This message is from: Paula Chmura <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Yes well I've always been a big believer in barefoot horses and I foxhunted and evented my appaloosas for years either barefoot or at most with fronts only and they were fine. But they had big, round plate feet - Frodo has more boxy, smaller I want to say "pony" feet. I just assumed not having seen a lot of Fjords that this is normal. He doesn't feel footsore his feet just look terrible. I was told by the prior owner that when she bought him his feet were terrible with some pretty serious quarter cracks which is why they shod him. I just thought on the soft, sandy ground down here it would be better for him to be barefoot. I always think less is more. I'll take some pictures of his feet tomorrow and send them to you. Maybe I shoud just wait this out and see if he can adjust to being unshod... It's just that I've pulled shoes in the past and never had them look like this... Paula and Frodo
** Hi Paula- I've heard this story a hundred times, with horses of various breeds. What is weak is not the horse's hooves, but our idea of what they should look like. One of the national magazines, maybe it was Horse Illustrated, published an article with photos a while back which was extremely helpful to owners wanting to pull shoes, whether permanently or temporarily. The photos showed how the shoes allow the hoof to overgrow, so when the shoe is removed the dead tissue cracks, peels, and chips off. That's the key here; if it's falling off, it's dead and needs to come off. Live tissue will not fall off unless there is infection or disease, in which case you would need not shoes but veterinary care. Healthy bare hooves are quite short; as short as 3" at the toe and 1" at the heel. My Fjords measure about this and can be ridden for hours on rocky trails. Most farriers do not know what an unshod hoof is supposed to look like -- you'll see that the feet depicted in text books and medical charts are have the "shod" shape. Angle of the hoof is about 50-55 in front and 55-60 in back. If your Fjord's angles are higher than this, you have a lot of overgrowth in the heel. Most importantly, the base of the hoof should be visibly wider than the coronet area. Hooves shod for long periods of time develop a conical shape which cannot efficiently support the horse's weight. Here is a link to books, videos, etc. about hoof care. www.star-ridge.com Since this list does not accept attachments, I am sending you photos of healthy Fjord feet. Hope they are helpful! / )_~ /L/L Brigid Wasson SF Bay Area, CA www.Brigid.Clickryder.com
