~Farriers Corner~
I built this page in the hopes it will help both horse owners and farriers... I want to familiarize horse owners, new and old, on what proper, basic hoof care is, and help you to understand the importance of basic daily hoof maintenance. I have also included some tips on how to keep your farrier happy, which will not only benefit you as a horse owner, but will benefit farriers as well, because keeping your farrier happy, is very important!!!
Daily Care
Some books say pick your horses feet clean every time you groom and to make it a part of your grooming routine. Well, this is great, if you groom your horse everyday. Others believe you only need to pick your horses feet when you ride your horse, well this too is great if you are able to ride your horse everyday. From a farriers point of view you should pick your horses hooves twice a day, everyday, especially when a horse is stalled and regardless if you ride the horse or not, or groom the horse or not. When you ride your horse, you should pick its feet before you ride and after you ride. Take the hoof pick with you in case the horse gets something in his foot/feet while your riding. Pastured horses that have acres and acres to run on, don't quite need as much picking, but it is still important to check their feet at least once daily, if and when possible, to make sure there are no foreign objects lodged in the feet. I check and maintenance my horses everyday. This is time consuming and, well, to put it mildly, sometimes a pain in the butt, but non the less, I do it because it is my responsibility to, out of respect for my horses, that I chose to domesticate in the first place.
Daily hoof care only starts with picking your horses hooves clean. Daily stall cleaning is another important aspect to maintaining healthy hooves. Poor stall conditions contribute to the foot developing thrush/bacterial infections, etc... Thrush is a common hoof disease that is caused by a bacteria which is anaerobic in nature(doesnt need air). Most manure and dirt contain this organism and if allowed to remain packed in hooves(commissures), it will begin to attack the frog, which can cause big problems if gone untreated. If thrush is present in the foot, then you will smell a very fowl odor and a thick greyish/black liquid material forms in the creases of the commissures(deep grooves located between the frog and bars of the foot).Nutrition plays a large role in the health and condition of the hooves. There are hoove supplements and vitamins/minerals designed to strengthen and promote healthy hoof growth. However, too rich of feed is not good for a horse, not to mention the feet. Do not over suppliment or over feed grains, sweet feeds, rich hay, etc...to your horse, for many reasons, but since we are talking about hooves right now I will just stick to this subject. If in dought consult in your Vet or farrier. Through daily hoof care, a lot of problems can be found and treated early, before they become big and costly problems. By making sure no foreign objects are lodged or packed in the feet, you can help prevent bruises, abscessing, thrush, not to mention preventing temporary or permanent(some cases) lameness and just the aggrivation of not being able to use your horse.
Weekly Care
There should not be much for you to do on a weekly basis, IF you are sticking to your daily care. However there are a few things on a weekly basis that should be done. If your horses are stalled, you should strip out all of the stall bedding and let the floor or ground air out. This will help to keep your stall drier and keep the threat of thrush down to a minimum. If your horses have a history of thrush then you can sprinkle some lime down on the ground or stall flooring before rebedding. Another good weekly hoof care practice is to observe and treat the moisture balance of the hooves. A horses hoof in whole should not be too dry. Hard feet are good but dried out, moisture deficiant hooves are not good. The hoof evaporates moisture constantly and so moisture replenishment is important. Systemic and enviromental water/moisture are two essential ways the hoof replenishes moisture balance. ( Systemic-This water is transferred from the extensive blood and lymph supply of the sensitive structures to adjacent horn cells, and they transfer it to other cells. Through this process moisture can be circulated through the horney structures of the foot.Moisture retention is aided and evaporation loss is prevented by the anatomy of the rigid, closely spaced flattened horn tubules in the external portion of the hoof wall and the periople of the cornet.) Age of a horse has a lot to do with moisture balance and content. In older horses, hoof wall water increases 3% , the frog decreases over 10% and the sole remains the same. Normal moisture percentages are: Hoof Wall retains-25%, Frog retains-50% and the Sole retains-33% water. Practices that help promote in aiding moisture balance are: Spraying the pen, stall, arena, etc..ground with water, packing clay in the hooves, placing antiseptic packs under pad or shoe, washing the hooves off with water and applying most hoof dressings. Practices that interfere with moisture balance are: Stalling in sandy type dirts, deep manure and urine in pens, etc.., excessive rasping of the hoof wall and turpentine, just to name a few. Be sure not to over-moisturize. Too much moisture causes the foot to loose its shape and get too soft. To help prevent the hooves from getting to soft you can apply a hoof dressing or bond that has a greasy, or oily type base.
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