Recent News for Hoof Care and Balance
Article
Foal Hoof Care
October 18, 2001
Among the many factors that determine the success of a foal as a sales yearling or as a mature athlete are management decisions about its feet and limbs during its first four months of life. Because a solid foundation for performance in the... Read More
Article
The Equine Foot -- Form and Function
October 15, 2001
There is an adage that is as old as the modern-day horse. It goes something like this: No foot, no horse. My late father, who could pick out a minute leg or foot unsoundness at a glance, used to lecture his young son about the importance of good... Read More
Article
Hoof Wall Repair
October 15, 2001
In one study involving Moyer and Sigafoos at New Bolton Center, 19 horses were admitted with severe hoof crack problems that were of a severity that the horses were lame and unable to perform. In each case, the damage was repaired by using a fabric... Read More
Article
Progress in Lameness Therapy: Bluegrass Laminitis Symposium 1997
October 11, 2001
Any treatment of laminitis must be prefaced by answering questions such as: "Do I save this horse regardless of the cost? Is it imperative that this horse race again?" What sort of care will be available to the horse following application of special ... Read More
Article
The Magic of Disney
October 11, 2001
Walt Disney World in Florida is in the process of celebrating its 25th anniversary, and there hasn't been a year of the magic without horses. Walt Disney himself was an avid horseman, playing polo and envisioning a very horse-oriented park with... Read More
Article
Navicular Syndrome
October 10, 2001
Most veterinarians and farriers agree that navicular-type lameness is the foot's response to stress, particularly repetitive stress that can put uneven pressure on different parts of the horse's foot.... Read More
Article
Feeding the Foot
October 10, 2001
Can you feed a foot? "You bet!" Say a dozen ads in this (and almost every other) horse magazine. Can you improve a horse's flexibility at higher levels of performance or increase the quality of joint fluid by feeding a supplement? "It's... Read More
Article
The Natural Hoof: A Sign of the Times
October 10, 2001
The feet of wild horses have been able to adapt to their environment, while the feet of domestic horses seem to consistently fail at adapting and instead collapse, crack, flare, and bruise.... Read More
Article
AESM Convention
October 10, 2001
Researchers, veterinarians, and horse people from around the world gathered in San Antonio in April for the 16th meeting of the Association for Equine Sports Medicine (AESM). The program included three full days of presentations concerning the... Read More
Article
Navicular Syndrome Treatment: The Brave New World
October 09, 2001
In spite of the best care given to horses in the history of their domesticated lives, record numbers of carefully bred, reared, and trained saddle horses are prevented from fully athletic lives by the crippling disease known as "navicular syndrome."... Read More
Article
Puncture Wounds in the Foot
October 09, 2001
Within this subject, it is also a good time to discuss simple foot abscesses, as they are a common--and often the best possible--outcome for a puncture wound to the foot. Generally before infection can take hold, the puncture must penetrate the dead ... Read More
Article
Hoof Preparation Products
October 09, 2001
Walk into any tack store and you can smell the hoof care section before you even get there. A long list of ... Read More
Article
Tending To A Tender Foot
October 03, 2001
Although the equine hoof is a marvel of resiliency, it's not made of rubber, or titanium, or diamond. As a living structure, it has its vulnerabilities, and when faced with unusual stresses, it shows them. Stone bruises, those... Read More
Article
Bluegrass Laminitis Symposium 1999
October 02, 2001
The name of the conference might be misleading, because the 10th Annual Bluegrass Laminitis Symposium in Louisville, Ky., covered topics from how nutrition affects hooves to what stimulates hooves to grow. The theme of this year's symposium was... Read More
Article
Horse Show Shoes
October 01, 2001
Winter’s finally over and you’re ready to roll down the road. Your horse is fit, you’ve been coached to new heights, and visions of blue ribbons dance in your dreams. Suddenly, your happy dream turns into a nightmare as you recall what happened... Read More
Article
Nail-Quicked
October 01, 2001
Shoeing is necessary to protect the hooves of many hard-working horses, and nails are of course an important part of the process. Ideally, horseshoe nails enter the outer hoof wall, which lies adjacent to the "quick," or the sensitive laminae... Read More
Article
Hoof Repair
September 13, 2001
When your farrier and/or your veterinarian discuss how to solve the hoof problems you are encountering with your horse--be it from injury or disease--you will be better able to understand your options, and get your horse back on his feet in the short... Read More
Article
Shoeing The Laminitic Horse
September 13, 2001
Of all the medical crises that can afflict a horse, laminitis surely is one of the most alarming. Horribly painful, and potentially devastating to his long-term soundness, the strange syndrome whereby the coffin bone inside the hoof begins to... Read More
Article
Computerizing the Hoof
September 12, 2001
"The biggest problem as I see it," quips Wendy Wergeles, 20-year trainer and event rider of Cottonwood Farm, Los Alamos, Calif., "is that horse owners and even novice competitors understand very little about their horses' feet. They hire a... Read More
Article
The Barefoot Horse: Romance vs. Reality
September 12, 2001
By leaving a horse barefoot, one allows the hoof's natural functions of shock absorption, traction, and biomechanics to perform at their optimum. Shoes inhibit natural function and the horse's natural way of going, and limb interference with shoes... Read More
Article
Welfare, Farrier Groups Advise Caution on Do-It-Yourself Hoofcare
August 01, 2001
The International League for the Protection of Horses (ILPH) has issued a statement cautioning enthusiastic horse owners not to tackle their own hoof care work in pursuit of a "natural" unshod hoof. Reacting to the groundswell of popular interes... Read More
Article
Barefoot Benefits
July 01, 2001
We often assume a horse needs shoes without really thinking about why or how that affects a horse's overall health. Yet standard veterinary texts, such as books by James Rooney, DVM, and O.R. Adams, DVM, on... Read More
Article
Stepping Ahead: Bluegrass Laminitis Symposium 2001
June 01, 2001
Laminitis is one of the most serious and difficult-to-treat diseases horses can get, and only by learning everything about this problem can we prevent and treat it successfully. Enter the 14th annual Bluegrass Laminitis Symposium held Jan. 25-27... Read More
Article
Grooming Your Horse: Deep Down Clean
June 01, 2001
Daily grooming also gives you a chance to detect and monitor any injuries or other health problems such as cuts, skin infections, allergic reactions, thrush, etc. Finding health problems early gives you the best chance of treating them successfully.... Read More
Article
Navicular Problems: Symptoms and Treatment
June 01, 2001
So many times, a horse gets labeled as suffering from "navicular," and people shy away from him as if he were Typhoid Mary, not knowing how to treat or even visualize the problem. In recent decades, however, much has been learned about the area... Read More
