Lameness in the Driving Horse

The origin and foot condition of horses slaughtered in Australia for the human consumption market

“…arising from a foot imbalance, excessive hoof growth and thin, dry or wet hoof walls: Pascoe 1986;Dabareiner et al 2003;Moyer 2003), it is likely that the different activities of the SB horses (harness work as opposed to riding) and possible differences in the husbandry and management techniques used may explain the different characteristics of their hooves, compared to those of TB and NB horses. Keane and Munroe (2003) noted that coronary band and heel injuries are both common in horses driven in harness; and Ross (2003) reported injuries in trotters can commonly be found on the coronary band, heel, pastern, shin and hock. The associations found in this investigation agree that SB horses (pacers and trotters) had more coronary band injuries and injuries occurring to the fetlock, pastern and heel than the TB or NB horses, probably due to the type of activity undertaken by these animals.…”