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”.

Horses chew, we all know that, but if you’ve ever watched horses out in pasture they’ll perform types of grooming and bonding rituals with their teeth. Take a look sometimes and you’ll notice many times horses standing together while one is almost seemingly biting the flesh of the other. They’ll grab a little bunch of flesh and in a careful way kind of nip away with a little tug of the skin. This is very common and it’s a cooperative event where one horse allows the other. I’m quite sure I wouldn’t discourage such behavior amongst horses.

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.

Do you wonder whether or not your horse should be hot shod or perhaps what if any are the benefits or advantages of hot shoeing and maybe even if it’s necessary at all?

Hot shoeing is the application of heat to the shoe then pressing the hot shoe onto the hoof wall of the horse. Like many things related to horseshoeing hot shoeing is a controversial subject. A usual question about hot shoeing is “Does that hurt the horse”?

It took me a long time for this one to come to me. What are the criteria used to choose your Farrier? Interesting question isn’t it?

Over the 16 years of my career as a Farrier I have heard several times from people “My Farrier Specializes in Lame Horses”. For some reason I’ve always felt a bit inferior from hearing this, as if because I didn’t work with a lot of lame horses my abilities as a Farrier didn’t measure up. How wrong I was for thinking such a thing. Truth is I know how to work with lame horses and I understand lameness and I’m a good craftsman and trust the quality of my work.

Farriers can have it very tough. The occupation is very physically demanding and there are risks of injury. Being kicked by a horse is not to be taken lightly, I personally know of Farriers who have died from kicks and others having broken bones. Nails in horse’s feet will rip through the farriers flesh as easy as a hot knife through butter. Horses jerk legs while working on them and sit and lean and try everything sometimes in an effort to dislodge the Farrier from his work.

First let’s define what sheared heels are. Sheared heels are when the heel of the horse’s foot grows forward toward the toe. Instead of there being support for the foot in the heel area where the horse needs it support is reduced – the heels have grown forward and there’s no foot (heel) to provide the support for the horse’s foot.

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.