General Horse Foot Care

General Horse Foot Care

The old saying "No Foot, No Horse" is one horse people like to recite all the time. What constitutes a healthy foot? As equine experts, you will have to be familiar with and responsible for the "Life-Line" of your horse ¨C his feet.

A Healthy Foot:

Includes hard, solid soles and soft, flexible frog bands with a triangular center. The outer hoof wall should be at least two times greater than the width of the white line, and the white line should bond with no deep cracks between the connecting sole.

Common Problems:

A "Frog-eating" bacteria called Thrush can cause bleeding, soreness, or even death if not attended to.

Weak cracking of outside wall due to extremely wet or dry conditions. Horses have a great capacity to adapt to environmental changes. However, it must be gradual. Sometimes horses need a little help.

Sole bruising often results from constant, abusive use of horses care on rocky uneven surfaces. If soles are tender, find out whether the cause is heredity (flat-soled) or environmental (too wet, which softens soles or too rough and rocky).

Limb interference or hitting may result from unbalanced riding, lack of shoeing and trimming, and / or fatigue of horse.

Chiropractic

Most people do not think of taking their horse care to see a chiropractor, but just like people regular chiropractic adjustments help horses too. Just like athletes they need to keep their body in as healthy a state as possible and rely on their body structure being in correct alignment to be able to carry people, race, jump obstacles, go on endurance rides, compete in rodeo's, produce healthy foals as well as all the other important tasks they are called on to perform. When we consider these diverse requirements and the potential stresses they may have on the body it is no wonder that chiropractic adjustments can help. Chiropractic is usually carried out by a veterinarian trained in this skill, or in some states by a human chiropractor working under the supervision of a veterinarian. There are approximately two hundred joints in the neck, back and tail of an average horse and just one of these joints being incorrectly positioned results in what is known as a sub-luxation and can cause problems. Imagine having a bad back then having to carry a heavy saddle and rider and even jump over things and run as fast as you can. In addition the spinal column carries nerves for all the vital organs and if one of these nerves is pinched will result in slightly decreased function of that organ. This may not be detectable with the usual blood tests but will result in less than optimal overall performance. Horses care that resent being saddled or do not want to go forward or turn are possibly suffering from a subluxated spinal joint and would benefit from chiropractic adjustments. Other indications include head shyness, refusal to jump, nipping or biting and general stiffness and lack of coordination, as well as obvious lameness. All the joints can be adjusted and this can help treat numerous forms of lameness and orthopedic problems. Prevention of sub-luxations is important and keeping your horse care fit and in good condition will help the spine be stronger. The saddle must fit properly and the be positioned in the correct position with even distribution of weight, and avoid pulling on the head and neck with the reins. Regular exercise and running and rolling in a paddock will also help keep the spine healthy and your horse happy.

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