No Hoof, No Horse

Anyone in the horse industry that has had to deal with laminitis, navicular, white line disease, or a host of other foot ailments that plague horses knows how important a healthy hoof is.



I admit it--years ago I knew how to clean out my horse's feet, and that was pretty much it. I knew what the frog was, but the internal mechanisms of the foot were lost on me. I had a farrier for that, afterall, right? A farrier was a person I felt I should be able to call up if there were any issues in the general hoof area at all. A farrier was supposed to fix that stuff, afterall.

Then I adopted a special-needs stallion and the only farrier in the area decided he'd leave on a hunting trip for two months without telling me, standing me up for our already-set appointment (right when the horse was due for a trim and reset), so this circumstance forced me to learn more about the hoof.

It's sad it took an extreme circumstance to get me to learn more about my horse--something I hope to never repeat again.

So, it's my hope that by providing some resources, that you, too, will be inspired to expand your knowledge about the hoof, whether you are a professional farrier, or have a horse as a pet in your backyard to keep the weeds down. One thing about the equine hoof--there is always something to learn!

To the right I have a list of links and among these are some websites that deal exclusively with hoof-related issues:

Barefoot for Soundness
This is where I first learned to trim from and it still serves as a very handy resource.

Pete Ramey's How-To Articles
I am forever referencing these articles. While some of the cadaver pictures are a bit unsettling, once you get over the "ick" factor, they are extremely important learning tools to see what the inside of the foot looks like.

A healthy hoof

I'm not saying, by any means, that everyone should trim their own as I do. It's terribly hard work, and if you aren't careful you can really do some damage. Honestly, if you have a good farrier, then be sure to tip him/her a little extra next time. They truly don't get paid enough for the hard work they do!

I think, though, it is very important to try to be as educated as possible as to how the hoof works, what the signs of trouble are (sometimes the signs appear before the trouble does, and if you know, you can help stop it!), and it even helps the farrier out when the owner is more knowledgable. In the past couple of years I've had to call a farrier a couple of times due to my back troubles. I'm always pleasantly surprised that when I explain that I usually trim my own, the farriers tend to come out much more quickly, follow up with me better and do a better job trimming! It's truly a win/win, to become as knowledgable about our equine friends as possible.