FILLING IN SOME OF THE GAPS

There is probably as much information published about horses as there are tax laws, and like tax laws, some of it can be extremely misleading. Especially for the people who need the information the most. Since I have been asked to start this monthly column, I would like to make the first article a "how to" piece. This article is about how to read, understand, and use the information that you read about horses. More specifically, about horses feet and shoeing.

First off, it should be understood that shoeing is probably more art than science. This means that we still don't know everything there is to know about the farriery craft. It also means that the skill of the individual craftsman, (or artisan if you prefer), will vary from one practitioner to the next.

Unfortunately, no one has ever had a horse tell them what would be the most comfortable shoe, or what angle will give the highest level of performance. Until such time as horses speak up, farriers, are left with the responsibility of determining what will work based on personal experience and study. Imagine the responsibility that is placed on the shoer. The horse has to live with what was done to the hooves without any relief. At the end of a long day, your favorite gelding doesn't kick off his shoes and put his feet up. No. He must stand on them through the night and again the next day. If the shoeing was done by someone who is ignorant of the craft, your favorite gelding may end up lame. It is a huge responsibility, and not one to be taken lightly. Writing about a subject of this nature is also a huge responsibility. Misinformation abounds in this, the information age. Look very closely at the credentials and experience held by the author of any text dealing with horses.

The world is a big place, and has a lot of different climates. When reading a work dealing with shoeing, it is important that you are aware of exactly what conditions the author is referring to. Horses that live in the New Mexico mountains develop a totally different hoof than those that live in the Everglades. With this being the case, you must digest the article with location being accounted for in your analysis of the article content. Doing this will allow the reader to better understand why something worked in Florida that may not work on your horse who lives in an arid climate. This point is extremely important. Moisture content for the average hoof-wall is 25%. The percentage will vary according to the environment, and the more it varies, the more the hoof will react unusually to different farrier procedures. The drier a hoof, the less pliable. A dry hoof will be hard and brittle, with less tensile strength. Perfect for the desert environment. An extraordinarily wet hoof will have less hardness, but more tensile strength. God knew what he was doing, because this type of hoof is well suited to a soft, moist ground.

Another factor to consider is the types of horses that the writer of the article has experience with. If I were to read an article about shoeing roping horses that was written by an English farrier who only shoes Irish Draft - Thoroughbred cross hunting horses, I would have to carefully consider what I was reading. Not that there couldn't be some excellent points raised by the English farrier, however, chances are that the article would have been much more informative if written about hunting horses.

Something else to consider is the fact that farriers are learning more about being better farriers every day. Myths and wives tales are very prevalent in the horse industry as a whole. There is actually a lot of what my Grandfather knew as the truth about horses that has been proved false with modem technology. In the farrier industry, a popular myth concerns what happens when a horse gravels. It used to be taught that a rock works its way into the hoof between the wall and the coffin bone. This rock will then work its way up the inside of the hoof wall, through the laminae that holds the wall to the coffin bone, and exit at the top of the hoof wall through the coronary band. This does not happen. What really happens is that the hoof has bacteria introduced into the sensitive structures which cause an infection, which in turn will cause an abscess. The bacteria reproduce, giving off a gas that causes pressure. Pressure leads to movement as the bacteria cut a route through the area of least resistance. This generally leads to the laminae between the hoof wall and coffin bone. As the abscess continues to expand, the bacteria gets closer to the coronary band. Eventually the abscess will break out at the coronary region through the periople, which is the structure that connects the hoof wall to the skin. Horses that are suffering with an abscess will be extremely lame. The pain in the hoof is similar to the feeling we get immediately after smashing a fingernail with a hammer. Pressure on the sensitive structures is constant since the hoof capsule does not give. You will think that the horse has a broken leg or something dreadfully wrong, however abscesses can usually be fixed with horses rarely having any permanent damage from them.

I'll never forget the first time someone showed me the gravel that had broken out at the top of the hoof. He said, "See that gravel coming out'n the top of that foot?" I looked down at the horses hoof half covered by the sand on the ground of the round pen, and said, "Yep", and smiled to myself, wanting only to avoid the argument.