Raising a Healthy Hoof
We’ve all heard the old adage, ‘No hoof, no horse’, and few would argue with it. Yet many of us are all too familiar with what it’s like to battle bad feet, a problem that is widespread in the stock horse world. Quarter cracks, thin and brittle walls, white line disease and navicular syndrome are just some of the problems that can at very least put a crimp in your training, and at worst lead to a treasured horse’s early demise. When trying to figure out why this is happening, some people are quick to blame breeders, while others point the finger at the whims of the show world, which at one time favored big horses with tiny feet – a look which is thankfully falling out of fashion. However, an in-depth examination of the problem of bad feet reveals that there are a number of factors that can contribute to the formation of poor quality hooves. Therefore, if we want our horses to have good, strong, healthy feet, we need to look at all of these factors in order to maximize their hoof h...