Biometric hoof evaluation of athletic horses of show jumping, barrel, long rope and polo modalities

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate, through biometry, the forelimb hoof of horses participating in show jumping, barrel, long rope and polo competitions. Thirty subjects were assessed in relation to each competition (total of 120 animals). The linear measurements (cm) included the dorsal length of the toe; medial and lateral lengths of the quarter; medial and lateral heights of the quarter; lateral and medial lengths of the heel; medial and lateral heights of the heel; hoof length; hoof width; frog length; and frog width. The following angles (°) were measured: toe angle, pastern angle, heel angle and shoulder palette. The length of the horseshoe, coronet circumference and body weight were also assessed. With the use of hoof biometric evaluation was possible to identify the imbalances of forelimb in athletic horses and the most common were broken-backward hoof angle, with 96.7% of the animals showing this in the right forelimb (RFL) and 95.8% in the left forelimb (LFL); and contracted heels, with 95.0% in the RFL and 87.6% in the LFL. The competition type in which greatest numbers of hoof balance abnormalities were shown was the long rope, followed by the barrel. There were high frequencies of medial/lateral imbalance in all the sports. We conclude that animals used in functional tests have a high incidence of hoof balance abnormalities in the forelimbs.

Morphometric changes in the hoof capsule of Criollo foals from birth to weaning

“…Changes in toe angle can be described using the equation: toe angle = 56.587303 + 0.1663238 × month -0.1388137 (month -3.74569)2, R²=0.04, P≤0.01. Similar results have been reported in Dutch Warmblood foals (KROEKENSTOEL et al, 2006), adult Criollo horses (CANTO et al, 2006), and Polo horses (SAMPAIO, 2013). Although,' there was no significant interaction between toe angle and toe length, HINTZ (1983) andGLADE andSALZMAN (1985) reported that a low hoof angle positively influenced hoof growth.…”

Morphometrical Studies on Hooves in Horses (Equus caballus) in Different Age Groups

“…This slight difference might be due to the manner of trimming, interval of trimming, the farrier and also the type of work carried out by the animal. According to Sampaio et al (2013), a shorter toe length theoretically accelerates the limb dynamics, but it can also be related with wall fragility or excessive trimming.…”

EquiSim: An Open-Source Articulatable Statistical Model of the Equine Distal Limb

“…Biometrics are linear or angular measures that characterize a component's shape and can be expressed in terms of the variation modes of the SSM. We consider biometrics for the hoof capsule, the third phalanx ( 7 – 11 ), the third metacarpal, the first and second phalanx ( 12 ), and the distal sesamoid bone. The definitions of the selected biometrics are tabulated in Table 2 .…”

“…A standard procedure in morphological studies of equine distal limb anatomical structures focuses on one-dimensional linear or angular measures, such as hoof angle, hoof length, medial-lateral width of the phalanges, and so on, or two-dimensional measures, such as the joint surface. They are measured from radiographs ( 7 , 8 ), MRI data ( 9 ), photographs ( 8 , 9 ), or from in-situ measurements in vivo ( 10 , 11 ) or post-mortem ( 12 ).…”