A Quick Read

I liked this woman's approach. It matches my own attitude that there are 50,000 different ways to do any one thing with a horse, and not one of them is 100% right or wrong.

http://blog.easycareinc.com/blog/hoof-love-not-war/what-to-do-with-that-foot

Keeping an open mind is the key.

Biotin - Quick Notes

A friend recently asked me my opinion of hoof supplementation and in particular biotin supplementation for horses.

There is so much information out there on biotin! While researching I decided to collate the points I thought relevant and put it all in one place here.

• Biotin a water soluble B vitamin.

• Biotin does not affect old hoof growth - like all hoof problems, you
  have to grow a new hoof from the coronary band.

• Biotin doesn't make the hoof grow any quicker either - increased movement and other
  factors (e.g. nutrition, time of the year) do.

• Researchers are not sure how biotin works - but a lot of horses with shelly, flaky, prone to cracking hooves showed improvement in the hardness of the hoof horn. Hooves showed improved tensile strength and flexibility after prolonged biotin supplementation.
• Most horses produce enough biotin in the gut to satisfy bodily functions (the National Research Council's recommendation is two milligrams (mg.) of biotin daily). Some may benefit supplementation if they genetically have poor quality hoof horn. Therefore some hooves will improve with biotin supplementation, others will not.

• To see results (if any) supplementation will need to be carried out for a minimum of about 6 months (reason being see point 2!).

• It is found that once supplementation stops the new growth often reverts to it's previous inferior state. To continue with the improved hoof, the horse often needs biotin supplementation for life at a reduced maintenance rate of 2 - 3mg daily.

• Dosage rate is debatable. Some say 5mg per day, others say 20mg per day or more. I couldn't find an upper-daily-dosage limit for horses but being a water soluble vitamin, in theory the horse would excrete any it does not need. However some say that the gut may 'forget' how to produce enough biotin if over supplementation occurs. I'm a bit sceptical of that though.

• Some sources say that biotin works better when paired with methionine (an essential amino acid).

So is it worth supplementing biotin?
Like most questions about hooves, it seems to be the answer is 'maybe'.


Note -
I have not supplemented biotin in the past. I have not really seen the need for it in my own horses.

Links/Sourses:

http://www.princealbertstables.com/can_you_influence_hoof_growth.htm

http://www.ker.com/library/equinews/v6n2/v6n204.pdf

http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/horse-health/1994/july/09/the-biotin-difference.aspx

Club Feet Article

If your are technically minded and have a medical and hoof anatomy dictionary handy, have a read of the below article. I found it quite informative!

http://www.equipodiatry.com/article_flexural_deformities.htm

Concavity - Quick Notes

First off, I will offer a quick apology for the long hiatus between posts - life has gotten away from me. Onwards!

You might hear the word 'concavity' thrown around quite a bit in the hoof world.

Concavity describes the dome shape of a horse's hoof.

Here is an example of moderate sole concavity. You can see the gentle shape of the dome from the edges of the frog all the way out to the laminae line (except for that lumpy bar).

A blurry but more obvious example of concavity.

Imagine the ruler is a hard smooth ground surface - ta da! The solar concavity becomes evident.

Concavity (whether it be mild or more noticeable) is the sign of a healthy hoof. Perfect concavity that has a gentle slope all the way to the laminae line is a sign of adequate sole thickness.

The hoof has a concave shape because the solar surface of P3 is also concave. With some horses it is very much so, others the concavity is shallower.

Front pedal bones as viewed when you are holding the hoof as if to pick it - i.e. from the sole. Note the largest one has a shallow curve, while others (particuarly the smaller ones) have a more pronounced concavity.

A diagram of the pedal bone showing the digital cushion (the light blue part). Note the concavity, the curve of the bone. Imagine how it would shape the sole of the hoof if the sole were allowed to 'do it's thing'.

Shows the direct correllation between the pedal bone (top of photo, here covered in corium) and the sole. I love this pic, it is very very educational!

Aaaaaaand one more. Is it clear in your mind now? :)

A concave sole is flexible and will sink (be pressed flat) and cause the hoof to expand when loaded (the degree of which depends on about 30,000 factors including hoof, terrain, load force etc etc etc) allowing P3 (which, if you remember, has a slight rotation of 3-5 degrees in the back) to flatten out and become ground parrallel.

Achieving solar concavity is not something you can trim into a hoof - you must certainly NOT cut it out of the sole even if the sole is very thick (except in very special circumstances, as always never say never with hooves!) - but it is a by-product of proper trimming and a sign that you are doing the right thing.

A horse who is developing concavity and sole thickness will often develop a toe callus on the sole in front of the frog. It looks like a flat callused area in a crescent moon shape.

My old OTTB Beckham had a toe callus - highlighted in red.

Side shot of the same hoof.

Again, highlighted in red in case it isn't clear above.

The toe callus is a good indication that you are 'half way' to complete transition (from shoes or prior poor hoof form). You know you are all the way there when the toe callus dissapears, and the solar concavity reaches in a gentle slope all the way to the laminae line.

The hoof throws down a toe callus as a priority because this is the launching pad of the hoof - it takes an incredible amount of force to push the horse into the next step and all that force is directed at the point of breakover - where the toe callus forms. This is also often where your toe will end up once the hoof shortens - but that is another post for another day.

You will find that the horse's sole will change relative to the terrain it is conditioned to - on hard ground, the hoof will loose concavity as it reaches toward the ground for contact. On soft ground, the hoof will cup more as the hoof sinks into the ground and still achieves sole contact.

So that is sole concavity in a nutshell. I hope that gives you a sufficient insight!

Allie Trim 3.01.11

Allie had a trim today, and I photographed the lot. She was at about 5 weeks I think? We have been riding on some gravel a bit and the ground has hardened up quite a bit since we have had a break in the rain. Her frogs are looking ratty but I think she is shedding them due to the late season change from wet to hot. Her walls were messy and starting to self trim too.

Pictures (Before on the left, after on the right. Click for full size image, they are pretty big)

Left Front:

Heels - She is landing incorrectly at the moment - her inside heel is landing first when it should be the other way around on the fronts. I left the outside heel longer to try to swap the balance back.

Note the self trimming in the before pic - because this horse has very little if any separation, the outer wall just chips off without cracking (mostly).

Please note my horse's lovely concavity. (I have a draft post in the works regarding concavity).

Nice straight coronary band , low heels without being squished, nice short toe.

Terrible ratty walls. She has really thick laminae lines and they are like tough rubber - they don't tend to self trim and just fold over onto the sole. I have never come across this before! Also, this is a half shed frog. She is holding onto the rest of it for now.

Here is her foot mid trim - I am yet to finish the bevel. Note all the dirt that gets trapped in between her inner and outer walls? It is driving me nuts but I suspect the solution is a more regular trim cycle even though the rest of her foot can go the 4 weeks.

Left Hind:

This is the wonky hind foot - the outside wall and heel are running away front the center. I treat it like any other flare and just remove it up to 1/4 up the hoof wall.

Nice bevel to keep the toes short. Hind feet should have short toes to prevent hind end soreness.

This outside heel just keeps running away from me! It is not as bad as April last year (the last time I took photos) but it is still obvious. Again, shorter trim cycle should help. Not too sure what to try next for that bar though, it looks to be collapsing. I have not done anything with it this trim.

Right Front:

Again, not moving correctly. She should have a more upright inside wall, but it clearly is not. I trimmed for an outside heel first landing.

You can see clearly how her outside heel bulb is far bigger and more robust than her inside heel bulb - it is taking most of the force which it should not be. I left the outside heel slightly higher.

Feet look nice and balanced from front to back.

Did not need to touch anything on the bottom of the hoof in this one. Frog much nicer then the other front.

Right Hind:

Sand crack forming. Also, old coronary band knock starting to grow down.

Inside heel bulb much smaller - this is because with proper movement in the hind limb, the inside heel lands first and the outside heel takes the force.

Sorry about the different angles. Beautifully cupped foot this one. :)

Again, short toes, low heels.

Scabby frog starting to peel off. Not harbouring any thrush, so I left it alone.

This pic shows a crack beginning to form - it is only in the outer wall for now, but if left on a longer trim cycle it would become worse.

Posture and Conformation

I have been thinking about a horse's posture and how that can have an effect on their feet and vice versa.

If I meet a new client horse (or sometimes when I am revisiting for a maintenance trim) I like to have a look at the horse from afar, take in his general posture and demeanor. Of course, it all depends on how the horse is stood up, but if you watch for a while the horse will return to it's default stance. Better yet, watch the horse in turnout. Watch for trends, which hoof they favour for striking off first, which hind limb they rest more, if they graze with one leg consistently forward.

Shall we look at a few pictures? I am commenting on these pictures as if I had observed this to be the horse's default stance.

A horse with good overall posture. Relaxed top line, neck hanging like a pendulum. Front legs straight (not out in front or underneath). This horse does have a weak stifle and straight hocks, which would lead me to investigate the back end for soreness.

Same horse stood up with poor posture - front legs camped under (maybe getting pressure off the heels - caudal heel pain?). Shoulder and neck tight, tense. Back looks tight, loins look hard and as if they are holding up the horse's hind end. Hind feet camped under, taking pressure off toes?

Allie, looking at me while out grazing. Good overall posture, loins look a little long and weak - keep those hind toes short to avoid soreness in the loin! Left front leg is not weight bearing - compensating for something in the hoof? Or possibly soreness in the shoulder? Horse is tucked up, with sunken flanks and if I didn't know her I would look for a reason for it. BUT this is normal for her. She got it from her sire.

Horse camped WAY under with all four legs. Long toes in front, but he is getting weight off his heels - caudal heel pain? Horse most likely would NOT stride heel first. Shoulder looks tense, but the back does not - it looks fairly relaxed. Where the tension starts again is from the point of the croup back to the top of the dock - you can even see his tense muscles around his hip and flank area. He can't possibly be balanced in the hind end standing like that - partially conformational with his sickle hocks and short pasterns, but it would be very interesting to see what the bottom of his feet looked like!.

This is an extreme case of standing under with the fronts - if you were to drop a line from the fulcrum of his shoulder blade, it would not even contact any part of his limb except maybe the very top muscle, even with his super long toes! Extreme separation, I predict thee.

Gracie out grazing - a less obvious stance but similar to the chestnut above - standing under all but the left front leg. Back and shoulders fairly relaxed, but she has a longish loin - needs hind toes to be kept short. Nice strong short croup though may help give the weaker loin some stability. Right fore leg not weight bearing - probably because she is about to take a step but could also indicate a weakness there. Hind legs standing very awkwardly (see below!).

Ummm... yeah. Mass symmetry issues - I would look for imbalances in the hoof especially the inside left and outside right heels. LUCKY this is not her normal stance!! Looks like the hocks are both pointing to something to the right of the photo.

Again with the hind end tension and weaknesses - long loin, tight croup and weak stifles. He even has what looks to be deteriorated muscles over the hindquarter. Slightly sickle hocked - Keep hinds short to help with heel first landings (not normally a problem in hind hooves!).

This guy looks pretty good in the hind end posture wise (except for how wide apart his legs are) but what strikes me first about him is his foreleg stance - he looks like he is rocking back on his heels. Laminitic or separation issues are a possibility. His shoulders, neck and entire topline from wither to tail look nice and relaxed though.

Get up on a stool and look at the horse's back from this angle - you will be able to see if the muscling is symmetrical, if the spine is straight, if the hips are also symmetrical. This is Allie, and she is fairly symmetrical, with a lovely straight spine.

This is what you are looking at!

I recently went to see a pony to talk to her owner about how her trimming was going. After looking at her feet we stood there chatting and I found myself looking at the pony as a whole. The biggest thing I noticed was her spine alignment - being a pony, this was easy to see. Her spine bulged out to the left quite noticeably. A second look at her feet showed that the cause was possibly a much higher inside heel on her right front hoof. Her shoulder was also very tight and it was almost impossible to get even a finger under the scapula.

Now I have not undergone much training to do with equine conformation, posture or anything of that sort except my own research, an unfinished equine management diploma and my own findings in horses I have worked with. Above are the few things I feel confident noting but I think the most important thing is to listen to the WHOLE horse - not just his feet. Often, what is happening in the feet is just a mirror or echo of what is happening 'upstairs'.

I would love to start a discussion in the comments!

Brett - Set Up Trim 1.10.11

Brett is an older (over 20) OTTB gelding. His owner turned to me for trimming because her old farrier was unable to trim the hind feet close to the ground as he is an older man. Poor Brett has arthritis in his hind pasterns and is very very sore if the joint is hyperflexed. His feet are also very flat and have a lot of flare.

His last farrier would only trim him every 8 weeks or so, as he would go foot sore after every trim. He suggested leaving longer walls on for comfort. I started him off on a two week trim cycle until I could get his wall length and heel height were I wanted it, and now he is on a 4 week trim cycle. I didn't want to make any drastic changes right away with this horse because he is so sore, all over. He has been dragging himself along for so long that his entire body moved incorrectly.

We took a short video of Brett prior to my trim. His owner seems to be dragging him along, and then at the end he just stops. His shoulders are tight and tense, he is holding himself together with his back and shoulders. Just a sore horse all over, poor thing.

I only got photos of the left front, but all his feet look the same.

Same as the first photo, but with some lines. Blue line shows where the hoof wall should be. Red line shows how I have relieved the quarters a little (note the bulge in the coronary band is not so pronounced after). 

This one shows heels and wall height. Brought heels almost to the frog.

Side view shows the bevel - more outer hoof wall to take but I wanted to change things slowly for this horse.

These shots probably show how little I actually did during this first trim. It also shows how much separation this poor horse has, in the super stretched laminae line, even in the after shot.

With lines showing hoof balance - His hoof is actually well balanced. Frog is 3 quarters of the hoof, toe isn't too long. Brett's main hoof problem is just the separation. So easy to fix!! Shorter trim cycles.

Video of Brett after trim - owner doesn't have to drag him - the walk is more free and he looks a bit more relaxed.

Brett is already almost 3 months into his hoof rehab. He has his good and bad days, due to his arthritis and body issues. But there is definitely improvement.  Next trim is in just under a month. I will get some updated pictures then. Wish us luck!