Corrective Shoeing, Diagnosing Lameness

Question 1

The hoof-pastern angle in the front should be ____ degrees

Answer 1

50˚

Question 2

What condition is seen in this horse?

Answer 2

Stringhalt

Question 3

T/F: It is important to perform flexion tests before observation at exercise or hoof testers

Answer 3

False

Always perform flexion tests AFTER palpation, observation at exercise, and hoof testers

Question 4

What instrument is this?

Answer 4

rasp

Question 5

If a horse’s lameness is consistently observable at a trot under all circumstances, this is considered a Grade ____ lameness

Answer 5

Grade 3

Question 6

A horse presents to your clinic with a heel laceration. Weeks later, it presents again with this and you’re all like “damn, that’s nasty as shit. But I do know what it is. It’s ____________”

Answer 6

exuberant granulation tissue (proud flesh)

Question 7

What nerves are blocked with a low 4-point nerve block?

Answer 7

• lat/med palmar metacarpal nn.
• lat/med palmar nn.

Question 8

What nerves are blocked with an abaxial nerve block?

Answer 8

palmar digital nerves

(just more proximally than the PD nerve block)

Question 9

What instrument is being used here?

Answer 9

alligator clincher

Question 10

What type of shoe is shown here?

Answer 10

full bar shoe

Question 11

What are the clinical signs of a solar abscess?

Answer 11

• Lameness
• Thumping digital pulse
• Draining tract at coronary band
• Swelling

Question 12

Thrush is a degenerative condition of the __________

Answer 12

Thrush is a degenerative condition of the frog

Question 13

Laminitis becomes chronic after ____ hours of continual pain or when rotation of the distal phalanx occurs

Answer 13

Laminitis becomes chronic after 48 hours of continual pain or when rotation of the distal phalanx occurs

Question 14

What nerves are blocked with a PD nerve block?

Answer 14

Palmar digital nerves

Question 15

What instrument is this?

Answer 15

clinch cutter

Question 16

What are thoooooooose?

Answer 16

hoof nippers

Question 17

Identify the abnormality

Answer 17

“Ski-tipped” coffin bone

Question 18

What tool is shown in this image?

Answer 18

hoof testers

Question 19

T/F: In the hindlimb, the head goes down when the lame limb bears weight

Answer 19

True!

This is true for the hindlimb. Note that this is NOT the case for forelimb lameness!

Question 20

What is the most common cause of lameness in the horse?

Answer 20

solar abscess

Question 21

What instrument is this?

Answer 21

hoof knife

Question 22

What is causing the gait abnormality shown here?

(sorry for the choppy gif)

Answer 22

upward fixation of the patella (UFP)

*This can sometimes look similar to Stringhalt*

Question 23

Where should the nails be placed in the shoe?

Answer 23

At the white line, cranial to the widest part of the hoof

Nail should NOT be driven in more caudally than the widest part of hoof wall b/c will interfere with the hoof wall mechanism ​

Question 24

What type of shoe is shown here?

Answer 24

heart bar shoe

Allows for better distribution of weight along the whole foot, Supports the frog

Question 25

This lameness is pathognomonic for what condition?

Answer 25

upward fixation of the patella

Question 26

How do you diagnose solar abscesses?

Answer 26

• Hoof testers
• Sterile probe in draining tract
• Rads (fistulography)

Question 27

If a horse has an obvious lameness with marked head nod, hitching, shortened stride, this is considered a Grade ____ lameness

Answer 27

Grade 4

Question 28

What does it mean if the nail is “quickened”?

Answer 28

The nail goes through the sensitive lamina (bleeding around it)​

Question 29

What are the treatment options for chronic laminitis?

Answer 29

• Therapeutic shoeing
• Dorsal hoof wall resection
• Deep digital flexor tenotomy
• Euthanasia

Question 30

How often does a horses hoof need to be trimmed?

Answer 30

every 4-6 weeks

Question 31

When shoeing, you’ll use clinch cutters or a rasp to create a groove just below the nail tip for the end of the nail to be bent into. What is this groove called?

Answer 31

clinch bed

Question 32

What does it mean if the nail is “nail bound”?

Answer 32

The end of the nail doesn’t come out of the hoof

Question 33

The hoof-pastern angle in the front should be ____ degrees

Answer 33

50˚

Question 34

A horse presents to you with a grade 3/5 RF lameness. Which of the following would be expected as you watch the horse in motion?

• Head nod down when the RF is in contact with the ground
• Head nod down when the LF is in contact with the ground

Answer 34

Head nod down when the LF is in contact with the ground​

Question 35

T/F: Lameness is graded when the horse is walking

Answer 35

False

Lameness is graded at the TROT

Question 36

What instrument is this?

Answer 36

alligator clincher

Question 37

When performing a pre-purchase evaluation (PPE), what party are you working for?

Answer 37

the buyer

Question 38

This lameness is pathognomonic for what condition?

Answer 38

fibrotic myopathy

Fibrotic myopathy is fibrosis of the semimembranosus, semitendinosus causing a mechanical-type lameness​

Question 39

What type of shoeing will help treat navicular disease?

Answer 39

shoe with elevated heel

Question 40

What’s wrong with this picture?

Answer 40

The vet is on the opposite side of the horse than the handler

They should be on the same side

Question 41

How fast does a horses hoof grow?

Answer 41

~6 mm/month

Question 42

Where does the hoof grow from?

Answer 42

perioplic corium

Question 43

The lateral palmar nerve block blocks the origin of the __________

Answer 43

suspensory ligament

Question 44

How long does it take for the hoof to grow from the coronet to the toe?

Answer 44

1 year