Summer is here, which not only means less computer time, but also, typically drier conditions for us here in the desert country. This year is a little cooler and looks like thundershowers will be more normal. (like today). But hooves dry out and can become abnormally hard. So I thought I’d touch on my opinion of helping the hooves (and the farrier!)
Textbook figures on the moisture content of the hoof structures to be the sole should be 33%; the hoof wall at 25%; and the frog’s moisture content should be around 50%. So what does that mean? Simply the moisture content is important and normal to these structures. So it is not natural when the frog is as hard as the back of my head! On the other hand it is not normal these structures are way too soft.
I am all for overflowing the water tough to make a mud hole (or if you have a fancy watering system get a hose and create a mud spot in a location where the horse has to go). Otherwise, use hoof dressings. Pick a hoof dressing with pine tar. If the product is something that you want on your hands as a lotion I’d keep it in the house and get the stuff you want to wash off your hands! I think it is best to use hoof dressings before the hoof becomes dry. Otherwise it needs to be applied 5-6 times /week until it begins to work and then decrease the times/week accordingly. If your horse has super dry and hard feet and your farrier is scheduled to come take some time (minimum one hour) to hold your horse in a wet spot. This can temporarily soften the hooves to make them manageable for the farrier thus allowing for a better, more precise trim.
If your horse’s hooves seem to be at a good moisture content and you are approaching a dry season or even a wet season, there are hoof sealants out on the market to hold the existing moisture in and not allow excess moisture to be soaked in. But as the conditions persist you need to keep applying the product, and be aware when other measures need to be taken.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Australia Farrier Fun
Got back from a 3-week wonderful trip to Australia in April. Absolutely had a blast; and two-thirds of the time was around a horse or horse event of one sort or the other. And, of course, when you are in the countryside of any country and there are any amounts of horses you will probably run into a horseshoer. I mean we are like a weed, springing up all over the place.
One of the encounters centered around a Stockman Challenge where one horse and rider participated in a cow challenge, whip cracking contest, a bareback obstacle course, packing event, cross country jump course, AND you guessed it, a judged shoeing segment. Of course, like most everything in Australia it is the same,….but different. Most everyone was using toe clipped shoes both front (same) and back (different, at least to me). I think since most of the horses have soft feet from humid conditions, etc clips helped and no one competing used a forge, thus the toe clip gives the added hold yet was easier to apply compared to side clips, especially without a forge. However, the gentlemen judging the event gave a hot shoeing demonstration after the competition and fielded questions. I so enjoyed watching and learning.
At a ranch roping clinic my husband and a friend from Colorado gave while over there, I met even a few more shoers. One participant, Dick, had an interesting theory and method for shoeing horses with flares. After visiting with him about it a couple of times I think I pictured what he was saying. I decided one of my own horses with bad flaring toes producing a low angle hoof syndrome would be a good candidate to try Dick’s method. Basically it is “shoeing to” the white line and not removing (dressing) the top hoof wall. He assured me it will appear ragged looking, but by not removing the outside wall he said you won’t be destroying the matrix of the hoof thus keeping it strong and able it to begin to grow back in line with the white line where the shoe support and breakover is occurring. Well, something like that. Anyway, I am not going to fire myself, and I will still keep to sound principles in order to keep my horse from going lame; and I’ll just see if this method will help. That is if I understood him.
Oh well, I may just need to go back to Australia for more pointers. I also trimmed two horses while over there. Does all this mean I can write-off the trip on my taxes?!?
One of the encounters centered around a Stockman Challenge where one horse and rider participated in a cow challenge, whip cracking contest, a bareback obstacle course, packing event, cross country jump course, AND you guessed it, a judged shoeing segment. Of course, like most everything in Australia it is the same,….but different. Most everyone was using toe clipped shoes both front (same) and back (different, at least to me). I think since most of the horses have soft feet from humid conditions, etc clips helped and no one competing used a forge, thus the toe clip gives the added hold yet was easier to apply compared to side clips, especially without a forge. However, the gentlemen judging the event gave a hot shoeing demonstration after the competition and fielded questions. I so enjoyed watching and learning.
At a ranch roping clinic my husband and a friend from Colorado gave while over there, I met even a few more shoers. One participant, Dick, had an interesting theory and method for shoeing horses with flares. After visiting with him about it a couple of times I think I pictured what he was saying. I decided one of my own horses with bad flaring toes producing a low angle hoof syndrome would be a good candidate to try Dick’s method. Basically it is “shoeing to” the white line and not removing (dressing) the top hoof wall. He assured me it will appear ragged looking, but by not removing the outside wall he said you won’t be destroying the matrix of the hoof thus keeping it strong and able it to begin to grow back in line with the white line where the shoe support and breakover is occurring. Well, something like that. Anyway, I am not going to fire myself, and I will still keep to sound principles in order to keep my horse from going lame; and I’ll just see if this method will help. That is if I understood him.
Oh well, I may just need to go back to Australia for more pointers. I also trimmed two horses while over there. Does all this mean I can write-off the trip on my taxes?!?
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Hoof Size
Last year I did a blog entry about shoe size, but I am beginning to form an opinion that there seems to be a misconception that the farrier is the sole (no pun intended) instigator in creating a small hoof or for that matter a large hoof. Hello!?!, though many shoers may act like pre-Madonna’s, we would hope none presume we are gods nor should the horse owner or vets. I truly believe that each horse has the size foot it was created to have.(period) Sure it can be left long and appear large and it can be trimmed short and appear small. But in either case the genetics, the coffin bone, and the hoof wall determine the size for that horse.
How can people “tell” a shoer to create a larger hoof? The hoof capsule and its structures define the true size. Again, a person can avoid trimming the horny structures and the foot may appear bigger and hold a larger shoe, but the hoof itself is not the size it is suppose to be. And on the other hand the same thing rings true. A person can trim a hoof to accept a smaller shoe, but the horse’s hoof is still not “made” smaller. So realize making the foot appear too large or too small may cause problems: weak walls, stumbling, contracted heels, thrush, etc.
You can put a shoe on your own foot that is too small so to appear like you have cute little feet, and you can put on a large shoe to have a foot that appears big and not only would you look like a clown, but if you were serious in your efforts to have a bigger foot you would be acting like one. I once again get tired of the farrier “taking” blame (or credit) for supposedly changing the hoof size.
How can people “tell” a shoer to create a larger hoof? The hoof capsule and its structures define the true size. Again, a person can avoid trimming the horny structures and the foot may appear bigger and hold a larger shoe, but the hoof itself is not the size it is suppose to be. And on the other hand the same thing rings true. A person can trim a hoof to accept a smaller shoe, but the horse’s hoof is still not “made” smaller. So realize making the foot appear too large or too small may cause problems: weak walls, stumbling, contracted heels, thrush, etc.
You can put a shoe on your own foot that is too small so to appear like you have cute little feet, and you can put on a large shoe to have a foot that appears big and not only would you look like a clown, but if you were serious in your efforts to have a bigger foot you would be acting like one. I once again get tired of the farrier “taking” blame (or credit) for supposedly changing the hoof size.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Tribute to Brady
I’ve lost a client this last week…oh, I am still shoeing horses for the family, but not but not for young Brady who lived her short life around animals with a special love and a definite connection with horses. God will probably use her talent and insight of understanding the balance and function of horses to prepare His great white stallion for His return in the last days.
Brady loved team sorting and was beginning to enter the cutting world on her new horse, Rowdy, but mainly loved riding. She lived with Cystic Fibrosis, with emphasis on Lived. Her parents guided her through her 13 years allowing her to fight her fight to do what she loved between treatments and doctors.
I especially saw her gift to distinguish hoof angles and balance. I loved how she would instruct ME (with over 30 years shoeing horses!) when trimming her pony, Houdini (Hoo)….and she was clearly right in her observations on what needed to be done! A few times I would bring my granddaughter and as I shod horses with Brady’s mom, Brady gave a riding lesson on Hoo to the 6 year old. Patience, knowledge, and communication skills were second nature to Brady.
Stories were shared at her memorial service that would make you think we were talking about an adult, professional horsewoman. I really don’t know if the horse world was going to be ready for this young horsewoman. But I sorely wish we would’ve found out.
Brady died February 15, 2010.
Brady loved team sorting and was beginning to enter the cutting world on her new horse, Rowdy, but mainly loved riding. She lived with Cystic Fibrosis, with emphasis on Lived. Her parents guided her through her 13 years allowing her to fight her fight to do what she loved between treatments and doctors.
I especially saw her gift to distinguish hoof angles and balance. I loved how she would instruct ME (with over 30 years shoeing horses!) when trimming her pony, Houdini (Hoo)….and she was clearly right in her observations on what needed to be done! A few times I would bring my granddaughter and as I shod horses with Brady’s mom, Brady gave a riding lesson on Hoo to the 6 year old. Patience, knowledge, and communication skills were second nature to Brady.
Stories were shared at her memorial service that would make you think we were talking about an adult, professional horsewoman. I really don’t know if the horse world was going to be ready for this young horsewoman. But I sorely wish we would’ve found out.
Brady died February 15, 2010.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Becoming an Expert
I read a little article in a horse paper about running a horse related business. It gave a few tips to be successful amongst your competitors. Though it wasn’t about horseshoeing, business is business. One thing the article touched on was developing a field of expertise, like instead of just selling horses, sell quarter horses, and then not just quarter horses, but ranch raised, or yearlings that have been well started on their ground manners, etc. Something where you will stand out and offer a unique type of sale to your customers.
So I have been contemplating how this concept could be applied to my farrier practice. There are many diverse areas in this profession in which you could become an expert. Like doing just Draft horses, or gaited horses, or Reining or Dressage horses. And maybe when I was just starting out I should have centered on one discipline or breed, but I’ve had fun doing the whole gamut: Dude strings, Yellowstone Stagecoach pulling horses, barrel racers, Arabians, Paso Finos, Warmbloods, cutting horses, endurance horses, foals, navicular, laminitic, etc You get the picture. I suppose I feel I have a good handle on how to help horses with laminitis, cracked walls, and horses in the western disciplines. But to say I am an expert…well I doubt it.
I think I will keep striving to be an expert in customer relations and in providing a service second to none. And learn to be an expert in applying what I know for the well-being of the horse and learning what I don’t know that would be relevant to a particular case.
Though I fully understand and agree with what the author of the article was saying, I just need to figure out how I can apply the advise to where I’m at in my business. For now I will keep with the above goal and see how things pan out and if I should center on one aspect in the near future. But then again, often times the so-called Experts in other lines of work (weather forecasters, financial advisors, earthquakes predictors, etc) can be wrong!
So I have been contemplating how this concept could be applied to my farrier practice. There are many diverse areas in this profession in which you could become an expert. Like doing just Draft horses, or gaited horses, or Reining or Dressage horses. And maybe when I was just starting out I should have centered on one discipline or breed, but I’ve had fun doing the whole gamut: Dude strings, Yellowstone Stagecoach pulling horses, barrel racers, Arabians, Paso Finos, Warmbloods, cutting horses, endurance horses, foals, navicular, laminitic, etc You get the picture. I suppose I feel I have a good handle on how to help horses with laminitis, cracked walls, and horses in the western disciplines. But to say I am an expert…well I doubt it.
I think I will keep striving to be an expert in customer relations and in providing a service second to none. And learn to be an expert in applying what I know for the well-being of the horse and learning what I don’t know that would be relevant to a particular case.
Though I fully understand and agree with what the author of the article was saying, I just need to figure out how I can apply the advise to where I’m at in my business. For now I will keep with the above goal and see how things pan out and if I should center on one aspect in the near future. But then again, often times the so-called Experts in other lines of work (weather forecasters, financial advisors, earthquakes predictors, etc) can be wrong!
Anniversary Blog
It’s been one year since I started this blog. It has been a good place to document my thoughts, stories, and theories enveloping my wonderful trade and life of horseshoeing. I really didn’t know if people interested in the farrier trade would or could easily “find” my blog and I am thinking all these entries just are out in cyberspace tangent to nothing, but my own fancy. But ya never know until ya try.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
New Year thoughts on an old occupation
Horseshoeing with iron shoes and nails dates back to the year 500 and before that plant parts and animal skins may have been used to protect the horse's feet. My point is that farriers have been providing hoof care for centuries; before x-rays, radiographs, ultrasound, shock wave, and other modern technology available today to diagnose and treat lameness. True we have been able to help horses return to soundness with these techniques, but what is fluff and what really is the key to sound horses and how do farriers play a part. Historians record that Nero had his horse shod with silver and his wife’s with gold. I am sure his horses were sound, but I highly doubt it was because of the special shoes.
So much rides on the hoof, that at times I feel many things are blamed on the condition of the hoof. Horse owners and veterinarians are quick with trimming or shoeing technique suggestions. But do they really factor in age, diet, breed, use, stalling conditions, bone structure, confirmation, etc? As a farrier, I love the advancements of the industry and the science involved to improve the condition of the horse through hoof management. However, I find that when a horse is “off” and no one has any real idea then “it must be the toe is too long”, “the horse has been trimmed too short”, “the shoe is too long”, “the shoe is resting on the sole”, “the sole at the wall needs to be part of the support”, “the angle is too steep”, “the angle is too low”, “if we give him heel support”, “pad the shoe”, “go barefoot”, ….you get my point. Sometimes even when the problem is found to be in the hock or the knee, etc it still gets blamed on the condition of the hoof. Because the applications of various shoeing/trimming techniques often help, it seems when in doubt blame the farrier.
When in reality a balanced foot, properly prepared for the activity of the horse remains the bona fide job of the farrier. Of course, knowledge of the numerous modern ways and means of acquiring this in a lame horse does help to perfect a balanced hoof. But all knowledge is not of equal value, some things are just interesting to know, but anything you learn needs to be applied wisely to be of value. So my question is, what else is going? Why does the unknown always get directed to the foot?
I love my job, it has become advanced, yet, as evident as the soundness of horses have been through the centuries before modern science, it really shouldn’t be complicated. I believe even when using these advances it still all comes down to trimming the horse to be balanced in stance, as well as, in motion.
So much rides on the hoof, that at times I feel many things are blamed on the condition of the hoof. Horse owners and veterinarians are quick with trimming or shoeing technique suggestions. But do they really factor in age, diet, breed, use, stalling conditions, bone structure, confirmation, etc? As a farrier, I love the advancements of the industry and the science involved to improve the condition of the horse through hoof management. However, I find that when a horse is “off” and no one has any real idea then “it must be the toe is too long”, “the horse has been trimmed too short”, “the shoe is too long”, “the shoe is resting on the sole”, “the sole at the wall needs to be part of the support”, “the angle is too steep”, “the angle is too low”, “if we give him heel support”, “pad the shoe”, “go barefoot”, ….you get my point. Sometimes even when the problem is found to be in the hock or the knee, etc it still gets blamed on the condition of the hoof. Because the applications of various shoeing/trimming techniques often help, it seems when in doubt blame the farrier.
When in reality a balanced foot, properly prepared for the activity of the horse remains the bona fide job of the farrier. Of course, knowledge of the numerous modern ways and means of acquiring this in a lame horse does help to perfect a balanced hoof. But all knowledge is not of equal value, some things are just interesting to know, but anything you learn needs to be applied wisely to be of value. So my question is, what else is going? Why does the unknown always get directed to the foot?
I love my job, it has become advanced, yet, as evident as the soundness of horses have been through the centuries before modern science, it really shouldn’t be complicated. I believe even when using these advances it still all comes down to trimming the horse to be balanced in stance, as well as, in motion.
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