Daily Hoof Care between Farrier Visits
is all about observation, balance and consistency…
By David ‘Slim’ Symons FWCF (Hons)
In the following article we discuss the general care of the hoof between farrier visits and the measures you can take to ensure your horse has the healthiest feet possible.
I would like to start my piece by quoting a poem, which, I believe sums up the importance of daily hoof care:
“For the want of a nail, the shoe was lost,
For the want of a shoe, the horse was lost,
For the want of a horse, the rider was lost,
For the want of a rider, the battle was lost
… and all for the want of a horseshoe nail.”
I cannot stress how important it is that, firstly, as the horse owner, you take responsibility for the day to day care and maintenance of your horse’s feet between farrier visits and, secondly, you establish a good working relationship with your farrier.
You must know your horse and know his feet and this comes from paying close attention to any changes, not only in the feet but in the horse as a whole.
Daily hoof management starts with ‘picking out’. As you do you should check…
1) the clenches – if one has risen either gently tap it back down with a hammer; otherwise cover it with elastoplast to protect the horse from injury.
2) the shoe – is it still secure? Check it hasn’t become loose or spread.
3) for the appearance of cracks, paying particular attention to around the nail holes.
This procedure is not difficult. With a little self discipline you will become well practiced and this daily check will become habitual and take very little time. However, do make sure that through habit you don’t become complacent and unobservant. You will soon come to realise that you can easily prevent a small thing becoming a major issue – and again I refer you to the above poem!
We shoe our horses to give them the protection they need to do their job, be that dressage, eventing, racing, driving, hunting or any thing else we ask of our horses. Unless suffering from a congenital defect, the foal is born with good healthy feet. From then on management, first by the mare (depending on how she ‘does’ her foal) and then by the owner and farrier, is the governing factor.
Work with your Farrier…
The importance of a good owner/farrier relationship cannot be under estimated, it is essential. If you work together the horse will surely benefit, if you don’t, the one who will almost certainly pay is your horse!
Communication is everything, as is mutual respect. You must feel able to discuss any observations or concerns you have about your horse’s feet, whilst your farrier must be able to listen and suggest options. If this happens you will make a great team and your horse will have better feet.
How do you best judge the appropriate shoeing interval for your horse?
This is a prime example of where you and your farrier need to communicate. Put simply, you cannot categorically state a strict time period. Not only will this vary with each horse - remember conformation of the horse and the shape and health of the hoof are all contributing factors - the likelihood is the length of time will also need to be adjusted in accordance with the time of year, workload, and the job of the horse.
For example, you are likely to have to deal with more loose and lost shoes through the summer when the feet are affected by weather conditions if worked from the field, especially when we get heavy rain followed by warm sunny spells, this causes the feet to become more prone to cracking and splitting. Otherwise the shoeing period will be governed more by workload - during periods of light work it will be more controlled by hoof growth, whereas, when the horse is ‘in work’, it is more likely to be dictated by shoe wear. The type of work the horse does will also have a significant affect - a driving or hunt horse will wear his shoes on the roads far more than a dressage horse who works on a forgiving surface.
Then, there is size and conformation to consider. The size of the horse has a bearing on hoof health – by scale the larger the horse the smaller the feet, which is why ponies tend to experience far less problems with their feet than horses.
In general there are two types of foot - the wider, flatter foot of the Thoroughbred type horse and the more upright foot of the Warmblood.
The flat footed horse will need shoeing more frequently, say anything from three to five weeks. This is simply down to the mechanics of the foot - as it grows the foot will naturally flatten and the loading on the frog will increase, causing the foot to expand and contract more than a narrower foot. Also, as the foot widens and flattens more strain is placed on the flexor aspects of the leg. The more upright, narrower foot grows more in balance and therefore looks after itself far more as it grows, for this reason it can go a little longer between shoeings.
Environmental Effects…
Initially the horse controls the moisture content of his own feet. This is through the Periople, the protective band that regulates the moisture balance in the growing area of the foot at the coronary band, either through evaporation or absorption, whichever is needed. As the foot grows down and becomes anything from nine to fifteen months old the Periople gets worn away. This is where you need to take over the protection and moisture management of the foot.
The weather has a profound effect on the condition of the hoof. In the wet the foot will absorb moisture and swell, as it dries out it will shrink. You can manage the detrimental effects this will have on the foot by trying to create consistency – ie in the dry summer months make sure you apply a water based moisturiser on a daily basis to replenish the moisture levels. Whereas through the winter, if your horse has to be turned out in a wet muddy field make sure you don’t leave him out for too long and bring him back in before his feet become too waterlogged. If this isn’t possible, you are better to leave him out for longer periods than he is in. This way you can strike up a balance in the state of the foot – if it can be dry make sure it spends longer dry, if it must be wet, keep it wet for longer and avoid extremes of wet and dry.
The Importance of the Diet…
One of the hardest things to achieve in the management of the horse is to strike the correct balance between the food given and the work done, and, therefore maintain a healthy happy horse with the appropriate level of energy.
If your horse is not getting enough energy from his food intake his hoof and coat quality will suffer, as will his way of going - insufficient energy will cause laziness, dragging the feet and stumbling. This will lead to unnecessary wear and tear on his shoes and feet. Too much, or incorrect, food will produce too much energy leading to the horse becoming silly or fractious to ride. This can lead to pulling shoes off or spreading shoes through bad behaviour and torque factor placed on the nails holding the shoe on..jpg)
If the feet are well shod and correctly balanced, the horse correctly managed and fed a diet seemingly in balance with workload, but the hoof quality/growth is still poor, this could indicate a dietary deficiency. If the supply of nutrients reaching the foot is deficient, quality new horn cannot be laid down. This is when a correctly formulated hoof supplement can be so helpful.
So to summarise…
Take responsibility for the care of your horse’s feet, be observant, communicate and work with your farrier, manage the effects of the environment and the diet, and, you will be doing as much as you can to ensure your horse has the best feet possible.
Legendary in the world of farriery, David ‘Slim’ Symons FWCF (Hons) has been shoeing horses for more than 49 years. A Fellow of the Worshipful Company of Farriers – the highest accolade that came be awarded to a farrier – ‘Slim’ has been training farriers at Hereford Farriery College for no less than 16 years. In that time Slim has trained more farriers than he cares to admit!
