The feral horse foot. Part A: observational study of the effect of environment on the morphometrics of the feet of 100Australian feral horses

Abstract

The morphology of the feral horse foot appeared to be affected by the distance travelled and by the abrasive qualities and mechanical properties of the substrate under foot. There were marked differences in some conformation parameters between the feral horses in the current study and domestic horses in previous studies. Although the conformation of the feral horse foot may have some prescriptive value, concerns regarding abnormal foot anatomy warrant further investigation.

The feral horse foot. PartB: radiographic, gross visual and histopathological parameters of foot health in 100Australian feral horses

“…The study group had a mix of the sexes (58 males, 42 females) and all subjects were at least 4 years of age, as assessed by dentition. The results of the detailed morphometric analysis of the same 100 feet, together with a detailed description of the horses and their habitats, are described elsewhere . DNA analysis of horse hair samples from four of the five populations in the current study confirmed that 93% of the genetic material was common to each population and there was no measurable difference in breed origin among the five populations…”

“…The feet from the soft‐substrate, moderate‐travel horses (Cliffdale) did not have abnormal radiographic features. In the present study, the HWDPD of the Cliffdale population was significantly less (P < 0.05) than that of the horses from the hard‐substrate environments in our previous study and was within the normal range for sound domestic horses . There were no radiographic signs of laminitis in the Cliffdale (soft substrate) population.…”

“…We selected the habitats for the current study on the basis that they contained different substrate types, which determined different travel patterns of the horses. Our previous study, which investigated the hoof morphology of the same 100 horses, found that habitat influenced 37 of the 40 morphological parameters measured . An earlier genetic study of four of the five feral horse populations in the current study found no significant difference in the genetic origins of the horses and there were no significant differences in nutritional parameters likely to be responsible for the differences in foot health .…”

“…reported poor foot conformation and a high prevalence of foot abnormalities in the Kaimanawa feral horses of New Zealand . Additionally, in the first extensive study of the morphology of feral horse feet, the same authors reported aspects of foot morphology that were of concern and warranted further investigation . The foot type from some feral horse populations displayed a very large dorsal hoof wall–distal phalanx distance (HWDPD) and an unusually large coronary band–extensor process distance, indicating possible pathology of the distal phalanx suspensory apparatus.…”

Hoof capsule distortion and radiographic measurements of the front feet in Mangalarga Marchador horses subjected to athletic training

“…Kobluc et al (1989) showed mean values between 50 and 54.6 degrees in 95 racehorses. Hampson et al (2013) found mean values of 52.8 ± 2.6 degrees for ferral horses, which are higher than the ones seen in this study.…”