Conformation old injury shoeing problem??

[Hardline]

I have a StandardBred harness race horse that goes to the inside of his right front knee--he is far enough away from it in the turns??  but in the straight aways at higher speeds he brushes past it and it has tons of scar tissue and is a target more than anything--covering it up with bandages or knee boots makes it worse!--he is a champion bred horse and has a ton of speed and the desire to win--otherwise I'd shit can him--Help!!  tried spreaders and just about everything else my shoer can think of...--any ideas?

[samstar]

Race him on a mile track.

[joplin5]

You can try trimming the outside of his front feet, taking him down about 1/8th of an inch.  That should clear his knees.

A number of things can cause this - is he trimmed every 3 weeks, what type of shoes and what are the angles and length of toe?

[OldGreyMare]

  How long have you had him?  Has he always done this, is it something new, or did he acquire it as he trained down?
  Good in the turns, not the straightaway... so he's running out?  On the left line? and how bad?  How is he rigged?  Any splints up front?  Sore in the knees?  Is he crooked enough that that alone could be taking him to the knee? (In which case it could be lameness in the left hind)   
   Lameness aside, assuming it's a conformation flaw, I would pull all 4 shoes and see how he wears the hooves naturally (up front).  Then fit the shoe to the foot.  If it's a conformation problem, he may need what will look like an unorthodox breakover point and/or angle to clear.  Let him tell you.
   Another weird thing I tried on a pacing knee-knocker (along with blunting at the breakover point which was on the outside of the toe, and a high angle) was flip flops.  For whatever reason, they worked... and don't even ask me for an explanation of why I tried them.  I just listened to my gut.

[looking in]

I know you are serious, and what a legit answer, but I am old, and want to be a smart ass.

John Simpson's advice as wrote in "Care and Training".
"Trade him for a dog, and then shoot the dog."

Douq Ackerman when asked for help on a  bad gaited horse.
"You should rub glue on his hips".
What will that do?
"Keep the hip number from falling off".

Seriously I have never had much long range luck with lowering a horses feet either inside or outside.  Reason. You can still win races with a horse hitting it's knees, but you can't win when your horse is dead lame from hitting the ground unevenly.  Before you do to much lowering put a wedge in your own shoe, and see how it feels.

[OldGreyMare]

Seriously I have never had much long range luck with lowering a horses feet either inside or outside.  Reason. You can still win races with a horse hitting it's knees, but you can't win when your horse is dead lame from hitting the ground unevenly.  Before you do to much lowering put a wedge in your own shoe, and see how it feels.

  Oh my God!!  I could not possibly agree with you more!!  This has been a major beef of mine forever and a major cause of argument with blacksmiths.  Like you said, "long range".  The blacksmith looks like a genius right off the bat, but his "contribution" is long forgotten when the lameness shows up.
  I actually had a blacksmith one time argue to put a degree pad on the good foot so it would match the club foot.  This was after the first argument where I wouldn't let him cut the heel down on the club.  The horse had that club foot all his life.  Leave it alone.
  That's why I like to see how they go naturally and take it from there.

  Makes one wonder how many lameness problems started with a bad shoeing job.  I would venture to guess in the 90% range.

  Astounds me how no one supervises their horse in the shop anymore.  Give the blacksmith the stall number and head out.   

[Hardline]

John Simpson's advice as wrote in "Care and Training".
"Trade him for a dog, and then shoot the dog."

Douq Ackerman when asked for help on a  bad gaited horse.
"You should rub glue on his hips".
What will that do?
"Keep the hip number from falling off".
 

Great answers as true as they are!

Thanks for all your help everyone...Esp. OldGreyMare  most of the stuff you stated is very profound-- What makes it Profound is that it is simple and is a common sense approach

[Hardline]

I've been letting horses train and jog with out shoes for years just before I re-shoe them--"let them tell you"

Good Stuff