Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Ok,  I have been staying out of this one on purpose.  Maybe I still should. :)  But here is what I have seen:

I think you can do both.

I think you can have a healthy hoof shod.

I think you can have a crappy hoof unshod (depends on the horse).

 

My endurance horses are shod pretty much all year.  Can't think of the last time one was barefoot.  My horses have nice, big, healthy frogs. (And their feet didn't fall off...yet)

 

I have an old QH mare that has bad feet.  She is trimmed and runs outside all the time.  So she should be getting lots of circulation...right?  Her feet are the worst at the barn.

I think that if a horse is shod correctly, they will get circulation and can have a healthy hoof.

 

So, Howard, I have found that the frog was negatively affected at MY house.  Again, it matters HOW the horse is trimmed and shod.

 

Just My Opion....please don't jump at new bait on RC.

Jody

Howard Bramhall <howard9732@xxxxxxx> wrote:

Therein lies the dilemna, with all of this, Jonni. Many owners do shoe
constantly, with no problems, and, their horses hooves are fine. But, from
what I've seen, personally, there is a difference with the frog of a shod
horse and one that is not. In my limited experience, and, only working with
6 horses, rotating the shoe'n of each horse, on the same ground, same
feeding regimine, same weather conditions (same fluctuation pattern), same
everything, the frog of the horse who is not shod looks better than when it
is.

Whether or not this is a detriment, I'm not really clear on. But, I will
say, that, like you mentioned, when the blood isn't circulating, parts of
the frog and the sole will disentegrate and turn to dust. My belief is it's
because it has less contact with the ground, being elevated by the metal
shoe.

The other problem I have with the shoe is, on a shod foot, the hoof wall
that meets the shoe has to be, or should be, perfectly flat. Those blown
out quarters that happen with horses shod all the time are caused by those
nails. It weakens that section of the hoof. With a barefoot horse, the
hoof wall does not have to be pefectly flat. You can file down the quarters
to the sole, and let that part of the hoof wall rebuild itself.

I hope ya'll don't mind me talking a lot about this one. Like some of you
are passionate about your riding record, I'm passionate about this topic. I
promise not to get personal on this one cause I really would like to keep an
open mind about it all. Like the fat/carb controversy, I really believe you
don't have to choose just one on this. You can do both.

cya,
Howard

----Original Message Follows----
From: "Jonni Jewell"
To: "Ridecamp"
Subject: [RC] Circulation to the hoof
Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2004 11:01:33 -0500

OK, so here is a simple question for those who feel shoes reduce the
circulation to the hoof.

If circulation is reduced to an area of the body, then what happens? The
tissue in that area would start to die off, correct? (if one ties a string
around their finger, to reduce or stop blood flow, the tissue in the finger
would eventually die)

So, here is my question. Why, if the circulation to the hoof is reduced /
compromised, haven't the feet of thousands and thousands (well, my guess
actually millions) of horses just fallen off? Why are horses who have worn
shoes ALL their lives not gone lame? If the circulation is decreased, and
the blood flow is reduced, wouldn't the feet just die???

There are just TOO many horses out there who have always worn shoes, ALL
their lives, who are older, that are sound, with GREAT feet. Sorry, the
theory just doesn't work for me. Show me some solid documented facts that
horses who wear shoes all the time have reduced circulation and blood flow
to the feet. The proof I have that properly applied shoes are NOT doing
this, is too darn many horses out there wearing them, who are sound as ever,
with great feet.

Jonni



=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

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!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

_________________________________________________________________
Get ready for school! Find articles, homework help and more in the Back to
School Guide! http://special.msn.com/network/04backtoschool.armx


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

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!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com