# would you buy a horse with a box front foot



## popp (3 January 2009)

iv seen a lovely gelding more than what i could wish for but has a box front foot and a flat one and  doesn't wear shoes behind as has great back feet. Lady said hes never had a problem and should come right with a good farrier what are your thoughts does anyone have this problem


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## Maizy (3 January 2009)

What's the age of the horse?  Any pictures?


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## MrsMozart (3 January 2009)

As Maizy - age, pictures, plus what would you want to do with him?


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## Persephone (3 January 2009)

Don't think so personally. There are plenty of great horses out there with good feet IMO.

Jo x


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## popp (3 January 2009)

Hes just turning 6 irish sports horse hes been placed county riding horse i just want to do abit of everything


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## scotsmare (3 January 2009)

i find it difficult to believe he's been placed at county level with dodgy feet 
	
	
		
		
	


	





Personally, unless you have a very good farrier, and the horse is cheap as chips I wouldn't go there.


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## samstar (3 January 2009)

My pony has boxy front feet and my farrier said all feet are shaped differently like us humans.


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## scotsmare (3 January 2009)

I think the issue is more that he has one box foot and one flat one 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 I agree that all horses feet are different but a good farrier can make all the difference


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## popp (3 January 2009)

heres a photo
http://www.kenettphoto.co.uk/agricultural/nailer.php?did=126&amp;id=68


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## winnie1 (3 January 2009)

He looks lovely how much do they want for him?


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## lauraanddolly (3 January 2009)

My mare has a slightly boxy front foot, it is only noticeable now when she is due to be shod my farrier has been a dream. 
 But I do agree with scotsmare(I'm beginning this make it a habit!) that the issue would be more that the two front feet have very different problems - a good farrier will help a lot, maybe you could arrange a farrier (or the horses own) to give you an opinion on his feet. 
 If the horse ticks all other boxes for you, I would say it is worth investigating - but bear in mind that the feet may cause you problems in the future.


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## GermanyJo (3 January 2009)

I would be very careful....odd feet (1 boxy and 1 flat) are very often a sign there is something going on inside the boxy foot... there is normally a reason that one foot contracts..... It could be that with a good farrier, you can improve the situation (by careful rebalancing of the feet) ... but remember, this will take time and money.... and may not prevent the onset of some lameness. 

Why are the owners selling? is the horse very cheap? ... and have you a chance to lunge the horse on the hard somewhere? - this may show up a problem and save you paying out for a vetting which the horse may fail. 

Also ... remember.. if you want to insure the horse, even if he passes, if the vet mentions on the vetting certificate about the odd front feet, you may get some exclusions added to your policy.


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## brightmount (3 January 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
heres a photo
http://www.kenettphoto.co.uk/agricultural/nailer.php?did=126&amp;id=68 

[/ QUOTE ]

I would be going barefoot with that horse. The foot that can be seen in the photo looks strong and inherited from his ID genes. It's impossible to say without seeing photos of his feet all round, but I would think a DAEP qualified equine podiatrist could work with those feet. The one I can see looks very similar to my ISH's feet and she has thrived barefoot; she has had 3 years she wasn't going to have, and is going the best she ever has.

On the other hand if you can't afford to take a risk then I wouldn't go for a horse with problems, even a cheap one, as the upkeep of a horse that is out of work, not to mention the stress just isn't worth it.


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## Donkeymad (3 January 2009)

Depends on the degree of boxiness/flat footedness.
I had a pony with a pretty boxy fore, but he went to the top as a show pony, then succeeded as both a driving pony and childs PC pony. never caused any problems. The only difference being he didn't have a flat foot to consider too.


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## MistletoeMegan (3 January 2009)

No, the front feet should always be a pair.


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## popp (3 January 2009)

ill get a foot photo


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## popp (3 January 2009)

http://s265.photobucket.com/albums/ii202/kirst_2008/?action=view&amp;current=Photo-0041.jpg


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## frb (3 January 2009)

My horse has a slightly boxy front foot which my vet said would fail a vetting but should not cause me any problems unless i wanted to hammer round cross country courses etc every weekend, then it may show itself.  I have never (touch wood) had a problem with it, however i do have to ensure he is shod bang on every six weeks or he goes uneven when schooling.  He is sometimes uneven on very tight circles, which a judge may pick up on, but not often.
After i bought him i heard he had often been lame before i had him but he was jumping constantly, and over big fences.
I would go for it unless it is severe and his other foot is an odd shape, and you want to do a lot of jumping, then i would be cautious.  Maybe get the opinion of a good equine vet.


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## Tia (3 January 2009)

No, not at 6 I wouldn't.  If he were a yearling or a 2 year old then depending on how slight it was I may buy as my farrier is fantastic and boxy feet can be managed with great farrier work.


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## brightmount (3 January 2009)

From that second photo I was expecting them to look more different as you said one was boxy and the other flat. He doesn't look a lost cause to me, but what sort of money are we looking at?


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## popp (3 January 2009)

hes 3.500


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## martlin (3 January 2009)

on the second photo, the feet don't look too bad IMO


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## brightmount (3 January 2009)

If you really like him (I think he looks lovely) then I would get a vetting and make your decision based on professional advice.


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## Dogstar (3 January 2009)

From personal experience I probably would not, as I was bought a little TB mare as a teenager (many years ago!) with one box foot (which the vet noted at the vetting) and she later developed navicular in that foot.


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## TicTac (3 January 2009)

My mare has one front hoof that my farrier very bluntly describes as a club foot!!! It is slightly boxy and more upright than the other but she have never had any problems and if she looses a front shoe it's always the other one!

If you have a good farrier I'm sure it won't cause a problem and my horse was vetted when I bought her. I have attached a photo and the hoof in question is the black one at the front.


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## TicTac (3 January 2009)

My mare has what my farrier bluntly describes as a club foot!! It is slightly more upright and boxy than the other but she was vetted when I bought her and it has never given her any problems. In fact if ever she looses a shoes it's always the other one!

I'm sure if you have a good farrier he will be able to look after it properly.

I have attached a piccy of my horse and the foot in question is the black hoof at the front.


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## popp (3 January 2009)

shes lovely


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## TicTac (3 January 2009)

sorry about the double entry post folks!!!


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## Marchtime (3 January 2009)

No don't touch it. Or at least I wouldn't. Front feet that don't match often indicate problems. My TB has two different sized front feet and has soft tissue damage. I'd be getting a thorough vetting and quite possibly xrays before buying it.


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## Ezme (3 January 2009)

QR (Havn't got time to read everything)

Having looked after a horse with all boxy feet (and upright pasterns) that was on 2bute a day at the age of 12, no.


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## JM07 (3 January 2009)

restricted hooves are renound for later life problems, regardless of being shod/unshod.

a good farrier will be able to keep things at bay..but i think IMO 6 is a little too late to be trying to rectify something.

and he does have a problem with both feet..by having the need to wear "double clenchers" on the front..i have a horse on my yard who is fitted with these..farrier says his feet are a nightmare.being boxy, they are very prone to thrush/corns and the horse has Navicular and Ringbone..could be the result of the poor hoof.


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## Flame_ (3 January 2009)

I wouldn't, I've done my time dealing with foot problems!!! If you are thinking about it, take lots of photos of all feet from all angles, send them to your farrier and let him say go for it or steer clear.


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## eventing_chick (3 January 2009)

No never,It'll end up with navicuar


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## nicnag (3 January 2009)

I had a mare that had two different sized front feet. The grey in my sig and avatar. It was noticeable but as I liked her I had vetted, The vet did note and investigate her foot during the vetting, his opinion was that she had at some point have a bad abcess that has brewed for some time and as she had kept her weight off it the hoof bacame contracted. The insurance company were happy to insure her and didn't exclude it. I did get a remedial farrier to look at it and he didn't consider it a major issue. I had her for five years and it never bothered her at any stage.  She was shown in hunter classes, went xc and Bsja.So I'd certainly take time to try and investigate it before buying him but I wouldn't rule him out.


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## JenHunt (3 January 2009)

One of ours has a really boxy front foot and one moderately boxy from foot.... and he has no problems with them (he has sidebone which has caused problems but nothing to do with the shape of his foot) 

our farrier says they look awful, but can't see the point in trying to change them if he's sound and happy. it's a very typical shape of foot for hanoverian and hanoverian crosses apparently!

if the horse suits you, and he passes a vet then I'd go for it!


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## dotty1 (3 January 2009)

I had a tb who had a club foot.  I had him 20 years from the age of 4 and he never had an unsound day.  He was used for pc and rc comps and a bit of hunting.


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## madwoman (3 January 2009)

we looked at mare couple years ago with same  thing with her feeet and she failed vet as vet advised problems later on,


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## Araminta (3 January 2009)

Just for the record I had a horse born with 2 different front feet - 1 upright and boxy and the other would grow much more toe and wanted to colapse at the heel. I wanted my farrier to try to match his feet up ( over a period of time) but my farrier said no, best leave them be and treat each foot as an individual first and a pair second.

To cut a long story short my boy did everything. Won at county level a lot - most times the grass hid his feet!

Evented up to intermediate, Show jumped to 140 and was a great teamchaser and hack.

Never had a days lameness in his life until he sadly suffered a fracture to his pedal bone at 20! when hareing round the field.

Good luck or a great farrier? or a bit of both.


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## scribble (3 January 2009)

he does have box feet to some extent but at six he is way too old to alter this as the bones within the foot will have set.  these are normally sorted withtin the first year or so of the horses life after this is is not good.  

with more pronounced upright boxed feet you can cut tendons to drop the heels in extreme cases.  i would see how he goes and get a GOOD farrier to look at him.  if he has good feet then he can go barefoot, if you need to or if he needs to have shoes to support his feet then he should keep them on.  

i have just put my baby on loan who has the most awful box foot on one front leg and 3 normal feet.  he was a 17 warmblood and all good farriers took one look and said oh he is a pet but he is ridden every day and has done 25 mile newmarket rides, been eventing and done showjumping.  the only problem was that the breakover point on his box foot was very slightly ealrier than his other front leg so he always looked very slightly lame in dressage comps.  he is now enjoying his retirement hacking out aand cantering on fields.  had he have had a decent farreir before we brought him then he could have been sorted and been a top eventer as his dad was an international show jumper.


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## Araminta (3 January 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
No never,It'll end up with navicuar 

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't really think you can say that for sure.

Any more than you could say a horse will break a leg, get colic, or ks.


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## Dizzykizzy (3 January 2009)

My WB mare on loan with a view to buy passed a 5 stage vetting though the vet commented she has boxy feet (we never noticed nor did our farrier ever say anything). I don't think it is necessarily a vet fail thing.
As others said I think that they are different is more worrying. hard to see on that photo, I've cricked my neck looking!!


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