38 • NATURAL HORSE Magazine – VOLUME 15 ISSUE 1 www.naturalhorse.com

HOOFcaRE HIgHLIgHTs

I t’s about time someone speaks up about the unnecessary suffering inflicted upon horses by well-intentioned people. Someone needs to make horse guardians aware of this “dark side”, so it might as well be

me. I’ve kept such mentions to a minimum while still getting my message across. But as a hoof care professional, I’ve seen things that made me cry.

Shelly HoovesWho hasn’t heard a farrier say, “He can’t hold a shoe because he has crappy, shelly feet”? You may be surprised to learn that horseshoes are the primary cause of shelly hooves. The outer wall has been routinely thinned with the rasp, making it dry, brittle, and eventually unable to hold a shoe. The hoof capsule then loses its strength and becomes painful. Now the horse “needs” corrective shoes, wedge pads, toe clips, and epoxy to hold Hump-ty Dumpty together! The shoes also inhibit the circulation needed to deliver vital nutrients to the

hoof – yet another contributor to shelly walls. This is a common scenario that can be avoided (and remedied) simply by going barefoot.

Corrective Shoes and Wedge PadsVeterinarians and farriers commonly use corrective shoes and wedge pads to address hoof issues. This should raise a big fat red flag for the horse guardian because this approach doesn’t fix anything. Instead, it is the beginning of a slow decline leading to even more rigid shoes that better mask the pain, allowing

the horse to be used despite the lameness. A horse is sound if he is comfortable going barefoot, not if he is comfortable in correc-tive shoes. When the shoes come off, the truth is revealed. In the conventional world of rehabili-tation, corrective shoes and pads come first, followed by drugs and surgery; then, one day, “Sparky” is put down at the ripe old age of 12. Natural hoof care would remove the offending shoes, re-storing circulation and expansion of the feet, thus beginning the hoof rehabilitation process.

Thrush andNail ProblemsYou can smell the stench of rotting tissue when a hoof pad is removed. Serious thrush lurks under the pad and within the hoof capsule. The all-white hoof in Photo 3 shows thrush is resident in the nail holes, then radiates over the sole, and lives deep un-der the bars as well. Farriers do not always tell guardians that the shoe/ pad combination is making the hoof unhealthy, so it is wise to check this out for yourself.

Right: Hoof neglect is on the rise. The horse should not be the one to suffer the consequences of hard times. The guardian of this horse was faced with unexpected personal and financial problems, did not know what to do, and so did nothing. A diet of 100% alfalfa was responsible for the initial founder.

The

By Gail Snyder

of Hoof Care

This is a very unhealthy hoof caused by human intervention. The integrity of the hoof capsule is lost at the hands of the caregiver. Rasp marks can be seen all the way to the hairline. The under-run heel, a common shoeing ailment, now requires a wedge pad to correct the hoof angle by jacking the heel back up.

Above: Heel contraction and lack-of-use atrophy in the back of the foot is a common problem caused by horseshoe constriction. Like putting a cast on your own foot, it’s a ”use it or lose it” situation. As time goes on, more extreme shoeing methods become necessary. At some point, the damage will be permanent and rehabilitation is unlikely.

Above: The nails are driven into the white line (laminae). The resulting holes make perfect little thrush homes because thrush, being an anaerobic bacteria, loves places that are dark, damp, warm, and low in oxygen. This condition leads to what is known as white line disease.

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

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Natural Balance Shoes and “The Square Toe Syndrome”There is nothing “natural” about the Natural Balance Shoe (NBS). It is a square-toed de-vice placed on an anatomically round-toed hoof. It is intended to shorten breakover and im-prove biomechanics. The shoes are often placed too far forward, thus actually inhibiting break-over (see Photo 4). Also, the leverage on the long square toe is significant enough to cause soft tissue damage to the coffin joint within. Even if the shoe is placed correctly, a square shoe on a round front hoof has biomechanical interference on the diagonal (at the toe pillars) such that turning is significantly inhibited, even more than direct forward move-ment. The added interference forces the horse to lift its legs higher, just to breakover, as you would have do if wearing a pair of swim fins.

Plastic ShoesIt is common knowledge that horseshoes cause concussion, especially on hard ground. Concussive forces are extreme when metal shoes are applied, so plastic shoes are being used to better absorb shock. Like metal shoes, they need to be nailed on, and they cause peripheral loading. But plastic shoes are also thick and clunky, making biomechanics even worse than their metal counterparts. So, don’t fall for the plastic shoe spiel (see Photo 5).

Laminitis and FounderLaminitis (inflammation of the laminae) and founder (coffin bone dropping or displacement resulting from laminae detach-ment) are often the result of inappropriate, unintentional – and usually preventable-horse keeping practices. Photo 6 depicts a foundered hoof. The red-stained area of sole, near the frog tip, is the result of coffin bone penetration. Other common causes of laminitis and founder include: overeating, inappropriate feed, metabolic/ hormonal conditions, poison, toxins, drugs, vaccines, stress, obesity, illness, infection, and hoof trauma.

Some of the worst cases of laminitis and founder can be found in obese and insulin resistant horses. It is becoming an epidemic as a growing number of horses are “over-bred, over-fed, and under-worked”. Conventional

Photo 4

I pulled the Natural Balance Shoes from this horse. Both front hooves were equally distorted, with long square toes caused by the application of Natural Balance Shoes (NBS). I trimmed the left front hoof first to compare its naturally trimmed capsule shape to that of the NBS-induced deformity of the right front hoof. Notice the square footprint of the right front significantly inhibits breakover on the hoof diagonals (toe pillars).

Photo 5

Like the Natural Balance Shoe, this plastic shoe has a square, tapered toe designed to force breakover. It has also been placed too far forward. This misplacement, combined with the overly-thick shoe, creates a biomechanical nightmare for the horse. There is nothing therapeutic or advantageous about plastic shoes.

Photo 6

This is the sickening story of a mare who was literally used as an incubator year after year to produce in-demand foals, despite her excruciating pain from the annual hormone-induced founder. She was put down soon after this photo was taken, following the delivery of one last high-priced – but orphaned – foal.

40 • NATURAL HORSE Magazine – VOLUME 15 ISSUE 1 www.naturalhorse.com

emergency measures include a plethora of drugs such as butazolidin, pergolide, isoxsuprine, and peripherally loaded horseshoes that are equally inadvisable. The drugs and shoes mask the condition, thus allowing it to worsen. They do not address the metabolic problems at hand. In this case, fix the horse, not the hoof.

Incompetent Hoof Care ProfessionalsThere are many people in the hoof care profession that believe hoof rehabilitation can only be accomplished by aggressive trimming techniques (see Photo 7). Sole thinning, bar removal, exit cuts, resections, digging for abscesses, and toe chopping by well-intentioned people is a very grave concern.

Another form of incompetence is flat out laziness or lack of knowledge, both of which result in poor workmanship. Please – request references and speak to long-time clients before hiring a hoof care professional.

Unsafe FencingIt is a common and widely accepted practice to put horses in pastures and paddocks previously used for cattle. As such, the number of barbed wire cuts is astronomical, affecting about 25% of my client’s horses. Many a horse has lost his life to barbed wire entanglement and T-post impale-ment. Those who survive the ordeal endure hoof disfigurement, lameness, bacterial infections, thrush and the need for ultra-frequent hoof care. Please don’t accept unsafe fencing, and properly train your horses to not panic if an entanglement of any kind should ever occur.

Hoof Trauma and Event RingsThe hoof in Photo 9 depicts what is called an “event ring” – a moment in time when the horse developed painful laminitis due to an extreme life event. The things known to cause laminitis and founder are also responsible for “event rings”. We can often predict when the event occurred by understanding that wall growth occurs from the coronary band to the toe at a rate of 1/4 to 3/8 inch per month. Knowing the timeline helps to identify the actual cause of the event.

Final ThoughtsMy hope is that the case studies presented above demonstrate how important your hoof care decisions are to your horse. I hope you will turn into a hoof fanatic and demand quality work from the people you hire. Making good decisions is the key to preventing lameness and minimizing (if not reversing) hoof pathology.

About the author:Gail Snyder is an experienced hoof care professional, clinician, author, trim instructor, and hoof rehabilitation expert. She has worked on horses with severe hoof conditions, previously deemed incurable, and was able to restore health through natural hoof care, nutrition, and the healing powers of movement. This recipe for success is proven, however, Snyder’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and work in the field of dynamics, modeling, and mechanics give her unique insight into the biomechanics, form, and function of the equine hoof. gailsnyder@netzero.net

Veterinary procedures such as this hunt for a suspected hematoma should be left to the veterinarian, not the hoof care practitioner. Horse’s are great self-healers and usually fare better without human intervention. It is a very uncomfortable thing to fire your hoof care provider, but your horse is relying on you to find a competent person to trim his hooves.

Photo 7

This is a hoof deformity caused by a barbed wire cut. This horse struggles to remain sound on the hoof because the split invites infection. The capsule deformity inhibits breakover and requires constant management by a hoof care specialist with rehabilitative experience.

Photo 8

A horse is sound if he is comfortable

going barefoot, not if he is comfortable

in shoes.

This is not a wire cut. This is an “event ring” that indicates something traumatic occurred about 3 months ago. If we go back in time, we usually find a correlation such as grain overload, vaccinations, illness, etc. There was a similar ring on this horse’s other front hoof, also at the 3 month mark. “Event rings” typically affect multiple hooves.

Photo 9