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I have been looking at the feet of some what I think are rather good Arabs
on a small stud. These are horses used mainly in Country and English
Pleasure classes. The owner is very happy with the way the farrier keeps
their feet. They are very straight, flat to the ground, angles well
matched to pasturns but, to my eye they are way too small. The hoof wall
drops virtually straight down from the coronet to the ground-the
circumference of the foot appears to be the same at the bottom as at the
coronary band. I respect this woman as a knowledgable horseperson.
Am I going senile? Have I been missing something obvious for years? Is
this correct? Is this more of a 'show horse' foot than a performance horse
foot? My horses have much more bell shaped feet, with the back feet
obviously being somewhat steeper and more oval My farrier, whom some
people feels leaves on too much 'outside' to the point of flare, said he
believes in a good size foot, when he and I discussed feet upon my first
hiring him. But I notice that he is not so good on the 'perfectly flat and
perfect angles' as is the farrier at the stud. I'll try to get him to
improve this. Are he and I wrong on the bell-shape as being desirable?
My very basic knowledge of how a hoof operates suggests to me that the bell
shape (and I don't mean truly shaped like a bell, more like a gentle cone
shape) would take expansion and create shock absorbsion with each stride
better than a 'tubular' hoof. Am I correct on this? Is there not a general
hoof shape that is desirable or is it entirely individual? What are you
people striving for?
Ann
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