Everyone-  I have a 3 yr old arab gelding, he's had weird foot conformation since birth.   one front hoof is club footed and the other has no heel.   both front legs splay out a little.  we have a great farrier and he's been trimming this horse since he was a baby.  

about 2 months ago he became slightly lame -maybe a grade 1-2 on the club footed side.   he was trimmed last week, became more lame for a few days now it's back to about a grade 1. 

We've got an apt. w/ a local vet who has a good rep. for lameness in a few weeks and if he can't give me some answers guess I'll take him to the vet school in Raleigh for a complete work up. 

Have any of you had to deal with a club foot in a young horse?  whats the prognosis?  shoes?  different type of trimming?  now I"m paranoid he's going to be permanetly lame because I didn't do something earlier...

Unfortunatly, club feet are not uncommon within the arabian breed. Some bloodlines are known for it and you will see top halter horses with a club winning at the national level. That being said, most horses, with good farrier/vet care, can go on to be productive riding horses at some level. Depending on the severity and care some can be competitive in the show ring but some cannot. You are doing the right thing to have a complete vet work up with the association of your farrier to find the right situation- some horses do better without shoes but some need the support. You have probably already have done so- but if you some reserch online you can find a host of good information, one good site is the horse.com.

I pal of mine has a 4 yr old arabian mare with a club foot- the horse is sound and functional. She has the hoof trimmed every 3-4 weeks. I think your horse will be ok once you get good vet advice in cooperation with a good farrier.

Another friend has a horse ( a large QH) with a club foot and now navicular. Its been a real struggle to keep her horse sound with or without shoes. But the horse is large and has smallish feet which is a bad combination. The goodthign about arabians is their feet are usually in good proportion to their body types.

Sounds like you are doing everything right. Good Luck, keep in touch.

My husband picked up a little quarter mare with a clubbed foot, she is 8 years. She was also malnourished and he felt sorry for her. But with a really good farrier and vet that know and deal with clubbed feet within 6 months she has gotten much better, the hooves look great, and her gait isn't as, well, gaited, as is with some clubbed footed horses. We call her our "gaited quarter", cause she rides and you can see it in her gaits like a gaited horse. It's great for my husband as he has had back surgery years ago, and he rode her in the mountains and she never missed a beat once, and he wasn't sore either, and that was on a 21 miler.....

You just need to find a reputable farrier and vet to work together on this one. Most club feet I have seen at the hospital I take ours to for shoeing have had to have surgery done to somewhat correct them from birth. They have a photo album where I take ours and the pics. from before to after with shoeing or surgery are incredible......

his foot is very slightly clubbed and until recently I didn't worry much about it since he was sound.  I'd been ponying him everywhere, he leaps on the trailer, will stand tied for hrs., has a wonderful disposition... he's had a saddle on him.. just isn't big enough to ride.  not that I'm in any hurry to ride a 3 yr old in the first place.. like to think I've gotten smarter in my old age.  LOL. 

this baby is out of my great old distance mare- Rushcreek Quenby and I have hopes to eventually ride him in endurance. 

of course the lameness might not be caused by the club foot but I have a feeling it's related.  I'll see what this vet says then go from there. 

You have a Rushcreek baby?  Lucky you.  I had a baby from a mare named Rushcreek Dianna.  She was bred (accidently) by an Appaloosa.  I bought the colt before he was born.  Nice youngster.  Due to some changes going on in my life (kids), I sold him as a 2 year old and have lost track of him.  I'd like to have another Rushcreek horse.  Great endurance horses.

I have a Quarter horse who has a slight club foot.  I just have to trim him more frequently, his toe has a tendency to crack since that's where the weight is.

My biggest problem has been finding a farrier that is both good with the feet and good with the horse. They seem all too often one or the other, and when you find one that is both, they either retire on you, hurt themselves, or move back to Ireland. OK the last one only happened once.

I totally agree- it's worth it to use the best farrier you can find.  When I was doing endurance I'd trailer 4 hrs.  from S. GA to Ocala for shoeing, then luckily a very good farrier moved to our area then the drive was only an hr. away.  

 the problem in this area - there are a lot of horse owners  including farriers who've only been doing it a few yrs. who know just enough to be dangerous.  many go to a couple Parelli clinics or watch a couple videos and next thing you know they are experts.  esp. the "natural horsemanship" type.  I'm not knocking natural horsemanship but there seem to be some real fanatics around here, like it's their way or no way.   same with some of the "natural hoof care" crowd.

OK I"d better shut up on that subject. 

I'll see what the vet says, look at the radiographs and go from there.  the farrier I use is one of the best and  he's open to suggestions