Page 203 - The Veterinary Care of the Horse

– the mediolateral balance

– whether the front feet are a matching pair.
VetBooks.ir HOOF-PASTERN AXIS AND DORSOPALMAR BALANCE

This is observed from the side view of the foot. In a balanced foot:

• the hoof wall at the toe should be parallel to the hoof wall at the heel (Figure 6.7)

• a vertical line drawn through the centre of the cannon bone should reach the ground at
the back of the weight-bearing part of the heel

• a line drawn along the dorsal surface of the hoof wall should be parallel with an

imaginary line drawn through the centre of the first phalanx or along the dorsal aspect of
the pastern; this is the hoof-pastern axis (Figures 6.7 and 6.8)

• when viewed from the ground surface, the width of the forefeet should approximately
equal the length of the foot.

Figure 6.7 Normal hoof-pastern axis in a well-balanced foot