My sentiments exactly!

And They Call Us Horse Lovers

By Robert M. Miller, DVM

The Nation was shocked when Barbaro broke down shortly after leaving the gate at the Preakness. I saw the repaired fractures in TIME magazine. What I think happened is that the sesamoid bone fractured, a common injury. As a result, the fetlock collapses causing the pastern bone to explode into multiple fragments, probably with the next stride or two.The last time the general public was exposed to a racetrack tragedy like this was when the great filly, Ruffian, fractured; the injury eventually resulting in her death.The news media focuses on great champions like these, but what most people don't realize is that such injuries are relatively common occurrences in horse racing.Part of the cause is that we have bred athletic power into our racing breeds far exceeding what nature requires for the horse to survive in its natural environment. All wild horses need to do is outrun a big cat. We have selectively bred for speeds that the anatomy of the horse cannot always cope with.In addition, we train and race them long before they are mature. The immature are often capable of spectacular athletic performance. Every time I watch an Olympics and I see gymnasts as young as 13, 14 or 15 years of age, I wince at the thought of the damage I know is occurring to some of their bodies. I started a year of gymnastics at 17 years of age, and I wasn't very good, but I still managed to do damage that manifested itself many years later. Fortunately, I was drafted into the Army at 18, which ended my gymnastic career.Half a century ago, when I was cowboying, "colts" were started at four years of age or older. Once in a while, one might be started as a three-year-old. Despite some very hard work, barring accidents, those ranch horses were still sound and working into their 20's.I'm not opposed to racing. It's a great sport and has motivated mankind to produce truly great horse breeds. But I am opposed to any practices which contribute to premature crippling of otherwise healthy horses. Some years ago, the annual convention of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (A.A.E.P.) was held in Dallas. The same week, the national cutting horse futurities were being held in nearby Fort Worth. Three colleagues from Sweden told me that they wanted to see the cutting horses. So, one evening, after the day of scientific lectures had ended, I accompanied the three Swedish vets to Fort Worth.After watching several horses perform, the senior Swede, a professor from the vet school in Upsula, Sweden, said, "This is incredible! It must take many years to obtain such performance from a horse.""But," I answered, "this is a futurity.""I do not understand this word," he said."These are colts," I explained. "These are just three-year-olds."He looked shocked, turned to his companions and explained to them in Swedish and then said to me in English, "I have only two comments: One, it must take great skill to be able to train a horse to do this in so brief a time. And, two, what is happening to their poor legs?"
Today, we have all sorts of futurities - reining, cutting, barrel racing, etc. I have tried many times to get owners to postpone arduous training to give the colt a chance to mature. Most of the time, I was ignored. The lure of winning something or making some money was too great to resist. My strategy when the owner insisted on going ahead with training and/orcompetition that I felt was premature was to say, "That's okay. You go ahead. What you are doing is very good for my business."
Why is it that the protests against over-using young horses come primarily from the people who profit from such abuse - the veterinarians? Is it because we best understand the trauma being inflicted upon immature skeletons, joints, ligaments and tendons?
Just as I am not opposed to racing, if properly conducted, I am not opposed to horse shows or competitive equine events. Horse shows, like all livestock shows, were conceived of long ago to "improve the breed". They were designed to demonstrate and reward the people who were doing the best job of breeding, of selecting bloodstock, and of creating superior bloodlines.
Unfortunately, human nature, vanity and greed have corrupted the horse show industry. We see grotesque caricatures of the original character of each breed. Stock horses, the working ranch breeds, are shown in Western Pleasure classes traveling in a manner that would drive a working cowboy crazy. With lowered heads, going in a downhill manner, these horses greatly magnify the forces placed upon the forelimbs. Once again, good for usvets. It produces income, but the horses suffer.
The wonderful Tennessee Walking Horse is shod and shown in distorted gaits that can only be called "grotesque".If it weren't for the frequent veterinary checks, which are mandatory, can you imagine how many endurance racing horses would die because of their riders' consuming desire to win? I remember the early endurance races. Saddlebreds, with surgically distorted tails, and gingered anuses, are exhibited with the pupils of their eyes dilated with atropine.How many people who sincerely consider themselves to be "horse lovers" wean foals at three months of age, or even earlier, which nature never intended? How many horses, a gregarious species, spend their lives locked in box stalls? How many horses in the U.S.A, like so much of our human population, are damaged healthwise by excessive nutrition?Such abuses exist in ever breed, every discipline, in every equine sport. We need to step back and analyze what we are doing.One of my clients was a prosperous, educated couple. They were very congenial, and they owned three Quarter Horses. One day, they called me to come to their home to worm their horses and check them over and booster their vaccinations. When I arrived, I found only two horses, so I asked where the third one was."Oh, he's in training as a reining horse, with ____________" (a successful and notoriously brutal trainer who also happened to be one of my clients).I said, "Oh, I see." Then the wife said, "We know how cruel he is to the horses, but hewins!" I never felt the same toward those people, again. This same trainer (he's been dead for many years) once said to me, "Doc, why can't you guys cut the tails on my horses? Why do you make me drive 300 miles round trip to get my tails done?"
He was referring to the illicit surgical paralyzing of the tail, common in reining horses so they can't switch their tails. ALL of the horses in his barn had their tails cut.I said, "Were you ever beaten in a show by a horse that you knew had its tail cut?""Oh sure," he said. "Lots of times." "Well," I told him, "I didn't cut the tail nor did my partners. We won't do anything against the association rules."This same guy, a world-class competitor, kept every horse in his barn on Serpecil, a tranquilizer not approved by FDA for use in horses. I have no idea where he got the drug, but somebody was selling it to him.
I believe that a conspiracy exists in the horse show industry. The trainers are judges, and the judges are trainers. Too often, they scratch each others' backs.If Western Pleasure horses were shown as they were 50 or 60 years ago, a good amateur could turn out a champion. But it takes a real pro to produce the freaks seen in today's Western Pleasure classes. And, after the horse goes back to the owner from the trainer and is no longer winning, it has to go back to the trainer for a "tune-up".A few days before I wrote this article, I got back from Bishop Mule Days, a unique event I attend every year that has no equal anywhere in the world. I had the pleasure of seeing Western Pleasure mules that WERE NOT "peanut rollers".
The trend began some years ago, but the mule people balked at it and ruled it out. GOOD FOR THEM! You see, to be a mule lover, you REALLY gotta love horses!

Oregon School of Natural Hoof Care

Last week, a practitioner friend - Lori and I drove to Jacksonville, Oregon to the Oregon School of Natural Hoofcare to attend a seminar with Dr. Robert Bowker, DVM, PhD.

The drive to Jacksonville was filled with beautiful scenery. I call my car windshield, my office window, and back in the day when I was spending 40 hours per week in a basement, I could not have imagined the view out my windows today. LOVE IT!

Dr Bowker is a professor at Michigan State University, Department of Pathobiology & Diagnostic Investigation. For short – Bob - one amazing guy!

(Dr Bowker making sure we get the point of his lecture.)
(The horse NEEDS A GOOD BACK-FOOT!)
(Dr. Alfred Hitchcock Bowker - notice his silhouette on the screen. )
( In a nutshell, all domestic horses are dealing with toes that are too damn long! If we fix that, we can fix lots of other problems within the hoof capsule.)

Cheryl Henderson, ABC Hoofcare and owner of the OSNHC, had many hoof and leg bones there for us to inspect, and even 5 or 6 horse skulls. There was every kind of hoof boot on the market as well.

Not only that, we were fed like horses destined to founder, and we slept in the bunkhouse at the school/private home. It was a lovely atmosphere for learning. However, the temperatures dipped a ways below what my sleeping bag was rated for. Brrrrrr.

Dr. Bowker's findings produced from his research pretty much “flies in the face” of traditional teaching at every university, vet and farrier school. Not many of his colleagues want to hear what he has discovered. However, he is right and they are all stupid not to listen to him.

His analogy of how receptive the traditional educational community has been to him is that he’s been swimming upstream for many years and has been getting pissed on the entire way. He’s accustomed to that kind of treatment so nothing anyone says about his lectures on his research can hurt him.

None of the hoof junkies (his term for us) at the seminar would have pissed on Dr. Bowker. Just the opposite, I think most of us were in awe of him. Oh yes, a few seemed to be know-it-alls who attended, not so much to learn, but to confirm what already knew, and to show off a little by spewing out medical terminology they knew was over most the rest of our heads. That’s okay though, we all have something to offer.

Press on Dr. Bowker. Help the rest of us become better practitioners. Take lots of showers.

On the way home, we had to leave I-5 and get a room, due a snow storm, slushy pavement, and lots of big accidents. The power went out in our hotel room at 4am and again, brrrrrr. I was glad to get home to my own horses (and dogs and husband) and get warmed up again.

(View outside our hotel window)

My next trip is in 4 weeks, to New York, for the annual American Hoof Association Conference. I’m so jazzed!

More on the problems of horse shoes:

As those of you who have spent any time with me at all know, I’m fairly opinionated…

“No! Really?”

Hey, watch it! I know what you’re thinking!

…and I spend most my waking hours thinking about horses and their hooves. So the fact that I’m capable of filling post after post on this blog with my opinions, thoughts and experiences with horse hooves comes as no surprise. I just wanted explain that before I ask you this question.

Can you believe that I’ve been pondering what we’ve been putting our horses through by shoeing them for many hundreds of years and that I have more to say on the topic?

Well, here is something that I find fascinating for you ponder also.

It just makes sense to me that not every farrier has the skill to shoe a horse “comfortably.” So it’s a given that not every set of shoes applied to every horse is a comfortable set of shoes.

In fact, I believe I can say with confidence that MOST horse shoers (except the most skilled) leave a horse standing in a very uncomfortable set of shoes.

Now I ask you, if someone gave you an uncomfortable pair of shoes and told you, you had to wear them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (and for most of that time you would be standing) and you could not remove them for 8 to 10 - and even much longer in some cases - weeks, can you imagine how you’d feel?

I imagine your feet would be numb within a couple days, maybe less than 24 hours. That’s typically what happens to the hoof.

Now take hooves that haven’t been trimmed properly and apply a set of shoes that don’t fit well. Never mind the steel nails driven into the hoofwall and sometimes into the sensitive laminae, or that the steel girder (shoe) keeps the hoof from flexing like it’s meant to and increases the amount of vibration the hoof must tolerate, or that shoe lifts all the functioning hoof parts off the ground that are meant to come impact the ground with every stride.

Beyond all of that and more, now let’s say the shoe salesman at your local shoe department sold you a pair of poorly fitting shoes for your 2 year old daughter and told you that once the shoes were on your child’s feet, you could not take them off for 8 to 10 - and frequently much longer - weeks.

You’d know that your child’s feet were going to grow during that time, not to mention all the other reasons for allowing your child to go barefoot most the time, so you as a wonderful caring parent, would be appalled at this crazy suggestion.

But we have no problem at all doing this to our young horses! Why? Because we think their perfectly healthy feet can’t function once the horse begins to work. We think? NOPE! We’re not thinking. Not about the horse anyway. We are thinking about our own convenience.

And one more thing, we don’t shoe our dogs who accompany us on miles of trails, and they have even softer soles than horses do.

So there you go. If you’re not scratching our head right now, your visiting the wrong blog.

That’s my latest thoughts and opinions on horse shoes. Stay tuned. More to come, I’m sure!

Natural VS Unnatural

This is Just My Opinion, but I have to say something about an issue that has been bugging the hell out of me lately that has to do with horse's tails.

Not just their tails, but that's a big part of it. Really, horse shoes are not the only unnatural thing we do to our horses. I get so frustrated when I see all the other things we do to them, such as forcing them to stand in urine soaked stalls for as many hours as most natural horses are out snooping around for blades of grass, playing with each other, nipping and kicking and playing dominance games. Just plain keeping their minds occupied.

But why stop there? Why not bundle them up in blankets meant for arctic climates. Those horses just look pathetically HOT to me. A stalled horse can stay plenty warm without added protection. In fact, horses like to be on the cool side. It’s unnatural for a horse to be warm in the winter like we humans think their horses want to be.

Have you noticed how miserable horses look on a hot summer day compared to a cold snowy day? My horses love to romp in the snow. (Of course they’re unshod so they can romp in the snow without killing themselves.) They are not stalled and they rarely wear blankets. I have to admit, they get a little sick of all the rain though. Me too.

So it’s not enough that we keep our horses in warm and often dirty blankets and standing in stalls for 17 hours a day, but we find it necessary to bag their tails. What the heck is that about? Again, I see natural horses with lovely tails that are rarely brushed out! Unless another horse is chewing on a tail, it will comb out shiny and full when we need it to, without all those broken hairs you see on bagged tails.

But let’s not stop with the braids and the bags! Why not stuff the tail bag with something heavy. Whoever started that practice is a real lunkhead. Nowadays, a flip of their tail could mean a concussion!

Or false tails! Can’t people tell that horses hate to have stuff hanging from their tails? They use their tails for balance and swatting flies and soothing their foals, or other horses, by swishing their tails against each other.

I see videos on Youtube of horses being worked in round pens and it appears to me they are running away from all the crazy crap hanging from their butts. It’s unnatural!

I could go on an on about the stupid stuff we do to our horses. The short list is:

Branding
Shoeing
Bagging tails
Docking tails
Nerving tails
(We do a lot of unnatural stuff to their tails. It’s so bizarre.)
Soring pasterns
Weighting pasterns
All the stuff we do to show horses
Cutting check ligaments
Etc etc etc

Yes, I know simply saddling, bridling and riding horses is just as unnatural to them as anything else we do, but since they allow us to enjoy them in that way, why do we put them through all this additional crap?

JMO

Why not shoe your horse?

One question I get asked a lot is “Why are shoes harmful to hooves?”

Horse shoes:

protect the hoof wall from wear (allowing hooves to get too long and putting unnatural forces on the ligaments and tendons)
can cause the frog to prolapse
cause vibration which can damage living tissue
impairs shock absorption
impairs hoof mechanism – contracts the heels, deforms the hoof and bruises navicular area
can pinch the corium
cause unnatural strain on joints
can cause thrush which can lead to permanent lameness
cause unnatural weight and centrifugal forces
nails destroy the hoof wall
nails conduct cold into the interior of the hoof
cause increased risk of greater injury and damage
prevent improper development of a young horse’s foot

Those are just to name a few of the possible and probable affects of shoes attached to the hoof by a competent farrier. Imagine the damage when shoes are applied by the many incompetent farriers out there shoeing our horses.

Classy & Cricket Update

One week ago, I began a new treatment for both mares, soaking their front hooves in a combination of ingredients I've concocted. In this video, the clips of the mares struggling to walk were taken a few days before I started soaking their hooves, an improved over when the arrived here 2 months ago. But in the last clips you'll can see something different. True, the ground they are moving on is soft, but there certainly seems to be a difference in how they are weighting their front feet. See what you think.

Q & A Abscesses

The following is a question sent to me by a student practitioner, regarding abscesses. Before getting to her question, it’s important to understand that there are 2 types of hoof abscesses.

The most common is the “hoofwall abscess.” It’s been my experience that these happen when there is an opening between the hoof wall and the white line. (Flare is usually the culprit.) If the opening becomes deep enough, debris and bacteria will start making its way up the hoof, under the wall, leaving a trail of dead laminae in its wake. Eventually the abscess will erupt when it gets to the soft tissue of the coronet brand. It leaves a horizontal split, usually about an inch long. Which grows down to the ground as the hoofwall grows. This type of abscess may or may not be painful, but it will almost always become painful just before or as it is erupting, and may cause swelling up the leg.

Below is a hoofwall abscess about 3 months after erupting at coronet band. This apparently didn't cause any sign of lameness. No one had noticed it before I did.

The other type is subsolar. As that name implies, the area between the coffin bone and the sole will become inflamed and filled with blood. This type of abscess can be incredibly painful and can reside beneath the surface of the sole for a very long time. They can be small, or they can be very large taking up residence under the entire sole. I believe these types of abscesses can have a variety of causes, which all lead to flat soles: shoes, or too much time between shoeing and trimming, neglect, or flare, etc. (Note: Shod hooves are typically flared to some degree.)

Subsolar abscesses are often misdiagnosed as founder because the symptoms appear to be the same. The abscess may not be discovered until we trim to it and it erupts and drains. When that happens, depending on the size of the abscess the horse may feel instant relief.

Below is a subsolar abscess after it had revealed itself. This took a few trims to get to. Notice new sole tissue developing. This horse had been diagnosed as founder case and was lame for many years while in shoes. (So she was used for a brood mare.)

While transitioning out of shoes, she remained lame and was in boots. Once the abscess opened and drained, the hoof could finally begin to heal itself. She was well on her way to a new life of soundness, until a vet was called in who advised the owner that natural trimming causes abscessing. The horse was put back into shoes.

Sometimes all we can do is walk away scratching our heads in wonder.

The question:

Just this week, a horse I trimmed about 4-5 weeks ago seems to have gotten an abscess in the pasture. A vet will look at it tomorrow, then I will be there Friday to try to trim. This horse has only had two barefoot trims since having shoes removed. His soles were thin, so I didn't touch the soles so they could get stronger but apparently they still have a ways to go. Any
thoughts on this? I'm pretty bummed about this abscess-- my first to deal with!

My response:

Don't worry about the abscess. Just check back with the owner and ask her to please make sure the vet doesn't dig a big hole into the hoof. They often do that and all it does is set your work back.

Abscessing is part of healing the hoof. They can be harbored up in the shod or neglected hoof for months, sometimes years. We start trimming and suddenly the hoof wakes up! The stimulation caused by the correcting trim, the hoof feeling the ground again, as well as the improved blood circulation and finally it can get rid of those abscesses. I often look at abscessing as a sign of improved hoof health.

But a vet will sometimes come in and dig into a subsolar abscess (S.A.) Most will just explore a little bit, which is okay, but other's think they should dig a hole to the horses elbow. All that does is create a crater in the sole that you have to work toward trimming past. It’s good to explore the S.A., and try to help it drain, but the hoof should determine how much sole material it can exfoliate over time to reveal the area of the abscess. That we shouldn’t rush too much with digging.

Think of a S.A. as a blister. Once the healing can begin new sole material begins to develop under the layer that is shed. It sheds because it’s former attachment to the bone has died. The new sole tissue is quite thin and tender, but as it becomes acquainted with the outside world it will thicken and toughen, just like human skin does as we age.

If you are dealing with this type of abscess, I would just explore it a little and spray with mild iodine. Let it run its course. If the owner is worried about pain, have them ask the vet for something for the temporary pain.

I’ve even heard veterinarians say natural trims cause abscesses. That’s because when you start transitioning, you will often see them. Yes, you do also find them in horses with healthy hooves, that's not unusual - it happens, but there is typically a reason and you will find it if you look for it. Primarily though, a transitioning hoof is where you see them most often.

Sometimes you DO have to touch the soles especially on the first trim. Clean them up at least with a wire brush and see what's there. When we do that we often get to an area that could potentially abscess, open it and keep it from becoming a problem. Always explore every hoof sole and frog, with every trim - to help avoid situations that can develop if you don't.

Pat

And another thing...

This is Jake. He's a Quarab. He was a yearling in this photo, but he was club footed when I got him as a weanling. Although I can't prove it with this photo, with corrective trims, he is no longer clubbed.

After thinking about my response to Bill, I have to add a few notes about typical events that we see take place with horses dealing with lameness issues.

When a vet or farrier is called in to evaluate a lame horse that is barefoot. Whether that horse has recently come out of shoes or has been bare for a awhile, the remedial measures taken are typically to put shoes on the horse.

That seems to be the answer to all hoof issues. In fact, I've heard top docs say that if a farrier cannot get shoes to stay on a horse's hoof, and that horse has the unfortunate luck to be a gelding, it may as well be put down. At least a mare with poor hooves can be used for breeding.

The problem with shoeing a horse with lameness issues is that we take a sick hoof, that is trying like hell to heal itself, and put a shoe on it, taking important elements of the hoof even farther out of function.

The argument for doing this is that the horse walks off sound in many cases. Well, of course it does, you've provided a type of support for the hoof that inhibits that laminae and inner structures from feeling pain (that same thing can also be done with a snug pair of Marguis Hoof Boots, btw).

But just because the pain has been masked doesn't mean we've cured the hoof. And normally, the pain eventually returns and then we are told that if the horse cannot be "cured" with shoes, we might as well put him down. He will never be sound.

"And surely, if we can't add the weight of a baby to those already aching feet, what the hell good is he anyways!"

(Sorry, I let my inner voice escape there for a moment, but people actually think like that.)

Natural hoof care is tried typically as a last ditch effort to save a horse when everything else has failed. That is if the owner is willing to try one more thing. The very sad part of the usual scenerio is that if we were the first one owners would come to, we could work to return that horse's hooves back to their natural state and with some time, proper trimming and improved diet, and turn out. He (or she) could be sound again one day without anything being nailed, glued, screwed, blued or tattood to that poor horses hoof.

Now here's a novel idea! How about seeing just how healthy our horses' hooves can be if they all were started into natural hoofcare, rather than farrier trims or no hoofcare at all, as babies! Issues like clubbed hooves fixed before becoming permanent comformational faults! It's simply mind-blowing, isn't it!:0)

Q & A Transitioning to Barefeet

Here is an email question from Bill Petry. Eighty-Three years young, retired farrier.

Pat,

In 1970 I went to Oregon State Shoeing School for 16 weeks - the longest at the time. We were taught that the hoof wall was the box. We thought the box was to carry the weight of the horse and no weight was supported by the sole. We used the Army instruction book. The box [hoof capsule] was meant to hold all the internal parts together, like the skin is over the knee, no weight on the wall. See how long you can hold pressure on your finger nail. Then on the end of the finger, pressure can be held there forever. Explain your practice from shoes to barefoot. I'm 83 wont be doing any. How much do you charge for a trim? Bill Petry

Hello Bill,

Thank you for emailing me. I love hearing from very experienced farriers. In my area, I charge $50 per trim for at least 2 horses. That's more than the cost of a farrier trim, but we trim to replace the horseshoes, not the farrier’s trims. It takes longer and involves a bit more skill. As you know things have changed so much in many fields, not just the care of the horse's hoof. But they are still teaching the methods you're referring to in your email, and many veterinarians still believe that line of thinking. But it's wrong. The study of horses in the wild has proven that horses use all the elements of their hoof to function properly. Shoes or extremely long hoof walls take the frog and sole out of function causing the horse to become tender-footed without shoes, or with a proper trim. That's why we hear a common comment that only some horses can go barefoot. What they mean is “only horses who have never worn shoes and have always been trimmed correctly can manage going barefoot. Once we’ve damaged the hoof with shoes, or with poor trimming methods, some horses find the transition phase of returning to barefoot, very uncomfortable. So I have to ask then, why do we shoe horses in the first place? When a horse comes out of shoes, after some transitioning time to get used to feeling the ground again, they toughen up. What we humans need to learn to recognize when we see horses flinching over rocks is that we aren’t always seeing extreme pain, but what we are seeing is a discomfort. The same discomfort I would feel if I kicked off my boots and took off running over rocks. Well, it would not look like “running” that’s for sure. If we lost our shoes suddenly when we were out hiking in the deep woods and say we were only out there for a day, our feet would surely hurt like hell after a few hours. But if we were lost in the woods for a few weeks, we’d be doing pretty good with our unprotected feet by the time we found our way out of the woods, or until were eaten by another predator!:0) Your finger nail analogy is a good one that I use a lot. If I were to stand on my fingernails, the reason it hurts is because I'm really suspending my weight on the tissue that connects the nail to the interior of the finger. It doesn't hurt our nails, it hurts our nail beds. On a horse, that would be the dermal and epidermal laminae - the tissue that connects the hoofwall to the coffin bone. When we put all the horse's weight on its walls, it would be like us doing push ups on our finger nails. Ouch! But when we use our whole finger tip, well, that's how we usually do it, if we were to do push ups, which I don't! One experiment I have students try is using the finger the is most similar to the anatomy of the horse’s foreleg, their middle finger, and move your remaining fingers back, like you’re giving someone…..well, the finger. Now pointing toward a table top, but both fingertips on the table and put as much pressure as you can stand on just the finger NAIL. Hold that for a few seconds or as long as you can. Now roll the finger forward toward the nail, like a horse would breakover their toe to take a step. THAT HURTS! Now if you do that same thing using your entire finger tip, it’s not so painful. Can you imagine that kind of pain, times 1,000 pounds or better? I can’t. But that’s the kind of pain, I imagine foundered horses live with daily. Can you imagine in the days of the Cavalry, how long horses lasted back then in their horseshoes going for miles every day. Not very long. That's why they needed so many horses. Mostly to replace the ones they lamed up. Yet, wild horses, if left alone have been known to live much longer than domestic horses and hoof issues are the last thing they die of. For domestic horses, hoof issues are the second leading cause of death. Colic is first, but hoof problems are gaining on colic to become the first. For some horses, you can pull their shoes and they are off and running barefoot right after you trim them. In fact, that's usually the case. Because the trim isn't a farrier pasture trim, it's a trim that emulates the wild horse hoof and how it functions, not the domestic horse's typical foot. But if a horse has been getting trimmed incorrectly, has been neglected or has been in shoes for a long time, it may take some time to bring that horse back to sound hooves again. Often there will be abscesses harbored up inside the hoof that will expose themselves and cause pain when the hoof begins to function normally again. Abscess are often misdiagnosed as founder. So I've heard vets say natural trims cause founder, or cause abscesses. Still All those issues pass and the horse heals and is once again sound in barefeet, just like it was as a youngster, before we started putting shoes on it. When I get the opportunity, which is rare these days, I ride my horses barefoot and they walk as if they have shoes on. So it can be done. It's good for them. It's the healthiest way they can live. But for those horses who just can't quite become riding horses barefoot, there are many types of boots on the market (none that are perfect - yet) that can help keep the horses out of shoes. I like using boots because with boots we can take them off at the end of the day, unlike shoes that the horse has to wear even during his time off, which realistically for most horses is most of the time. I sure wouldn't like sleeping in my boots. Well, this is sure a long answer to a short question, but if you have any other questions, feel free to email again or call. I'm happy to help.

Pat

Foundered Hooves in Boots

This is how Cricket moves over rocks in her boots. Without boots, she will tip her weight back onto her already tender hind hooves and walk as if she is walking over a bed of nails. The boots get horses moving and using their lateral cartiledges (navicular area) of the hoof. The boots incorporate frog pressue into the pads which is necessary to bring the frog back into function if it has atrophied. These are the Soft Ride Comfort boots. Measure carefully for the boots. The size 6 tends to run small while there is a big difference between the 5 and the 6. Five is larger than six, but quite a bit.

When I was trying to film her walking, Cricket was pretty sure I was hiding some treats some where on my body so she was sure she was going to have to flip me upside and shake them out of my pockets. She's had her teeth floated by Equine Performance Dentistry so her mouth is feeling better and she's not dropping as much grain. She's still getting used to chewing a new way. I'll try to get a better video to upload soon. Promises promises, I know.