Sheep with mis-formed feet from poor gait

[PhilipB]

I'm doing the annual foot check.

What should I do with sheep who have poor gait on their back legs and end up with a hoof looking like this?

I can't believe that there is much point in trying to impose a "proper" hoof shape on it by trimming. I assume the poor gait leads to poor hoof shape rather than the overgrown hoof leading to poor walking.

 

[Highland Mule]

I'm doing the annual foot check.

What should I do with sheep who have poor gait on their back legs and end up with a hoof looking like this?

I can't believe that there is much point in trying to impose a "proper" hoof shape on it by trimming. I assume the poor gait leads to poor hoof shape rather than the overgrown hoof leading to poor walking.

Two or three snips and that will be back to normal - I'd be more converned about the impacting soil getting under the hoof on the right than the overgrown pad on the left. Whether you should keep and breed off ewes that have extended pads is another thing of course, but I would do if all else was favourable. Quite often find a little bit scald can start them favouring the other and the pad grows over - it might even be an impacted stone on the left claw that caused that. Made worse if they're grazing on clay soil without much abrasive surface to wear it down, I find.

 

[PhilipB]

Two or three snips and that will be back to normal - I'd be more converned about the impacting soil getting under the hoof on the right than the overgrown pad on the left. Whether you should keep and breed off ewes that have extended pads is another thing of course, but I would do if all else was favourable. Quite often find a little bit scald can start them favouring the other and the pad grows over - it might even be an impacted stone on the left claw that caused that. Made worse if they're grazing on clay soil without much abrasive surface to wear it down, I find.

I'm a bit confused... So, to be clear, left is the outer claw, right is the inner.

The right one, the horn is now growing out horizontally, exposing the join between the horn and the sole of the hoof. No trimming is going to persuade that horn to grow back curving over the foot. Or is it?

As for the left horn, I don't think I'm worried about it.

So do you think the misshape of a foot like this has been caused by problems with the foot, or with the formation of the leg above it?

 

[Highland Mule]

I'm a bit confused... So, to be clear, left is the outer claw, right is the inner.

The right one, the horn is now growing out horizontally, exposing the join between the horn and the sole of the hoof. No trimming is going to persuade that horn to grow back curving over the foot. Or is it?

As for the left horn, I don't think I'm worried about it.

So do you think the misshape of a foot like this has been caused by problems with the foot, or with the formation of the leg above it?

Left/ right - agreed.

Right is delaminating, I think and being pushed outwards - but difficult to see with the dirt still in place. I'd cut it back neat and maybe even up the side until it's adjoined, if you get me? The pad should stop at the sides though, not grow in and curve over the sole. If it's trimmed back to vertical, and whatever nasty that's pushing it sideways is relieved, I'd suspect it will grow normally from now on (or at least stop causing trouble for a while).

And then get them walking on some harder ground from time to time, so they wear down properly.

 

[andybk]

as with @Highland Mule that inner claw could have a small stone in that dirt which would make the hoof grow out ,or maybe white line disease where a mineral deficiency separated the edge of horn from foot letting dirt impact in the gap , gently trim see whats there first .

 

[clod hopper]

In my opinion, over grown feet 80% of the time is down to the environment they live in. My sheep are no different. I strip graze my sheep on softish ground. In this system sheep walk a lot less so I need to trim there feet regularly 2/3 times a year. As I rotate the flock round my farm. each time I graze next to the yards I bring them in and inspect them and trim what needs doing and keep on top of it that way. All part of the system.

 

[An ancient git]

NEVER trimmed feet here for last 7 years . It's all rubbish and wrecks them . Odd bad footed gets killed ...... If trimming feet , one hasn't caught up with modern age and reality ! I thought barmy , but tried concept , and will never go back to the old ways ..... And I'm a 60++++year old convert !!!!

 

[clod hopper]

NEVER trimmed feet here for last 7 years . It's all rubbish and wrecks them . Odd bad footed gets killed ...... If trimming feet , one hasn't caught up with modern age and reality ! I thought barmy , but tried concept , and will never go back to the old ways ..... And I'm a 60++++year old convert !!!!

My home farm here is dead flat on peat. At this time of year their brakes are 100m x 10m (winter). They walk very little, eat, poop, drink and lay down. Great way to keep condition/fatten stock. If my land was steeper or harder I'd expect there foot growth to be controlled more naturally.
I'm not saying that my sheep are lame, they are not mostly just the odd one every now and then. Just keep on top of the job with a sheep turner no drama. Even a man in his 60's can use it. (And I am not far from it)

 

[Longlowdog]

My sheep are kept in the same circumstances as Clod Hoppers, eat, sleep, walk 5 feet, repeat. I tried really hard to get onboard the no trim train but when sheep were having their gait altered by Aladdin's slippers I gave up. The ewes were not lame but affected by dragging very long curling toes through very rich dense swards. I even showed the feet to the vet before I trimmed when he was M.V testing and he concurred with me that they did indeed require trimming if their feet were not to become deformed. Pedant-ism about any issue without regard for other systems is pointless. If I kept sheep on a beach of rocks and barnacles or on sharp gritty soils I might believe feet didn't need trimming but I hope I'd be aware of others systems before I voiced an opinion. Anyone can voice their experience but it is not a universal truth. I could stop selecting my sheep for any other traits and breed sheep that did not grow excess hoof on my place in probably 5 generations but when I sold them to someone on different ground they would probably hate the feet I'd bred in to my stock.
With regards the O.P if she wasn't limping or having her gait altered I'd probably have left it another month and looked again. However, under my high input, close scrutiny system (enabled by low numbers and plenty of time) I see my sheep in a clean concrete floored pen often and can trim any requiring it reactively without having to trim groups routinely. If I only penned them once in a blue moon I'd almost certainly trim it back to my impression of a perfect foot in case it would be months before she came in again. If as the O.P states the gait was noticeably altered I'd trim it without hesitation there and then.

 

[An ancient git]

Do breed my own here and gives a head-start . On strong land also . Only keep stock off good-footed ewes , never Footvax , and any ewe lamb that has an issue is gone . Ruthless , but achieved the goal very fast ..... And they are lasting as now got rather too many 5 crop and over !

 

[Longlowdog]

While I agree that breeding stock from sound animals is the way forward there are an awful lot of fat lambs produced every year from sheep that get 90 seconds of foot trimming once in a while that would cost considerably more to replace. Everyone who screams 'cull them' at every opportunity must have more sheep and money than sense.
Even in my wee flock of pedigrees there are sheep who don't cut the mustard in the pedigree department that are retained because they give fat lambs that add to the fiscal productivity of my place. A fat lamb and a half for the next 4 or five years is better than the price of a cull ewe plus the cost of a replacement.
No-one ever said you had to keep breeding stock from the slightly blemished ewes.

 

[PhilipB]

NEVER trimmed feet here for last 7 years . It's all rubbish and wrecks them . Odd bad footed gets killed ...... If trimming feet , one hasn't caught up with modern age and reality ! I thought barmy , but tried concept , and will never go back to the old ways ..... And I'm a 60++++year old convert !!!!

Yes, we don't 'trim' like we used to, am I'm a believer in leaving them alone.

I tried that completely for a few years and it didn't go well, so now after weaning we turn everything over and have a look at what's going on/ find the foot rot carriers

 

[An ancient git]

Maybe I was very lucky with what I started with , as only a handful have gone for feet ..... Do reckon that foot shape is an inherited trait that can be bred-out quickly .

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Cull owt with bad feet