Re: "Natural" hoof hardeners

["Maggie Mieske" <mmieske@netonecom.net>]

Farriers trim out DEAD sole.  Nelson shod a horse several weeks ago whose
farrier never trimmed out dead sole...he basically would trim a little hoof,
slap a shoe on it and dub it off to fit.  As a result, there was an entire
false sole that basically fell out as Nelson started checking out the bottom
of the hoof with his knife.  Once the horse had a proper trim and shoes put
on that FIT, the lady couldn't believe how wonderfully the horse could move.
He hadn't been lame but all that extra hoof and sole did not allow him to
move at his best.  It made a big difference.  Anyway, my main point is that
paring the dead sole does not make a farrier evil (and I'm not implying that
you said that!).  Sometimes there is NO dead sole to be pared.  However,
even a little paring can tell a farrier a lot about what is going on in the
hoof...lets him/her see bruising or old track lines from abcesses, etc.
EXCESSIVE paring of the sole, especially if it draws blood IS evil (well,
ok, maybe not evil but definitely not smart).  Pink or red tinge from
bruising does not constitute bleeding.  Dripping red blood does.  In all
things use common sense!  :)
Maggie