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| Featured Articles: | There is an old saying which says,
"No hoof; no horse". How true that is. The health of the hooves are vital
to the health of the horse. A horse MUST have strong hooves to support itself. A horse
that has poor hooves which cannot support its body for any reason is a horse that is
doomed for euthanasia or the slaughter house. If you are an owner of a horse or the caretaker for one, it would behoove you to learn the parts of the hoof. The following is an illustration of the parts.
The ideal hooves are strong, have thick, uniform walls and thick soles as well as frogs which are well shaped, firm and in contact with the ground during weight bearing. The Coronet hairline will form an even line around the hoof with no waves or irregularities. It should be close to a 30 degree angle to the ground. The hoofwall should show no cracks, chips or other signs of weakness. The heels should be neither too long nor too short and the hoof, itself, from coronet to hoof should be no longer than 3 1/2 inches long with the toe nicely rounded. The shape of the front hooves should be round and not oval whereas the backs should have a slightly longer, more oval shape. The hoof should be of good size in comparison with the size of the horse. The angle of the front hooves should be about 50 degrees and the back hooves about 55 degrees. The angle of the pastern should match that of the hooves and both should match the angle of the shoulder. Long pasterns tend to weaken as the horse grows older and may cause strains to the supporting tendons and ligaments. The sole of the hoof should be a bit concave; not totally flat or overgrown the wall. The heels should be no longer than about 1/8 of an inch and trimmed so the frog is able to have contact with the ground. The hoof takes a year to completely grow from coronet to ground but hooves should be trimmed every week or so to simulate the natural wear in the wild. If the feed and nutrition given the horse is correct for the horse, the hooves should need no special attention other than regular, daily cleaning and trimming. |
