Re: [IceHorses] Wooly yak feet
i got a little snippy with my farrier last time he came. He was doing all the horses and I casually mentioned we would be riding in the parades. at that point he said well let me know the two you will be riding and I will do an extra good job, and I said well does that mean you will be doing just a normal good job on the rest?? and he gave me one of those sidelong looks :) I am still trying to figure out what he did different to Tivar and Traveller because when he got done he said there! Now thats good enough for a parade. farriers. cant live with them, can't live without em :) Janice -- yipie tie yie yo
Re: [IceHorses] Wooly yak feet
he doesn't scoop out the soles or anything, if that's what you mean. In fact, he really didn't take all that much sole, even off of Isak's feet, and he didn't trim some of the other soles at all Karen...that is good. That's what you want, to not touch the live soul and encourage the hoof to find it's natural concavity. ;p] Raven Lucy Molly, the Girl Doggies Huginn Dixie Chick, the Back Behind the Barn Ponies Maggie Rose, the cat who makes me sneeze http://www.myspace.com/iceponygoddess Respect ALL Earthlings. We are all animals of this planet. We are all creatures.
RE: [IceHorses] Wooly yak feet
Why are they so white? Does he cut all that sole out I think one question mark normally suffices - for a sincere question. You know, my farrier and I actually joked about this while I was taking the pictures. I knew if I sent the pictures of Isak's feet that someone would jump to lecture me, but I don't really care. Isak has nice feet. My farrier trims each horse's feet as they need to be trimmed. He doesn't try to make any formula work for all horses. He also doesn't try to trim my QH's feet any differently from my TWH's feet, or from my Icelandic's feet. He DOES make adjustments as needed for each INDIVIDUAL horse. As I said in my first post, Isak grows a lot of hoof between trims. It had only been six weeks since his last trim. He trims enough for each horse to keep their feet in balance, and so that they don't get too long. Most of the horses in Isak's family seem to grow a lot of hoof - I've even wondered if that is genetic, even related to their long hair coats, but maybe it's coincidence. For some horses, particularly the old horses who are in declining health, he barely rasps around the edges - particularly in winter, when many horses don't grow so much hoof. At this point, in their lives (Thunder particularly - he's really showing his age lately) they don't grow much hoof. There was one Icelandic (Svertla) who only needed just a little toe trimmed, and that was all. Another Icelandic (Sina) was shedding part of her frog, so he took care of trimming that. Most of the horses only had their toes trimmed a little. But, Isak and a few others grow a lot of hoof and he has to take more. He trimmed eighteen horses here yesterday and none of them were trimmed exactly the same way. I think that's a very good thing. I don't want my horses' feet trimmed by some rote formula, just because someone wrote a book that said so. Oh, yeah, Isak is a pinto and his hoofs are white. Any trimmed area will look more exaggerated on a white hoof. Skjoni also has white feet and despite the old wife's tale that says that white hoofs are weak, Cary never has to use Skjoni's boots on the trail. They never chip or crack either. He's got very tough, bare feet - he gets his feet trimmed as needed each time too. If anything, Isak's white feet look as if they may actually be better than Skjoni's. I guess I should have taken pics of Svertla's feet to send in, since she has black hoofs, and he barely trimmed her toes. Maybe those pictures would satisfy the barefoot formula for some people. I picked Isak's feet to send in because of the things I like about them - how round they naturally are, and how balanced the frog is to the size of the hoof, etc. Isak's mom, has strong enough feet, but for some reason, they aren't shaped so well. Isak got his dad's feet. Flekka's feet are long and narrow - mule feet - still strong, and they've probably gotten a little rounder with being barefoot here, but they aren't as textbook nice as some other horse's feet. That's why I'm particularly pleased with Isak's feet. Melnir has tremendous feet, and he seemed to pass them on to his babies. Interestingly though, Melnir's feet don't grow so fast as do Isak's. My horses have been barefoot for over 15 years, as long as this farrier has been trimming their feet. Not once has one of my horses been sore after he trimmed one. That's a formula that I can respect. Karen Thomas, NC No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.17.12/1202 - Release Date: 12/29/2007 1:27 PM
RE: [IceHorses] Wooly yak feet
Very nice trim too. Marcus looks like he has a set of arms on him. Yeah...being a farrier can be a tough job and it's a job I don't particularly want to pick up. Karen Thomas, NC No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.17.12/1202 - Release Date: 12/29/2007 1:27 PM
Re: [IceHorses] Wooly yak feet
On 30/12/2007, Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Very nice trim too. Marcus looks like he has a set of arms on him. Yeah...being a farrier can be a tough job and it's a job I don't particularly want to pick up. Yes, I've nipped here and there during emergencies and all I remember is that my thighs, back, arms, neck, and shoulders were horribly soremy feet were okay though ;). To me Isak's feet looked like they grew a lot and had to be brought back. If feet like that aren't trimmed back in that manner, then that's when the whole shape of the foot can change and too long toes start happening or underslung heels. Feet like Elska's seem to retain their shape, but they need to be trimmed just as often as feet like Isak's because she can start to get white line separation from having too much hoof wall to deal with. Either type of hoof is a good hoofit's just how you manage that type of hoof. I'm waiting for a nice day for the farrier to come for a visit. She's been away visiting. I'm just waiting for her call. Wanda
Re: [IceHorses] Wooly yak feet
There was one Icelandic (Svertla) who only needed just a little toe trimmed, and that was all. Our farrier was out the other day. He's a real odd duck, but one of the things I appreciate about him is that he trims the horses as individuals. Hunter is shod because of the terrain he goes over, although he was a barefoot horse when I bought him. Yrsa got trimmed all around. Twist only needed trimming in front. And he said If all horses were like Tosca, I'd be out of work. He didn't trim anything. She's the one (other than Hunter) that's being ridden. Nancy
RE: [IceHorses] Wooly yak feet
And he said If all horses were like Tosca, I'd be out of work. He didn't trim anything. She's the one (other than Hunter) that's being ridden. Another consideration - don't you generally have rockier soil in Oregon than we do in my part of NC? There are small areas of rocky terrain here, and parts of the NC mountains are quite rocky. I know that Isak would wear his feet a lot more if our pastures were rocky. The only rocks to speak of in my pasture are the gravel we haul in to spread around the water troughs. We have a few rocks on our local trails, but most are clear. SOOO many considerations! Karen Thomas, NC No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.17.12/1202 - Release Date: 12/29/2007 1:27 PM
RE: [IceHorses] Wooly yak feet
To me Isak's feet looked like they grew a lot and had to be brought back. If feet like that aren't trimmed back in that manner, then that's when the whole shape of the foot can change and too long toes start happening or underslung heels. Yep, the more feet you look at, the more natural variation you see too. Most horses grow more toe than heel, but Sina has one front hoof where she grows as much heel as toe. It's not bad at all if I keep it managed - I have referred to it as her clubfoot, but my farrier corrected me yesterday. We've never measured her angle before a trim, but he reminded me that to be a true clubfoot, the angle has to be greater than 60-degrees. He said he doubted that even when she is past due for a trim, the angle doesn't get to 60 degrees. So, I guess I'm pretty picky. Flekka really doesn't literally have mule feet either - it's just that she has the longest/narrowest feet in my herd, so I notice they are different. He told me yesterday that he'd still consider Flekka's feet to be within a good range - just not quite textbook. Maybe next time I'll get pictures of Flekka's feet. Here's another rule of thumb for people to mull over. My farrier has been doing feet for about 30 years, and has been a breeder of QH's. He's seen a LOT of feet. He told me that foal feet typically are more influenced by their sire than by their dam. I believe he was talking about shape, more than growth patterns - I didn't think to clarify that. Even though Sina and Flekka have SLIGHTLY less-than-textbook feet in one trait each, I decided their feet were plenty healthy to go ahead and breed them - but Melnir has virtually perfect hoofs. In my herd, I'd have to say that the sire has been the overriding influence in the babies feet. Tifa, Landi and Isak all got Melnir's feet. It's hard to say about Kola, since Maja's feet are a lot like Melnir's. Also, Refur didn't get Saga's feet - I assume he got Segull's. My numbers are so small that I know it's not statistically meaningful, but it's an interesting thought. I do trust that my farrier to notice the difference between true trends versus old wives tales though. Anyone else have any thoughts? Another complication is that early hoof care can intervene to correct any neo-natal hoof problems, and those kinds of problems won't be genetically transmitted. (He said he doubted that Sina's little oddity was genetic, so maybe Landi really does have Sina's feet!) Karen Thomas, NC No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.17.12/1202 - Release Date: 12/29/2007 1:27 PM
Re: [IceHorses] Wooly yak feet
Another consideration - don't you generally have rockier soil in Oregon than we do in my part of NC? From the photos I've seen of your beautiful trails, I'd say yes, but like many generalizations, that may not be completely true. We have hardly a rock here on our 25 acres, but some sections of the trails are quite rocky and some of the endurance rides in the central and eastern part of the state are very rocky. However, when compared to Lorraine's wonderful dessert terrain, we are more swimming in mud right now. Nancy
Re: [IceHorses] Wooly yak feet
Karen..it's hard to tell from the photos, but did your farrier trim the soles flat? Or are they concave? Not criticizing...just asking. ;] Raven Lucy Molly, the Girl Doggies Huginn Dixie Chick, the Back Behind the Barn Ponies Maggie Rose, the cat who makes me sneeze http://www.myspace.com/iceponygoddess Respect ALL Earthlings. We are all animals of this planet. We are all creatures.
Re: [IceHorses] Wooly yak feet
Why are they so white? Does he cut all that sole out I think cuz...Isak has white hooves. ;]Huginn is a pinto and also has white hooves and really white soles. Raven Lucy Molly, the Girl Doggies Huginn Dixie Chick, the Back Behind the Barn Ponies Maggie Rose, the cat who makes me sneeze http://www.myspace.com/iceponygoddess Respect ALL Earthlings. We are all animals of this planet. We are all creatures.
Re: [IceHorses] Wooly yak feet
My farrier trims each horse's feet as they need to be trimmed. He doesn't try to make any formula work for all horses. He also doesn't try to trim my QH's feet any differently from my TWH's feet, or from my Icelandic's feet. He DOES make adjustments as needed for each INDIVIDUAL horse. that is a good farrier. He trimmed eighteen horses here yesterday i hate to see that bill. HA! Raven Lucy Molly, the Girl Doggies Huginn Dixie Chick, the Back Behind the Barn Ponies Maggie Rose, the cat who makes me sneeze http://www.myspace.com/iceponygoddess Respect ALL Earthlings. We are all animals of this planet. We are all creatures.
Re: [IceHorses] Wooly yak feet
Yes, I've nipped here and there during emergencies and all I remember is that my thighs, back, arms, neck, and shoulders were horribly soremy feet were okay though ;). That's why I pay my trimmer. HA! i know that some folks enjoy doing their own trimming, not me. Raven Lucy Molly, the Girl Doggies Huginn Dixie Chick, the Back Behind the Barn Ponies Maggie Rose, the cat who makes me sneeze http://www.myspace.com/iceponygoddess Respect ALL Earthlings. We are all animals of this planet. We are all creatures.
RE: [IceHorses] Wooly yak feet
Karen..it's hard to tell from the photos, but did your farrier trim the soles flat? Or are they concave? Not criticizing...just asking. I guess I'd have to say that they are basically kind of flat, with just a little natural concavity around the middle - he doesn't scoop out the soles or anything, if that's what you mean. In fact, he really didn't take all that much sole, even off of Isak's feet, and he didn't trim some of the other soles at all. Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED] No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.17.12/1202 - Release Date: 12/29/2007 1:27 PM
Re: [IceHorses] Wooly yak feet
--- Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I took some pictures of Isak's feet during the progress of today's trim. Why are they so white? Does he cut all that sole out Susan in NV Nevermore Ranch http://users.oasisol.com/nevermore/ Disclaimer CAUTION: DO NOT DRIVE WITH HOT COFFEE IN YOUR LAP Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs
