Stephanie Werth Holistic Hoof Care

Firstly, I would like to mention that there are many different schools of thought when it comes to natural hoof care and barefoot trimming, some of which I personally do not agree with; and trimmers and farriers are not all made equal, regardless of which theory or methods they follow or who they were taught by.

Also, this is not a farrier versus trimmer debate or a shod versus barefoot debate. I know some farriers who do excellent work and likewise, know far too many barefoot trimmers who do not-so-excellent work. On that note, we are all trying to help the horse, and I believe anyone who takes their job seriously knows that no matter how experienced we are, there is always more to be learnt and we will always encounter some cases that present a new learning experience.

What I wish to explain in the following paragraphs is what my own theories and methods are and why I think these are so important to a healthy hoof and a healthy horse. 

First, some important parts of the hoof:

 Let's look at some basic horse hoof mechanics:

 

If you have ever watched an elephant’s foot close up while the elephant is walking, you will know that it expands noticeably on impact and contracts when the foot lifts off the ground again. This is also true for the equine foot, though a lot less visible, and is crucial for energy dissipation. As the foot lands, the heels, the back of the frog and bars all come into contact with the ground first, and are all responsible for dissipating the impact energy. The heels provide a solid landing platform and receive the initial impact, dissipating excess shock as the pliable horn material they comprise of allows for compression and expansion. The frog is a thick callused leathery pad of skin that also plays a huge role in energy dissipation, a large proportion of it lying directly beneath the digital cushion, suspended between the lateral cartilages, which further more has a vital role in energy dissipation and also acts as a pump, essentially aiding in the blood flowing back up the leg after impact through its complex venous system. The bars are the hoof’s connection between the ground and the lateral cartilages - cartilaginous tissue on each side of the back of the foot which provide resistance on impact, further energy dissipation and play a role in regulating the amount of shock that is transferred to the digital cushion. The lateral cartilages can move independently from each other, allowing the back of the foot to twist and turn and to compensate for uneven terrain. As the weight shifts more onto that foot during the stride, the arch (that a horse should naturally have at the quarters) bottoms out, thus allowing more energy dissipation as the foot expands, and the sole, supported by the hoof wall, at this point carries most of the load, as well as the entire frog, the bars and the heel. At the end of the stride, the weight tips to the front of the foot, to the "breakover point", the point of the toe that is impacting the ground at the exact moment the heels leave the ground, and the hoof essentially rolls over the rest of the way till it lifts off the ground entirely in order to travel to the next impact point, the next stride.

 

 

Why the heel-first landing is so important:

 

The above paragraph is a very brief description of the most basic function of the hoof and is how a hoof SHOULD perform a stride. (There is a lot more going on in the lower limb to carry out a stride, especially to do with ligaments and tendons but we won’t go into that detail here.) The heel first landing is essential to proper impact mechanics not only in the hoof but also in the ligaments, tendons and joints all the way up the leg (unless the horse is travelling up-hill, in which case a toe first landing is normal and natural; or walking at a slow pace, in which case a flat landing is quite natural).

 

There are several things that inhibit this natural hoof function and over time will all have a devastating effect on the horse’s hoof health, potentially his lower limb, upper limb and back health, as well as his soundness and most definitely how he carries himself. Any form of pain in the back of the foot, whether it is caused by navicular disease, thrush in the frog, or having been trimmed too short in the heels, or any number of other reasons, will cause the horse to land toe first to avoid the pain in the back of the foot when it impacts the ground. A toe first landing is unfortunately far too common in domestic horses and is often overlooked due to its apparent normality. However, it is a serious warning sign that something is wrong, and can itself lead to a number of severe secondary problems including hoof wall separation, founder, thin soles, underdeveloped frog/digital cushion/heels/lateral cartilages, navicular syndrome, coffin bone remodelling, tendon injury, ligament injury and muscle pain. Paradoxically, the weakness in the back of the foot that usually initially causes the toe first landing is further weakened from this very action, as the back of the foot is not being stimulated, much like the muscles in your broken arm become weak and atrophied while not in use if in a cast for six weeks. The only way to strengthen the arm is to slowly start using it again! This is also true for the structures in the back of the horse’s foot. Thus, it is of utmost importance to insure a comfortable heel first landing in order for the foot and the entire leg to perform properly and until this is achieved, growing a strong, healthy and sound hoof is virtually impossible.

 

Sometimes, correcting a toe first landing is as simple as treating a thrush problem in the frog. Other times it involves leaving the heels longer than a “natural” heel height in order to reduce stimulation to the internal structure at the back of the foot (digital cushion and lateral cartilages), while at the same time ensuring that they are being stimulated just enough to slowly strengthen them and build them up to a point where they will in time, be able to handle the pressure required for a more natural heel height. A lot of emphasis is often placed on low heels and natural wild horse heel height in barefoot trimming, but the heel first landing is ultimately the most important thing for a sound, healthy hoof, and if this means leaving the heels a little higher at first to encourage the heel first landing then this is more beneficial and much more important than achieving the lower heel. In otherwords, a toe first landing is much worse than the effects of having a SLIGHTLY higher heel in the short term.

 

 

Other factors that inhibit normal hoof function:

 

High heels:

Having said that achieving a heel first landing is more important than the heel height, it is essential to note however, that high heels are a common and serious problem that also prohibits the foot from functioning properly. Having an exaggeratedly high heel tips the weight of the horse onto its toe, even with a heel first landing (people who wear high heeled shoes can relate to this, bearing most of the weight on the balls of their feet), though it is quite difficult for a horse to land completely heel first if it has an exaggeratedly high heel, the best it can do is to land flat. The presence of an exaggeratedly high heel essentially rotates the front of the coffin bone downwards and causes the tip of the bone to drive down into the sole with every ground impact and over time, is what causes the tip of the coffin bone to either wear off completely or remodel itself into what is commonly called a "ski-tip". (This can also be caused by founder, which is often but not always accompanied by high heels, which I will discuss later.)

Evidently, having an exaggeratedly high heel leads to the same problems that a toe first landing produces. It is therefore very important to find the balance between heels that are too high, and heels that are just high enough to allow the horse to use the back of its foot comfortably. This fine line is different for each and every horse, and varies still more depending on the terrain that horse lives in!

 

More on the breakover point:

As mentioned above, the breakover point is the area furthest to the front of the toe that is impacting the ground at the exact moment the heels leave the ground. In a healthy foot this is about a quarter of an inch in front of the callus ridge, the area of sole at the toe that lies directly beneath the coffin bone and forms a thick strong callus. The correct position of the breakover point is very important for the horse to carry out its stride properly. If the breakover point stretches out too far past where it should be, it delays the breakover, essentially lengthening the amount of time the hoof stays on the ground before it is able to lift off to travel to the next stride.This means that in order for the foot to land in time for the next stride, it has to shorten the stride and often lands flat or toe first to make up for the lost time as extending out for a heel first landing requires more time, time that would be available if the hoof had lifted off the ground sooner. It is very important therefore, to ensure that the breakover point remains where it should be, even if the horse presents hoof wall separation, in order to encourage the heel first landing as well as allowing the horse to have its natural stride length.

 

Shoes:

Metal horse shoes were first invented for horses that worked all day on cobble stone streets in order to give them some protection. They functioned very well for this purpose for hundreds of years and were essential for this reason. However, most things that humans design evolve over time and continue to improve as they develop; horse shoes are no exception. There are many different types of horse shoes (iron, aluminum, plastic, rubber, combinations, etc.) and hoof protection devices (hoof boots – of which there are many varieties, casts, etc.) available to us today, all with different merits and drawbacks, and for different uses. I like to use hoof boots (and casts where needed). I will briefly touch on why I think the drawbacks of shoes, especially metal shoes, outweigh their benefits. There are two main problems I see with shoes: Firstly, as mentioned above, the hoof naturally expands and contracts in order to dissipate energy on impact, allowing the digital cushion and lateral cartilages, as well as other structures, to displace a significant amount of this energy. If this foot has a metal shoe attached to the bottom of it, it essentially transforms the hoof into a rigid structure, prohibiting its expansion and contraction and its ability to flex and twist in turns and on uneven terrain, as well as amplifying the shock on impact. Without this ability, the back of the foot is not able to dissipate the energy on impact as it is designed to and thus the energy dissipation must happen elsewhere. I strongly believe that this is one of the contributing factors to joint problems in performance horses. The energy that is not able to be absorbed in the back of the foot jars each joint as the energy travels higher up the leg. Furthermore, because the hoof is not able to function properly and lacks the pressure and release that accompanies the expansion and contraction of the hoof, blood flow is limited in the lower limbs of shod horses. The nature of a shoe, whether it is metal or of another substance, also means that the frog is elevated off the ground and can therefore also not perform its shock absorption task properly, again leading to more energy travelling further up the leg. This leads me to the second problem I see with shoes: The peripheral loading that they cause on the hoof. The hoof wall was simply not designed to carry the entire horse’s weight. Its main function is to protect the internal structures of the hoof and to SUPPORT the sole, frog, bars and heel in their weight bearing role (not do their job for them!). However, if we place a shoe around the outside of the bottom of the hoof, we are essentially loading only the hoof wall and heels, as everything else is lifted off the ground (to a greater or lesser degree depending on how firm or yielding the terrain is). Loading the hoof wall is not sustainable long-termly and will almost always lead to some degree of hoof wall separation as the laminae attaching the hoof wall and the coffin bone give way from the constant pressure.

 

 

The importance of hoof protection:

 

It is important to understand that even though our goal is a healthy, natural, barefoot horse, a horse’s hoof will only adapt to the conditions it is in most of the time. So if we keep our horses on soft pastures, we cannot expect them to be comfortable when we take them out on a rocky mountain trail, regardless of how well they are trimmed or how healthy their hooves are. Therefore the use of hoof protection remains essential to this day, unless you are willing/able to create that same rocky mountain terrain in your horse’s pasture to allow his feet to adapt to that terrain. (More on appropriate horse management options and ideas later). The reason I prefer to use hoof boots (specifically the ones I use) and casts for protection is that they allow the hoof to maintain its proper function. As a bonus, with the addition of pads and other supportive insert options, boots and casts are a great tool for rehabilitation. Hoof boots allow the horse to be barefoot when not being ridden or when ridden on soft terrain, while still providing the protection needed while out on the road or trails.

 

 

Trimming:

 

There is no “one size fits all” when it comes to trimming hooves, as every hoof is different, every horse is different, and every horse’s environment and physical demands are different, so what is “right” for one horse may not be for another, and vice versa. However, there are a few things I would like to briefly touch on when it comes to trimming, generally speaking.

 

Firstly, one of the most important features of a good barefoot trim is the “mustang roll”, the bevel that is applied to the outer edge of the hoof wall. A wild/feral horse hoof naturally wears this roll all the way around its hoof wall with the normal wear that occurs by traveling 20-30km on uneven, rocky terrain (such as it common in wild horse country) every day. This wearing pattern matches the growth of the hoof wall and thus maintains the perfect wall length. Due to the way we manage domestic horses, they don’t get anywhere near 20-30km of exercise per day and the amount that they do get is mostly on soft terrain.This is why their hoof walls overgrow and must be trimmed regularly. It is important to trim the mustang roll into the wall for the horse, imitating that of a wild horse, as the mustang roll is crucial for growing in well-connected hoof walls and eliminating wall cracks and chips. Having a bevel on the outer edge of the hoof wall completely changes the forces on the wall when the horse is in motion. If the wall did not have a bevel and was trimmed to a point as is common when preparing the hoof for shoeing and for a pasture trim, there would be a separational force on the wall as the hoof breaks over in its stride, essentially pulling the wall away from the bone. However, with a bevel, as the hoof breaks over, the force becomes a compressional one, pushing the hoof wall inwards towards the bone. This is extremely important for growing out a healthy hoof wall connection and critical for rehabilitating foundered horses. The easiest analogy to explain the role of the mustang roll is one that a natural hoof care practitioner/vet told me in Australia. She said something like this: “Imagine you have a wooden broom handle in your hand. You cut the end off straight across and then ram this end of the broom handle into the ground repeatedly. Eventually (or pretty quickly) the edges where you cut it clean across will start splaying out and cracking, maybe even chipping off. Now if you take that same broom handle and sand the edges after you cut the end off to make a nice rounded end, and then ram it into the ground repeatedly, your round end will continue to wear off in that same pattern, rounding off the edges but not splaying out or splitting”. This is also true for the hoof wall.

 

Another very important feature of a sound healthy hoof is a nicely callused, thick sole and frog. It is most often not necessary or desired to trim sole at all and in most cases the sole should be left alone, without so much as a single rasp or knife mark on it! This applies even (especially) at the toe, the part of the sole that is protecting the coffin bone. A healthy hoof with adequately thick sole will have natural concavity to its sole, but it is important to understand that this concavity should not be trimmed into the sole, as this is only thinning the sole and weakening it. A healthy, concave sole must be GROWN in (not trimmed in) by allowing the sole to reach its naturally needed thickness and allowing it to callus as it grows in. Likewise, it is rarely necessary to trim the frog (other than perhaps a flap here or there) in a healthy foot and would usually only cause harm. The frog should also be thick and callused like a firm cushion, and should be wide at the back, tapering into a point at the apex (toward the toe). A thin frog usually indicates weakness at the back of the foot as the horse is not using it properly, or can be due to a fungal infection which must be treated.

 

And of course we cannot forget to mention the heels here. As discussed above, heel height is very important for healthy hoof function and it is essential that the trimmer find the height for each horse that allows the horse to use the back of its foot properly, without tipping the horse’s weight onto its toes or causing a toe first landing. Heel height is perhaps the most ambiguous aspect of trimming, but essential for a healthy hoof and sound horse overall. One thing I can say about heels that is universal is the importance of balancing the heels medially-laterally!

 

The bars are also some what ambiguous, and will often maintain themselves at the correct length in a healthy hoof. It is important to understand that the bars are the connection between the ground and the lateral cartilages, so the bars will constantly be trying to adapt their height to match the terrain as the terrain changes, seeking more or less stimulation as necessary. Allowing them to do this is very important and sometimes they require help as the seasons change and the terrain changes with them.

 

There is one more very important point that I would like to instil when it comes to trimming: It is essential that all horses are kept on a regular trimming schedule to ensure healthy hoof growth and proper hoof function. This schedule varies slightly, depending on the seasons, the amount/type of exercise the horse gets (horses being ridden in a sand arena for several hours every day or those living on track paddocks - see below - with gravel footing tend to wear their hooves naturally much better, horses standing idle or getting little exercise wear their hooves very little naturally, if at all), the diet, current hoof health, among other factors. A four week schedule is ideal for the horse and hoof; however, this isn't feasible for most people, understandably so, so I mostly keep my clients on a six week schedule. Pathological hooves sometimes need to be trimmed more regularly until better hoof health is achieved. Unfortunately, in most cases, anything longer than six weeks means we are always playing catch-up and therefore not really able to improve on the hoof health. This is especially true for growing out healthy walls as the mustang role loses its function if the wall is left too long.

 

 

A quick look at laminitis and founder:

 

By definition, laminitis is the inflammation of the laminae, the zip-like structure that connects the hoof wall to the coffin bone. Founder refers to the separation of the hoof wall away from the coffin bone, which happens when the laminae are weakened or damaged, either from laminitis or from improper hoof mechanics during locomotion which causes ripping and tearing of the laminae. This eventually leads to what is commonly referred to as “rotation” or “sinking” of the coffin bone, although it is actually not the coffin bone that has been displaced but rather the hoof capsule around it.

Unfortunately founder is very common in domestic horses due to bad diet, inadequate exercise, and frankly, bad trimming and farriery (or lack of). From my experience, most domestic horses have founder to some degree, and unfortunately the problem does not get better, it only gets worse, if left unchecked. It has traditionally been though of, and in a lot of circles is still regarded as an “incurable disease”, particularly once it has reached the “rotated” or “sinker” stage, in which case the horse is usually quite lame and can often be seen standing in the typical founder stance - its legs out in front of it, weight back on the heels and barely wanting to move. Such horses often spend a lot of time lying down as it becomes too painful to bear weight on their feet. (In cases that have been allowed to continue on unchecked, the coffin bone will eventually protrude through the sole and out the bottom of the foot!) In most cases however, this is a reversible condition (only when it is too little, too late is it sometimes not worth the pain the horse will suffer until the long rehabilitation is complete). I do not like to refer to it as a disease, as I strongly believe that in almost all cases, laminitis and founder are caused by unnatural horse husbandry practices, conditions that are simply bad for the horse, and the condition is therefore not only reversible but more importantly, is preventable!

 

Unfortunately though, horses are extremely tough animals and have evolved to hide pain in order to prevent them from being singled out and eaten by a predator, so just because a horse is not obviously lame does not mean that he is not in pain and it must be understood that any amount of hoof wall separation is painful! (Imagine pulling your fingernail away from your finger so hard until it finally separates away from the finger….ouch!) When a horse is in acute laminitis it will usually show lameness; however, a horse with chronic laminitis/founder often does not, until the problem is quite serious. It is very important therefore, to take note of even the earliest signs of founder and to correct trimming, diet, environment, etc, accordingly. Even ripples in the hoof wall, which are a sure sign of metabolic upset and often a precursor to founder, should be regarded as a warning sign that something needs to be changed in the diet.

 

 

Nutrition:

 

Horses evolved perfectly on a diet of prairie and tussock grasses, shrubs and herbs, the plants that are abundant in wild horse country, and thrive on such a diet, even with the physical demands of travelling 20-30km per day to forage for these plants and search for water.

Unfortunately, domestic horses do not only get little or no exercise, they also live on a diet that is vastly different from the one they have evolved to thrive on. With the development of the dairy industry, grasses have been bred to yield higher sugar content in order to increase milk production in dairy cows and are cultivated with this as a top priority. (Incidentally, cows also suffer from laminitis and founder, especially now with grain being a large part of their diet, but typically don’t live long enough, due to the way they are managed, for it to become a significant problem.) These grasses are much higher in non-structural carbohydrates (NSC), the sugars and starches responsible for causing laminitis and founder in many horses, than the vegetation that is found in wild horse country and not only that, most domestic horses have free access to as much of this rich fodder as they please, without having to do any work to get it! It is important to note here, that laminitis and founder are not caused by obesity or a weight problem (it has to do with the horse’s capabilities of digesting the NSCs, insulin levels in the blood, which is what causes the laminae to breakdown, etc, but I won’t go into detail here about digestion and insulin resistance), there are many thin horses that suffer from laminitic episodes and chronic founder, it just so happens that these same NSCs that, in excess amounts, lead to laminitis and founder also often lead to obesity if the horse isn’t getting enough exercise to balance its energy intake, which it often isn’t. Unfortunately, this paints a terrible picture for grass; however, it’s not that grass is essentially bad for all horses, in fact it is a wonderfully healthy diet for many horses; it’s more that we have to take the above information into consideration when we think of our horses’ needs. NSC levels are highest in the late afternoon and evening, after the grasses have photosynthesised during the day, and are lowest in the early hours of the morning, after the plant has used the sugar it stored the day before to grow during the night. If the night time temperatures are cool (below about 5°c) the grass doesn’t grow at night, and therefore any sugars that are stored during the day accumulate to even higher levels of NSC, which is why spring and fall pose a particular risk for horses at risk of laminitic episodes, as the sunny days and cool night time temperatures mean very high NSC levels in grass. At-risk horses that need to be managed specially to prevent a laminitic episode should therefore be kept off pasture during spring and fall when night time temperatures are cool, and should only be allowed to graze on pasture in the early morning during the summer months, and yes, unfortunately there are some horses that simply cannot cope with the high amounts of NSCs in our cultivated grasses and can therefore never live on pasture without inherent problems. For such horses, and those restricted to only periodic pasture grazing, grass hay is the best substitute and can be reliably tested for NSC levels and can be soaked in water to release and drain out the NSC if necessary. Often though, as long as the hay isn’t very high in NSC (ideally it should be 10% NCS or lower) simply reducing the volume that is fed to the horse is often adequate in cases where the horse is also overweight, which is often the case. But it is important to understand that horses need something in their bellies all the time, due to the way their digestion works and allowing the horse to go hungry for several hours between feeding is not desirable, and will mostly lead to other problems such as stomach ulcers and vices such as cribbing, weaving, etc. I recommend that horses on a restricted diet be fed hay in “slow feeder” hay bags/nets. There are many different types available from feed/tack stores and online, some are useless and will be destroyed within hours or minutes by some horses, but there are a few very good options in different sizes with various sized holes. The size of your horse and your feeding habits will determine which option is best for you.

 

Hay and grass pasture (for those horses who are allowed to pasture graze) is usually enough for horses that aren’t in a rigorous training routine. However, there are some cases in which an additional feed is required. It is a difficult concept to understand (and took me years), as we are taught from a young age that we should feed horses oats and barley, but grains are very difficult for horses to digest (which is why they are often rendered down to extruded or pelleted form) and are extremely high in NSCs (often up to 80%!). For a lot of horses, any form of oats and/or barley has far more NSC than they can cope with and leads to laminitis and founder, as well as not being a utilisable source of energy for the horse as it can't be digested properly (which is why we often see horses on high grain diets that are very skinny, they are literally starving as they cannot utilise the grain, no matter how much more of it is fed to them). I almost always recommend cutting out all grain from the horse’s diet, and substituting with either beet pulp (soaked in water overnight) or a feed low in NSC specifically designed for horses with laminitis/founder/insulin resistance/EMS, which is available from most feed stores (ironically, this feed is what is most natural to horses and should be fed ordinarily, not just for horses with these conditions, in order to allow the horse to its natural diet and thus to prevent these conditions!). Beet pulp has traditionally been thought of as only “filler” as it does not contain carbohydrates and is mainly fibre, but it is important to understand that horses, unlike humans, convert fibre to energy, not carbohydrates, which is after all why dried prairie and tussock grasses and fibrous shrubs have done so well for them. The fact that beet pulp contains very little if any NSC does not make it an inferior food, in fact it is this that makes it so valuable for horse’s that need more than hay alone as it is a digestible, usable form of energy for the horse.

 

Foods such as molasses (yes, check the ingredients in your feed/treat bag), carrots, apples, sugar lumps, bread, cake, cookies (yes, I’ve seen it all) are extremely high in NSC and should not be fed to horses that are susceptible to or showing any signs of laminitis/founder or metabolic upset, the later items (sugar lumps, bread, cake, cookies) are not appropriate for any horses! The odd carrot here or there isn’t going to kill your healthy horse with strong sound feet, but if you like to give your horse treats often, something like an alfalfa cube would be more appropriate than an apple or a sugar lump, and assuming that they are being fed grass hay, they will think the alfalfa cube most tasty!

 

Alfalfa as a hay source is not recommended as it is generally too rich and often very high in NSCs and much too high in protein for the average horse not in a rigorous training program. However, it can be a valuable grain substitute for high performance horses or horses in training that need more than hay and/or pasture, but should always be used sparingly and introduced into the diet slowly.

 

 

Minerals:

 

A very important consideration in the horse’s diet not to be overlooked is minerals. I will just touch on a couple of important factors pertaining to hoof health here, although there is much more that could be said about minerals and vitamins in general and particularly as they relate to horse health overall. Most importantly though, copper and zinc are essential for healthy hoof growth and are unfortunately lacking in most North American soils due to over-farming, and therefore are lacking in the hay. Ironically, iron is usually found in abundance in most soils (and therefore in hay), as well as in the water that our horses drink, more so if their water troughs are metal and leaching iron, in their feeds and supplements, and unfortunately an iron overload causes many hoof health problems. Due to the lacking copper and zinc in the hay, it is desirable to feed a supplement of these minerals, but because of the excess iron in most horses’ diets, a “complete mineral” supplement will do nothing to address the horse’s copper and zinc deficiencies. It is important to understand that mineral absorption is dependent on the minerals being balanced and the ratios must be in the right range for the horse (or any animal/plant for that matter) to be able to absorb what it needs, regardless of the volume of each mineral. Feeding a complete mineral supplement will increase the volume of all the minerals, but it will not balance the ratios. So, in order for the horse to be to able utilise the copper and zinc that is fed to him, we must increase the volume of copper and zinc without increasing the volume of iron. Manganese and selenium are also often lacking, as well as other regional deficiencies and excesses, so the most complete and accurate way to determine exactly what minerals your horse needs and in which amounts is to have a hay analysis done and then create a custom mineral mix for your horse based on your hay. However, because we often get hay from different sources, that isn’t very practical. So as a general rule, using random hay samples from different areas and horse hoof health (or un-health) as evidence, I recommend feeding a copper and zinc supplement (and selenium if your hay comes from Creston) and not feed anything that has iron added. I have tried many such supplements and the best one by far is "California Trace" which is unfortunately only available online but well worth the effort of ordering and postage (www.californiatrace.com).

 

 

Horse Management:

 

As mentioned above, feral and wild horses travel about 20-30km per day on rough, rocky terrain, and their entire body, digestive system to hoof function, has adapted to accommodate this. Domestic horses do not even get close to this amount of travel in a day, due to the way we manage them. Unfortunately, our common management practices entail many more problems for the horse than just the lack of exercise. We generally keep them either on soft pastures that contain far too much abundant forage for the average horse, or in tiny pens or box stalls, further restricting their exercise capabilities and forcing them to stand in their own faeces. Exercise aside, the wet, mucky conditions that they are standing in harbours bacteria and fungus that eat away at the foot over time and essentially make the foot a mushy, soggy mess that is in no way capable of supporting a 1200lb animal (which then leads to the need for a shoe on that foot because the foot isn’t capable of carrying out its function properly as it lives in an environment it was never designed to live in! ….you can see where this is going). In order to grow and maintain healthy hooves, we must also consider the horse’s environment, not just its trimming and diet. If you must keep your horse in a box stall (for which I see no purpose other than for rehabilitative reasons following injury) or small paddock, the best you can do is to pick up his manure at least daily and ensure that the footing remains clean and dry.

 

There are a few ways you can simulate the horse’s natural environment quite nicely, without needing too much space. Creating a track paddock (or "paddock paradise") is an ingenious way to get your horses to move much more than they would were they standing in a regular paddock or pasture (I'm not sure how well this works for solitary horses, though for two or more it is great). A track paddock is basically a fenced in ring or loop track around the circumference of the paddock, which the horses live in and will naturally travel around of their own volition, greatly increasing the amount of movement and exercise they get. Their hay can then be scattered around the track, further increasing their desire to travel around the track. Stoney areas and rocky terrain can be added for extra hoof health (but be sure to supply routes around these areas for those horses who still have sensitivities). There are some very creative ways to make these track paddocks interesting and exciting for the horses living in them and the horses that live on these track systems have increased hoof health, better bodyweight, increased fitness, and I am sure, increased overall health and wellbeing (see resources list below for more information on track paddocks).

 

Making a pea gravel loafing area in any environment, whether it is a pen, paddock or track system is also very beneficial to hoof health and the horses seem to enjoy standing on pea gravel, even those with pathologies that are uncomfortable on other surfaces, and it can be a great help in rehabilitating pathological hooves.

There is much, much more that could be said about hoof structure and function, hoof health and its relation to overall horse health, and there are a number of other common hoof problems and pathologies and even more less common conditions that deserve attention; however, I will not go into further detail here as I wish to only cover the basics in order to give an overview for anyone interested in my services. I do go into more detail in conversation with clients during their appointments and will most definitely cover any other problems or conditions with clients in the event that they should present themselves in their horses. If you have any questions, however, or would like further explanation, I am happy to make myself available for an appointment to cover theory and/or assess your horse’s condition and treatment plan before any practical work is done.

 

If you would like further reading and learning material I would thoroughly recommend the following resources (also check out my photos and case studies under the "photos" tab for more case specific info):

 

Websites:

1. www.hoofrehab.com Pete Ramey’s website. Especially read the ‘how to’ articles.
2. www.barefoothorse.com Marjorie Smith’s website. Includes some great hoof structure and trimming info, written in an easy to understand manner.
3. www.safergrass.org Katy Watts’ website. Lots of very informative articles about diet, NSCs, etc. I recommended every horse owner read these articles and they are essential for anyone with laminitic and foundered horses(!!) and horses with insulin resistance/EMS.
4. http://www.aanhcp.net/pages/welcome-to-paddock-paradise Association for the Advancement of Natural Horse Care Practices' website, a little more on track paddocks with some great photos for ideas.
   

Books:

1. Care and Rehabilitation of the Equine Foot by Pete Ramey. This is an exceptionally in depth book filled with everything you need to know about everything hoof related. Highly recommended! But be prepared for some serious study!
2. Paddock Paradise by Jamie Jackson. This is a nice little guide for anyone interested in creating a track paddock (paddock paradise) for their horses.

DVDs:

1. Under the Horse 10 disc set by Pete Ramey. I highly recommend every horse owner to watch these DVDs to gain an understanding of their horse’s hooves and general horse management!
2. Donkey Hooves 2 disc set by Pete Ramey. Recommended for all donkey/mule owners as they have very different dietary needs and some different hoof-care needs than horses.

There are of course many more resources available, and lots of very good ones, but these are my top recommendations to get you started.