Breathing Space Farm

OMG, what a good sport!

https://www.equitopiacenter.com/the-price-we-pay-for-spec/

Asymmetry is a reality and fact of nature. But it has its implications. If we are to accept assymetry as natural biodiversity then we have to understand the im...plications and work to maintain healthy physiology in spite of the predispositions. High low hooves in front are an assymetry, they are very often acquired but are a natural occurrence and product of laterality. It creates different angles all the way up the limb and creates an asymmetry in the shoulder (Ridgeway 2020) This affects the saddle fit and the seat of the rider creating more influences on the horse. A Rotated scapula In the lower foot and tension in the higher foots shoulder. Ridgeway also discusses the effects on the neck and spine. Hobbs et al. (2018) also quantified some of the biomechanical results of this conformation. The feet create asymmetrical propulsive forces resulting in spinal stiffening and contra lateral hind limb compensations. Again this could create musculoskeletal injury and Hobbs touched on the fact that these horses may need physio treatment more often for preventative measures. We can also use technology to quantify these effects. Hobbs used objective gait analysis in the study but something else that could prove to be a valuable tool in detecting areas of inflammation which correlate well with regions of pain in these horses is thermography. We know that these horses are needing to compensate and will need to overuse some muscles, so thermography is a very useful tool in monitoring and detecting sub clinical and early changes in the body (Soroko and Howell 2018). The following images show some of these points and includes a case study. In the case study, the links between the high low conformation and the inflammatory markers in the thermography are anecdotal and could be coincidental, but further research using thermography could quantify how the compensatory mechanisms discussed by the above studies create inflammation and musculoskeletal overuse. Further reading on high-low hooves at this link. . https://www.theequinedocumentalist.com//high-low-hoof-conf