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Conformation Clinic Part 5

© Patricia Celley

Before we can begin our discussion of the hoof, it is important that you understand its anatomy. From the outside, it looks like a one hard, dense growth, like a horn or tusk. In reality, the hoof is a very complex structure of bones, cartilage, tendon, tissue, blood and nerves.

What you see from the outside is the hoof wall. This part is hard and dense with no nerve endings, much like your fingernail. However, it is only about one-half inch thick. If you lift the foot and look at it from the bottom, you can see a "V" shaped structure. The widest part of the "V" starts at the back of the hoof and the tip of the "V" ends in the middle of the hoof. This structure is called the frog. Where the frog meets the leg is called the heel. On either side of the frog the hoof raises and forms a ridge called the bars of the hoof. Sometimes you can see the hoof wall running along the outer edge of the hoof. If the horse is wearing shoes, they will be nailed to the wall and covering it. The rest of the underside of the hoof is called the sole.

Inside the hoof, the frog and sole are comprised of very elastic tissue and huge amounts of blood. The elastic nature of the tissue allows it to expand and absorb the weight and shock of each step or stride. Some have said each hoof is like another heart in the horse, pumping the blood with every step. There are also two important bones in the foot. The coffin bone is the larger bone, angled down toward the toe of the foot. A smaller bone tucked in behind the coffin bone is the navicular bone. These bones work in conjunction with the short and long pastern bones connecting the leg to the hoof. The deep flexor tendon runs from the coffin bone up the back of the leg. There are other, more specific structures within the hoof, but this information will suffice to give you an idea of some of the problems that occur within the hoof.

So what should you look for in a correct, healthy hoof? A correct hoof is round and large enough to support the weight of the horse. The angle of the foot follows the angle from the pastern. If you measure the angle from the front of the hoof to the ground it should be about fifty five degrees. This is slightly different from the angle made by running the imaginary line through the pastern to the ground which we have stated should be about 45 degrees. On the underside, the sole of the foot should be slightly concaved and the widest part of the frog should be about half the width of the hoof. Standing in front of the horse, the toes should point straight forward. Standing behind the horse, both heels should touch the ground. What makes it difficult to determine conformational correctness in a hoof is that a farrier can make many changes to the hoof's appearance, both good and bad.