"No hoof, no horse" Everything you need to know about the equine hoof!

If you don't know about horse hooves, you need to! They are the most important part of the horses body to ensure proper health. Horses are big, and their feet are what allows them to hold the vast amount of weight they do! So its important to make sure they have healthy feet! Starting with the basic trimming.

Horses need their feet trimmed regularly in order to ensure comfortable footing! This will typically cost you $25-$200 USA and needs to be done every four to six weeks. You can find farriers through a simple google search. You will contact them to arrange a date, time and price, making sure its clear whether you need a barefoot trim, new shoes, or maybe just a hoof assessment (your horse might have an issue you need advice on). The farrier will come bearing all needed supplies. If you have a horse who is sensitive or aggresive picking up feet, you can arrange a day for the vet to come and have the horse drugged for the trim, or you can purchase a mild sedation paste at your local feed store. It is important that when the farrier arrives you have the horse ready for the trim. Its not your farriers job to walk through fields and catch your horse for you. Lots of farriers will leave if the owner is not on site and the horse is not ready. It is also important to be mindful and alert when communicating. Your farrier needs to know if the date needs to be moved and when it needs to be moved to.

PARTS OF THE HOOF:

The hoof has many different parts to it but the basic parts are, the frog, the wall, and the soul. Lots of people believe that the frog is super sensitive. Though that is actually one of the biggest myths in the horse world. The truth is, the frog is the only part of the hoof with feeling. The frog is what holds the horses entire weight, why would it be sensitive? It bears rocks, burrs, sand, so really, why would it be sensitive?! If your horse has a hoof sensitive to touch, i would recommend asking your farrier what the problem could be, as it could be thrush, or possibly something more serious.

WHAT IS FOUNDER/LAMINITUS?

Lots of people don't know about founder also knows as laminitis, one of the worst things that could ever happen to your horse. Founder is caused by too many sugars from either grass or hay. The tissue in the hoof which connects the bone to the hoof wall will get inflamed causing severe pain and discomforts. Some early signs of founder in your horse would be: a pulse in the hoof, hesitation when leading, hunched back, heat in hoof etc. Founder can be much more serious than you might think so it is important to treat it immediately as it can cause permanent damage and can lead to a painful death. The famous Secretariat died a slow painful death due to laminitis/founder in his hooves.

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