Functional Anatomy of the Foot

Evaluation of primary epidermal lamellar density in the forefeet of near-term fetal Australian feral and domesticated horses

“…17 It is feasible that the feet of feral horses have slowly adapted over the last 100 years, whereas the feet of typical domesticated horses have remained unchanged or even developed in a reverse direction, enhancing the hoof differences between the 2 groups. The gross morphological differences between the feet of feral adult horses in other studies [18][19][20][21] and the feet of domesticated horses 17,[21][22][23] support this theory. The central and northern Australian feral horse populations, which are subjected to the extreme selection pressure of semiarid habitats, may have inherited a trait that set them apart from their domestically managed counterparts.…”

Effects of Jumping Phase, Leading Limb, and Arena Surface Type on Forelimb Hoof Movement

“…Furthermore, in a heel-first impact, tension in the flexor tendons decreases as the hoof rotates to a flat orientation during stance, which partially counteracts the increase in flexor tendon force due to fetlock extension [ 24 ]. In contrast, toe-first impacts have been suggested as a contributing factor for navicular disease because rotation of the hoof and fetlock extension both increase the forces applied to the deep digital flexor tendon and navicular bone [ 24 ]. Since the toe impacted first at jump landing, when impact forces are maximized, this supports a possible mechanism for the high prevalence of navicular injuries observed in non-elite show-jumping horses in the United Kingdom [ 25 ].…”

Therapeutic Shoeing for Spontaneous Quarter Cracks Induced by Sheared Heel in Thoroughbred Race Horse

“…but clinically accompanies lameness, and is closely related to quarter cracks (13). Rooney (18) said that quarter cracks occur due to a mechanism similar to hoof wall deficiency, and toe and quarter cracks, whether they originate from the damaged coronary or the coronary band, it is a coronary band injury or destruction, because this is wall damage which involves the deficient formation of new horn where the horn formation of the lamellae is temporarily blocked out, it is better to call this a defect rather than a crack. Christie et al (3), after a physical examination on nonrace horses in particular areas in Canada where the number of farriers are lacking and the management of the owners was deemed negligent, reported a 45.1% of hoof wall abnormalities including cracks, broken heels, white line disease, and toe overgrowth.…”