Well, great. Now I'm gonna have to go hunting when I get a chance. Anyway, the idea is that a less than ideal angle of the pastern (usually upright, like you see in the halter industry) causes unnecessary pressure to the navicular bone and thus, inflamation. Genetics comes in only because the resulting offspring will generally have the same conformational flaws. IE: My halter mare has foundered severly in the past and is over at the knee with teensy tiny little feet. However, her pastern actually have an angle (to which I am pleasantly surprised). She was bred to Joseph's stud, which has better pasterns, bigger feet, and is straight legged. Now, while the baby has better pasterns than my mare, his feet are still tiny and he is over at the knee.
Thus, his conformation came from his genetics.. not pulled out of a hat. And, since his mother isn't IR (Insulin Resistant), he isn't predisposed to founder. If she were, he could be too, because that is genetic.
Does that help?
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