Home :: Chance
:: Quotes :: Links
:: Contact
Now on to the transition period from a shod horse
to a shoe free horse, between when the shoes on a horse are pulled and when the gravel
mashers are in place on the ends of the horse’s legs is the transition period. The
length of the transition time will be dictated by several factors, the primary ones being
the length of time the horse was shod, age of the horse, the use of the horse, diet and
the dedication of the owner to getting the horse into as natural a setting as possible.
If we were top pull the shoes grab the horse by the
mane and tail and toss him out into the cruel world where he would have to eke out his
living daily traveling between grazing, watering and shelter his feet would adapt. The
harsher the climate the tougher and more durable the feet would become. I wouldn’t do
that to my horse and most reasonable people wouldn’t either. Of course the horse
would have to be in general good health without special medical needs and so on but in
general the horse would do just fine. So how can we simulate this in the typical stable
setting that the majority horses exist in?
The first step is to properly trim the horse using
a natural style trim. Remove exfoliating sole, trim the hoof wall using the sole as a
guide and lowering the heels gradually to just above the frogs. Being conservative is the
watch word here. The horse is going to be tender footed so let’s not push it. The
next step is movement, lots and lots of movement as much as possible. Use hoof boots to
maintain the comfort of the horse, properly fitted, hoof boots with pads will allow the
horse far more freedom of movement which is the most important factor in the transition.
The boots are to be used only during turnout (if the ground is stony), training sessions
and riding. If the horse is stabled transition will take longer then the horse in a
gravelly dry lot. One thing that will build the callus and digital cushion will be pea
gravel. About four inches is ideal, it is both cushions the sole and builds the tough sole
callus that is vital to good hooves.
Diet is one thing that will really help the horse
get proper hooves. Especially if going through a bout of Laminitis/founder. The best is
meadow hay, hay from a meadow or field free of noxious weeds, of course it must be clean,
no mold, dust free and low in sugars and fructans so the horse has to eat a lot. This
keeps the gut flora active and the chances of colic and Laminitis down. The horse in the
wild grazes a little, walks a little all day long except for the naps during the day.
Accesses to water at all times is important although in the wild horses usually drink once
or twice a day. Alfalfa hay is a primary feed for horses nowadays; it is cheap, easy to
manage, horses love it and should to be avoided if at all possible. The nutritional value
is not correct for horses since the calcium phosphorus ratio is not balanced, this whole
"to feed or not to feed" question will be addressed in a later article. Suffice
it to say right now that it should be avoided if at all possible.
The digital cushion in a horse that has been shod
for the better part of its life especially if shod before he has fully matured is
underdeveloped. The digital cushion should be hard and fibrous to both protect and support
the horse in movement. The digital cushion will start to transform into the condition it
is meant to be in as soon as the shoes are pulled. The more varied the terrain the better
to stimulate the thickening and toughening up of the whole hoof as well as the digital
cushion.
To wrap this up in just a few words, pull shoes,
trim hooves, gravel pens, play with horse and have fun with horse.
  
|
