Heel First Landings
I’m still hooked on hooves - so this week’s post is all about the biomechanics of the hoof!
When we walk, we land with our heels first. The soft fat pad under our calcaneus combined with the flattening of the arch helps to cushion the impact as the foot contacts the ground. As we roll over our toes, the arch raises and the soft tissue structures are stretched, which creates a more rigid foot to push off with. (This is called the windlass mechanism.)
While horse feet are quite different from our own, the physics involved with the gait cycle is actually very similar! Soft structures absorb the impact, then the rigid structures are used to propel the body forwards.
As the horse lands on his heel, the soft tissue structures of the frog, digital cushion and lateral cartilages absorb the impact. If the horse is not in rigid shoes, the natural arch of the hoof will also flatten out somewhat under the weight of the horse to absorb more of the concussive forces. The horse will then roll over his toe, the most rigid aspect of the hoof, for a strong push off.
[There are some nuances here - a foot flat landing is quite normal at a leisurely walk and a toe-first landing is normal at a slow walk, when on slick terrain, and when going up-hill - but for the purposes of this post, we’ll just be talking about landing heel first!]
A toe-first landing (outside those normal instances I mentioned above) is INCREDIBLY COMMON in domesticated horses. There are a number of reasons why this is, which are outside the scope of this post (I’ll go in to some of them soon!). The short answer is that a lot of it has to do with shoeing practices, hoof hygiene, and nutritional imbalances resulting in pain in the back of the foot. When the back of the foot hurts, the horse compensates by landing with the toe first instead.
It’s a vicious cycle because once the horse starts landing toe-first, the structures in the back of the foot begin to atrophy because they’re not being stimulated and the horse lands toe first more and more.
Landing toe first increases the likelihood that the horse will develop things like navicular disease, tendon and ligament injuries, and results in increased tension throughout the body.
Training your eye to the different types of landings is a really helpful exercise. I still have trouble telling sometimes by just watching the horse walk by, so my iPhone on the slo-mo video setting is my best friend!
In the video below I’ll talk you through some examples of heel first landing, flat foot landing, and toe first landing in slow motion to get you started!