Slipped traditional costumes
Pushed under costumes refer to a deformation of the hoof capsule of the horse hoof , where the costumes due to lost of overloading their carrying capacity, and tend to lie flat.
Symptoms
This phenomenon can almost be described as the horse's disease of civilization. It shows up in almost all permanently shod horses and in many unshod. If you look at a hoof exactly from the side, the horn tubes of the hoof wall run parallel from the toe to the heel edge, rather a little steeper at the heel edges than at the toe. Geometrically, a horn capsule is a section of an oblique truncated cone. In the case of heels pushed under, this position of the horn tubes in the heel area is lost. The horn tubes are flatter on the heels than on the toes, not always as extreme as in the photo here, but if the heels are visible to the naked eye and are flatter than the toes, the horse has heels pushed under.
causes
Like all deformations of the horn capsule, the creation of the heels pushed under is a process that takes a long time. The heels slide under when they are overloaded, i.e. when the horse puts more weight on the heel than on the tip of the toes while running or standing. A common reason for this is too long a toe. If the toe is too long, it stretches the so-called "white line" ( zona alba ) and thus also the coffin bone support above , which causes pain. Therefore the toe is relieved and more weight is shifted to the heels. Another cause is impairment of the horn quality caused by other diseases or metabolic disorders. Wall horn with less strength is less stable. A flat hoof shackle axis also promotes the pushing of the heels.
Course of the disease and possible consequences
Once the parallelism of the horn tubes has been lost, the hoof position becomes even flatter, which means that the toe can take even less load. This can go so far that the heels lie horizontally on the ground. Alternating lameness, depending on the condition of the day, can result. In extreme cases, the deep flexor tendon can also be overloaded, which in the long term can lead to unrideability.
prevention
Keeping the heels as appropriate to the species as possible with a lot of movement on different surfaces and consistent hoof cultivation, which keeps the entire bearing edge evenly stable, can prevent the heel from being pushed under.
treatment
The treatment of heels pushed under can only succeed barefoot. A fitting can relieve the deep flexor tendon, but it also puts more and more load on the heels that are no longer stable. The quality of the horn can be improved through veterinary treatment. The aim of hoof trimming is to shape the hoof in such a way that the toe and side walls can again take on load. Then the horse will relieve the painful heels and these will recover or grow back in a position that fits the toe. However, the duration of the treatment is usually as long as the duration of the deformation; As a guideline, it can be stated that the hoof has to grow through completely once.
