Hi all. I have a stupid newbie question. Can someone link to or post a picture of a properly trimmed goat hoof from the side? There are lots of pictures of the bottom of the feet, but I would like to see an elevation view. Preferably with hair trimmed or out of the way so I can see the coronet band and the hoof wall. My zinc-deficient doe has terrible feet and I think they are too stacked? It seems they are very tall and on her back legs she rests on the heel. The inside half of the hoof will stay plane to the ground, but the outside will rock back on the heel and the toe points up off the ground. I do barefoot trims on my horse, so I think I understand basic balance and biomechanics, but I have no idea how to help her. It seems like just so many things are wrong with her foot all at once. My only other goat is young and has kid sized/shaped feet and I didn't know if they were supposed to stack more as an adult. I've been following her sole for trims, but I feel like I should do more to correct her very incorrect way of standing with her foot splayed out in two directions. Any advice?
Goats and horses feet are stacked completely different. Here is a good site/picture on how it should look: http://www.piedmontdairygoats.com/HowtoTrimHooves.jpg She may also need copper or BoSe.
Thanks, Run Around. I have added pictures. When I bought her, my breeder showed me how to trim and told me not to trim the heels. The illustration you provided was very helpful and it showed the heels trimmed. I look at these pictures and just think the heels are so long. I feel terrible, like I have failed this goat. She's been with me for 4 months now and I have not improved her feet at all. Any advice on how to help her feet? From my records, she was bolused on 12/12/09, 6/29/09, 3/19/09... She got her Bo-SE on 1/21/10, 2/14/09... She's been trimmed on 1/28/09, 11/22/09, 10/18/09... I've had her since 10.18.09. Could she be deficient or is this just a mechanical issue with bad trims?
Re: Side View of Properly Trimmed Goat Feet - Updated with Pics Here is another picture of the hind foot.
Her feet actually look ok as far as trimming goes. I think she probably needs more copper, are you giving copasure? Or it may be just in her genetics to have weak pasterns and what not.
Are you really not supposed to trim the heels? Just wondering..I think we barely trimmed ours just to keep them even the time we did it. I thought they looked GREAT when done. Just wondering for future reference.
RunAround, Yeppers, I most recently bolused her with 3 g of copasure on Dec 12, 2009. Her pasterns are not what is weak. It's like the two halves of her foot are shearing and spread apart. Her pasterns look fine, to me anyway. But I notice in my records, that prior to her coming to me, she was bolused, but only 1.5 g at a time. She was 65 lbs when I first got her 1 week pregnant, so she should be getting 3gs. How often should she be bolused? Every quarter? Logansmommy, I obviously am new, but I would think you would trim heels if they are long or folding over the sole. I feel like this does heels are a tad long, but I really don't know. The diagram RunAround linked to above shoes "heels trimmed". Fiasco's web site shows trimming heels. I am so confused...
Her back pasterns do look a bit weak, but it may be the way she is standing and her toes are splayed. I really think it's just genetic. When you breed her try to breed her to a buck with really nice feet. I copper bolus every three months and give BoSe about 3 times a year. I trim the heels when they need it but not often, it really depends on the goat. I think your trim job looks fine. My other question, is she at all overweight? besides being pregnant lol
http://www.boergoatshome.com/hooves.php Does anyone use a carpenter's plane during hoof trimming as described in this link?
We've never tried the carpenter's plane. Frankly it's hard to imagine, maybe harder to use on minis . . . but perhaps it could be useful in some situations.
Hi RunAround, this discussion is very useful! I will definitely keep an eye on those back pasterns. It's good to get outside viewpoints on the goat you see everyday, and I am so new to this, I don't really have other adults to compare her to. She was not overweight when I got her and if anything, she's trimmed a bit just from exercise (I take her for walks every day). Are you thinking laminitis? I looked it up in Goat Medicine and saw that it could cause abnormal hoof growth. Thanks also for your feedback on the copper. I have not been diligent enough in making sure she is getting enough. I do think she has other symptoms, not quite the fishtail, but some fading on her back coat. I also looked up my old friend, the zinc deficiency, and it does cause abnormal feet and bowed legs. The goat medicine book said that 250 mg of zinc sulphate administered orally every day for four weeks caused some correcting in goats presenting poor feet. So she is on about 500 mg orally every day now. The vet said I could not give her too much and to go for 500 mg. It's not fair to judge her progress in the last month of pregnancy, but hopefully when she delivers and the stress is lightened on her, we will see some progress. Between the zinc and the copper, we might get this better for her. Thanks for your feed back on my trim! Sometimes I feel completely inadequate for this poor doe.
Yes ...you do trim the heals only as needed..... as shown in the link below...it must be flush with the rest of the hoof... don't cut it to deep... or there foot placement will be off.... :wink: http://www.infovets.com/healthysmrm/C322.htm
Wookie, I think I understand what you mean -- I have pygmies, who are heavier animals, and they can "crush" their heels so the foot almost rolls backwards. Then it's really hard to level the foot as you feel as though you can't cut anything off the heel. I would try keeping the toe short to try to place more weight over the center of the foot, taking the weight off the heel. That may allow the heel to grow more. It's going to take several trims -- in my opinion only!
If you have one that seems to "roll" her feet out sideways, cut the inner area shorter, which will help with the rolling appearance. (We do it to show does that toe out too)
