| Business Advertising Links Contact Us | ||||||
|
||||||
Seasonal Changes To HoovesThe Seasons Greetings. Changes in the season present new challenges to your hoof care program. Your adjustments depend on a number of factors relating to the weather, your horse's hoof and overall physical conditioning, the availability of adequate feed sources, in addition to your plans in the upcoming months. First and foremost, the seasonal changes do not mean your hoof care program can be put on hold or forgotten until the return of warmer weather. It is possible that during the cooler weather your horse's hooves will grow at a slower rate than during the spring and summer months; but grow they will. You may be able to adjust your trimming schedule to reflect this change. The important thing to remember is that it is imperative to maintain a coherent hoof care program all year round. Trimming a horse for the winter involves little change to your normal trim. If the horse has been wearing shoes and is going to go barefoot you might wish to leave the hoof a fraction longer than normal in order to provide a bit more protection while its feet become accustomed to this new setup. At the next trim, you should be able to go back to your normal settings with no ill effects. When trimming a hoof that is going to be shod it is imperative that both the horseshoe and the hoof surface be perfectly flat. This results in the edge of the hoof being sharp and not rounded as is found on a naturally barefoot horse. When switching from shod to barefoot, be sure and round these edges in order to reduce the incidences of chipping and breaking off of the hoof wall. This is another example of why it is so important to know exactly how your horse's feet are trimmed. Hoof lengths and angles are not something you look up in a textbook and arbitrarily decide that certain numbers fit your horse. Rather they are the results of you and your farrier determining what works best for your horse. Once you establish this, then with a few simple measurements, you will know how you want your horse's feet to measure after they have been trimmed. If your farrier does not use a tape measure or a hoof gauge then ask him or her how you, not the farrier, but you, can be sure your horse is trimmed the same way every time. Things change. People move, retire or are injured. If this happens to your regular hoof care provider, how will you explain to someone else how you want your horse trimmed? How the winter season affects your hoof care program depends a lot upon how much of a change you experience. In areas where the major seasonal difference consists of slightly lower temperatures with a significant increase in moisture levels in the form of rain, a major concern should be that the horse has a dry place to stand. Just as your feet show the effects of standing in water for a lengthy period of time, your horse's hooves will show deterioration if kept in an overly moist environment. The best solution is a dry surface where the horse can go to dry out its feet. A simple test to demonstrate the effects of the wetter environment on a horse's hoof is to press on the sole with your thumbs during the dry season and compare it to the same pressure after the horse has been standing in water for a while. Normally, the sole surface of a horse is very firm. This is a good thing because the sole is all that stands between the sensitive parts of the hoof and the ground surface. During the wet season you will be able to see how much more "give" there is to the sole. This may translate into more sensitivity on the part of your horse when traveling over hard or rocky surfaces. A little extra caution on your part may prevent a stone bruise from interfering with your winter riding. Attempting to prevent moisture from affecting a hoof by brushing or painting a substance onto the hoof surface may not be the best solution. An example of what happens when a substance interferes with the hoof's natural condition can be seen in show horses when their hooves are painted to improver their appearance. In cases where the hoof paint is not removed in a timely manner, but rather left on for extended periods without giving the hoof a chance to recover, the deterioration of the hoof wall manifests itself with a noticeably weakened, abnormally dry and flaky hoof wall. A tip for the horse buyer. Never buy a horse with painted feet until you have the opportunity to examine its feet without the paint. If for whatever reason the owner won't remove the paint, at the very least have your farrier check out the horse before you sign the contract. There are any number of legitimate products available that are used to fill in hoof cracks, rebuild hoof wall and provide support to an otherwise weak hoof. A coat of paint renders them invisible. Anyone buying a horse should be aware if they are being used, as it may indicate a problem that will influence your decision to purchase a horse with known hoof problems. In areas with much colder temperatures where frozen ground, ice and snow are the normal winter conditions, there are additional concerns for the horse owner. Ice on a walking or riding surface presents a different set of challenges to the horse owner. Ice, by its very nature, presents a slippery surface often leading to muscle strains caused by slips and/or serious injury to the horse and rider should they fall. There are a number of traction devices available and not all of them require nail-on shoes. Some slip-on shoes/boots have the option of attaching traction studs/calks that can be applied as necessary and then removed once they are no longer needed. They are a nice alternative if they fit your personal needs and desires. Frost/ice nails are another way to attain traction for your horse if you will be traveling on icy surfaces. One of their main advantages over a borium fitted shoe is that they do not require the use of a welding torch or a forge for application. When properly applied to a horseshoe, Borium provides a virtual non-slip environment for the horse. It is available in assorted variations for use with both traditional nail-on horseshoes as well as with the numerous alternative hoof protection products. A few words of caution you may wish to consider before attaching any device to your horse's feet. If your horse has a tendency to kick or step on other horses, itself (or you!), adding any of these devices will only increase the severity of an injury. Additionally, traction devices have a tendency to restrict the natural movement of a hoof in a turn. Therefore, slow gentle turns, especially on hard unyielding surfaces, are necessary to avoid stress injuries caused by this loss of unrestricted motion. "Snowballs" building up on the bottom of a horse's feet are both painful and dangerous to horse and rider. Aside from the obvious difficulties for a horse trying to maintain its balance, the constant rolling motion puts additional stress on the related joints. There are a number of snowball pads on the market, offering both partial and full coverage of the hoof. Everything from cooking spray to Vaseline to pieces of split garden hose has been tried and has their proponents. One thing to remember about any full pad is that it does not allow the bottom of the hoof to come into contact with the ground thereby interfering with a natural process. Pads are used throughout the year for a variety of reasons with little or no adverse effect on the hoof structure. However, extra care should be given to any horse that wears full pads in order to prevent serious deterioration of the hoof structures. Proper hoof packing between the pad and sole along with maintaining a regular hoof care program will allow the pad to perform its intended function and still ensure a safe and healthy hoof. As with most horse situations, the best source of information in coping with the different weather conditions and the problems created by unfamiliar conditions are from people in the area who have had the experience of dealing with them. Horse people seem to have an affinity for helping those who take the time to ask for advice. It makes for a nice community of people sharing a common goal of happy, healthy horses. Winter weather and the accompanying rain, mud, snow and ice do not make it easy for the horse owner. Yet, by providing your horse with a place to dry out its feet and through the judicial use of available hoof care products and utilizing your own good judgment, it is possible to enjoy riding your horse all year round. Buz Riley - 2004 © Back To Buz Riley's Articles Home Page |
||||||
2002 - 2004 (C) All Rights Reserved |
||||||