Shoeing & frogs

[flemmerl@rcbhsc.wvu.edu (Flemmer, Linda)]

Tivers@aol.com wrote:
> 
>  By the way, on another subject, a piece by Denise Steffanus just appeared in
> the Thoroughbred Times concerning a study by Robert Bowker et al that says,
> "Leave the frog alone." Says there is a reason the frog grows back quickly
> after a shoer cuts it away--it cushions hoof impact and spares the navicular
> bone, among other important organs.

Ah, Tom.  It must be hard to work in an industry that is so hide-bound
in tradition like the TB racers.  Our endurance horses never have frog
pared away unless it is already sloughing and hanging by a thread.  We
also preserve sole as much as possible.  According to my master farrier,
besides acting as a cushion and sparing navicular bone, the frog also
acts as a circulatory "pump" for the hoof.

I haven't had an endurance farrier try to pare away frog & sole in the
last 14 years!

Linda Flemmer


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