Hello, My first question would be: what has your vet said? Second: are you talking about a carpal varus? If so, it’s definitely less usual and I’d be interested to know the etiology – was this present from birth? Any other circumstances that might have affected the legs? The veterinary approach would be surgical, most likely to stimulate growth on the medial aspect of the limb or restrict it on the lateral – the timing depends on which joints are primarily affected and the long bones affected. There are other suggestions from various practitioners about using physio tape, similarly to restrict growth on one aspect of a deviated limb and alter proprioception and therefore loading. This is more likely to be effective at a very early age.

What can be done for bow legs? We’ve never had a foal with that before and he has definitely improved but could possibly use some interference.

Hello – I’m really sorry to hear that. I think it would be worth asking a vet to take a look at her, as it does sound as if she has a lot of ligament laxity there. In that case, it would be hard for farriers to help without some additional treatment, which your vet can hopefully advise on. Take care and best of luck with your little girl. x

Interesting, I’ve not heard of Leg Aide before now. I imagine there are equivalents in other countries.
http://www.prognutrition.com/pn/products/veterinary-care/leg-aide-liquid-foal-supplement/index.htm

Hi, I’m glad to hear that you appreciated the article. As you can see, it’s a huge subject area and each of these has many variations. I think it’s fair to say that each warrants a further article in its own right (and there are more aspects I’ve not covered here). That’s why I did it this way – to give a brief recommendation wouldn’t be appropriate and might even cause issues for some foals whose owners didn’t consult their vets… I did start to do a longer version of this 5 years ago, but ground to a halt for some of these reasons!! However, I’ll see what can be added in the future! Thank you again for the feedback.

I would have enjoyed hearing what can be done for these deformities if caught early (for the ones that can be repaired).