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The Importance of Orthopaedic Balance

In more recent times there has been a lot of discussion regarding the importance of correct hoof balance and how that balance is achieved and maintained. Equine podiatry is advancing and many people are beginning to realise there is a strong and proportional relationship in what is going on in the body of the horse above the carpus and the hock with the changes and problems they are displaying below the fetlock, and in particular the hoof. With recent advances in the study of equine biomechanics and the application of chiropractic and osteopathic science to animals there is coming to light more and more information on the type of changes that the horse has in it’s upper body.

At the outset it needs to be established that there is a connection with back pain and feet problems. The fundamental key to support this assertion is that riders of performance horses are very aware when their horse is not going as well as expected. Trainers also become aware when the horses of their students are not capable of doing what is asked. In many instances the blame is based on back pain. When a professional is called in to get to the bottom of these problems, be they an equine physiotherapist, equine myotherapist, veterinarian or equine chiropractor an assessment of how the horse is holding its body in relation to foot structure and balance is now considered routine. The assessment and recognition of this type of balance is referred to as orthopaedic balance because it does not just consider hoof balance, but the balance of the whole horse in motion or standing still.

In essence the alteration of balance is a structural change and will alter the function of not only the foot in question, but there will be a flow on compensation effect to all or any of the other limbs of the animal. Beacause of the fine tuning of the passive stay apparatus, and its anatomical relationship to the spine, back pain can result in even seemingly minor imbalances, and the degree of pain varies between individual horses. What has been noticed more recently is that both medial-lateral and heel height imbalances in all or any of the feet will result in muscle tension compensation patterns. These imbalances can be due to a number of differing factors including rider balance, compensation due to incorrect training, teeth problems, unrelated pain or lameness, husbandry practices and stress. Needless to say the health of the foot and the way it is trimmed is vital.

Finding muscles tension patterns in the upper body requires some practice and training. Examining countless thousands of horses and assimilating consistent tension patterns then relating these to hoof imbalances is not something you can’t read in a book, yet! However learning to avoid these problems and knowing what to do when they start creeping into your equine performance game is much easier.