I have a 4-year-old quarter gelding that has approx 30 days on. My problem or question is lately he seems to come down hard on the front at a walk landing more on the toe then heel. Stride seems ok (hind foot landing where front was or slightly ahead), also tosses his head more than normal. At a trot he is a lot better, not coming down quite as hard. Used bute on him the other day and it did help. My question is if he has sore heels and what can I do to correct or prevent this from happening again. One other thing. He doesn't have the straightest legs; toes out on front.

Thanks for any help

Heel pain can happen for a lot of reasons. I don't know how he is shod now, but I would get a diagnosis right away to prevent possible severe problems later. There is not one way to shoe for heel pain, but if I were to suggest something, I would suggest a straight bar shoe, rocker toe, and fill with equipak. If the angle is shallow, I would increase the angle to take stress off of the deep flexor tendon as it passes over the navicular bone. However, I would first get a good series of radiographs (X-rays) and be certain of why the horse is lame.