What does a healthy hoof look like?
What does a healthy hoof look like?
Does your horse have healthy hooves? What does a healthy horse hoof look like? Would you know what to look for? If you answered ‘no’ to any of these questions, SmartPak’s Hoof Health Consultant, Danvers Child, CJF, walks you through the things to look for when trying to determine if your horse has healthy hooves.
Want to learn more about horse hoof health? Check out our Horse Health Library at SmartPak.com here (http://bit.ly/1zaCORf).
Content
0.149 -> Hi, I'm Danvers, the Hoof Health Consultant
for SmartPak, and today we're going to talk
5.54 -> briefly about overall hoof assessment and
some of the things you'll look for to determine
12.169 -> if your horse's hoof is healthy or not.
14.699 -> This is obviously a cursory examination.
19.07 -> There are a lot of detailed aspects, so we're
going to hit the high points.
23.359 -> One of the first things you want to do is
to look at the horn.
26.189 -> You can see on this model where we have half
trimmed, half un-trimmed.
30.41 -> And you can see this huge distortion and flare
out here, and that's not a good sign.
39.19 -> That's a sign that this horse has not gotten
maintenance as regularly as he probably should
45.96 -> have.
48.61 -> If he had been maintained regularly, you'd
have a much tighter, truer hoof wall that
56.12 -> matched up fairly closely to the origin on
growth in the coronary band.
63.69 -> This side's trimmed neat, tidy, reasonably
well-balanced.
68.92 -> This side is broken as if he's pulled a shoe
off -- there's still a clench in here.
76.46 -> That shoe probably pulled because it should
have been pulled by his hoof care provider.
84.67 -> One of the things that you want to look for,
also, is your growth lines.
88.44 -> You can see the growth line here, and he's
growing just a slight more heel than he is
94.56 -> toe.
97.53 -> They're not as regular as they should be,
but they're not horribly distorted.
104.7 -> You can see that there is a bit of irregularity
in the growth rate from this line.
110.84 -> If you track it around to the toe, he's growing
a little bit more heel than he is toe.
115.21 -> So, patience is a key element in hoof care.
120.6 -> This is old.
122.33 -> It takes time to regrow and replenish.
126.229 -> So, if I start a supplement program or an
exercise program, I'm going to see it in stages,
134.629 -> as this hoof wall comes down.
136.56 -> We have to wait, be patient, allow this hoof
to regenerate.
143.48 -> We're not going to recover the old horn -- we
can dress it, we can manage it, we're not
148.819 -> going to recover it.
150.79 -> If we feed through, work on supplements, do
our nutrition program properly, do our activity
158.12 -> and exercise programs properly, we're going
to regenerate with new growth.
163.629 -> That is going to come down, and be tidy and
nice.
167.989 -> So on a basic visual inspection, you'll notice
things like the growth ring, like the new
176.18 -> hoof wall coming down.
177.989 -> You'll also notice things like these little
stryations here, superficial checking and
184.01 -> cracking.
185.01 -> They're environment related and that will
vary radically from one season to another.
193.739 -> The more you can regulate moisture, the more
you'll see those diminish, and at certain
200.939 -> times of the year, they're just going to be
there.
204.029 -> A visual inspection from the bottom is similar.
209.029 -> You want to see a good, healthy, prominent
frog.
212.799 -> You want to see some exfoliating sole.
217.829 -> The sole is like our skin -- it's going to
naturally exfoliate and shed.
223.489 -> You don't want it to slough out all at once,
and you want some to be there.
229.199 -> Chipping and flaking is normal.
232.589 -> Ideally, you don't have too much of a trap
area that will trap rocks and debris in here,
240.909 -> so cleaning that out regularly is good.
243.739 -> I hope this helps.
245.11 -> Again, it's an overview.
247.51 -> You'll want to stay with us for more specific
information about hoof care from SmartPak.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21Z-IYYG9MM