A Basic Tool Kit

Every horse should have a tool kit with its name on it. That, and the name and phone numbers of the vet and farrier responsible for helping the horse owner maintain the health and well-being of the horse.

Some tools work for both barefoot and shod horses, while others may be specific to the shod horse only. No one should ever attempt to work around a horse's feet unless they are comfortable about doing so. However, it goes without saying that every horse should be trained to stand still while its feet are being work on.

The most basic hoof care tool is the hoof pick. It is a requirement for every horse, barefoot or shod. This simple tool should not be confused with a screwdriver, large nail, claw hammer, pocket knife or the pointed end of a fencing tool. Anytime you hold a horse's hoof off the ground, the chance for injury to you and/or the horse increases dramatically. Nobody has to do anything foolish or unthinking; all it takes is for the unexpected to occur and the screwdriver you are using to pry loose a stone wedged in a hoof is now stuck in your hand causing you a great deal of pain ... and the horse's stone problem has not gone away either.

Hoof picks are going to be a fact of your life for as long as you are responsible for the care of a horse. They come in various shapes, sizes and configurations. You want to find one that is very strong and will hold up under a variety of conditions. This is the first tool you are going to reach for every time you go to ride, check out your horse or finish a ride. It is used to clean mud, rocks, bedding and muck from the bottom of the hoof. It is your first line of defense against thrush and other debilitating hoof problems. Since it is used to clean out the hoof, it will most likely be the locator of a nail, piece of wire or wood sliver that is causing your horse to come up lame. Therefore, one should always approach cleaning any muddy or dirt/manure encrusted hoof with caution. You never know what you are going to find in there and roughly dragging a hoof pick up against a nail stuck sideways in the frog is pretty much guaranteed to garner a quick and violent reaction from your best buddy as the nail grates against his coffin bone.

If you want one that will last a lifetime and never break, ask your farrier if he or she will make you one out of an old horseshoe. You get two per shoe, custom made for the fit of your hand and they will outlast anything with a plastic handle and a thin pick on the end.

Some people can clean their horse's hooves every once in a while, sometimes if the weather is nice, if the ground was rocky, or maybe never and their horse never has any problems. If you feel this lucky, then I'd suggest buying a lottery ticket and using part of the winnings to pay someone to check your horse's feet for you. Horses need to have their feet cleaned and checked for foreign matter because they cannot do it themselves. Okay, what about the wild horses? Well, their medical plan is as simple as it is unforgiving. If they get injured, they either get better with no outside help or they don't survive. A little time spent at the beginning of a ride, lesson or visit, can help discover little problems before they become expensive, time-consuming, long-term survival situations.

Using a hoof pick on a daily basis is usually one of the first things mentioned whenever anyone gets their first horse and it is also the first thing forgotten or put aside in the complicated matter of everyday horse care. It really is this important and is probably the cheapest preventative measure available.

A stiff nylon brush for cleaning the sole will let you examine the sole for bruising and cracks. A softer brush can be used to clean the area around the coronary band so that, too, can be checked for foreign objects like cactus or porcupine quills as well as making it easier to check for any limb to limb interference.

Having a soft, absorbent, clean white cloth available is handy for drying off wet feet before picking them up to clean, as a wet leg can be slippery, and slippery is not what you want when holding a horse's leg in your hand or lap. It also comes in handy when trying to locate the source of a drop or two of blood around the coronet or anywhere else for that matter. A lot of lameness cases are the result of small punctures or trauma to the soft tissue just above the hoof wall and being able to locate the exact location is imperative to determining the exact cause of a problem.

Frequently, when a horse interferes, the resulting injury is to the soft tissue areas around the bulbs and/or coronet. Therefore, a way to trim the hair, comes in handy in these situations when the farrier is trying to pinpoint the exact location of the interference, to say nothing of making it easier to treat any injury.

Now, all of these items are very simple to come by and take up very little room in your tack box and if you wish to leave the rest of your horse's hands-on hoof care to someone else, then that is perfectly all right. All your horse can ask is for you to provide the day-to-day hoof care and schedule professional hoof care on a regular basis.

However, if you want to take your knowledge and ability to the next level, then you may wish to consider asking your farrier to help you reach this goal by showing you how to use a rasp to round off any sharp edges that can occur when a barefoot horse takes a major chip out of its hoof. This can happen stepping in or out of a stall, while loading or unloading from a trailer or simply stepping on a rock the wrong way. You're not trying to learn how to trim the hoof, although I always encourage horse owners to take their curiosity and desire for knowledge as far as their interest carries them, but with a chipped hoof, all you want to do is reduce the chance of further damage until your farrier arrives.

The principle is the same for the horse that pulls a shoe. Of course, having a slip-on boot would come in handy with either a barefoot or shod horse in this situation.

Any horse that wears horseshoes is at risk for twisting, wrenching, bending or pulling a shoe loose or off. In the case of a shoe coming completely off, the owner's first concern is to be sure none of the nails punctured any part of the horse's hoof or leg. Sometimes shoes pull off cleanly while other times a great deal of hoof wall may be torn off. A barefoot horse's hoof should be rounded off when it is trimmed in order to mimic a natural shape as well as to prevent chipping that would result if the hoof was left with sharp edges.

A hoof that is going to be shod, on the other hand, should be flat and level without rounding the edges as the fit between hoof and shoe require a matching fit for a variety of reasons. Thus, when a shoe is lost, these edges should be rounded in order to prevent further damage to the hoof. Again, ask your farrier if this is something they would be willing to help you learn.

There are a variety of rasps available on the market and your farrier should be able to help you pick one out. If all you are going to do is keep one on hand for emergencies, then they may have a used one that would suit your purpose. A new rasp is very sharp and sometimes it is easier for someone just beginning to learn to use a rasp, to start with a rasp that has seen some wear. The horse owner with one or two horses who uses it only for the occasional chipped hoof, may only ever need to own one rasp . ever.

They main thing to remember is to get the training before laying rasp to hoof. It is not all that difficult, but it is not something you want to learn by the trial and error method.

If your horse wears shoes, then you really should know how to remove a loose or partially stepped off shoe. Leaving a loose shoe on is not a good thing. You have to remember that most shoes are nailed on and if the shoe does not fly off the hoof in one magical movement, then there is the possibility that the horse's hoof will come back down on the upturned nails leaving you with puncture wounds to deal with. Here again, you really need to have your farrier walk you through the steps necessary in removing a shoe. The following link is to a website that discusses how to remove a horseshoe. It's pretty interesting.

http://horsecare.stablemade.com/articles2/shoe_off.htm

If you think this is something you wish to learn, then I wholeheartedly recommend you get together with your farrier and I think you will see that it is not as daunting a proposition as it may first appear.

There are only a couple of tools needed to remove a shoe. An old rasp to rasp off the clinches and a pair of pull-offs to remove the shoe. The rasp can be old because you are going to use it to file off the clinches to make removing the shoe easier and this is going to dull it faster than if it were only used to rasp the hoof. Pull-offs come in various lengths and price ranges. Ask your farrier to help you choose the least expensive tool that is available to do the job. His or her tools are their livelihood and are therefore the best they can afford while a less expensive tool may be suitable for occasional use.

There is one other tool that makes pulling a shoe a whole lot easier. That is the Crease Nail-puller. This is one tool I would not scrimp on as it has only one purpose and it needs to do it well. It is used to pull the nails one nail at a time. This is very important in a case where the horse has injured its foot and any twisting or levering of the shoe will cause pain to the horse. Ask your farrier to demonstrate this tool as part of your learning how to remove a shoe.

Along with the first-aid kit for your horse, which your vet should be able to help you stock, you might wish to keep a roll of duct tape, vet wrap, a piece of cardboard along with cotton and gauze pads that could be used to protect an injured hoof from dirt and debris until your farrier arrives.

Horse's feet are amazing pieces of natural development that require a certain amount of attention to remain in good standing. Working together, the horse owner and farrier strive to achieve a balanced hoof care program with the main purpose being a safe, sound, happy horse. A few simple tools and attention to detail will go a long way to achieving this goal.

Buz Riley - 2004©

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