 |
Re: [RC] Rasping - heidiOur domesticated horses have life too easy and that is the reason we must trim their feet. Steady trimming activates growth, thickening and hardening just as hard wear would. Wild horses trim their own feet which includes abrading the hoof wall. As someone mentioned, a horses hoof should be a straight from the coronet band to the ground. If you look at the top 1/2 inch of the hoof from the coronet band the hoof tells you how it wants to grow. Unfortunately I see too long toes all the time on shod horses. As the toes get long the force pulls the wall away from the laminae. [Imagine taking your finger nail and pushing down on a hard surface bending the nail away from the nail bed - that is what is happening to the hoof wall and the lamina]. In response, the wall thickens and a vicious cycle begins. Rasping the wall of the hoof is a good thing. It does not harm the wall in any way. It does not cause dryness and, hoof dressing, in my opinion, is totally unnecessary. Sorry, Candy, but while it is true that the hoof is naturally abraded all the time, the covering on the hoof wall nonetheless comes down in varying degrees over the hoof, depending on the conditions and on how healthy the hoof is to begin with. It is pretty well gone on dry, cracking hooves, and can be seen intact nearly to the ground on healthy hooves. With regard to too-long toes on shod horses--yes, this can be the case with ignorant farriers. It can also be the case with horses that simply don't grow heel--and yes, they exist, even in the natural state. My own mares run out about as naturally as possible, wearing their feet in natural conditions, and rarely require trimming. Several of them have absolutely gorgeous feet, with at most occasional minor chipping around the edges that evens back out. A few less well endowed DO have issues with underslung heels, and their toes grow too long, just as you describe. When they DO break off, as a result, it isn't a nice even wear, as it is on the better-footed mares. And these are the ones who need occasional help from the farrier to stay healthy. I can see the intact layer over the hoof wall on all but a handful of my running-out-barefoot horses. And they run in dry, wet, rocks, you-name-it, depending on the season of the year. I actually think it is far more apt to be gone when conditions are too wet--I see it better in summertime when it is dry and rocky and they are abrading the heck out of their feet. Mother Nature still has some pretty good ideas--and it pays to figure out WHY she has those ideas before one messes with them. When one understands that, then one can do much more to help a horse get BACK to that state, be it by trimming or whatever. Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|