SIDE BONE

This 8 year old mare had been mildly lame for about 12 months before her owner turned to natural hoof care. She had been diagnosed with side bone (ossification of the lateral cartilages - the cartilage turns to bone) and given remedial farriery, but she did not improve and the owner was told to give her bute daily and continue riding. Below is an x-ray of her right fore taken just before her shoes were removed. The side bone is indicated by the pink arrows. This shows the leg viewed from the front. Notice that the sidebone on the left of the x-ray (her right) is larger. In the rear view photo of this leg this can be seen clearly.

3 days after I removed her shoes her owner contacted me to say she was sound. That was 12 months ago and she has remained sound since. She is used for hacking, and riding club dressage, showing and eventing. Before and after photos are shown below. Notice that in the lateral view the lateral cartilages are poorly developed. This could be due to lack of movement as she grew, perhaps coupled with early shoeing. These immature lateral cartilages are insufficient to absorb the concussion in the adult weight horse which then travels up the leg. It may be because the lateral cartilages are insufficient that they ossify to give the foot stability. Shoeing increases concussion by 60-80%, so by removing the shoes we have dramatically reduced concussion and the horse becomes sound.

                            RIGHT FORE 9/6/08                                      RIGHT FORE 7/2/09  

Above: Broken back hoof/pastern axis, which has corrected itself in the after photo 

Above: The larger sidebone on the right of the foot can be seen. There appears to have been some reduction due to bone remodeling. I will update this page in the future to show if the sidebone reduces.

      Above: In these sole view photos notice how the frog is larger and the heels are wider in the after photo.

                        RIGHT HIND 9/6/08                                            RIGHT HIND 7/2/09

Above: The hoof has become shorter - biomechanically more efficient.

Above: The frog has become larger and the heels wider.

The following x-rays were taken in June '08 (left) and March '10 (right). They illustrate the improvement in her medio-lateral balance. Once her hooves were allowed to wear naturally they found their own correct balance, rather than the balance being decided for her, and then set there with a shoe.