ASYMMETRIC FEET:The Relationship Between Superficial Digital Flexor Tendon Lesions and Asymmetric Feet in Equine Forelimbs

摘要

Anecdotally for many years, horse owners and veterinary surgeons have tried to influence the trimming and shoeing techniques, undertaken by farriers to reduce the length of toe in the belief that this reduces the pressure on the flexor tendons of theforelimb and reduces the chance of sustaining tendon injury. However, the term "long toe" is inconsistently defined. Horses that have large flat feet are often considered to have long toes. A horse with a lesser angle of dorsal hoof wall (DHW) is often described as having a long toe, however, exactly the same length toe may be described as short or normal simply due to a greater angle of DHW.