Off The Track Thoroughbreds: All with Beautiful Rehabilitated Feet | EasyCare Off The Track Thoroughbreds: All with Beautiful Rehabilitated Feet Monday, March 5, 2012 by Dawn Willoughby Once and for all let's make a concerted effort to debunk a popular myth that thoroughbreds have shelly walls, thin soles, pencil thin frogs and for these reasons they need shoes. "The hell!" I say. Even with wrong hoof care from birth to rescue/career change, the vast majority of OTTBs can be rehabbed to soundness. And gorgeous feet! Cayuga When I met him he was 12 years old, shod most of his life. He trained on the track but did not race. Cayuga was living at Tory Hill, a gorgeous farm with a herd of about 10 barefoot geldings, mostly OTTBs, with full turnout on huge and hilly pastures. Too much hoof capsule. Crappy Walls or Horn. 'Beer Can' feet. The heels are almost as long as the toe. This tells me that the coffin bone is pointing down at a steep angle.

The tip of the coffin bone is no doubt disintegrating from mechanical stress. Unfortunately, the farrier can only trim so much and then puts the shoe back on a long, misshapen foot to maintain it. Rehab demands pulling the shoes. The foot is sweeping forward, in front of the horse. In a general sense, the green line indicates where the hoof will end after rehab. The Red points out (1) upward pressure of the shoe and (2) a long under run heel Cayuga's Straight Forward Rehabilitation: As I applied the mustang roll, mechanical pressure on the lamina was removed and the steep, well connected wall at the top half inch of the capsule grew right in. As this happens the hoof will get back under the horse. The entire foot will transform as the capsule becomes smaller and the heels shorten. Transformation is organic. A lot of things are happening at once. I never force any angle or any particular length because above the hoof is a unique body with unique movement. Below, in 7 months, the hoof capsule looked more compact. Soles and walls thicken. Heels open up as the frog and internal structures improve. The more movement and the healthier the diet, the better the foot.

7 months later a nicer foot, still on the mend. Still a long capsule and long heels (as they appear from the outside) but over time it all corrects. Most importantly Cayuga was sound, ridden in padded Epic boots throughout. Smartie This fancy OTTB had been in shoes a long term. Sadly we didn't make it to a full rehab before the owner put him back in shoes. He has some things to show us. This unraveling hoof wall with cracks around the nail holes is not being held together by the shoe. Force comes down the leg, hits the shoe and runs back up the hoof and leg maintaining the cracks. To treat the unraveling wall, I would definitely use White Lightening to insure there is no bacteria maintaining the problem. Otherwise, it will grow out in about 3 months. Solar View: Under run heels and long toe From the hairline in the back of the foot to the heel where Smartie lands, you see about 2" of heel length running under the horse. Many people misinterpret this saying their horses won't grow heels. Smartie, and many horses, grow heels that run forward.

If the frog is healthy and can take a pounding from the current ground conditions, I'll bring the heels back, and down, half inch at a trim. By the end of rehab the heels will in the back of the foot, next to the back of the frog. Above the frog, internally, the digital cushion and lateral cartilages begin to re-develop and give Smartie the structure he needs. Above, the toe wall appears to be about 3" in front of the end or apex of the frog. Much too long. If you wait about a week after pulling shoes, the horse will develop a toe callus and you can rasp the toe, 10:00 - 2:00, back to but not through, the toe callus. The callus looks like a long bump. Personally I like to pull the shoes, round things up and leave the horse alone for a month. Pulling shoes is traumatic enough for one day. Care of Your Horse's Feet Care of Your Horse's Feet Wayne Loch Department of Animal Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia Foot care is one of the most neglected horse management practices. Most lameness that impairs the usefulness of a horse can be prevented by proper foot care and reasonable management.

Foot care should be as routine as feeding and watering. It should include: Routine cleaning Corrections of minor imperfections Treatment of foot diseases and injuries. Most foot care practices can be done by the average horse owner. However, it is important to know when to seek the help of a professional, especially for corrective shoeing and disease treatment and control. To understand proper care of a horse's feet, first study and understand the structure of the foot and the functions of its various parts. The major parts of a horse's foot are the hoof wall, coronet, sole, frog and the internal structures such as the bones, cartilage, tendons and connective tissue. Internal structures will be discussed briefly in this guide. Hoof wall The hoof wall is a horny substance made up of parallel fibers (Figure 1). It should be dense, straight, and free from rings (ridges) and cracks. Viewed from the side, the wall at the toe should be a continuation of the slope of the pastern. Figure 1. Anatomy of the horse's foot. The main functions of the wall are to: Provide a weight-bearing surface not easily worn away Protect the internal structure of the foot Maintain moisture in the foot.

Usually, the hoof wall is thicker at the toe than at the quarter and heel. The hoof wall is protected by the periople, a varnish-like coating that also holds moisture in the hoof. Coronet The coronet, or coronary band, is the source of growth for the hoof wall. It is directly above the hoof wall and is protected by a thick layer of skin and dense hair. A healthy foot will grow about 3/8 of an inch per month. A change in the rate of growth of the hoof can be caused by a change in the amount of exercise, the ration, the onslaught of illness, and the general state of health and condition of the animal. Injury to the coronary band can result in irregular growth of the hoof wall and can develop into a permanently unsound hoof wall. The hind feet may grow faster than the forefeet, and unshod feet may grow faster than shod feet. The feet of mares and geldings seem to grow faster than those of stallions. Sole The sole of the foot is a horny substance that protects the sensitive inner portions of the foot. It should be firm, slightly concave and of uniform texture. The horse has no feeling at the exterior sole surface.

A flat-footed horse tends to receive more bruises and injuries to the sole. Also, horses that have experienced founder and have developed a dropped sole are more easily bruised at the sole. Frog The frog, located at the heel of the foot, forms a "V" into the center of the sole (Figure 2). The frog is a spongy, flexible pad and is also a weight-bearing surface. It is the intermediate organ between the plantar cushion and the source of pressure from the horse's weight. The frog is differentiated from the sole of the foot by two lines called commissures. Figure 2. Parts of the ground surface of the horse's foot. The condition of the frog generally is a good indication of the health of the foot. Without proper flexibility, expansion and ground contact, the frog cannot perform its function in complementing the circulation of blood and the absorption of shock throughout the foot. Internal foot structure To be able to provide proper foot care, first gain an understanding of some of the important internal parts of the foot and their functions. Coffin bone provides the shape of the foot and the rigidity needed to bear weight. Plantar cushion expands and contracts to absorb shock and pumps blood from the foot back toward the heart.

Navicular bone serves as a fulcrum and bearing surface for the deep flexor tendon, which is responsible for extension of the foot as it progresses through a stride. Sensitive laminae serve as a means of attachment for the hoof wall and the coffin bone and also as the main area of blood circulation within the foot. Routine foot care Disease organisms concentrate where animals are confined, so cleanliness is important. Horses kept in a stall or small pen should have their feet picked or cleaned daily to reduce the risk of thrush. Thrush is the condition resulting from bacterial penetration into the frog and surrounding area. The bacteria produce a foul odor and cause the frog to become soft and mushy. If allowed to go untreated, serious lameness can result and extensive treatment will be necessary. Routine daily foot care means regular use of the hoof pick to clean the horse's feet. A fine-bristled wire brush also is useful for cleaning the sole, frog and hoof wall. Take care not to damage the periople with too much pressure from the wire brush; the result would disturb the moisture balance of the foot.

Foot cleaning When picking the foot, use a hoof pick and clean from the heel toward the toe, being especially careful to clean the commissures on each side of the frog and the cleft of the frog itself (Figure 3). Don't attempt to open the heel excessively, as this weakens the area and interferes with proper contraction and expansion of the heel. Figure 3. Clean your horse's feet daily. Pull the pick away from the frog and heel toward the toe. After riding, clean the sole and check for gravel or other foreign objects that could be lodged in the natural depressions of the foot. A nail, gravel, stick or other object can work into the foot and cause lameness of long duration. Objects have been known to exist in a horse's foot for as long as a year before emerging at the heel or along the coronet. When a foreign particle emerges at the coronary area, a sore, called a quittor, usually develops. This problem can easily lead to serious infection. Maintain moisture in feet Moisture in the horse's feet helps to maintain flexibility and prevent cracking. Most of the moisture needed in a healthy and well-protected foot can come from within.

Extremely wet conditions such as a muddy lot or wet stall promote rapid drying of the feet; the natural oils and protective films of the foot are eroded from constant contact with external moisture. One way to maintain proper moisture in the foot is to regularly apply a good hoof dressing containing some animal fat such as lanolin. If the dressing is not a petroleum derivative, it can be massaged into the coronet, the frog and the sole as well as on the hoof wall. The dressing helps to keep the sole pliable and eliminate dead tissue around the frog and heel. Also, massaging the coronet stimulates growth of a healthy new hoof wall. Trimming maintains foot balance Trimming of feet is important, although not needed as frequently as cleaning. Trimming should be done at about four-week intervals on horses kept in stalls or paddocks, or about six-week intervals for horses used heavily or running in pastures. The main goal in trimming is to retain the proper shape and length of the foot. Most people should feel comfortable in pulling shoes and trimming feet while they wait for the farrier. The bottom of the foot should be kept level and the inside and outside walls should be maintained at equal lengths.

The hoof wall should be trimmed with nippers to remove excess length (see figure 4), then a rasp should be used to smooth and level the bottom of the foot. Be sure to rasp from the heel through the toe with each stroke to prevent uneven areas in the hoof wall (Figure 5). Figure 4. Trim hoof wall with nippers to remove excess length. Figure 5. After using the nippers, level the foot by rasping. Be careful to leave both walls the same length. The white line is external evidence of the lamination (sensitive laminae) between the hoof wall and the coffin bone. The sole of the foot is usually of uniform thickness in a normal horse. Because of that, the sole should not be trimmed to an unnatural shape. To do so would cause parts of the sole to be dangerously thin and tender. Trimming the sole, referred to as lowering the sole, is done to keep the pressure on the hoof wall rather than on the sensitive inner parts of the foot. The dead, flaky tissue should be trimmed from the sole. Live tissue, elastic when stretched between the fingers, should not be trimmed away (Figure 6). Figure 6.

After leveling the hoof, lower the sole so the hoof wall bears the weight of the horse. Don't trim the frog excessively; it should contact the ground with each step. Trim the frog only enough to remove dead tissue and to provide a uniform and adequate fissure along the junction of the sole and the frog. After the bearing surface has been rasped to a level surface of proper length, the edges of the wall should be rounded if the horse will not be shod. This prevents chipping and peeling as the foot contacts rocks, logs or other obstructions. Maintain hoof wall angle Maintain the proper angle of the hoof wall in relation to the ground and the angle of the pastern. Shoes that are left on for too long change the angle of the foot relative to the pastern and can cause lameness. When possible, the angle of the hoof wall should approximate the angle formed by the shoulder and the pastern � usually 50 to 54 degrees. Since the hoof wall is narrower at the heel than at the toe, heels wear first, whether the horse is barefoot or on shoes. Low heels put more stress on the tendons of the leg.

If a horse is shod at a 50-degree angle, this angle may change. A 50-degree angle might be down to 46 or 47 degrees in four to six weeks. This greatly affects the action of the horse and puts more strain on tendons and ligaments. As the hoof grows larger, the walls at the heels will overlap the shoe. When a shoe presses on the bars, there is serious danger of producing corns in the foot. Running a horse with shoes that have been left on too long also can cause bowed tendons. Regular trimming and shoe re-setting are essential in avoiding these problems. Foot angle varies from breed to breed and much variation is found among horses of the same breed. Generally, the Western breeds have steeper pasterns and a greater angle at the ground than the other breeds. Unless some correction is needed, as in forging and scalping, the foot should be trimmed to its natural angle, because any change would result in stress in other areas of the column of bones of the leg. Trim the heels low enough to promote expansion and prevent contraction of the heels.

The main concern is to trim often enough to prevent cracking and uneven wear, which could eventually contribute to the improper set of the feet and legs. With a little practice, most horse owners should be able to routinely trim feet of horses that do not need corrective work. It is wise, however, not to take a chance on compounding a problem on horses that need corrective trimming. To prevent harmful mistakes, seek the help of a professional farrier when trying to correct an improper turn or set of the feet and legs. Founder brings feet problems Fat horses tend to have problems with laminitis (founder). This is especially common among horses with some Shetland pony breeding. Grass founder in the spring produces more laminitis than any other single cause. If your horse is fat, grazes abundant grass, and is not exercised, there is great risk of laminitis. Laminitis commonly causes lameness. Horses with laminitis have extreme pain and soreness, especially in their front feet. They try to bear weight on their back legs and lighten the front end as much as possible by carrying their front feet forward and their back feet up under their bodies. Horses showing signs of laminitis should have immediate attention from a veterinarian.

Therapeutic trimming and shoeing may make a horse with laminitis sound enough for light work and normal reproduction. Give nail pricks prompt attention Much lameness results from nail pricks. Horses should not be ridden in areas of trash and boards containing nails. Injury caused by nails can ruin a horse. As soon as a nail prick is identified, give prompt medical attention and pack it to prevent reinfection by ground-borne disease organisms. Corrective trimming The most common deviations from a normal set of feet and legs are toe in (pigeon toed) and toe out of either front or rear feet. Other problems commonly corrected by trimming are cocked ankles, buck knees, calf knees, sickle hocks and slight rotations of the cannon bone. Also, some common faults in movement of feet in stride � forging, scalping, interfering and brushing � are corrected by careful trimming. The most important aspects of good foot care are regularity, frequency, cleanliness and the use of proper corrective measures. Handling the feet Learning and practicing safe handling of the horse's feet are important steps in performing routine foot care. Horses should be taught early in life to yield their feet.

Most horses are worked more from the left side than the right, so begin working with the left front foot. Rub down the leg toward the foot with your right hand while your left hand is on the shoulder. Push off with your left hand if you need to move away. Squeeze the tendon to get the horse to yield the foot if it won't do so otherwise. Move the hand in front of the canon or fetlock as the foot raises. Position the foot firmly between your knees. If the horse struggles and wishes to regain its foot, let it do so. You can't hold a front foot if the horse rears. Repeat the procedure until the horse learns to yield its feet willingly. To lift a hind foot, keep one hand near the hip and go down the leg slowly with the other (Figures 7 and 8). Work in close to the horse. Pull forward on the canon until the horse yields its foot. If you feel tense muscles, go more slowly. Step promptly under the raised foot with the inside leg and set the foot above your knees. Lock it in place with your elbow over the hock and your toes pointed toward each other. Hold the foot in this position so both hands are free to work. Figure 6.

Pick up the hind feet with care. Brace with one hand against the horse's hip while you work down the leg with the other hand. With the horse relaxed, lift the foot forward and step under it with your inside leg. Figure 7. Proper position when holding the hind foot. With the hock under the arm pit, ankle on knees, and foot backward (upward) the horse will submit to foot care. Bar Shoes | TheHorse.com Bar Shoes Newsletters Once regarded as pretty radical, bar shoes now are experiencing something of a renaissance. In particular, egg bar shoes are being fitted to more feet now more than ever before-even those belonging to horses in high-intensity athletic careers, such as racing or showjumping. The reason? Simple--they work! The term "bar shoe" encompasses any type of shoe with a closed heel rather than an open heel, including the straight bar shoe, which is a regular shoe with a bar of steel or aluminum welded across its heels. The straight bar shoe has fallen out of favor these days, in deference to the egg bar, which provides better support of the horse's weight with less direct compression on the heels.

An egg-bar shoe, so called because of its oval shape, can be made by forging two shoes together so they form a continuous ring. It's nailed on the foot in the normal way, but the posterior portion of the oval projects beyond the horse's heels. There are an infinite number of types and variations on bar shoes used for therapeutic applications. Most notably is the heart-bar shoe, which features a central triangular projection that covers the frog. Although bar shoes were once a custom-forged item, they now come ready-made, in materials ranging from aluminum to steel to titanium, in a kaleidoscope of sizes, shapes, and designs-a testament to their ever-increasing popularity. Veteran farrier Chris Zizian, of Milton, Ontario, increasingly finds that egg-bar shoes are a good solution for many horses with problem feet. "The more research I do, the more I like them," he says. "They're useful for a lot of problems.

Some horses need them for a few months on a therapeutic basis, but others just stay in them." Zizian notes that "hardly anyone who's 'up' on the literature uses straight bar shoes anymore; there's too much potential for crushing the bulbs of the heels if they're not applied properly." In his practice, egg bars are the much preferred way to go, he says. "It just turns out (the egg bar) is a better shoe." What sorts of problems can an egg bar help solve? "Egg bars support the posterior portion of the hoof. A horse with long-pastern, low-heel syndrome-a lot of Thoroughbreds fit that description-can really benefit from such a shoe," Zizian says. "With a foot that has a low, under-run heel," he explains, "the hoof capsule is being pushed toward the toe. An egg bar shifts the weight back toward the heel and supports that weight, so it encourages the hoof to grow more correctly." Zizian said he also finds egg bar shoes helpful for horses with sheared heels. "An egg bar is really good for relieving the pressure on the side of the heels that's sheared (the higher of the two heels).

You can trim the capsule on the sheared side so that it isn't touching the shoe, and it will settle down on its own over time and even out at the coronet band." He said horses with heel area lameness or bruising get relief from an egg bar shoe, and it allows them to stay in work. A correctly sized egg bar shoe can add about 25% more ground-bearing surface to the foot, which can be a significant help for horses with disproportionately small feet. Heavily muscled stock horse breeds which tend to suffer from contracted heels often can improve the shape of their feet over time with the application of egg bar shoes, and they're increasingly popular with dressage competitors riding 18-hand, 1,600-pound warmbloods. Horses with weakness in the fetlock area can benefit from the extra support of an egg bar shoe as well. In essence, an egg bar shoe gives the horse a larger surface area to stand over, which can help support a leg with suspensory problems.

(For instance, they are used if a horse is suffering from degenerative suspensory ligament desmitis, or DSLD, a condition in which the suspensories lose their elasticity, and the fetlock begins to drop toward the ground.) An egg bar shoe can even act as a preventative against lameness for a horse with an identified suspensory problem, Zizian says. "The back of the shoe should extend as far back as the line of the back of the cannon bone and fetlock. That will help keep the fetlock from dropping too far-and if the fetlock doesn't drop as far, the breakover is improved." In some cases, the flight path of the feet actually becomes enhanced, despite the slightly heavier weight of an egg bar shoe. Although egg bars traditionally have been recommended for navicular syndrome, Zizian remarks that as veterinary and farrier research continues to evolve, "navicular" is becoming a pretty nebulous concept. Essentially, it describes a collection of symptoms, rather than an actual diseaseprocess-and the symptoms could be caused by anything from actual deterioration of the navicular bone to a relatively simple case of sheared heels.

Regardless of the cause, there's a good chance that egg bars might improve the soundness of a horse with navicular-like symptoms. However, if a horse becomes sound in egg bar shoes, was he really a true "navicular" case to begin with? As for heart bar shoes, Zizian says they have a few, specific applications. "They're useful for supporting the coffin bone area in laminitic horses, and also for horses who are sore in the 'seat of corn' area (the spot where the white line and the bars meet, near the heels). They put pressure on the frog and take it off the hoof wall, so the corn can heal; it's a temporary fix," he says. This quality of "unweighting" the wall also can help if, for example, a horse has a quarter crack. The heart bar shoe often prevents the wall from breaking away or the crack from widening. Horses with fractures of a "wing" of the coffin bone can benefit from heart bar shoes as well. "We used to make up custom bar shoes, with a bar that ran diagonally across the foot to support the break," he notes, "but it's rare to use that sort of thing today.

The heart bar is usually a better solution." In most cases, a horse will wear bar shoes on his front feet only. But Zizian says if there's a specific hind-end problem to treat, then a horse can successfully wear them on all four feet. Caveats With all of these applications, it's no wonder bar shoes are exploding in popularity. But it's not as simple as just slapping a pair on the front feet and heading off to the races (or the show ring). "A bar shoe is a therapeutic shoe, and should be treated as such," says Zizian. "When your horse is wearing them, you'll have to change your routine a bit." Turnout, for instance, can become an issue when your horse is wearing shoes that project out behind his heels. Running and playing at liberty probably provide the bes0t chance for him to grab the projection with a toe and yank the shoe off. Imagine the carnage if your horse were to snag an egg bar-shod foot in a wire fence!

The best approach with a horse sporting egg bar shoes is to limit turnout to a small field or arena with wooden or pipe fencing, put him there by himself (to limit the amount of galloping around he'll do), and outfit him with big, sloppy bell boots of gum rubber, which hang over the actual shoe, not just the heels. It's far better, reasons Zizian, to sacrifice a bell boot than an expensive egg bar shoe that might remove half the foot when it goes. That said, Zizian notes that there are many horses which have no more trouble keeping egg bar shoes on than regular, open-heeled shoes. He's seen them in use not only on dressage horses, but also on showjumpers and even eventers, who are galloping and jumping over uneven terrain. "There are a lot of top-level horses wearing egg-bar shoes with no problems," he says. "If they're correctly applied, they should be no more likely to come off than a regular shoe." Two types of terrain that will heighten the risk of lost shoes are deep mud and going downhill at speed; these should be avoided if possible.

Horses which manage repeatedly to pull off their egg bar shoes probably do so not because of the design of the shoe, but because of the symptoms that made them egg bar candidates in the first place: poor quality horn, long toes, and under-run heels. Chronic stall-walkers, pawers, or weavers also are prone to ripping off bar shoes. If a horse really is determined to remove his egg bar shoes, some farriers might resort to a straight-bar shoe until such time as a better foot starts to grow. Zizian emphasizes that applying an egg bar shoe on any horse requires a certain amount of expertise. "You really need a competent and experienced farrier to correctly install a bar shoe. There's a little more skill required-and a better understanding of anatomy and locomotion-than with a simpler shoe. So, it's probably not the kind of thing you want to ask your apprentice farrier to try on his first day." Essential to the correct application of an egg bar shoe is making sure the rear portion of the shoe isn't pressing on the heel bulbs, which could crush the soft tissue and cause lasting damage.

Zizian notes, "It's very easy to choose a bar shoe that's too small in a misguided effort to keep the rear projection from sticking out too far. But if the shoe is too small, it will place pressure on the heels. What people don't understand is that by applying the right size of egg bar shoe correctly, you can improve the breakover of the foot-and that will mean the front foot gets out of the way of the hind more easily. So you end up with less risk of yanking the shoe off than you would if you put on a too-small shoe that doesn't help the breakover." One essential with bar shoes is some sort of traction device, Zizian says. "An egg bar represents just that much more steel a horse is standing on, so it can be very slippery. I think it's crucial to put caulks on any kind of bar shoe; they're just placed at the heels where any ordinary caulk would be." Because bar shoes also require expert and accurate fitting, they are almost always applied hot.

And since long toes defeat the purpose of an egg bar shoe, Zizian says he finds that a square or rolled toe, which can ease breakover on the front feet, is a very good idea. Occasionally he sets the shoes back from the toe instead, which has a similar effect. From a farrier's point of view, the wide availability of good-quality, ready-made bar shoes might have something to do with their increasing popularity. It's far less time consuming now for a farrier to outfit a horse with egg bar shoes. Also, because the ready-made shoes are stamped from a single piece of metal, they're less likely to break than the hand-made, welded kind. Fairly advanced farriery skills still are required when egg bar shoes are involved, and that will cost the owner more than an ordinary set of shoes. More frequent re-setting is required; expect to have yourfarrier out every three to four weeks if you want to minimize the chance of lost shoes. Don't expect instant grace when your horse is shod with egg bar shoes for the first time; many need a few days to get used to them.

There also is likely to be a transition period if and when your farrier and veterinarian agree that it's time to return to an open-heeled shoe. If any lameness recurs once your horse is outfitted with a plain, wide-webbed shoe, he's telling you he needs the extra heel support and load-bearing assistance of an egg bar. While it's not the most inexpensive or low-maintenance approach, there's nothing wrong with maintaining your horse in bar shoes throughout his career, if that's what he requires to perform. About the Author How to Shoe a Horse: 13 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow How to Shoe a Horse Two Parts: Preparing a Horse's Foot for Shoeing Shoeing Your Horse Community Q&A While wild horses can roam for miles each day without any form of protection on their hooves, domesticated horses require regularly-maintained horse shoes to protect their feet from injury and boost their effectiveness as work animals. [1] People trained in the art of horseshoeing are called farriers. Learning the basic skills of a farrier is a smart idea for any horse owner.

Because horse shoes need to be replaced every four to eight weeks, the cost of hiring a professional farrier every time can soon run rather high. If you want to learn how to shoe a horse yourself, make sure that you have a trained farrier teach you how. Do not attempt to shoe a horse for the first time without the help of a trained farrier! Keep reading to learn about the process of shoeing a horse. Steps Preparing a Horse's Foot for Shoeing 1 Lift the horse's foot. When working with a horse’s hooves it's important to move the horse's foot into position in a way that doesn't surprise the horse or irritate it. Make sure the horse is aware of your presence by gently patting it on the rump. To get your horse to lift her foot, run your hand down her leg. Then, squeeze the tendon above the ankle and lift the hoof. The horse should shift its weight to its other three feet. [2] While you work, hold the foot in place by tucking your hip against the horse's hock (the large joint on the hind leg) and gaskin (the muscle above the hock).

Use the inside of your knee to pull the foot out slightly and up between your legs so that the sole of the hoof faces up towards you. Support the horse's toe with one hand. This position locks the horse's foot in place, making it difficult for the horse to kick or put its foot on the ground before you're done working. Make sure that you reward your horse with praise for cooperating and waiting while you clean her hooves. Saying, “good girl” or “yes” after she lifts each hoof for you will help to reinforce your horse’s good behavior. [3] 2 Remove any shoes that are already on the horse's feet. To remove a horseshoe, first, "break" (straighten) the nail clinches (the bent tips of each nail that holds the shoe on) with a clinch cutter and a hammer. Work the blade of the clinch cutter under the clinch, then hit it with a hammer to straighten the nail. Then, use a pair of metal pull-offs to loosen and remove the shoe. Close the jaws of the pull-offs around the outside heel of the shoe and use an outside to center rocking motion, working towards the toe to loosen the shoe.

Repeat for the inside heel and proceed in this fashion until the shoe can be pulled off. [4] Several alternatives exist for breaking the nail clinches. In a pinch, you can use a rock and a flat head screwdriver to bend the nail tips upwards, or, if you're careful not to wear a hole in the hoof wall, you can even use a rasp to file the nail clinches away. 3 Clean the bottom of the hoof. For your horse's health and safety, you don't want dirt or debris trapped between its new shoe and its foot. Before shoeing your horse, use a hoof pick to remove any compacted dirt, mud, rocks, manure, etc. from your horse’s foot. Use downward strokes from heel to toe. Follow the hoof pick with a wire brush for added cleanliness. [5] Take care around the frog - the triangular portion in the middle of the hoof. This part of the hoof is extra-sensitive. 4 Use a hoof knife to remove excess, flaky sole from the bottom of the hoof.

Typically, before a horse is shod, the dark, hard, outer layer of each hoof's sole is removed to reveal the softer, whiter material underneath in a process roughly equivalent to trimming a human's toenails. Take care not to cut too deep, or you risk hurting the horse or even rendering it temporarily lame - the same as if you'd cut a person's nails too short. [6] This process is easiest if you keep your hoof knife razor sharp. But use caution. It's easy to accidentally slip and cut yourself while working. 5 Trim excess hoof wall with hoof nippers. The hoof wall - the edge of the hoof - should extend about 3 inches (7.6 cm) to 3 & 3/4 inches from the hairline above the hoof itself. If it's any longer, use a set of nippers (essentially giant nail clippers) to trim the edge of the hoof to a suitable length.You should see a ridge where the hoof wall extends beyond the sole. Do not cut into the sole with the nippers, or you may injure the horse.

[7] When you trim the hoof with nippers, be sure to keep the trimmed edges of the hoof uniformly straight and level so that they'll sit flush with the ground. Trim from each side of the heel to the toe. The exception to this is in cases where a horse's gait wears its hoof unevenly - in this case, you'll want to take slightly less hoof material off of the side that the horse favors. Use caution when making this distinction and, if unsure, consult an experienced farrier. 6 Use a rasp to flatten and level the the sole. The very last thing that must be done to prepare the hoof for its shoe is to ensure the bottom of the hoof is smooth, flat and level. Use a rasp to gently file any uneven spots on the bottom of the hoof, taking care, as always, not to wear the hoof too short or irritate the frog. Then using your knife, pare away slightly to bevel the sole away from the hoof wall. Contact of the sole on the shoe can cause the horse discomfort. [8] Part 2 Shoeing Your Horse 1 Size the shoe to its hoof.

As with human feet, horse feet come in many different sizes and, thus, different horses will require different-sized shoes. Before proceeding, ensure that the shoes you have available are the correct size for your horse's feet. Note that a horse's front and hind feet are differently-shaped, so you will need different shoes for each.most horses have a size smaller in the back then the front, but not always. If you have to choose between shoes that are slightly too big and shoes that are slightly too small, choose the bigger shoes. These can be bent, shaped, and ground down to a smaller size, while too-small shoes can't be made bigger. Too long a shoe in front will cause the horse to step on the exposed heel of the shoe and pull it off. 2 Make minor adjustments to the shape of the shoe, if needed. Often, even if horse shoes are the correct size, they will not fit a horse's foot without adjustments. Like human feet, horse feet can be asymmetrical or uneven. There are several ways to custom-shape horseshoes. If you're a knowledgeable metalworker, you can heat the shoe until the steel can be bent to the size of the hoof.

Or, you can cold shape the shoe on an anvil using a hammer and tongs. Some farriers do neither, opting instead to grind their shoes down until they fit with a rasp or grinding machine. Well-fitting horse shoes should align well with the edge of the hoof. Keep in mind that it may take some time to get a shoe to the perfect size for your horse. 3 Secure the shoe in its place with nails. Align the shoe so that it sits perfectly against the edge of the hoof, then drive nails through the holes in the shoe to fix it to the horse's foot. When doing this, care must be taken so as not to hurt or hobble the horse. Drive the nail through the hoof at an outward angle so that the nail tips go through the top of the hoof wall. Never drive nails into the sensitive inner portion of the hoof. To make this easier, use hoof nails that have a bevel on one side to guide the tip through the hoof wall. [9] With these special nails, the manufacturer's stamp on the side of the nail head should face the center of the foot (towards the frog) - this ensures that the bevel is facing the right direction.

Some modern horseshoes use glue, rather than nails, to hold the shoe in place. [10] If you're worried about hurting your horse, you may want to try this alternative. Note that application methods for glue-on shoes can vary - consult the manufacturer or an experienced farrier for more information. 4 Bend and remove the nail tips. Once each nail has been driven, use the claw end of your hammer to bend the tip of the nail over against the hoof wall. Then, twist off the tip or use a pair of nippers to bend and clip the tips off. Try leave about 1/8" of the tip bent over the edge of the hole formed by the nail pointing towards the toe. This ensures that the nail will hold the shoe in place without the sharp tip hurting you or the horse. 5 Clinch the nail. Set a clinch block under the nail on the outer hoof wall, then set the nail in the hoof (or "clinch" it) by hitting the nail head once again with the driving hammer. This gives the nail a firm grip in the horse's hoof, ensuring the shoe stays in place.

You may use a sturdy metal tool, like your nippers, in place of the clinch block in a pinch. Another option is to use a special tool called a clincher. With this tool, all you need to do is align the jaws of the clincher over the nail tip and squeeze the handles. 6 File any rough spots on the hoof wall. Finally, give the outside of the hoof a once-over with a rasp, smoothing out any uneven spots and giving the hoof a nice clean finish. Pay special attention to the clinched nail tips, which can also be filed smooth. [11] When finished, you should be able to draw a cloth over the hoof wall without it catching. You may also notice that excess hoof material protrudes over the edge of the shoe. If this is the case, use a pair of nippers or pull-offs to remove it. 7 Repeat process three more times until all four hooves have been shod. Remember that the front and back hooves will require differently-shaped shoes and that even the two front and back feet may not be perfectly symmetrical with each other. Community Q&A Does it hurt the horse when it is shoed? wikiHow Contributor No, the horse cannot feel anything.

It is just like when you clip your nails, you cannot feel anything. Should the shoe be over the frog at the back of the heel, or should it fit either side of the fro? wikiHow Contributor Depending on the shoe you use, a "normal" shoe would not cover the frog at the back of the heel but other shoes that run in a circle-like shape do cover it. Which way should the nails face? wikiHow Contributor The smooth side of the nail head faces to the outside. This is extremely important, because as the nail is being driven, the tip of the nail will angle toward the smooth side of the nail. If done incorrectly, the nail tip will go into the horse's hoof instead of coming out through the hoof wall, causing the horse a great deal of pain and putting the person shoeing the horse in danger. Why do horses need shoes? wikiHow Contributor Horses need horseshoes so that their hooves don't become damaged when they are in used rodeos or as work horses. Should a retired old horse be shod, or should I just keep its hooves trimmed and cleaned? wikiHow Contributor What does the clench groover do?

wikiHow Contributor It notches out a small part of the hoof wall under the clinch to allow the clinch to fit smoothly within the hoof wall rather than on the hoof wall surface. Can I use glue to hold the horseshoe? wikiHow Contributor You may use a special glue to hold the horseshoe in place, but they are not designed to handle heavy riding. If this question (or a similar one) is answered twice in this section, please click here to let us know. Video Tips Horses kick, so watch out! If you can't get the horse to pick up its foot, lean your body weight into the leg and pinch behind the cannon bone. Warnings Shoeing a horse is best left to someone with experience. It is a dangerous job and should not be attempted for the first time after reading a short web article. You could seriously hurt yourself or severely lame your horse. Please do not attempt this without consulting a professional. When shoeing, make sure that you don’t leave any tools on the floor or your horse could step on them. Horses do kick, so watch out! Things You'll Need

Question: How is the shoe held on a racehorse's foot?
Answer: Nails