Nazem and his fellow researchers investigated numerous morphological (shape and structure) measures of the front hooves of 10 healthy Asil Arabian mares. | Photo: Erica Larson

That’s why Iranian researchers decided to go back—way back—in the breed. Specifically, they turned to the “original” Arabian horse, what they call the “Asil Arabian.” Distinguished as the purest of purebred Arabians, the Asil, or Iranian, Arabian breed dates back 5,000 years. It was to this pure-origin breed that scientists turned when they decided to truly understand what’s “normal” Arabian foot morphology.

“The ancestors of this breed were once native to the Iranian Plateau, and therefore we pointed directly to their breed for our study,” said Mohammad Naser Nazem, PhD, associate professor of radiology in the University of Kerman Shahid Bahonar School of Veterinary Medicine Department of Clinical Sciences, in Iran.

Nazem and his fellow researchers investigated numerous morphological (shape and structure) measures of the front hooves of 10 healthy Asil Arabian mares. They took radiographic readings of the coffin bone and surrounding soft tissues, documenting distances, ratios, and angles to develop a reliable standard for the breed. The team focused on obtaining internal measurements and external angles and ratios that would change in the case of a laminitic episode