Hoof balance in the equine limb has historically been subjective and dependent on anecdotal evidence (Kummer et al. 2009) . Practitioners understand that adjustments in hoof balance can be beneficial to maintain and/or return a horse to soundness (Wilson and Weller 2011) . The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between the horn tubule growth alignment at the dorsal hoof wall and the articular plane of the coffin bone (P3). This would allow the practitioner to reliably assess the mediolateral orientation of P3 based on sound research. Radiographs were taken of disarticulated hoof capsules in which the horn tubule direction and articular plane were marked. Angular measurements were taken to discern horn tubule skew relative to this plane. The articular and distal planes were also evaluated for parallelism. Data was summarized and tested for correlations between variables. The mean front limb horn tubule angle was 89.80°. The mean hind limb horn tubule angle was 91.53. These results suggest that if the front hoof is trimmed such that the horn tubules are perpendicular to the ground, then the articular plane of P3 will be parallel to the ground. This would not apply to the hind limbs. It was also found that the shape of P3 does have a moderately strong negative correlation with the skew of the HT angle, (r = -0.66, p<0.001). This correlation showed that the horn tubules will skew toward the shorter side of P3. This study was limited to a small sample of cadaver feet.
Abstract
An examination of the relationship between horn tubule growth direction and the articular and distal planes of the coffin bone
Recording of the Live Q&A with Tim Shannon
