Posts filed under “Hoof form & function”
A Matter of Conscience
This started out as what I had envisioned as a fairly straightforward post, written in response to some comments made by a reader and by a local horse owner. Instead, it turned into an extremely challenging one to write – I suppose because I have so much to say on the subject that the difficulty […]
Natural Hoof Care Revisited (or “Promises, Promises”)
Some further reflection on my last Post, coupled with conversations and comments from several readers and clients, has made me want to add a few other thoughts regarding what constitutes genuine natural hoof care. In this case, I think it’s important (and, given the plethora of folks pretending to provide natural hoof care, becoming increasingly […]
What Makes it “Natural Hoof Care?”
It’s not unusual these days to hear horse owners, farriers, and even veterinarians talk about so-called “natural” approaches to a wide variety of equine health and management topics, including vaccinations, deworming, feeding, and hoof care. Since (as I explained in my first post) my equine expertise lies primarily in the area of hoof care, that’s […]
Hoof Chipping Revisited
Last week was an interesting week in the “chips” department, beginning with the client, whose horse I’d trimmed only twice before, who called to cancel her appointment because her horse had chips in his hooves, and, therefore, needed to get him shod. “We tried,” she said, “but it’s just not working out.” A day or […]
Functional Form
I certainly wasn’t thinking of a comparison when I took some photos of a client’s hooves the other day. As a product designer, I’m admittedly drawn to the form of a well-functioning hoof, and this older Warmblood has great feet! But as I was cropping the photos, I came across some pictures I’d taken years […]
The Emperor’s New Shoes
I happened across an article entitled Polymers replace metal in horseshoes for added benefit in one of my many engineering trade magazines the other day (Design fax, Volume 7, Issue 26). I suppose I shouldn’t have been shocked by its contents, but I continually hold out hope for more legitimate science in this field, and […]
Progress!? Update
An email update from the client with the undiagnosed hoof infection – Yesterday I got to ride my (horse type deleted) on a really nice trail ride on some neighboring farms and he was wonderful!!! I can not thank you enough! He has been consistently sound now for longer than ever since I got him […]
Chips & Cracks
I occasionally get calls from sometimes very upset horse owners saying that his or her horse needs immediate attention because the horse’s hoof wall is chipping – usually at the toe, or sometimes in the heel quarters. Most of the time, these calls originate with owners who have had the horse barefoot for some period, […]
Progress!?
I received the following email from a new client the other day – I wanted to give you a quick update on my (horse type deleted) that was so sore before you started working on him. I have been noticing that he is moving more freely in the pasture than I have seen him since […]