Qualified Equine Podiotherapist
Equine Podiatry is about building the best feet we can for your horse, to give them a great foundation for their body, confidence in their movement and long term soundness. Great feet need more than just trimming. Equine Podiatry is a holistic approach encompassing diet, environment, daily care and regular trimming.
Equine Podiatry
Equine Podiatry is about building the best hooves possible for each horse, my goal is for each horse to be sound on his own bare hooves, and for those hooves to support the soundness of the entire horse throughout his lifetime. Excellent hoof care is about much more than just trimming, healthy hooves need the right nutrients, a good environment and maintenance from the owner.
Most horses can perform very well without shoes, and most hooves can be transitioned out of shoes, or rehabed through quality trimming, diet, environment and maintenance. But for some horses, their hooves are so broken, weak or poorly developed that they need some extra help. Boots are very useful for providing comfort, easing transition, or as extra protection out on rides. Glue on composite shoes do all that and more, you can read more about composite shoes here.
Horses evolved travelling long distances everyday, moving as a herd, over rough and varied terrain. They graze and browse large amounts of low quality forage as they roam. Their hooves are developed and built by the miles, from the moment a foal stands up on their new hooves, their life depends on keeping up with the herd. Movement works the horse’s hooves, grows and develops strong soft tissue, as well as a tough hoof capsule.
The hoof is designed for growth to equal wear, for the horse to trim it’s own hooves as they move and for the hoof to stay in a consistent balance.
Many of the hoof pathologies and distortions our domestic horses suffer from are probably “man-made”. Our domestic environment limits movement, terrain and forage, especially here in New Zealand where forage is abundant and lush. Hoofcare is often every 6-8 (or more!) weeks, allowing hooves to grow unnatural length, then be cut back. So now we have a recipe for disaster!
The lack of movement and soft, uniform terrain makes hooves soft and weak, not just poor quality hoof wall, but atrophied, poorly developed internal structures.
As the horse compensates for their weak hooves (going from a healthy heel first landing to a compensatory toe first landing to avoid weak and painful heels), any movement the horse now gets is actually doing damage.
Pasture designed for fattening cattle and sheep, combined with high sugar concentrated feeds creates inflammation in the body, which often shows up first in the feet, creating a slightly foot sore horse (the horse that just “can’t cope” without shoes?), a constant, low level laminitis (inflammation of the laminae - the structures connection your horses hoof capsule to the coffin bone).
Long hooves create distortion, and unnatural loading on the hoof wall (weightbearing should be shared between the hoof wall, edge of the sole, and frog). Even more so if your horse already has weak, poorly developed hooves, any excess length creates force on the hoof capsule which causes it to distort and change shape - think contracted heels, long toes, flares, low/crushed heels etc.
This environment and lack of maintenance also creates opportunity for pathogens to take hold. Fungal and bacterial infections - thrush, seedy toe and whiteline disease, further weaken the hoof, damage tissue and cause discomfort for your horse.
Whether your horse appears “foot sore” or not (your horse may have poor feet but can perform as long as they are shod), poorly developed, weak or unbalanced hooves can lead to strain and discomfort in your horses entire body. This affects your horses posture in the way they stand, graze and move, which affects their comfort, performance and long term soundness.
Navicular, laminitis and other hoof aliments don’t just “suddenly” happen when your horse takes that first lame step. Horses are very good at compensating and will hide their discomfort until it becomes overwhelming. By the time your horse has been diagnosed, the issue has most likely been there for years and you just reached breaking point.
Developing great feet from the beginning with young horses is a whole lot easier than cleaning up the mess once you have a train wreck. Good hoofcare, encompassing movement, terrain, diet and regular trimming is an investment in your horse’s future, it is absolutely a false economy to “save money” by lengthening trim cycles or finding the cheapest hoofcare provider you can! Rehabilitating compromised or “train wreck” hooves is expensive and time consuming - there are no short cuts to true hoof health, it’s hard work.
What can I do for you and your horse?
Providing great hoof care for your horse is a team effort, between you, your hoofcare provider, vet, and other professionals who work with you and your horse. We need a shared philosophy and a clear plan for your horses hoofcare and overall well being. As an Equine Podiatrist I can be your guide, but the real hoofcare provider for your horse is you! It’s the daily maintenance and attention to all aspects of hoof and horse health that make the difference.
I trim around a regular 4 week cycle, shorter than usual so that hooves stay looking good. If we wait till the hooves “look like they need trimming” (aka they look terrible and are falling apart, or they have a centimeter or two to trim off), then distortion and compensation is already in play. In some cases your horses hooves may actually need an even shorter cycle, and that’s where I may get an owner to do a little tidy between trims.
I work closely with owners, the more knowledge you have the better you can do for your horse, and I expect owners to put in as much effort with your horses feet as I do! We look at ways to improve your horses movement, get better surfaces in place, have your horse on a suitable diet, and go through any daily maintenance that you will need to do. Additional care may be veterinary diagnosis and treatment, hoof boots, or glue-on composite shoes, modified housing for your horse (especially in the case of laminitics and rehabs), bodywork or different exercises for your horse.
