SolveYourProblem.com Article Series: Horse Care
Teach Me Horse Care Tips
How
To Keep Horse Hooves Healthy
Have you ever taken a good hard look at your
horse’s hooves? Have you educated yourself on the hoof and
what it is comprised of? Are your horses hooves chipped,
cracked, and splitting at the sides? The hoof is too often an over-looked
part of the horse. In cold climates of the United States, it
is more common than one would think. Out of sight, out of mind.
It isn’t really that hard keeping those horse hooves healthy.
If your horse’s hooves look as described, shame on you. You
need to make an appointment with a farrier. Cracked and splitting
hooves can often lead to much more serious problems. Permanent
lameness can occur when you are not keeping those horse hooves
healthy.
Prevention
is key. Your farrier will come out, examine your
horse’s hooves, and do any necessary trimming. If your horse
is really bad, it may take a couple visits and a couple of
trimmings to get his hooves in order. Some horses will stand
for all this nonsense and never give it a second thought. Others,
well, they are a different story. Regardless, you need to make
sure you’re keeping those horse hooves healthy through regular
trimmings. Most farriers will carry an appointment book and
will automatically set your next appointment for 8 weeks out.
A good farrier will call you a week or two before your next
trimming and confirm it with you.
Some
areas require moisturizers for a horse’s hooves. In the
southwestern regions of the U.S., this is more prevalent. The
dry conditions and hard ground may make it impossible to make
keeping those horse hooves healthy, regardless of what you
do. There are many commercial hoof moisturizers on the market,
and everyone has his or her own opinion of which is best. Try
a couple different varieties and use the one you like best.
Some people simply put regular shortening or Vaseline on the
coronet band to aid in getting moisture to the hoof.
Some horses are more prone to hoof related problems, such
as splitting and cracking. The breed of horse and the daily
conditions he’s exposed to can be contributing factors as well.
Remember, no hoof, no horse. It’s very true.
The
hoof has these primary components:
- The frog is the ‘shock absorber’ of the hoof. It is triangular
in shape and is located between the horse’s heels on the underside
of the hoof.
- The hoof wall is the outside covering of the hoof, and is
much like your fingernail
- The periople is the enamel-type covering on the outside of
the hoof wall, and helps protect the hoof.
- The sole is the surface of the hoof and helps protect the
hoof as well.
- The white line is essentially the quick of the hoof.
In keeping those horse hooves healthy, diet will be a factor
as well. Some horses need more supplements to maintain good
hooves.
If you live in a rocky area, you may have to shoe your horse
to keep his hooves healthy.
On the other hand, if you live in a moist area, you probably
will not have to shoe your horse. Too many times my horse has
lost shoes in my swamp. He does not get the work that requires
shoes. What works for one horse may not work the same for he
other horses on your farm.
Some
things to watch for with your horse’s hooves too are abbesses
and founder. These can come on rapidly, or in mild
cases, may take weeks or even months to show themselves. Any
horse that rests his front hoof or hooves needs to be tended
to by a vet immediately. Horses do not normally behave this
way. If your horse rocks his weight back and forth from front
to rear, you should have him examined. In severe cases of founder,
the coffin bone inside the hoof will rotate so much that it
will push through the sole of the hoof resulting in death.
Your horse will bleed to death through his hoof.
It isn’t that hard to keep a watchful eye on your equine friend.
Without keeping those horse hooves healthy, you won’t have
a horse. In the case of horse hooves, prevention is the best
medicine.
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SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
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