Do you desire to know hoof care tips?

Equines are what you refer to as ungulates. Ungulates are type of mammals which utilize the tip of the toes to carry their mass when in motion. Majority of ungulates are with hoofed feet — such as horses, mules, camels, zebras, giraffes, and deer.

By definition, a hoof is the tip of a toe of an ungulate mammal. It is strengthened by keratin, in the form of a thick, hard outer jacket. The sole of the hoof is kind of hard and rubbery, yet softer than the outside. There is also a tough wall formed by the dense nail rolled around the tip of the toe. The whole weight of the equine is carried by the soles of the hooves and also, the edges of its walls.

Equine’s hooves continuously grow but are constantly worn down through moving continuously. The median weight of equines is often more than a thousand lbs and it is only held up by its two sets of hooves. A horse is treasured because of its power and ability to transport individuals and objects for work and pleasure. They are prized for their function in mobility. As expected, a horse with feet problems can be rendered useless.

Three kinds of hoof care a horse trainer should consider:

Cleaning

In most things we do, hygiene is priority. It is very important to clean the feet of your equine mainly before and after riding. Every horse owner must have an important tool, the hoof pick. It will be your best bud in grooming your horse particularly with the animal’s hooves.

It should be mentioned that even horses that are not at all ridden should still be groomed with a hoof pick to prevent thrush. It must be done everyday. A horse with wet hooves is very difficult to maintain.

Trimming

As mentioned earlier, hooves are continuously growing. Therefore, they require trimming for maintenance and to maintain the horse in proper form. Trimming must be done about one to two months, depending on the activity of the animal and the conditions it’s kept in. Trimming can be tough to do and it demands considerable skill. Trained farriers must be the only ones to do this procedure to prevent wrong trimming.

The most common mistake of the inexperienced is trimming the wall too short. Paring of too much sole is just like nail-cutting too short and can create lameness in the animal on top of pain. Hoof care must be done by a professional as it is not a good idea to save a few pennies in exchanged for an injured equine. Have a capable, trained farrier do the job. The expense is certainly worth it.

Shoeing

Can you imagine doing hard manual labor without any footwear?

We cover our feet with items such as shoes because we require protection for our feet. Equines needed them more than anything else. Although equines are in nature strong and have tough feet, they still need to be shod if they are doing a lot of activity.

Some equines may have fairly flat or weak hoofwalls, or simply not built for hard labor. Such animals need shoes even they are not for work purposes. It is better to consult a vet or a farrier about this, as whoever is doing the corrective shoeing must really know their stuff.

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