Hoof Problems, Flares

FLARES IN THE HORSE’S HOOF – NORMAL OR NATURAL?

There is no such thing as a ‘Normal Flare’ or a ‘Natural Flare’ in any horse’s hoof. Making a statement like that in public in this 21st century will provoke a predictable reaction, which it is meant to do because only then can we begin to examine that statement. The first step is to understand what a flare is: a flare exists when any part of the ground-contacting edge of the hoof wall becomes long and bends out of shape compared to the normal shape of the correct coronary band shape. The pedal bone shape imitates the white line shape and they both imitate the coronary band shape to give the horse its normal natural hoof shape. The second thing to understand is what causes a hoof to bend out of shape and become flared: It is directly related to leg alignment and is common to most horses (Pic 1). There are very few horses without some degree of error from the knee down; as a working farrier I might see only one horse with perfect conformation in the space of a whole … Continue Reading ››
Hoof Problems, Competition Horses

HOW TO PREVENT PEAK PERFORMANCE

There are six bad habits creeping into hoof preparation and the fitting of shoes.

1. Quarter clipped shoes, rolled toe and square toed shoes.

2. Deliberate spooning of the heels on work shoes and race plates.

3. Leaving bar pressure under the heels.

4. Not achieving a T-square at the heels.

5. Not eliminating flares everywhere in the hoof.

6. Using shoes that are too heavy and with nail holes set too coarse for the white line.

Now let me explain in more detail the detrimental effects of these six main problems for the horse.

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Hoof Problems, Climate and Conditions

THE HOOF AFTER THE FLOODS

STAGE 1: Nature really is a fierce adversary. The after effects of horses’ hooves standing in water for long periods is causing much anxiety among horse owners, so we need to know how to deal with it. To understand try this, go get the dry sponge on your sink and wet it and of course it expands. The hoof wall is made of hair fibres, and while the density of the hoof wall is its strength under normal conditions, when it is subjected to excessive water without relief it swells then becomes soft and warps in all directions, just like the sponge. It begins to bend about a third of the way up from the bottom; this is flaring outwards. Separation occurs from the laminae (hoof wall separation) and then to add to the problem, the sole also expands in the wet conditions and bulges downwards. The horse becomes lame from walking on the sole, then abscesses develop under the sole or at the hoof wall separation area and it is not a happy situation. The first move, if circumstances permit, is to get the horses hooves … Continue Reading ››
Hoof Problems, Competition Horses

DOES THE HOOF SUIT THE EVENT?

Far too often the hoof does NOT suit the event and the end result is a very mediocre level of performance for the horse and a bewildered rider.

This is as much an owner/rider judgment problem as well as a farrier’s lack of attention in advising the client, but first the farrier needs to know how the client expects the horse to perform in order that he can set up the correct hoof care procedures.

The pleasure horse is about 80% of today’s horse population but probably less than 20% of their owners have grown up with horses and know how important correct hoof care can be. So many others who own and ride their horses haven’t yet seen the need to understand what is below the girth, so this puts a lot of responsibility on the farrier to educate his clients about hoof care which in turn allows them to fulfill their duty of care to the horse and also be a … Continue Reading ››

Hoof Problems, Club Feet

CLUB FEET – THE BRUTAL TRUTH

After pussy footing around and skirting sensitive issues with delicate statements, there finally comes a time when the only thing to do is to be brutally honest, and this certainly applies to the club footed horse. I have written several articles on how to maintain the club footed horse, and I have always stated categorically that the owner has to realise that a club footed horse is a high maintenance horse for life.

However, I still receive more queries about club footed horses than about any other hoof problem. The queries are generally raised because the owner is about to buy the horse, or has bought the horse, or wants to breed from the horse or the foal has just arrived. The hoof is always ‘a little boxy’ and the query is always ‘but it can be fixed cant it?

The brutal truth is NO a club foot can’t be fixed, and YES it … Continue Reading ››

Hoof Problems, Club Feet

HOOF CARE FOR THE CLUB FOOTED HORSE

With the club footed horse, the first thing to understand is that the horse has a deformity and as such it is always going to need a high degree of hoof maintenance, for the term of its natural life. To identify the club foot we must know what is considered ‘normal’ and then compare the difference. When a normal hoof is in balance, the front of the hoof wall will be in line with the front of the pastern, whereas in the club foot this straight line is broken from the coronet down to the toe, and the heel appears much higher. There are many reasons why horses are afflicted with one or two club feet; some are born that way through genetics, and most owners will vigorously deny that this trait was ever present in their bloodline, however when historical photos of previous generations are studied it will show up three or four generations back. Another group of these club footed horses is simply the result of hoof or leg injuries, and then there is … Continue Reading ››
Hoof Problems, Creeping Toes

CREEPING TOES

Creeping Toes sounds like it might be a fungal growth or an alien invasion, however it is my terminology for a problem that is creeping into the world of hoof care.

Creeping Toes answers a lot of questions when related to the long toe/low heel problems, and it would seem that the majority of us just don’t recognise where the actual sole line should be at the front of the hoof.

If you look at the cleaned out sole of the hoof that is due to be trimmed, and if you view it as a saucer held up and nearly full of water, the level there is an even water level line all around the edge. This describes where that junction of the cleaned out sole should meet the laminae/white line at the inside edge of the hoof wall, known as the true road map in the bottom of the hoof.

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Hoof Problems, Gait Problems

OVER-REACHING AND FORGING: CAUSE AND CORRECTION

Over-reaching is when the toe of the back foot hits the heel bulbs of the front foot.

Forging is when the toe of the back foot hits the bottom of the front foot.

Both cause an interruption to the horse’s cadence and cause shoes to be pulled during work, and also causes injury and pain to the horse.

Both are caused by imbalance in the bottom of the hoof.

OK that is all pretty easy to determine, but why is it so common?

The answer lies in one or more of a variety of reasons. Often we don’t pare out enough sole in front of the hoof to find the true junction of the clean sole and the hoof wall at the toe, so we don’t trim the toe down short enough … Continue Reading ››

Hoof Physiology, Hoof Problems

THE NATURAL HOOF SHAPE and ‘RIGHT HANDED DISEASE’.

To quote Dr Doug Butler in his book The Principles of Horseshoeing, ‘The hardest thing a farrier has to deal with is making his hands do exactly what his mind and eyes are telling them to do.’ And indeed it seems that as soon as some farriers pick up the sole knife or the nippers or the rasp, from there on the hoof takes on a completely different shape from that which was first intended.

IF we use the rasp too heavily when dressing the front of the hoof and IF, instead of just correcting the thickness at the toe, we allow the rasp to continue the stroke to go past the toe section and along the side walls, the hoof will have a correct toe but narrow sides and the wrong shape hoof.

When rasping the toe it is important to do just that, and not allow the rasp to travel around the side of the hoof. It may help to mark the outer limits of the toe with a … Continue Reading ››

Hoof Physiology, Hoof Problems

SHORT FROGS, LONG FROGS AND BENT FROGS

It is often difficult to see what is ‘normal’ in the bottom of the hoof. There are three main problems to consider when we address hoof care issues; they are:
  • The presence of long toes/low heels
  • The presence of high heels/short toes
  • The presence of uncontrolled flares anywhere in the hoof wall.
To begin to understand all this we must first know what is normal when we lift the leg and look at the bottom of the hoof. There should be a symmetrical balance in it- the fronts should be round or slightly oval shape, the hinds should be an even and slightly v- shaped and the hoof wall should be an even thickness outside the white line all around. (Pic 1) The centre of the hoof is a point exactly 19mm behind the clean tip of the frog and after achieving the correct balance there should be an equal measurement from that point to the toe and from that point to a straight line across the buttress of the heels, plus correct height must be 6mm above the widest part of the frog. (Pic 2) Also from that same centre point there should be an equal measurement sideways (laterally) to … Continue Reading ››
Hoof Related Lameness, Hoof Problems

PEDAL OSTEITIS – CAUSE AND EFFECT

Pedal Osteitis is deterioration of the pedal bone (or coffin bone). Interestingly, I have found the condition is most prevalent in geldings; it seems that after they are gelded their system generates more calcium in the bones of the lower leg, in particular the pedal bone or P3. Lack of frog pressure resulting in reduced blood circulation allows the porous P3 to become calcified, restricting the nerves and causing the horse to become concussion sensitive, particularly when nailing. I have noticed that geldings with Pedal Osteitis gain an erection during the nailing process of shoeing. When the hammering stops the erection disappears. This is a good guide to early detection of Pedal Osteitis. Of special interest are the horses which show intermittent lameness, have good healthy hoof walls, show no reaction to hoof testers, work OK on soft ground but appear to jar up on solid surfaces, are unsound at the trot but canter and gallop freely. These horses fit into a category of ‘Predictable Hoof Related Lameness’ – the age does not seem consistent as I have noted the condition in horses from two year olds upwards. They are identified … Continue Reading ››
Hoof Related Lameness, Hoof Problems

BRUISING IN THE HOOF

Bruising in the hoof wall is often unwittingly excused as self-inflicted injury. ‘Oh he must have stepped on a rock or something’ and ‘He was probably kicking the fence’. Yes these things do happen, but too often bruising is an indicator of hoof related problems leading to lameness. We are all aware of the pain when we bend a fingernail back, plus it creates a visible blood line in the nail bed. If it hasn’t happened to you, try pressing your fingernail hard against the edge of the table (Pic 1). The same results happen when the toe of the hoof is too long, or if the heels are allowed to flare. Bruising is not just in white hooved horses – the bruising is not visible in a black hoof (Pic 2) however you can rest assured it is there. Bruising is almost always associated with the presence of flares, which cause the hoof wall to bend outwards and become distorted; this in turn stretches the laminae/white line area and results in a bend in the wall about half way up, so now the blood vessels feeding the sensitive laminae begin to rupture … Continue Reading ››