HOW TO BE MORE COMPETITIVE

May 5, 2016 Horse Farrier

I would like to like to direct the attention of all competitive horse owners to the importance of correct hoof balance and alignment. Having recently attended a major country show and camp draft event, I was somewhat dismayed to see so many horses (about 90%) standing cow-hocked and splay-footed, patiently waiting to go into the led-in ring or hack ring, with no chance of success before a judge who has to look not only at conformation, but also movement and correct stance.

Then onto the highly competitive arena of the camp draft where I saw gifted horsemen and women riding stockhorses with more natural cow sense than any good kelpie, but again the horses were standing cow hocked, with long toes, low heels, splay footed and worst of all, wearing flat shoes which have no grip for executing fast turns etc.

The expense of time and money to bring these horses up to this high level of competition is enormous, but completely futile unless their feet are correct.

Ponies

PONIES FOR KIDS

May 5, 2016 Horse Farrier

Teaching horseshoeing to ringers on a West Queensland station recently, my youngest pupil was Henry, a very determined three year old who was quite adamant that he was going to trim his own pony, and would I just please tell him how to do it. We had the same battle when it came to shoeing the pony, and for the sake of the pony, I won that battle, and Henry had to be content with nailing the trimmed offcuts to the fence posts. I put a tiny pair of aluminium racing plates on the front feet, which really impressed Henry no end.

A week later I had an email from Henry’s mum Prue, to say that Henry had won the local mini-camp draft against seven and eight year olds, and that it must have been my good shoeing. I don’t take credit for that at all; with that sort of determination everyone should watch out for Henry in another ten years.

Hoof Physiology, Hoof Problems

MEDIAL LATERAL CHANGES IN THE BOTTOM OF THE HOOF

May 5, 2016 Horse Farrier

This is a study of the movement that I have observed which occurs during preparation of the hoof for either shod or unshod purposes. Many farriers or hoof carers get the blame for having got the levels wrong when trimming the hoof, which then caused the horse to either paddle or dish. The possibility could be that he trimmed the hoof correctly but just put the shoes on too soon. Now if that sounds like a fairytale, then let me explain. The desired aim in any preparation is to achieve a balanced symmetrical hoof and even heels. Viewed from the rear of the pastern there must be a T-square across the heels and a level plane to the toe. After trimming, and especially in cases where the hoof wall has been greatly distorted, the horse must be allowed a few minutes to weight bear on the hoof to allow it to settle into its new plane. Assuming you have already achieved the T-square in the back of the hoof, when it is re-examined you may see it is no longer level or the ground bearing surface has moved. This is not … Continue Reading ››

Introduction, Hoof Problems

HORSE HEALTH STARTS WITH CORRECT HOOF CARE

May 5, 2016 Horse Farrier

Watching the tennis in January illustrated to me how crucial it is for the players to be structurally sound as well as in peak physical form. It is exactly the same for horses – it is hard enough to win at competition level at any time without any physical disadvantages getting in the way.

If you know what to look for, then when looking at a new horse, your eyes should start at ground level and work up. This will save you a lot of time and heartbreak, and ultimately save you a lot of money. Horses are an expensive luxury item, and to own a high maintenance horse is even more expensive.

Eliminate any horse from your consideration if it has any conformation problems.

A conformation problem is one that is bred into the horse and cannot be altered.

Competition Horses

CINDERELLA

May 5, 2016 Horse Farrier

At last year’s Royal Adelaide Show I had a couple of clients with their horses to attend to, and it was an eye opening experience to observe the mini- dramas of others unfolding around me as I worked. I wonder why there are so many complications in competing - the whole scenario was a comedy of errors.

Most of the problems seem to stem from measuring for the respective height classes, and it is my opinion that the whole traumatic situation could be avoided very simply by putting common sense back into the rule book for measuring.

Any competent horseman knows that if a pony or galloway or hack measures 3/8” to ½” over its currently dictated height it still doesn’t belong in the next height class, and any competent judge can see that. This lack of common sense latitude in the rule book causes huge problems all down the line, and ultimately they end up in the farrier’s lap.

These horses have been shod … Continue Reading ››

Climate and Conditions

CLIMATE EFFECTS ON HOOVES

May 5, 2016 Horse Farrier

Have you noticed the change in your horse’s hooves over the past couple of months?

While we have a range of climatic extremes at present, from the flooded Queensland areas to the drought stricken lower states, geography seems to have very little or no determining influence in what is happening in the bottom of the horse’s hoof right now; the four or six weekly trim is revealing an enormous amount of sole and frog build up, which is not exfoliating naturally.

So in the dry states of Australia the hoof just gets taller and taller depriving the frog of ground pressure all of which results in a proppy action in those horses. (Pic 1) During the summer months the sole and the frog have built up a thick hard crust to protect the sensitive hoof from bruising, so the hoof wall has also maintained a higher profile in relationship with the sole and the frog.

Other Horse Health Issues

THE IMPACT OF EQUINE INFLUENZA IN AUSTRALIA

May 5, 2016 Horse Farrier

For the past 10 years I have traveled Australia teaching Hoof Care clinics to cattle stations and to groups of horse owners. Starting in late August 2007 I had scheduled a series of eight clinics around Queensland and New South Wales - planning for a series like this takes around four months to organize suitable venues, promote the courses and take bookings.

I had just driven 3,000 km to North Queensland to run the first course when my wife Anne rang to say that Equine Influenza (EI) had hit in Sydney and that I should head back home immediately as all hell was breaking loose.

In the Outback with no TV, and a car radio that was rarely in range, it was impossible to make any judgment myself, so I rather dubiously accepted Anne’s judgment and turned the car homewards, while she unraveled the courses, the bookings and the deposits. As I passed through areas with more radio contact, I could hear … Continue Reading ››

General

AN OLD FRIEND

May 5, 2016 Horse Farrier

In my recently published book, I lamented that I owed two dollars to a friend from over 30 years ago. The story in brief was that I had a horrific horse accident when in my twenties, cutting short my ambition to ride my way into history. After years of recuperation, I dreamed of working with horses back in the bush. It was then in the early 1970’s that my accountant had bet me two dollars that if I put an ad in the local paper, I would find enough horses to shoe in the Adelaide Hills to keep me busy 24 hours a day. He was right, but I lost contact with him, and the two dollars that I owed him was the centrepiece of my silver belt buckle.

After the book was published, I found him again less than 100km away, and it was great to renew the friendship over the phone. I dropped in unannounced to his property one day and finding no-one at home, strolled over to the horse paddock to see what horses he had.

There in retirement was an aged … Continue Reading ››

Hoof Problems, Climate and Conditions

MANAGING DRY HOOVES IN DRY TIMES

May 5, 2016 Horse Farrier

Horses’ hooves are a natural barometer in tune with nature, and if we as hoof carers can also tune into nature and be vigilant and observant, it will be noticed that the sole and the hoof wall have reacted differently in this current climate to protect itself from the prolonged dry conditions.

Let us consider the sole first, as this is the first part we should address when preparing any hoof. In a normal year the sole will grow thicker as the hoof wall grows down, then it begins to get crumbly and (with a bit of help from the ground surfaces and encouragement from a sole knife) it will exfoliate to give the sole a concave appearance. The hoof wall is then left longer above the sole to bear weight as it is intended to do, and only needs to be trimmed into shape to control any external flaring.

However because of the long dry period we are experiencing now, Mother Nature … Continue Reading ››

Teaching & Travelling, General

TRAIN THE TRAINER

May 5, 2016 Horse Farrier

In management courses, the first step is often to train the trainer. I run ABC Hoof Care Courses for horse owners, enabling them to recognise a balanced hoof and, if they wish, to trim or even shoe their own horses. Sometimes I think I should go back a step or two, and teach horse owners some basic horse sense too. Maybe I could call it Train the Owner. At a recent course, all the participants were trimming the hoof in preparation for the shoe. One participant was having trouble with her horse, and repeatedly belted it with a rasp. “If you do that again, I will start crying,” I said. “But she is a bitch,” said the owner in indignation.

I preach total non-violence in shoeing horses, and will not tolerate it from any of my pupils. In these modern times it is no longer acceptable practice to smack a child and it should be equally unacceptable to hit an animal. On seeing new horses, I am often told by my clients that their horse doesn’t … Continue Reading ››

Hoof Problems, Flares

FLARES ARE YOUR GREATEST ENEMY

May 5, 2016 Horse Farrier

The failure to understand and address this area in hoof maintenance programmes for many decades has led to a multitude of ongoing lameness problems, and has been the catalyst for so many bad trimming and shoeing outcomes for too many farriers and hoof carers.

Just for the exercise, go and have a look in that pile of old horse shoes behind the shed, you will find some of the most amazing shapes and creations, all man made alterations to cater to the distorted hoof shapes.

Less than one percent of horses’ hooves have genuine hoof deformities and these are the result of accidents causing damage to the coronary band which results in permanent distortion to the new growth area and hoof wall shape.

Lack of understanding of what is the normal hoof shape is the biggest problem. If we can just look at the hair line shape of the coronary … Continue Reading ››