Gemini and the clues to an unbalanced foot

New horse Gemini arrived yesterday. She is unusual for several reasons - firstly she is a very young horse, only just 4 years old, and secondly she has never been shod. 

This meant that she had some big advantages over many of the other horses who arrive for rehab but it also meant that it was going to be interesting to try and work out why her feet were causing her problems (Gemini has been 2-3/10 lame for several months and has been diagnosed on MRI with navicular bone and collateral ligament damage). 

Lateral shots of her lamer leg don't look too bad  - in fact there is lots to like, not least the strong hoof capsule and balanced hairline.

From the front, however, we get the first clues that her hoof balance isn't quite right for her. From this angle the hairline no longer looks so balanced and there is a hint that she has a medial weakness in her hooves.

Here is a fascinating caudal shot. With most horses who have been in shoes for some years you wouldn't see this level of good frog development but Gemini has it - at least on this leg, though her LF is weaker.

Her frog is loading and she has a heel first landing on this foot. However, a shot of her foot from this angle confirms the same medio-lateral imbalance as we can see from the front and sure enough she is landing on the lateral side of the foot when she walks.

More on Gemini soon...