Is your horse off colour? Has he lost his appetite? Is he performing poorly? All these signs can be indications of gastric ulcers.

Up to 90% of racehorses in training may be affected by gastric ulcers. But not only racehorses suffer from this condition. Surveys have found that up to 60% of sport horses and 35% of leisure horses are affected.

It is only since advances in technology have made it possible to examine the inside of the stomach that the true extent of the problem has come to light. The only way to find out if a horse has gastric ulcers is by using a gastroscope. This flexible tube is passed through a nostril and on into the stomach. A small video camera fitted to the end displays an image of the inside of the stomach on a television screen. In smaller ponies, the stomach is within the reach of standard equipment. But for horses, a gastroscope up to 3 metres long may be needed,

The inner surface of the stomach can be divided into two parts according to the different types of cells that make up the lining. The upper, non-glandular, part is pale pink. It is in this part that gastric ulcers typically occur. The lower part of the stomach is darker in colour and is covered with acid-secreting glands.

The glands secrete acid to break down food material. This occurs continuously, regardless of whether the horse is eating or not. On the other hand, saliva is only produced when the horse is eating. Under natural grazing conditions the horse spends much of the time grazing, which ensures a continuous supply of food material and saliva to dilute the acidic stomach contents.

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What is the cause of ulcers? Although the lower part of the stomach can cope with being bathed continuously in the acidic stomach contents, the upper portion can not. Anything that leaves the upper portion of the stomach in contact with the acidic fluid increases the risk of ulcers. Unfortunately, that includes many common management practices. Stabling, concentrate feeding, intensive exercise, and transport have all been shown to increase the risk of ulcers. Essentially, what happens is that the stomach starts to digest itself.

The mildest cases may just have one or two small ulcers. But severely affected horses can have extensive areas of deep ulceration.

Even though they may have severe ulcers, horses rarely show dramatic signs of illness or pain. The often subtle signs that ulcers produce allow many to go undetected. Non-specific signs such as loss of appetite, poor performance, and recurrent colic, are commonly seen in horses with gastric ulcers.

Gastric ulcers will usually respond to treatment with modern medication that reduces the acid production. Many owners notice an improvement within a few days of starting treatment.

But there is a risk that the ulcers will return once the treatment stops. So it is also important to address the underlying causes. By trying to provide a more natural lifestyle for the horse, it may be possible to balance his needs with the requirements for training. For example, feed the best quality roughage so that high carbohydrate feeds can be kept to a minimum. Give several small meals throughout the day. Allow some turnout time daily.

If you are concerned that your horse might have gastric ulcers speak to your veterinarian.

Copyright 2007 by Mark Andrews / Equine Science Update. This article may be freely used by newsletters and web sites without permission as long as the copyright notice, links and contact information remain unchanged. Mark Andrews, an experienced equine veterinarian, is author of The Foaling Guide, (http://www.thefoalingguide.com) and publisher of Equine Science Update.

For the latest information in equine science, subscribe to the free newsletter from Equine Science Update. (http://www.equinescienceupdate.co.uk)

Navicular disease is somewhat of a mysterious condition among horseowners. They may walk to their barn one day to find a horse that is sitting on his haunches and appears to be in enormous amounts of pain. Or, they may notice that their colt in race training tends to slow halfway through the workout. Owners of pleasure horses may not even realize it until one day the horse is unwilling to move forward and stumbles through gaits that it once performed with ease. These horses are often feeling a burning pain due to the increased bloodflow in their hooves and the shifting of the coffin bone.

If the hooves are not properly trimmed on a regular basis, the horse is more susceptible to suffering from navicular due to abnormal growth of the hoof. The hoof grows and wears in accordance with the footing that the horse is kept on. The bone may become immobile and cause poor circulation in the hoof. In extreme conditions, the coffin bone will slowly sink to the floor of the hoof and may pierce the bottom of hoof. The condition usually occurs only in the front feet and generally affects both feet. Horses that are at a high risk are those that are stall-kept and have strong physical demands such as being overweight or those horses that are not conformationally correct.

Quarter horses tend to be prone to the condition as well as Thoroughbreds, who tend to have small feet in proportion to their bodies. Navicular has been diagnosed in horses as early as one year, so even a young yearly is susceptible if their hooves are not properly cared for if they are allowed to consume to much grain in a short period of time. This may happen on farms that try to rapidly grow their young horses for sales, show, races, etc. The condition is gradual and causes progressive lameness in the front legs. Navicular is hard to detect early because the condition worsens over time. Often horses are found with severe lameness from navicular one day because they have not been showing symptoms until it has progressed to the extent that the horse is put in extreme pain.

Signs of Navicular Syndrome

· Horses place their weight on their toes to avoid placing pressure on the heel while walking. The heel becomes inflamed in the bone and the bursa. The bursa is the outer lining layer of the bone.

· Heels are contracted and smaller due to poor confirmation.

· Shortening of stride

· Shifting of body weight when resting

· Stumbling gait

· Uneveness in turns

· Reluctance to go forward or lengthen stride

· Resting with weight resting on the toe

· When pressure is applied to the hoof; the horse will indicate heel pain

· Sitting back on hind legs to avoid pressure on front feet (also common in horses that are foundering)

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The Importance of Protecting Your Horse from Parasites

Horses have worms. All of them do. The good news is they can be kept under control with proper management. Manure removal, practicing good sanitation measures, bot egg removal, and keeping to a regular deworming schedule are a must. Not doing so can take a staggering toll on a horse’s health, even death.

Good programs should include deworming for strongles (bloodworms), ascarida (roundworms), Oxyuris equi (pinworms), and Gasterophilus (bots). Using paste wormers, adult horses should be wormed every 6 weeks but not to go longer than 2 months YEAR ROUND. For foals, from one month of age every month until they are weaned, then every 6 weeks until they are 1 year old. After 1 year follow the adult program. Pregnant mares should follow the adult program until 1 month from due date, at that time they should be wormed with an ivermectin product, and again with an ivermectin product the day she foals. If you are feeding a daily wormer, check with your veterinarian to make sure if any adjustments might be needed for your area.

Using something effective against all worms and bots such as an ivermectin product twice a year is a good practice. Depending on your climate, April - May, just before bot larvae leave a horse’s stomach would be a good time to use the bot dewormer. Then again in late fall, after a killing frost and after all bot eggs have been removed from the horse’s coat, October - November (once again depending on your climate). The rest of the year you can choose other dewormers. Pay attention to their effectiveness against strongles, which is a big parasite threat to your horse’s health.

Keeping your horse on a regular deworming schedule will help your horse stay healthy and looking so. Make sure you follow the recommended guidelines for your horse’s weight. With some wormers it can be detrimental by not doing so. Do not use a product with the same ingredient every time you worm (only exception is being afore mentioned with pregnant mares). The active product ingredient should be rotated.

This is an easy way to prevent many health problems for your horse. It is relatively inexpensive compared to the costs if it is not done. It is also relatively easy to do. It is part of good horse husbandry that should not be overlooked.

Fran Mullens has been a barn manager, trainer and riding instructor for several years, and has worked with horses for nearly 25 years. Fran is co-author with Skimbleshanks the Farm Cat at his blog. To learn more about the farm cat go to http://skimbleshanksthefarmcat.blogspot.com

Bowed tendons on a horse can be murder. The deep flexor tendon between the knee and the pastern joint blows due to excessive stress and stretch. It’s a long recovery process sometimes leaving a blemish.

There can be several elements that can all contribute to this problem. Hard work is surely one while incorrect shoeing the other. A quick look at race horses and how prevalent bowed tendons occur can give you some clues to a deeper understanding into this issue. Race horses are definitely worked hard – at the end of the race horses are completely exhausted. In this condition of exhaustion and fatigue the muscles of the body are not carrying the horse in the most optimum manner-hence a breakdown.

Race horses are shod typically with a longer toe than normally acceptable. The length of toe creates a lever for the horse to drive off of creating more speed- just a little added thrust as the hoof breaks over. The above two mentioned instances combined with other factors (not absolutely correct shoeing) all contribute to the increase of the possibility of bowed tendons.

When the toe of the foot is long it “Sticks” to the ground longer as the horse moves forward; this stretches the deep flexor tendon and stresses the leg. When the horse starts to tire during hard work such as a race the stresses increase as the muscles stop carrying the body correctly. The stress the fatigue the improper shoeing and strike three the tendon blows.

To minimize the possibility of bowed tendons obviously reverse some of the above elements. Don’t work your horse to such exhaustion, don’t have a long toe and make sure everything else about the shoeing is very correct. Give your horse a little bit of heel (don’t trim the heels down too short) it’s somewhat the same as too long toe in how it creates stress to the joints and tendons. So move the shoe to the rear of the horse (to shorten the toe) increase heel and then be careful with the exhaustion factor and you’re starting to gain on the prevention of lameness.

Now there are other necessary aspects to the shoeing that are also most important to prevention but are much more difficult to discuss in a text format. Unfortunately these methods are not readily available in the horse shoeing schools or horse shoeing textbooks so you will be wasting a lot of your time researching and researching. However – I have a 16 year 100% track record “Not One Single Lame Horse” due to the methods I’ve discovered for myself as a farrier for over 16 years now. I know what you’re thinking “you want this information for yourself” – and “How do you get it”?

OK. Just go to the website link below in the author bio “Now” before you forget. Go ahead your horse will love you for it. That’s a promise.

Author Bio: John Silveira, Farrier, Aikido practitioner, spiritualist, born and raised in San Mateo California the bay area. For information on his shoeing method and the 100% track record just go to http://Farrieritis.care4horses.com and leave contact information.
thank you and remember to Care4Horses

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Quarter cracks are vertical cracks in the hairline or coronary band of the horses hoof. They can be large or small, they can bleed and they can make a horse lame. Since the crack is sometimes an open sore its best treated in some way. Depending on the causes of the cracks they don’t all heal by themselves unless something specific is done.

The problem with dealing with quarter cracks is the movement and stresses put on the foot that spread the crack and prevent it from mending. If the horse becomes lame the problem usually can’t be ignored.

There are several types of fixes requiring a bit of skill and expertise in order to achieve a mend and recovery. There are also several reasons that quarter cracks occur as well – becoming aware of the reasons can go along way toward prevention.

Quarter cracks can be caused by a thin hoof wall (a genetic disposition) as well as low under slung heels combined with too long of toe. Uneven balances all contribute to the possibilities. When the heels of the horse are too low and the toe too long the downward pressure from the weight of the horse on the hoof is misplaced and the foot gets stressed in a certain point – the crack is the result. Obviously a horse involved in hard work and stressing the feet can be susceptible.

Shoeing the horse correctly is one of the first places to start for prevention.

The fixes are where things can get tricky – actually correct shoeing can be tricky as well but quarter crack lacing and repair is usually not an easy task. Probably the simplest method of repair is by just cutting the hoof wall directly under the crack where the hoof touches the shoe and creating a gap between the shoe and hoof there. By creating the gap the hoof at the area of the quarter crack no longer takes a pounding which keeps the crack open – in essence the area “Floats” giving the crack a chance to mend. This method works pretty well.

Another method is cutting a small piece of sheet metal and screwing it into the hoof wall at the location of the crack – the idea is to squeeze the crack together and hold it that way with the plate steel. I personally have used this method with mixed results.

A very interesting method of repair is to burn some slots into the hoof in the location of the crack one on each side of the crack – a nail (horseshoe nail) is driven through from one side to the other (in one slot out the other) and then the nail is pinched together thereby closing up the crack giving it a chance to mend. All in all quarter cracks can be a pain and become a chronic problem.

The first place to look for improvement and prevention is with the horse shoeing – making sure the shoeing is correct is paramount. And if your horse is popping quarter cracks there’s a great chance that your horse is susceptible to risk of other lameness’s as well.

When you want your horseshoeing to be the best go to a proven method. You should know I personally (as a farrier myself) have a 16 year 100% track record “Not One Single Lame Horse”. I know you care for your horse and all horses, then just run over before it’s too late and click the website link below in the Author Bio. This method is available. This method is not taught in textbooks or schools – I know I attended the schools and used the industry textbooks. So go ahead just click the link.

Thank you – happy riding and remember to Care4Horses.

Reprint rights allowed providing nothing is changed

Author Bio: John Silveira, Farrier, Aikido practitioner, spiritualist, born and raised in San Mateo California the bay area. For information on his shoeing method and the 100% track record just go to http://Care4Horses.com and leave contact information.

Many of our horses live a much different life than they used to. Horses once lived on the plains traveling in herds and grazing all day. This was what they were intended to do by nature. Today, however, we like to show our horses and we like to keep them in the barn for easy access. Our horses have begun to live in stalls or small pens most of their lives and because of this they have had to adjust. Many horses have adapted to this type of lifestyle, but it has not been without any healthy effects. Colic is one of the most common health issues that horse owners have to worry about today.

Colic is a fairly broad term, but essentially it is a stomachache. The horse’s digestive system is very unique and they’re stomachs are incredibly small of their size. They are designed to eat multiple small meals per day, but we have adjusted that to fit our daily schedules and many horses get two rather large meals per day. The horse also does not have the constant flow of fiber that he once had when he was able to roam the range. Instead, they also receive two rather large flakes of hay per day. There are some horses that are lucky enough to have constant access to hay via round bales, but many horses receive their forage with their meal. This means that a horse may be shocking his system because he is receiving so much food at one time. Horses are unable to tell when they are “full” and this means that they will continue to eat whether they need to or not.

A horse is unable to digest a large amount of feed in such a small amount of time. As the horse eats too much he is overloading his stomach and killing off the helpful bacteria that live in the hindgut of the horse. Because there are no bacteria to help ferment and digest the feed, the feed sits there in the hindgut and causes a toxic problem that produces founder to occur. The toxins begin to build up in the horse’s blood stream and eventually the horse begins to not only show signs of colic but founder as well.

The horse may begin to roll continuously. The horse will get up and lie down and roll over and over. The horse may also develop a fever and begin to sweat. Some horses will act as though they can barely stand up. In severe cases of colic a horse will sit back on his hind feet to avoid putting pressure on his front feet. These are the signs of founder beginning to set into the horse’s feet. When a horse is found colicking, a veterinarian should be alerted as soon as possible and the horse should be walked until the veterinarian arrives. Horses who are allowed to roll may twist a gut and cause more severe internal problems.

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Depending on breed, management and environment, the domestic horse today has a life expectancy of 25 to 30 years. It is uncommon, but a few horses live into their 40s, and, occasionally, beyond. The oldest verifiable record was “Old Billy,” a horse that lived in the 19th century to the age of 62. The size of horses varies by breed, but can also be influenced by nutrition. The general rule for cutoff in height between what is considered a horse and a pony at maturity is 14.2 hands(h or hh) (147 cm, 58 inches) as measured at the withers. An animal 14.2h or over is usually considered a horse and one less than 14.2h is a pony.

However, there are exceptions to the general rule. Some smaller horse breeds who typically produce individual horses both under and over 14.2h are considered “horses” regardless of height. Likewise, some pony breeds, such as the Pony of the Americas or the Welsh cob, share some features of horses and individual animals may occasionally mature at over 14.2h, but are still considered ponies. The difference between a horse and pony is not simply a height difference, but also a difference in phenotype or appearance. There are noticeable differences in conformation and temperament. Ponies often exhibit thicker manes, tails and overall coat. They also have proportionally shorter legs, wider barrels, heavy bone, thick necks, and short heads with broad foreheads.

Light horses such as Arabians, Morgans, Quarter Horses, Paints and Thoroughbreds usually range in height from 14.0 (142 cm) to 16.0 hands (163 cm) and can weigh from 386 kg (850 lbs) to about 680 kg (1500 lbs). Heavy or draft horses such as the Clydesdale, Belgian, Percheron, and Shire are usually at least 16.0 (163 cm) to 18.0 hands (183 cm) high and can weigh from about 682 kg (1500 lb) up to about 900 kg (2000 lb). Ponies are less than 14.2h, but can be much smaller, down to the Shetland pony at around 10 hands, and the Falabella which can be the size of a medium-sized dog. The miniature horse is as small as or smaller than either of the aforementioned ponies but are classified as very small horses rather than ponies despite their size. The largest horse in history was a Shire horse named Sampson, later renamed Mammoth, foaled in 1846 in Bedfordshire, England. He stood 21.2½ hands high (i.e. 7 ft 2½ in or 2.20 m ), and his peak weight was estimated at over 3,300 lb (approx 1.5 tonnes). The current record holder for the world’s smallest horse is Thumbelina, a fully mature miniature horse affected by dwarfism. She is 17 inches tall and weighs 60 pounds.

Horse breeding

Pregnancy lasts for approximately 335-340 days and usually results in one foal (male: colt, female: filly). Twins are rare. Colts are usually carried 2-7 days longer than fillies. Females 4 years and over are called mares and males are stallions. A castrated male is a gelding. Horses, particularly colts, may sometimes be physically capable of reproduction at approximately 18 months but in practice are rarely allowed to breed until a minimum age of 3 years, especially females. Horses four years old are considered mature, though the skeleton usually finishes developing at the age of six, and the precise time of completion of development also depends on the horse’s size (therefore a connection to breed exists), gender, and the quality of care provided by its owner.

Also, if the horse is larger, its bones are larger; therefore, not only do the bones take longer to actually form bone tissue (bones are made of cartilage in earlier stages of bone formation), but the epiphyseal plates (plates that fuse a bone into one piece by connecting the bone shaft to the bone ends) are also larger and take longer to convert from cartilage to bone as well. These plates convert after the other parts of the bones do but are crucial to development.

Depending on maturity, breed and the tasks expected, young horses are usually put under saddle and trained to be ridden between the ages of two and four. Although Thoroughbred and American Quarter Horse race horses are put on the track at as young as two years old in some countries (notably the United States), horses specifically bred for sports such as show jumping and dressage are generally not entered into top-level competition until a minimum age of four years old, because their bones and muscles are not solidly developed, nor is their advanced training complete.

Horses are adapted to grazing, so their teeth continue to grow throughout life. There are 12 teeth (six upper and six lower), the incisors, adapted to biting off the grass or other vegetation, at the front of the mouth, and 24 teeth, the premolar and molars, adapted for chewing, at the back of the mouth. Stallions and geldings have four additional teeth just behind the incisors, a type of canine teeth that are called “tushes.” Some horses, both male and female, will also develop one to four very small vestigial teeth in front of the molars, known as “wolf” teeth, which are generally removed because they can interfere with the bit. There is an empty interdental space between the incisors and the molars where the bit rests directly on the bars (gums) of the horse’s mouth when the horse is bridled.

The incisors show a distinct wear and growth pattern as the horse ages, as well as change in the angle at which the chewing surfaces meet, and while the diet and veterinary care of the horse can affect the rate of tooth wear, a very rough estimate of the age of a horse can be made by looking at its teeth.

Keith Londrie II is the Webmaster of http://horse.about-animals.info A website that specializes in providing information on horses that you can research on the internet at your own pace.
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Believe me this is not as unusual an issue as you may think.

The problem is how to deal with a horse, who is otherwise gentle and friendly with a wonderful temperament but is very aggressive at feeding time. When it comes time for food perhaps your horse will rear up, paw the ground, bite and push you, and anything else he can think of. As an owner, such behaviour can leave you perplexed as under normal circumstances your lovely horse might never ever normally show any signs of bad behavior. So what can you do under such circumstances to deal with the situation?

Well, it just so happens that there are things you can do, so if you have experienced such behavior - read on!

First off let’s be sure that you understand why your horse may be acting like this. Because this behavior is related to food it is possible that your horse has at some time not been fed enough and has had to compete for his food with other horses. If he was left hungry for considerable periods of time and then when fed had to compete with larger stronger horses he may not have been able to get his fair share and so had to fight for what he got. This behavior around food has stayed with him, despite the fact that he now gets more than enough to eat and doesn’t have to compete for it.

Remember that horses are creatures of habit and even if the circumstances change they will still act the same because it’s what they have learnt to do – he doesn’t realize that he doesn’t have to compete for the food available and that you are always going to feed him what he needs, so he still thinks he has to get in there and take it.

What you should never do is treat the problem with force, like hitting him when he gets like this. If the suspected cause is correct, hitting him would reinforce his need to be dominant to get his food, so you need to try something different.

The other thing I want to say right now is that I am assuming that you have followed my earlier advice (that you can find in other articles of mine) and have not been feeding your horse as rewards for correct behavior and most certainly not from your pocket. If you have- stop it right now! It doesn’t take any horse long to learn that if you reach into your pocket and a treat comes out, that they can expect one anytime you are with them. If this happens, then when you don’t have anything to give them they may bite you, so I never feed any horse as a reward. If I take a carrot or apple out to the horse its already in my hand when I walk up to them and I do not do it every time so that no habit can be formed.

So the first thing with your horse that behaves aggressively at meal times. is to always feed him on his own (at least until the problem is has been resolved). I would also suggest that you start feeding him more frequently but in smaller amounts – perhaps every 1-2 hours during the day, for a few days (but whatever you do, don’t exceed his proper daily amount of food just split it into lots of small portions).
This may encourage him to start seeing food as something that arrives regularly so that there is no need to fight for it. Don’t make any drama about feeding him each time – make it seem like all part of the normal routine. Try this for 3-4 days and see what happens. If it has no effect you an also try following.

I am going to tackle the rearing part first as this is potentially the most dangerous. Have your heard of hobbles? I’m sure you have, this is simply a way of tying the horses legs together so that they can’t move around as freely. Now – this is not cruel and doesn’t hurt them (and they are very unlikely to fall over either) so don’t be afraid of this because its also usually a very quick cure for a lot of different training problems and they learn from it fast. You don’t need special hobbles, good thick rope will do if you are up to the job. I appreciate that some people may not feel able or strong enough to do this, and as I don’t know how calm your horse is normally and if he’s ok with you handling his legs, I can’t help you decide if you will be able to do this safely so I will leave this to you to decide. The reason for suggesting the hobbles first is that the next thing most trainers try is a long swishy whip that is used to scare/surprise/shock your horse out of the unacceptable behavior rather than to hurt him, and I don’t know how you feel about this.

So I want you to hobble his front legs before you put the food anywhere near him (or before he can smell it – don’t even get it out until he’s hobbled). Hobbling him will simply make your horse feel insecure. Hobble and leave him in a confined area not in an open yard or field. Then feed him where he is. He may attempt to rear but is likely to be unsuccessful, so all you are really doing is making it uncomfortable for him. Hobbling will also inhibit his movements when he tries to shove you or bite you, so you should be safer like this too.

Just try it out and see how it goes. You must put them on every time you feed him, so a little patience will be required. Remove them when he has finished all his food and you have taken the feeding container away. Repeat the exact same procedure every time you feed him for the next few days. He may react very quickly and calm down or he may take a bit longer.

If you find that he can still rear you’ll need to hobble both front and rear legs, and you may even have to tie the front hobbles to the back, which is a spider hobble. But try just the front legs first and see how that goes.

Roger Bourdon has written a number of books dedicated to horseback riding, horses and the health of horses. His site http://www.anyhorsebackriding.com is dedicated to lovers of horses. It contains plenty of free information in newsletters, articles and contains loads of resources all about horses. Products such as books and DVD’s are also available for purchase

You call the Vet because your horse has a hoof problem, and he asks for some information. What do you say? Do you know how to describe the parts of the hoof so that he might recognise the problem before he even gets there – thus saving a call out fee?

An army may march on its stomach but a horse definitely marches on its hooves.

I had the vet out the other day doing a routine check on my old boy and he had a good poke around in the hooves. Although he said they were in good shape for the horse’s age, it did make me wonder how much I knew about the hoof, because he started using terms that I didn’t recognise. So I had a little anatomy lesson on the spot but he did mention that few private owners (and I’m not talking riding stables here) could describe a hoof problem in other than the simplest terms, which meant he could seldom diagnose without a visit.

I have since put a new free bonus book up on my site on hoof related problems, so I thought I’d cover a few of the basic terms here, and then do a follow on article about hoof problems and diseases.

What are the different parts of the hoof called.

The Wall

The walls are the protection for the softer internal tissues of the hoof- it’s like the human toe nail. They also provide grip on different terrains. They are elastic and very tough keratin-based substance, similar to a Teflon layer, the thickness is approximately 6 mm - 12 mm. It takes 9-12 months for the hoof to grow from the coronary band to the toe. In order for the horn to grow correctly and form a healthy foot, the horse must be provided with a good diet and be in good health. These factors must be checked if the horn starts to become brittle and weak or if the foot looks badly formed. A feed supplement of biotin may be helpful to promote good horn growth.

Three different layers make up the Wall: the pigmented layer, the water line and the white line.

The coronet band at the top of the hoof wall actually grows this pigmented (colored) layer of horn that makes up the outer wall of the hoof. Although this layer is for protection it does not like sustained contact with the ground, which can cause it to break and flake away.

The water line is built up by the coronet and by the wall’s corium (the living tissue immediately beneath the walls). It is thicker than the pigmented layer and increases its thickness, as it gets further down and away from the coronet band. Unlike the pigmented layer, this one is much hardier and is very resistant to contact to the ground so it is for support and protection of the underside of the hoof.

The white line is the inner layer of the wall. It is softer and fibrous in structure. Its color is yellowish. You can see it, in the underside of the healthy hoof, as a thin line, joining the sole and the walls. Since the white line is softer than both the walls and the sole, it wears fast where it appears on the surface and it appears as a subtle groove between the sole and the walls, with some debris or sand inside.

The three layers of the wall merge in a single mass and they grow downwards together. If the wall doesn’t wear naturally, from sufficient movement on rough ground, then it will over-grow, much like a toenail that is not filed down and it then becomes prone to breakage. This means that a healthy hoof will self-trim, by breaking or chipping off.
When a horseshoe is applied, it is fixed to the wall. The nails that are used to hold the shoe in place are hammered in at an angle so that the points come out of the front of the hoof wall.

The Frog

The frog is a triangular structure clearly visible if you look at the underside of the hoof- it’s like the human fingertip. It extends forwards across about two-thirds of the sole. Its thickness grows from the front to the back and, at the back; it merges with the heel periople. Down its middle, it has a groove, the central groove (sulcus) that extends up between the bulbs.

It is dark gray-blackish in color and of a rubbery consistency, which makes it great to act as a shock absorber and grip tool, on hard, smooth ground. In the stabled horse, it doesn’t wear but it degrades with bacterial and fungal activity to an irregular, soft, slashed surface. In the free-roaming horse, it hardens into a callous consistency, with a near-smooth surface.

The Sole

The sole has a whitish-yellowish, sometimes grayish color. It covers the whole space from the perimeter of the wall to the bars and the frog, on the underside of the hoof. Its deep layer has a compact, waxy character and is called the ‘live’ sole. Its surface will vary according to the type of ground the horse spends his time on. If there is no contact, as in shod hooves or when the walls are too long or the movement poor, the lower surface of the sole has a crumbly consistency and it is easily abraded (scratched off) it with a hoof pick. However, it has a very hard consistency, with a smooth, bright surface, when there is a consistent, active contact with the ground. The front portion, beneath the front of the pedal bone, is called the ’sole callus’.

The Bars

They are inward folds of the wall, starting from the heels at an abrupt angle. The strong structure built up by the extremity of the heel and of the bar is named the ‘heel buttress’. The sole between the heel walls and the bars is called the ’seat of corn’ and it is a very important landmark used by natural hoof trimmers to evaluate the correct heel height. The bars have a three-layer structure, just like the walls. When overgrown, they bend outwards and cover the lower surface of the sole.

Coronary band

You’ll recall this is found at the top of the hoof and is responsible for creating the horn that makes up the hoof wall.

Periople

This is the outer layer of the hoof that forms a protective covering on the hoof wall. It is responsible for regulating moisture content in the horn, secreted from the perioplic ring above the coronet.

Sensitive sole:

This is found underneath the pedal bone, within the insensitive sole. It produces the new cells that replace lost layers of the insensitive sole.

Digital cushion:

The digital cushion is found between the pedal bone and deep flexor tendon. An elastic, fibrous pad absorbs concussion from ground impact. It also helps to push blood back up the leg.

Lateral cartilages

These are attached to the pedal bone and serve to protect the coffin joint. They also help absorb concussion.

Laminae:

The insensitive laminae are supportive structures that attach to the hoof wall and interlock with the sensitive laminae. The sensitive laminae then attach and support the pedal bone. The divide between sensitive and insensitive laminae can been seen as a white line on the sole of the foot.

Conformation

This is term for the basic shape and size for a hoof and how fit it is for its purpose. It’s extremely important, as the feet are obviously essential to the horse

They should be even and round in shape and in proportion with the rest of the horse. The fronts should be of equal size and shape and so should the hinds.

The front feet should slope forwards and be at a 45 degree angle to the ground, and on through the fetlock and pastern. The hind feet should be at an angle of 50-55 degrees to the ground. The hoof wall should be smooth and free from cracks. Any lines could indicate poor nutrition or past cases of laminitis.

Poor conformation in the feet can result in strains to tendons and ligaments, tripping and bruising. Many such problems can be improved by a good farrier and over a period of time.

In respect of horse’s health, prevention is the best cure. If you are regularly checking your horse to see that he’s in tip top condition then at least you will know that any accident has not been caused or worsened by an existing health issue.

Roger Bourdon has written a number of books dedicated to horseback riding, horses and the health of horses. His site http://www.anyhorsebackriding.com is dedicated to lovers of horses. It contains plenty of free information in newsletters, articles and contains loads of resources all about horses. Products such as books and DVD’s are also available for purchase

My last discussions I identified sheared heels and the associated risks, if you missed that article I suggest you read it, now let’s get the fix I promised.

If your horse has sheared heels there are several fixes. In either case the toe of the foot should most likely be moved to the rear of the horse – in other words when the shoe is put on slide the shoe more to the rear of the foot then rasp the extra toe back to the shoe. You can move the shoe back very close to the white line if necessary. For one this will help the horse break over more easily and reduce all the stresses on tendons joints and ligaments but it will also help reduce the hoof stretch and drift you’ll usually find as a toe grows forward. This stops the heels from shearing more as well “usually”.

The first fix is kind of a “Bandage type fix” while the second actually corrects the problem but is a lengthy process. The first fix is to fit a shoe with longer heels than normal. A longer shoe in the heels is ok; the rule of thumb is to not extend the shoe past the bulb of the foot. By moving the shoe to the rear of the foot it automatically makes the shoe longer in the heel where needed and also starts the process of rasping the toe to the rear also needed. So this will get you out of trouble (somewhat). The problem is in reality the heel is still sheared – all we’ve done is quick fix it by the longer shoe.

So what can still happen is since the load on the hoof wall is still out of balance the “Blowout” I mentioned can still result. This is usually in and of itself not a problem but just an indication that things are still not right with the foot. But you’ve extended the heel with the shoe which stops the heels from sinking into the ground and putting all those undue stresses on the horse’s joints etc. The shoe may also be fit a little wider in the heels for more support as well.

Now the real fix, which is the more lengthy process, also takes some lay up time for your horse – you’ll probably not want to ride the horse for several months until the heels have a chance to grow back. The process starts with addressing the length of the toe just as above, so make sure the toe is being rasped back. Now here comes the traumatic part. What you want to do is cut “All” the heel “Off” the horses foot. I know sounds scary and it somewhat is. By cutting off the entire heel you’ve put the horse right smack down on the bulb of the foot. Now there is no longer any sheared heel.

When the heel has no more shear is has a chance to grow more straight up and down as it’s intended to do so. The slope is gone so the downward pressure doesn’t force the slope to continue. This works especially if the toe of the horse is continually rasped to the rear. Leave the horse barefoot through this process as you’re not riding anyway – and this will give the heels a chance to expand in width as well. So the problem with this method is the lay up time, but what you’ve done is really addressed all the problems in a real manner and not just the quick fix.

The truth is the quick fix works to prevent the lameness issues so most people opt to use the quick fix because they bypass the lay up time of 4-6 month in the process. So you have a decision to make for yourself. If you don’t ride during the winter months it might be the time to use the latter method – however if you ride all year long then the choice is all up to you my friend. Either way you’ll be ok.

Again – you should know I have a shoeing method not taught in the schools and textbooks with a 16 year 100% track record “Not One Single Lame Horse” due to my method. If you want to help your horse stay sound I encourage you to liberate yourself and your horse by going to the website address linked below in the Author Bio. It’s easy just go now before you forget and this opportunity to higher education passes you by.

Thank you, happy and safe riding and remember to Care4Horses

Reprint rights allowed providing nothing is changed

Author Bio: John Silveira, Farrier, Aikido practitioner, spiritualist, born and raised in San Mateo California the bay area. For information on his shoeing method and the 100% track record just go to http://Care4Horses.com and leave contact information.
thank you and remember to Care4Horses