Barefoot Stories

Decontraction Stories

We find that many horses coming out of shoes have underdeveloped and contracted feet. As the term suggests, contracted means 'smaller than it needs to be'. There are numerous reasons why a hoof becomes contracted, the main ones being lack of soft tissue development, heel pain, or inappropriate shoeing or trimming practices. Some people believe contraction is a way of the hoof protecting a weak or overly sensitive place.

Look at the foot on the right. These pics were taken six months apart. See the high heel and steep toe on the left pic? When this horse moved, he landed flat footed or toe first, with the weightbearing point far forward under the hoof. In the second pic, his whole hoof capsule has relaxed, and he is weightbearing and using his heels more appropriately.

The changes we can see are due to appropriate trimming, better hoof hygiene and movement.

Here are shots of the same hoof from the heel forwards. Look for the difference in the distance between the hairline and the ground bearing surface, the deep crevice in the central sulcus of the frog (sheared heel), and the width of the frog between the heels. We would still like this horse to open up a little more, but this may be all he can manage.

He's in his twenties and was shod for 10 years back to back. His soft tissue is unlikely to develop much more than it has given his age.

In ten months the worst crack was on its way out. This hoof still shows by the pink fever line that Annie has had a laminitis episode a few months previously. Over time, we have observed that she is sensitive to her annual shots.

Draft horse crosses like Annie really use their frogs and soles to bear weight. Notice the difference in the healthier foot on the right, ten months out of shoes.

Cracks are pretty straightforward to sort out - remove the leverage, treat infection, stimulate healthy hoof growth and encourage better heel function!