Horse

Importance of Foot Care in Horses

January 19, 2022

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Importance of Foot Care in Horses

Priya¹, Vivek Sahu², Suvarana Bhoj¹

[1]PhD Scholar, Livestock Production and Management section, Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly-243001, INDIA 243122

²PhD Scholar, Department of Livestock Products and Technology, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Science University, Ludhiana-141004, Punjab, INDIA

*Corresponding Email: dhattarwalpriya@gmail.com

The value of a horse depends on his ability to perform work. To this end, four sound feet are indispensable. Hoof care is essential for good mobility and comfort of the horse. “No hoof, no horse” is a common expression as true today as it was 200 year ago. Oddly enough, foot troubles and the necessity for shoeing are largely manmade. The wild horse seems to have been practically free from serious foot trouble. But with domestication these troubles began to appear. The horse was brought from soft pasture to hard roads; from self-regulated exercise to enforced work; from healthy pasture to filthy housing where he was often made to stand in his own faeces and urine or in mud; and from a light, self-limiting maintenance ration to the heavy, artificial diet necessary for work. Even the basically sound horse frequently breaks down under the artificial environment and misguided “care” of man. The horse with a conformational defect is almost certain to break down under the conditions imposed by domestication.

BASIC ROUTINE HOOF CARE: – A qualified farrier needs to attend your horse to undertake trimming and if necessary, shoeing.

Farriers know more about the horse hoof and horse feet than any other qualified or unqualified individual and in the best interests of your horses’ health and wellbeing.

The important points in the care of a horse’s feet

Recognize the initial signs of laminitis so that treatment can be started as soon as possible.
Sharp stones, are uncomfortable for your horse and can cause severe bruising and lameness.
Stray objects such as nails and glass, may cause puncture wounds, which in turn can cause major infections and lameness.

It is thoroughly recommended that one check horses feet at least twice daily, and definitely before and after riding.

To keep them clean, prevent them from drying out, and trim them so they retain proper shape and length.
You should learn the names for the parts of a horse’s foot.
Each day, clean the feet of horses that are shod, stabled, or used. Use the hoof pick for cleaning. Work from the heel toward the toe. Be sure to clean out the depressions between frog and bars. While you are cleaning the feet, inspect for loose shoes and thrush. Thrush is a disease of the foot characterized by a pungent odor. It causes a softening of tissues in the cleft of the frog and bars. This disease produces lameness and, if not treated, can be serious.
Hooves occasionally become dry and brittle. Dry, brittle hooves may split and produce lameness. If the dryness is prolonged, the frog shrinks in size and the heel contracts. Dry hooves can be prevented by keeping the ground wet around watering tank.

READ MORE : Breeds of Equine

Hoof Trimming –

Column and preserve natural angulation of the hoof/pastern/shoulder axis.
Removal of too much hoof wall can cause soreness or lameness in your horse.
Removal of too little wall may cause angle and balance problems.
Trimming is done at 4 to 6 week intervals but can be extended depending on your horses hoof growth.
Balance, balance, and balance are the primary concerns and objectives when trimming and shoeing a horse. A balanced hoof and lower leg are the primary desired results of a properly trimmed horse.

One must realize that the following factors could affect hoof trimming schedule:-

AGE OF HORSES :- Younger horses tend to grow hoof faster than older horses.
CLIMATIC CONDITIONS

Trimming is carried out to remove excess hoof wall and this is removed to allow the horse a natural way of going.

Sometimes trimming may be done in a specialised fashion to alter the way of going.
Trimming may be done to change the appearance of the horse’s feet and legs.
Trimming should leave the foot’s ground surface on a single flat plane at right angles to its bone support Hooves grow slower in cold winter months.

NUTRITION  Horses that are borderline on intake of adequate nutrition will grow less hoof than horses receiving adequate to excess nutrition.
ENVIRONMENT  Although horse hooves generally grow at a constant rate while temperatures are above freezing, horses kept in soft pastures will appear to grow more hoof than horses kept in a rocky or harder terrain because of less natural wear
EXERCISE Well-fed and well exercised horses will tend to have healthier hooves than those that are kept in a stall with little or no exercise.

COMMON FAULTS CORRECTED BY TRIMMING

Splayfoot (front toes turned out, heels turned in) can be helped or corrected by trimming the outer half of the foot.
Pigeon Toe (front toes turned in, heels turned out opposite of splayfoot) can be helped or corrected by trimming the inner half of the foot more than the outer half.
Quarter Crack (a vertical crack on the side of the hoof) can be checked if hoof is kept moist and toes shortened.
Cocked Ankles (standing bent forward on the fetlocks-usually hind fetlocks) can be helped or corrected by lowering the heels. Cocked ankles will not occur if foals are allowed to get ample exercise and are not overfed, and the foal’s heels are kept trimmed so that there is plenty of frog pressure.
Contracted Heels (close at heels) can be spread apart if the heels are lowered and the frog allowed to carry more of the animal’s weight.

SHOEING CARE

REASONS OF SHOEING

There are several good reasons to shoe horses that will be ridden or driven recreationally or competitively. These reasons include:

Protection
Correction
Action
Traction
Therapeutic shoeing to reduce discomfort from underlying pathology of the hoof.

MATERIALS FOR SHOE MAKING

Horse shoes, which may be made of various materials including steel, aluminium or plastics, eliminate the contact of the hoof wall with the ground surface, thereby protecting the hoof wall from excess wear.

Horses that have developed unbalanced hooves through deferred hoof maintenance, or less than ideal conformation, can have the hooves reshaped to a certain degree, and then have shoes applied to protect the newly shaped hoof and at least partially correct problems related to poorly shaped hooves.

TYPE OF SHOEING ACCORDING TO USE & CATEGORY OF HORSES

Horses that should have high action at the trot and canter, such as American Saddlebreds and Morgans, tend to carry heavier shoes to accentuate the high-stepping action.
Horses like hunters and Thoroughbred race horses should travel much lower with a long, low sweeping stride that does not waste motion. Therefore, these horses typically wear thinner steel shoes or even aluminum shoes to reduce shoe weight and encourage a lower arc of flight of the hooves when traveling.
Horses that need to gain extra traction over potentially slippery or icy terrain may have various traction devices added to the shoes such as “calks” (spikes), swedges (creases in the shoes) or borium (a rough tungsten-based weld) applied to the shoe bottoms to gain a more secure foothold.
Therapeutic shoeing, such as the addition of a plastic or leather pad between the hoof and shoe, can protect sensitive easily-bruised soles.
Bar shoes that stabilize and reduce heel movement in horses with sore heels or navicular bone pain, can greatly reduce hoof discomfort in horses with less than perfect hoof soundness.

What a Well Shod Hoof Should Look Like

The well shod foot should allow the internal and external structures to expand on impact and therefore assist in lower limb circulation.
There should be no restrictions to movement caused by the fitting of shoes.
The angle of the hoof wall in relation to the floor should be at 45 degrees on the forelimbs and on the hind limb this should be 55 degrees, these measurements follow the angles of the coffin bone.
The coronet band should form and approximate 30 degree angle at the heel.
All the clenches should be at the same height and flush with the hoof wall.
The horse’s action and way of going must be taken into account when shoeing a horse.
An imaginary line drawn across the underside of the hoof should show symmetry.
An imaginary line if drawn directly down the centre of the hoof would show both halves the same.
There should be no flaring out of the hoof wall at the bottom.
There should be ample hoof to support the heels.
Provide the horse with the appropriate shoe for the chosen discipline to be undertaken.
The shoe should in no way cause lameness or discomfort.

FREQUENCY OF SHOEING

The average horse’s hooves grow at a rate of about 1/3 to ½ inch per month, so horses that are shod should have their shoes removed and have their hooves trimmed and be re-shod about every 6-8 weeks so that excess hoof growth does not occur. Shoes left on too long can drastically change the hoof length and angle, causing potentially damaging changes in the biomechanics of the hooves and legs.

IMPORTANCE OF HORSE’S HOOF ANGLE IN SHOEING

When measuring the angle of a horse’s hoof, defined as the line running along the front of the hoof wall, compared with the line running along the bottom, or sole of the hoof, the front feet should carry an angle of about 55 degrees and hind feet an angle of about 58 degrees, on the average. There is quite a bit of natural variation among horses, according to individual conformation, and the ideal angle for any given horse may be plus or minus three or more degrees from these average values. A good farrier will not force a horse into a predetermined hoof angle that does not match its individual conformation. A hoof should be trimmed according to its ideal hoof angle it may lead to various hoof abnormalities.

Horses that won’t be traveling over rough or abrasive terrain while not being ridden frequently during parts of the year may not need shoes in many cases, and the natural wear on the unshod hoof walls will decrease the need for as frequent trimming. Still however, uneven hoof wear patterns should be noted and the farrier should trim and re-balance the hooves of bare-footed horses every couple of months to maintain proper mechanical function.

Food and Nutrition –

Horses overall health is directly reflected in the condition of his feet and hooves.

Many health problems seen first in the feet.

Many feed supplements including biotin, help produce strong healthy feet.

Don’t overuse hoof dressings or hoof oil as it can soften the hoof wall
Use hoof oils sparingly as some hoof oils can build up and prevent the hoof from breathing.

Conclusion

Routine hoof care and shoeing of horses should be part of a comprehensive horse management program that also includes proper nutrition, and general health maintenance through vaccination, parasite and pest control, and facilities and waste management.

Common Hoof Problems in Equines and Their Management