Fourth in a series about noticing your horse's body language.
A complete view of the body language of the horse must include the feet. When I look at a horse, it helps to see what they are standing on and how it is working for them. If a horse is wearing shoes, there will be signs of the effect of those shoes throughout the body. If the horse is barefoot, I will look for balance, shape and wear to give me a better overall idea of how the horse is using its body.
At Freedom Farm we are concerned with more than barefoot hoof care; we see each horse as a working athlete. A huge part of what we do is about achieving sound movement, not only in the feet (or any other part) but in the horse's body and mind as a whole.
There is much to learn about barefoot horses and as a starter here are few things to read in the hoof:
Hoof rings tell us about trauma, toxins, and diet;
Hoof quality tells us about environment, circulation, shod or unshod;
Hoof shape tells us about movement, balance, and underlying structure.
In the photograph below, we are looking at the hoof quality and ring structure in a horse transitioning from shod to unshod.
The foot belongs to a talented, graceful, formerly shod thoroughbred eventing horse who came to us with emotional issues and persistent lameness. We removed his shoes and gradually introduced him to turn out with companions, allowing him to use his body in playful, natural ways with other horses.
In this foot, we see a significant change in the quality of the hoof above the ring, which reflects that this horse had his shoes removed four months previous. With improved circulation, this horse began immediately to grow a bigger, stronger hoof. The hoof above the ring is fuller, stronger, and more resilient.
The horse's conformation and total body soundness has changed as well. He now is broader in the chest and freer in his shoulders, back and hips. He is sound and more balanced and athletic in his movements. In another six to eight month this horse will have grown a whole new hoof. Because he is allowed to move freely throughout the day, his body is regaining its natural structural balance, which will help in a big way towards protecting him from injury when he returns to competition.
At Freedom Farm, all our horses work; they are unshod and live in herds. The rare stone bruise or abscess we find to be non-events that right themselves in a week or two. These are minor complaints compared to a soft tissue injury that might take up to six weeks or longer to heal in a horse whose freedom of movement is restricted by shoes and stalls.
We use hoof boots and rubber mats to transition horse from shod to unshod. We try to get them moving on comfortable footing as soon as possible. When they are ready they get turned out in an appropriate herd.
As grazing animals, horses depend on flight and therefore their feet as their primary means of survival. It only makes sense that they evolved a sound anatomical structure to have survived and still be with us today.
Natural Hoof Care specialist Pete Ramey will be giving a one day clinic in Port Townsend on July 16th. Learn more here, and let the hosts know asap if you are interested in participating!
Call Scott Rogers at 360-301-0506.
(Originally published June 2014)
