Hoof care is the most important aspect of horse ownership. The first time horse owner usually does not understand the complexity of the hoof, even most experienced horse owners don’t. The easiest place to start your introduction to hoof care is to ask yourself just exactly what you are going to expect of your horse, and then set out to try and find an animal that will suit your needs. Don’t buy a draft horse to play polo. Don’t purchase an Arabian and try to cut cows with him. No matter what you and your prospective equine partner are going to do, the best thing that you can do is always place conformation over love at first sight; even though this is sometimes hard to do. Always strive to find a horse with straight legs and good bone structure. Remember, the better you start with the better chance that you will have to enjoy a long relationship with your horse. If possible, check out his sire and dam, or if possible any siblings that might be in the area. Keep this in mind, just because a horse is a pure bred it does not mean that he will be sound. Whether you are looking for a potential futurity winner or a trail buddy, soundness of the feet is the bottom line. A pre-purchase veterinarian check is a must, whether the horse is going to cost $500 or $500,000. If you can have a friend who is experienced with horses be there to lend a keen eye. Most importantly, to me at least, is to have a farrier present at your vet check. Often, farriers will see things that the vet will not. Farriers look at feet in a different fashion than a vet, based on their work, and experience. Also, do not fall in love too soon. All horses cannot be great athletes. In spite of what we may think, owning him does not make him a world beater. However, treat him like an athlete. Warm him up properly, feed a high quality ration, and keep him fit, not fat. The better that you treat him the better you will both work together. If everything is going along fine, but you begin to become suspicious that something may be wrong with his feet, you should look for an on again, off again, lameness in the beginning. Look for a choppy or uneven gait, a shortened stride, and a lessening of his willingness to work. If you notice any of the above traits, check the feet for an obvious trauma, such as a wire cut. You can also check for swelling and inflammation. However, it is always going to be the best practice to call your farrier out to take a look. Usually your farrier can make the proper corrections to get your pony back on the right track. If the problem is severe your farrier will refer you and your horse to your vet for medical attention. With a little care at the purchase of your horse, and a watchful eye during your partnership, your pony should have a minimum of hoof problems during his life.  

Almost all adverse winter equine skin conditions result from a dirty coat. A dirty hair coat gives bacteria and fungi a perfect environment to get a foothold during the winter months. When your pony is in his winter coat, problems such as weight loss, skin abrasions, and skin infections are much more difficult to spot than when he is all slicked out in the summer months. 

Navicular syndrome is a critical problem with the riding horse. Navicular is usually suspected when your horse is showing pain in the caudal aspect of its hoof. Typically when this problem is diagnosed the horse owner will not only need to revise the horse’s training program, but will also need to look at corrective shoeing. I have found the composite shoe to be a more than competent corrective shoe for navicular problems. Every horse owner or caretaker should fully understand hoof mechanism, proper trimming, and how it affects the horse’s entire body, health and longevity. Navicular problems are not hereditary. Many horse people may believe that navicular problems are hereditary. Do not mistake this for a hereditary weakness. It is a very common health care problem. Navicular problems are almost always man made through improper trimming, short term or long term shoeing, and/or inadequate natural environment throughout the horse’s life. This type of improper care can cause problems in the navicular area of your horse’s hoof. The navicular bone is located directly behind the coffin bone, held in between the short pastern and coffin bone by tendons and ligaments. The navicular bone has two main functions: To protect the joint and tendons from pressure and concussion; and to act as a valve for blood flow to the coffin bone and corium in the hoof. An insult to this region causes pain and lameness in the horse. When your horse is diagnosed with navicular syndrome by your veterinarian a common drug therapy will normally include isoxsuprine hydrochloride, a drug which causes dilation of the small blood vessels. This is a long course of drug therapy which can become quite expensive. Corrective shoeing is always going to be required in more chronic cases of navicular syndrome. Your horse should be trimmed according to its own conformation and properly fitted with a corrective shoe. The main point is that to be able to continue using your horse, you are going to need to be proactive in making your horse comfortable while he is working. Remember, you are never going to be able to cure navicular problems, you and your farrier can, however, assist in relieving him from pain.

This spring as you go about your routine of picking out your horse’s hooves, you may discover an unusual thick black discharge and foul smell around the frog. These are the early signs of the hoof disease thrush. Thrush is an infection of the frog and of the surrounding tissue of the hoof. The bacteria associated with thrush infect the collateral and central sulci (creases) of the frog. The bacteria break down the tissue of the hoof, and this breakdown results in the foul odor and black discharge. If thrush is left untreated it can turn into a very painful problem in the heel area of your horse. Thrush is likely to infect a horse which is living in unsanitary conditions. A wet environment that is made up of urine and acidity from manure is a breeding ground for the anaerobic bacterium that are attracted to any dead tissue that is on your horse’s frog. Also, people who have horses in a climate similar to the Pacific North West should keep a close lookout for this disease due to the constant dampness. The good news is that thrush is anaerobic, which means that this bacteria cannot live in the presence of air. The best way to avoid it in the first place is to keep your horse’s feet dry and clean so air can reach the tissue of the frog. A daily hoof picking does wonders. If not caught in the early stages the bacteria will form deep seated pockets and literally drill into the frog eating away the remaining healthy tissue. If you do happen to notice a pungent odor and a black discharge from your horse’s frog, some treatment will be necessary. Mild cases of thrush can be treated by removing dead tissue by trimming, scrapping, and vigorous scrubbing (debriding), of the frog and hoof wall. Moderate cases will need to be scrubbed with an antiseptic and treated daily with a topical spray after trimming and debridement. Severe cases of thrush will need repeated intense debridement followed by sterile bandaging and a quality topical thrush treatment. Your veterinarian may also recommend a tetanus shot. With a careful eye, good hygiene, and quick treatment if needed, you will be able to prevent thrush from delaying you and your equine partner’s long past due spring ride. If you have had any experience with thrush please post your comments here and share your knowledge with your fellow horse owners.  

No matter what kind of performance horse you might happen to have, cutting, reining, roping, or pleasure, one thing is a constant fact: your horse must be in balance with his body to perform at his optimal level. It is your farrier’s job to trim and shoe your horse to allow for optimal balance. 

A common debate in the horse world these days is whether or not to shoe your horse. Of course this can only be answered by knowing what you are requiring of your horse and the current condition of its feet. A horse that is retired and spending his days on pasture has different needs than a competition cutting horse. Other than an occasional hoof trim the pasture horse should be fine going barefoot. The question becomes more complicated when the level of your horse’s activity is raised. One thing that I have noticed is that you rarely see a non-working horse come up lame. I believe that a big part of this is that when we ride we are placing unnatural stresses on the hoof. While it is true that wild horses live out their lives unshod, it is also true that natural selection takes the horses that have weak feet. In addition, the restrictions we place on the horse’s movement in various disciplines are issues which the wild or pasture horse does not have to deal with. For example, when we ride we control the headset of our horse for appearance more often than for function (i.e. pleasure classes), our horses also constantly have to compensate for the weight of the rider above them, which compromises their balance. We also ask them to move in ways that generally affect their overall carriage and hoof placement. Finally, working horses are first and foremost athletes, subject to the same types of injuries as their human counterparts. In the wild, a horse moves freely without a lot of repetitive motion. The working horse is asked to repeat gaits over and over again causing the hoof to strike the same way. In humans, runners in particular, this is called Repetitive Motion Injury. I feel that this sort of disciplined movement is the cause of most hoof problems. I have found that a happy medium between steel shoes and barefoot to be the composite shoe. In a composite shoe or a hybrid composite horseshoe you get the benefits of support and shock absorption, while retaining the flexibility and the circulation of going barefoot.

Just a few lines to tell how these shoes and pour pads have helped me help a lot of horses. I've been using HOOF-it plastic shoes and medicated pour pads at the Bhighterdays Horse Refugee in Pipe Creek Texas on 2 very laminatic horses. The horses are no longer laying down all the time and are starting to grow good horn. These horses were shod in 8mm HippoPlast wedges and saw almost imediate improvement. Now we are presented with a horse that is pre naviculer this with 3 xrays and no diognostic blocks. I go over the horse real good and determane the feet are very dry and contracted... again Hippoplast 8mm wedges and soak the feet. This horse is in the high dessert of New Mexico. Three days latter the folks are poneying colts on him... 6 weeks later the foot has opened up so much that the old shoes are to small and we go to flat shoes. Bill Mc Donald BWFA Farrier

By Cyndee Pryor

What an experience! Greg and I arrived a day early to rest the horses after our long journey across two states from California to southwest Utah. Camp was nice with a few trees, sandy footing, showers, horse water, and outhouses. Anne and Dave Nicholson were courteous and welcoming. For the most part, about 75 to 80 riders started each day with a very high completion rate. The weather co-operated with us, but on day three in base camp we had a sudden hail storm which the riders missed out on the trail. We had applied Hoof-it before leaving home, and after a quick check to make sure all eight hooves of our two horses were covered, we started day one with much anticipation. Luckily for us, the ride started a little late as we forget to reset our clocks forward by one hour. The scenery was gorgeous with the Red Rocks providing a spectacular view. Besides the sandy soil and the Red Rocks, it felt like we were in the California Sierras most of the time. The footing was rather rocky and we re-applied Hoof-it to seven of the eight hooves after day one. Each day progressed into the next with the main difference being the accumulation of tiredness. Greg and I stayed in the back of the pack as Greg weighs in at 270 pounds with tack and I was on a fairly young horse who hadn’t even done two days in a row before. Greg did manage to finish all five days on the same horse and I finished day 1,2,4, and 5, giving my horse day three off. All the days were large loops with lunch being out of camp so we prepared crew bags which were taken out to lunch for us. Usually lunch was about 25 miles into the ride with great views, green grass for the horses to munch on, horse water, people lunch provided, and great vet checks. Most of the days were pretty technical and a seasoned horse sure helped. Some of the trail was following the side of a canyon, some of the trail took you right up to the edge of a mile long drop off with a birds eye view of the Red Rocks. There were places where the trail was on the side hill of a shale rockslide, but everything was passable with common sense and no sense of urgency - meaning slow down, dismount, walk your horse in hand, and pay attention. When it doubt, check it out! It wasn’t an easy ride on horse or rider. Some days we would climb up to 9500 feet, drop down to 6500 feet, climb again to 8000 feet, and repeat this process many, many times during the day. Other days we would follow the side of the mountains around one bend to the next, and after doing this about six or eight times, wonder if we would ever get to lunch. This is not a ride you would want to get hurt on. Many places it would have been tough to get you or your horse out. But the Duck was always aware of where his ducklings were, what they were up against, and remained a calm and commendable leader throughout the course of the week. There were quite a few rock sore horses by the end of the ride and some didn’t get to finish all five days. Ours looked great using Hoof-it for the duration of the ride. Some of the riders were using Easy Boots which worked ok, but some of the Easy Boots were pulled off in the bogs and muddy areas. We re-applied Hoof-it after some of the more rocky days, but after using it at home and on the single day rides, it was an easy job after we came in from the trail. Great ride, great trail, great company, and I’m glad I found Hoof-it.