Long Toes in the Hind Feet and Pain in the Gluteal Region: An Observational Study of 77 Horses

This study deals with the relationship between long toes in the hind feet and pain in the gluteal region in horses, and the remedial value of trimming/shoeing that moves the breakover point back at the toe. Seventy seven client-owned horses were studied, 67 shod riding horses retrospectively and 10 barefoot broodmares prospectively. The 10 mares were evaluated twice, and 24 of the 67 riding horses were re-evaluated at the next shoeing, for a total of 111 observations. Each horse underwent gluteal palpation and lateral radiographs of both hind feet. Toe length was quantified as breakover distance (BD), the horizontal distance between the tip of the third phalanx and the dorsalmost point at which the wall/shoe was in contact with the ground. The BD was then shortened with trimming +/− shoeing to a length of ≤15mm (shod horses) or ≤20 mm (barefoot horses). The 24 riding horses were re-evaluated 4-6 weeks later and the 10 broodmares 1 week after trimming.