HOOF-it Plastic Horseshoe

Having used the HOOF-it Natural Flex Horseshoes on my horse for around 12 months including in the Snowy Mountains of Wyoming I decided to try them on the annual “Outlaw Trail Ride” across Wyoming to Thermopolis (www.rideoutlawtrail.com). 

This year I was a group leader on the trail. HOOF-it kindly provided a set of shoes for the ride as a trial. This ride is quite demanding on both horses and riders so it is important for a horse, its equipment and its rider to be fully prepared and fit to avoid problems on the trail. The ride has a total length of 110 miles ridden over 7 days with 1 rest day. As a group leader the actual riding distance is longer as there is always something to be attended to that requires leaving the group temporarily. The country covered is particularly rugged with elevations of over 9000 feet in places. The ground is frequently very rocky putting a lot of reliance on good shoes and a good farrier to fit them. The ride has a supporting farrier, veterinarian, vet-techs and doctors so both riders and horses have help in the event of problems.  

I had the shoes fitted by my farrier at my home in Cheyenne a few days before leaving for the ride. I had him put a full set of nails in as the only problems I had seen previously was the shoe distorting on the foot when heavily worn. With only 3 nails in each side this seems to be a minor problem which may not arise on normal ground. Riding in rough country can put enormous sideways pressure on both hooves and shoes.  

The shoes worked well over the ride and I think the hooves benefit from maintaining their flexibility that is lost with steel shoes. Wear was about the same as with steel so I do not anticipate having to replace them earlier than the next scheduled farrier visit. Grip on rock slopes and when crossing rocky stream beds is good. The farrier and the vet pointed out that this is both a good thing and a bad thing. In the event of a horse having weak or sore joints the extra grip may cause aggravation of the condition. However for a fit horse the extra grip I think minimizes risk of injury caused by unsteady footing. I have no hesitation in recommending these shoes for trail or endurance riding on the basis of my experience with them. I think more of the OTR team will fit them next year. One rider did point out as the thunder started that the risk of lightning strike could be reduced – a feature I was not keen to test!

Tevis with HOOF-it Pour-in Pads

Each year we caravan with friends up to Robie Park on Thursday to prepare for the beginning of Tevis. Our group gathers in the overflow parking lot to allow for plenty of room and less commotion. It also has a gravel base, so we aren't covered in dust before the ride even starts.

This year, after vetting through on Friday, we returned to camp to prepare the horses feet. Which meant pouring HOOF-it into the hoofs of five horses. Piper was ridden by Brenda Benkley, Blues was ridden by Karen Bottiani, Smokey was ridden by Jamie Fend, Annie was ridden by Gary Fend, and Don was ridden by Nick Warhol.

This was the first Tevis for Piper, Annie and Don. Smokey and Blues were going for their 5th and 6th completions respectively.

After 5 or 6 years of using HOOF-it for these rocky rides, we have come up with a great system. Gary cleans the hoof thoroughly (especially under the lip of the shoe). Karen rips up duct tape...a piece for a dam wall at the heel of the hoof and 3 pieces fit together to cover the sole. I am in charge of mixing the powder and liquid at just the right ratio and just the right time. As Gary finishes cleaning the hoof, the mixture should be reaching a thickness that allows for easy pouring, yet not too far from setting (so the poor hoof holder doesn't have to stand hunched over forever).

Once the mixture sets to a fairly solid state, I cover it up with the duct tape and we move on to the next hoof. This keeps all the little rocks and/or hay from sticking to the still tacky HOOF-it.

This year, since we had 5 horses to cover, Nick took over the hoof cleaning and holding for half of the hooves.

The Tevis Trail is one of the rockiest and toughest trails I know, so hoof protection is a must. Out of the five horses that we had starting, 4 of them completed The Tevis. And all 4 of them had all of their HOOF-it in their feet at the end of the ride!

Since our horses live in a 100 acre pasture, padding isn't a great option. Plus, they don't usually need pads. HOOF-it is exactly what we need for the occasional really rocky ride. We use it at 3 or 4 rides each year, and have never been disappointed.

The first year we tried it, we discovered (the hard way) that you shouldn't leave the ingredients out in the sun. The mixture turned to a very thick clay as soon as the ingredients were combined. I kind of pushed the clay into the hoof with my fingers. Most of it stayed in for the ride, but it definitely wasn't the right way to do it! We now make sure that it is kept inside the trailer, in the shade.

I couldn't be happier with this product. It gives us such peace of mind when we're asking the horses to trot on down a tough road mile after mile.

Thanks.

Laura

Navicular Treatment - Part Two

Many hoses improve dramatically with good trimmer and / or shoeing. Each horse should be trimmed according to its own particular confirmation to allow the proper hoof angle. Some horses require hyper specific angles in each hoof to prevent long-term mechanical problems. Farriers will often square or roll the toes to ease break-over in stride. Corrective shoeing aligns the hoof-pastern axis to establish sound lateral to medial balance in the leg. Egg bar shoes are typically used to achieve good heel support. Recently, composite shoes have become a popular shoeing alternative for rehab in the Navicular horse. Composite shoes offer excellent overall freedom of movement, which allows the natural mechanics of the foot to work correctly again. Consult with your farrier about these shoeing options. In most scales the above treatments allows the horse with Navicular syndrome to live comfortably and return to a certain level of function. If therapy does not help, a neurectomy can be performed as a last result. Neurectomy is a drastic treatment in which the nerves to the Navicular area are cut to deaden the foot. Owners should know that this treatment is not without short and long term complications. These can be undetected foot abscesses, nail punctures, painful nodules on the cut nerve (neuromas), and even tendon rupture. There is also the tendency of the horse stumbling often because it cannot tell exactly where its feet are. Needless to say, this is not a solution for a performance horse. For further information on Navicular syndrome contact you farrier and equine veterinarian.

Navicular Treatment - Part One

Because there are several causes of Navicular syndrome, and some, which are still unknown, one treatment will not be effective in all cases. IT is critical to speak with you veterinarian and farrier about all the possible options for treatment. Generally, Navicular syndrome cannot be cured or reversed, but it can be successfully managed. Treatment goals are to reduce inflammation, remove pain from the soft tissue, increase pliability, increase blood supply, and align the hoof-pastern axis to improve the gait of the horse. This is accomplished with specific drugs, corrective shoeing, and controlled exercise. Bute is the most commonly used drug for not only Navicular syndrome, but any common symptoms of lameness in the horse. Bute reduces pain and inflammation, and is therefore effective in the short term. However, if a horse with Navicular syndrome is treated with bute only, and no other treatment measures are taken, the horse will be ruined. Injection with corticosteroid is also a common treatment. This is not a cure since steroids only reduce inflammation and pain and do nothing to correct the underlying pathology. As with bute, when used alone, steroids will lead to further harm. Increasing the circulation to the Navicular area is often effective in reducing the symptoms. Isoxsuprine hydrochloride, a drug that dilated the small blood vessels, is the most commonly used. This is a long-term course of the drug therapy, which can get expensive and time consuming. The anticoagulant warfarin is also used to increase local circulation. The horse must be watched carefully for the onset of bleeding problems since the drug reduces clotting in the entire body.

Three-time U. S. National Champion Arabian horse trainer, Cari Thompson, uses HOOF-it products to keep her horses sound and on top of their game.

Hello out there,

My name is Cari Thompson of Cari Thompson Training in Gardnerville, Nevada.

I have been using the HOOF-it acrylic product and the HOOF-it composite horseshoes on my Arabian show horses during training for about 5 years now. The composite horseshoes help relieve sore hooves as well as supporting bad hoof walls and contracted heels. They are also great to help support suspensory ligament damage and lay-ups and can even be used with toe weights to achieve better motion.

Because of the HOOF-it products, I have been able to keep my show horses going well when they perform in the show ring. In fact, I am happy to say that I was fortunate enough to take 2 of the Arabian show horses that have been in training in my barn to Championship wins in both the Open Arabian Hunter Pleasure and the Half-Arabian Hunter Pleasure Junior Horse classes at the U. S. Arabian National Horse Show in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in October of 2005. That was quite a thrill!

I want to personally thank HOOF-it Technologies for the wonderful products they provide and for all the help they have given me and my horses. We just couldn't do it without you!

Sincerely,

Cari Thompson

Barefoot vs. Shoeing Your Horse

A common debate in the horse world these days is whether or not to shoe your horse. Of course this can only be answered by knowing what you are requiring of your horse and the current condition of its feet. A horse that is retired and spending his days on pasture has different needs than a competition cutting horse. Other than an occasional hoof trim the pasture horse should be fine going barefoot.

The question becomes more complicated when the level of your horse’s activity is raised. One thing that I have noticed is that you rarely see a non-working horse come up lame. I believe that a big part of this is that when we ride we are placing unnatural stresses on the hoof. While it is true that wild horses live out their lives unshod, it is also true that natural selection takes the horses that have weak feet. In addition, the restrictions we place on the horse’s movement in various disciplines are issues which the wild or pasture horse does not have to deal with.

For example, when we ride we control the headset of our horse for appearance more often than for function (i.e. pleasure classes), our horses also constantly have to compensate for the weight of the rider above them, which compromises their balance. We also ask them to move in ways that generally affect their overall carriage and hoof placement.

Finally, working horses are first and foremost athletes, subject to the same types of injuries as their human counterparts. In the wild, a horse moves freely without a lot of repetitive motion. The working horse is asked to repeat gaits over and over again causing the hoof to strike the same way. In humans, runners in particular, this is called Repetitive Motion Injury.

I feel that this sort of disciplined movement is the cause of most hoof problems. I have found that a happy medium between steel shoes and barefoot to be the composite shoe. In a composite plastic  horseshoe or a hybrid plastic horseshoe you get the benefits of support and shock absorption, while retaining the flexibility and the circulation of going barefoot.

Horseshoes Past & Present

Horseshoes Past & Present

Past Present

A horseshoe needs to be kept firmly in place, and the most widely used means of achieving this is to use nails. The Celts, who were skilled ironworkers, discovered that it was possible to secure shoes on a horse's foot by driving nails into the insensitive area of the hoof.

In the Middle East and around the Mediterranean, the hard-hooved Arab horses needed less protection than the average horse in that they were able to withstand being barefoot. The Romans used a form of iron sandal resembling thongs; the Greeks preferred a sandal made from woven grass. Neither of these sandals could have been intended for regular use as it would have been difficult to prevent the foot from slipping or collecting grit between shoe and sole. They were definately a form of remedial shoeing.

In Britain it was the nailed shoe that continued to be generally used throughout the centuries. Usually it was made of plain iron and, later, fullered or grooved steel became the accepted material for shoes. Clips to ensure a more secured fit became a regular part of shoe design about one hundred years ago.

Horseshoes today may vary in design and material in that anything from steel to high- tech composites can aide in reducing strain to ligaments and tendons caused by poor conformation. They can also minimize the effect of an injury and aid to the healing processes by protecting or padding sensitive areas.