Palmetto Farrier Service
PALMETTO FARRIER SERVICE
NEWSLETTER – February 2010
This is the first in a continuing series of newsletters I plan to do from time to time to keep you informed of my continuing education and events as a Farrier and also to keep you informed on the latest products and research on hoof care for your horse. As my mission statement says, I am committed to continuing education to stay on the leading edge of Farrier Science. I feel that a better-educated horse owner will become more involved and more concerned with the hoof care of their horse. The old saying “No Hoof, No Horse” is very true. Getting the proper hoof care for your horse will help to ensure that you are able to enjoy years and years with you partner. As a customer of Palmetto Farrier Service you not only get high quality service but the expertise from a network of the world’s leading Farriers and Veterinarians.
It’s been an unusually cold and wet winter but spring is just around the corner. The growth of a horse’s hoof slows in the winter and as warmer weather approaches their hooves will begin to grow faster. A horse’s hoof grows up to ½” per month with foals and yearlings growing faster than mature and aged horses. Also the more active your horse the faster the hoof will grow. If you do not already have one, a $5 hoof pick from Tractor Supply will go a long way in your tack box. With the constant wet and muddy conditions picking up your horses feet and cleaning out the soles and frog area will do wonders to prevent problems such as cracks in hoof walls and diseases like White Line and Thrush. Most of the ongoing issues I see could easily be prevent by regular cleaning of your horse’s feet. I will be more than happy to demonstrate how to properly clean the bottom of your horse's feet on a regular basis.
To Shoe or Not to Shoe?
One of the questions I hear from people is whether or not to shoe their horse or let them go barefoot. The Barefoot vs. Shod argument was a topic at the 2010 International Hoof Care Summit that I attended February 2 – 5. There are many factors to consider when making that decision and I would urge you to consult your Veterinarian and Farrier. I will always advocate that a horse to be left barefoot if possible but sometimes the wear of the foot exceeds the growth rate and needs protection. This is most common in performance horses. Pleasure/Trail horses may also need to be shod depending on the terrain they are going to be ridden. Shoes, even steel shoes do absorb shock, and excessive shock on the foot can lead to serious problems such as mechanical laminitis and founder. One thing to keep in mind is that a horse that was shod will have a softer hoof capsule so the horse may seem ouchy or sensitive for a while after shoes are removed until the hoof capsule strengthens. This transition period from being shod to going barefoot may take months.
If you do not like steel shoes but your horse needs protection for it’s feet there are alternatives to steel shoes using materials such as rubber and polyurethane. The Eponashoe, www.eponashoe.com, is a flexible polyurethane and rubber shoe with steel reinforcement. Some of the horses that competed in the Beijing Olympics were wearing Eponashoes. There is also another type of shoe from Happy Hoofwear, www.happyhoofwear.com. Their shoes are made from polyurethane and come in many different colors. I was able to see these products at the International Hoof Care Summit and was impressed with both of them. Although the cost of the shoes themselves is a little higher than steel, from my standpoint they are easier to apply so the total cost to customers is about the same as fitting steel shoes. If you would be interested in either of these products please let me know. I have samples of both to show you. Besides shoes there is another alternative and that is the Easyboot, www.easycareinc.com . These are boots that slide over your horse’s feet and can easily be removed when you are done riding your horse. I have heard both good and bad and these so I would try to find someone using them and see what their own experiences are with them.
I will be happy to assist you in any of these decisions on foot protection and what may work best for your horse.
Educational updates:
Leg dissection clinic, Monetta, SC, December 5, 2009
As part of this clinic I was able to take a cadaver leg and dissect it while locating the tendons, ligaments and bones of the leg below the knee. Also a leg was put into a hydraulic press and flexed so we could observe how the joints and ligaments act as a horse moves. There were also legs dissected that had abscesses, laminitis, and founder so it was great to be able to see exactly what is going on in the inside of those feet with those types of issues.
International Hoof Care Summit, Cincinnati, OH February 2 – 5, 2010
This was an unparalleled 4-day hoof-care event that featured lectures from top Farriers and Veterinarians from all over the world. Every day was wide open from 8:00am until 9:00pm every night. I pretty much went to bed with a headache from taking in so much. The slogan of this years Summit was “Hoof Care Strategies: Tried, True And New”. This reflects a mood to not only learn what the latest studies and researchers say about hoof care but also being better at using the time tested methods that work. One of the better programs that I attended dealt with learning how to better read radio graphs and how to use them to better trim the foot. Also Dr. Steve O’Grady, the International Equine Veterinarian Hall of Fame member gave an outstanding program on guidelines for trimming the equine foot. I look forward to using all that I learned and also passing that knowledge along to horse owners. 