him and
noticed he has been nicking himself with his back toes on his front feet
just above his heels. I put bell boots on him and this seems to be
working. My question: Why is he nicking himself (especially
on one foot in particular)? Is he doing this also when turned out
to pasture? Do I need to be concerned when he's turned out?
Is it because he is young and learning his gaits? I really don't
want to square off his back hooves unless I really have to. I have
been told that he will do this at a dog-walk. Unfortunately, sometimes
he has to dog-walk (deep ditches, pleaces he's unsure of his footing, etc.)
From Panelists Lee
Sadly, what you have is a shoeing problem and not just a "gait learning"
problem.. Horses that scalp or forge do so because of the timing
of the
pickup of the front hooves vis a vis the timing of the set down and
reach of
the hind. To some very small extent this will change as the horse
becomes
better conditioned and learns to carry himself with a bit more collection
as
he walks. However, in the mean time he is nicking himself up,
a "bad
thing". Go ahead and modify his shoeing behind to help prevent
this
problem. That solution is better than trail riding in bell boots
which trap
sand and other debris and can create rubbing sores ..
Good luck,
Lee Ziegler
From Panelists Robin
He is "forging". A simple solution is for the farrier to "roll" the toe on his back feet,just take off a little with the rasp. The horse is forging on one side more than the other because he is just "right-handed" naturally. Just like humans horses have a dominant side.
My Best,
Robin
From Panelists Darla
He is clipping himself because of his overreach and timing. It
is in his best interest and yours too that you have him balanced and take
off some of his toe in the back. He can injure himself and be lame
if you do not help him out. The farrier will be able to answer your
questions if you can find one that knows gaited horses.
Darla
