Improper Shoeing or Lameness?

Veterinarians are not blacksmith's, and it's really not their duty to tell the blacksmith what to do. They can only make suggestions. Too often however is the case of a a horse, (usually a young one) who appears to be off about everywhere. Although the animal is being presented to the veterinarian for a possible lameness problem, so many of these horses are completely sound. Many young animals are simply not shod correctly, and therefore they tend to take on characteristics of a lameness. Any horse which is foul-gaited may appear to be lame. The important thing is to define the problem correctly. If the horse is examined thoroughly and found to possess little if any faults then the possible answer is improper shoeing. In order to differentiate poor shoeing from a true lameness problem, the horse should be given a strong pain killer and re-evaluated on the racetrack. Horses with a true lameness should improve somewhat. Those in which shoes are the problem will not alter their gait at all.