My Lead Goat's Foot Problem-Advice?

[CMGifford]

Oh dear. That does look bad. Is he Saanen? I tend to see a lot of splayed hooves and weak pasterns in the Saanen breed, which is really unfortunate since they are typically very nice packgoats otherwise, and they are the biggest, leggiest breed. I'm not sure what else you can do about it, if it is congenital. So many of these problems that are present from birth don't really show themselves or become an issue until goats are mature and doing a full workload. My Sputnik is six this year and his poor conformation and big size are now catching up to him as well, and like you I'm not sure how much I can do about it. I'm supplementing selenium and vitamin E because I think he has a hard time absorbing that particular mineral, which can contribute to weak pasterns. Sputnik's pasterns are too upright, but x-rays show that the coffin bone inside is almost parallel to the ground. If his joint angles matched the angle of his coffin bone, he should be down on his pasterns, which is a sign of selenium deficiency. I also recently put Sputnik on MSM in hopes of keeping his joints lubricated and comfortable despite their bizarre angles. Maybe some things like that could help your guy. Sputnik did start walking a lot better a week or two after I started him on selenium/Vitamin E so I'm hoping that actually worked and wasn't just a coincidence.

Best of luck to you! These kinds of things are never easy.

Hi Nan.  I don't want to hijack the original posters thread so I am going to send you a PM to ask what type, dose, etc. of MSM and Selenium/Vitamin E you are giving Sptnik?  I have a yearling with a leg/joint issue.