I didn't get around to uploading this until now...I'm apologize for my absence of posts.... :P
Sorry the video's a little long...
Sorry the video's a little long...
Showing posts with label shoes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shoes. Show all posts
Friday, January 8, 2010
Monday, November 30, 2009
Musings on Shoe(ings)
Hello, Dear blogger friends!
Today I give you a quick (at least for me to write :P) post on the effects of shoeing.
Now that I know the truths behind horse shoeing, and how successful natural, barefoot trimming is, I find it sad that people don't know about it. (Or aren't willing to accept it...but moving right along).
I'm going to attach a bit of information from a book I read in a moment. First, I will show you this picture.
The picture illustrates how shoes hinder blood flow in the horse's hoof. And, when you read the explaination below, it's a pretty darn powerful photo.
At least, I find it powerful. (Photo found at www.thenakedhoof.com)
Can you guess which one of the hooves has a shoe on it?
*HINT* Look for the one with little blood flow.
Mmmm hmm. Am I the only one who finds that just plain scary?
I hope not. Or...if I am...I hope you'll change.
And now, without further ado, my information. Which I think is pretty darn cool...but I'm not sure how many regular horse readers I have on my blog anyway by now so I'm not really sure if this is worth it, or if this is completely pointless...but it's worth a shot.
Excerpt from the website of the author of "The Soul of the Horse: Life Lessons from the Herd" (Joe Camp). (AW
www.thesoulofahorse.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Did you know that a horse’s hoof is supposed to flex with every step taken? And that simple act of flexing is just about the most important thing a horse can do for good health and long life? The flexing provides shock absorption for the joints, tendons and ligaments in the leg and shoulder; acts as a circulatory pump for hundreds of blood vessels in the hoof mechanism; and helps the heart get that blood flowing back up the leg.
Without flexing, the hoof mechanism will not have good circulation and will not be healthy. And the heart will have to work harder to get the blood back up the legs. Without flexing, there will be no shock absorption.
And with a metal shoe nailed to the hoof, no flexing can occur.
...................and more........................
And one item I found puts to rest what so many were telling me: that the foot has been bred right off the horse, that the so called "domestic" horse no longer has the same foot as the horse in the wild. Nothing could be further from the truth. It would take a minimum of 5000 years to breed change into the basic genetics of the horse. I also discovered a study confirming that every "domestic" horse today retains the abilty of return to the feral state and be completely healthy. In other owrds, you do not really have a "domestic" horse. Genetically speaking, you have a wild horse in captivity. All horses on this earth are genetically the same.
"If all that's true, why does my horse appear to feel better with shoes on his feet?" I was asked recently.
I had no idea. Back to the experts I went. And quickly the answer fired back: Have you ever crossed your legs for such a long time that your foot goes to sleep? It's because you have cut off the blood circulation to your foot. Essentially that's what's happening when a metal shoe is nailed onto a horses foot. The hoof no longer flexes. Which means a substantial loss of blood circulation in the hoof. Which mean the nerve endings go to sleep. And the ill health the hoof is suffering from lack of circulation is no longer felt by the horse. In other words, the "ouch" never reaches the brain.
That's also why some horses are tender for a time after shoes are taken off. The hoof that has been unhealthy because of shoes now has blood circulation once again, and he can feel. Two of our horses were good to go right from the first minute the shoes came off. Two took a month or so, one about three months, and one took almost seven months. But all are happy campers now, with rock solid feet, on the trail, in the arena, on asphalt, wherever[..........]
Emile Carre, a past president of the American Farriers Association was quoted as saying "The (horse's) foot was designed to be unshod, Anything that you add to the foot, like a horseshoe that is nailed on, is going to interfere with the foot's natural process. Most horseshoes have six to eight nails, possibly one to three clips, all of which constrict the foot's ability to expand and contract. Add pads, packing, any number of alternatives to the shoe, and you create a gait alteration. It all interferes with the natural process of the mechanism."
Less than 5% of horses in the wild have any kind of lameness, and Dr. Jay Kirkpatrick (who has studied wild horses most of his adult life) says that virtually every case of lameness he's seen in the wild is related to arthritic shoulder joints, not hoof problems.
Arizona veterinarian Dr. Tomas Teskey says,"One of the greatest damages that occurs because of the application of steel shoes to the horse's hoof is the greatly reduced circulation within the hoof, and the diminished return of blood back up toward the heart through the veins of the lower leg. Shoes interfere with the hoof's natural blood-pumping mechanism. The natural hoof expands and contracts with each step, letting blood in as it spreads upon impact with the ground, and squeezing blood up and out of the hoof as it contracts when it is not bearing weight. If this sounds familiar, like the blood pumping mechanism of a heart, that's because it is--natural hooves perform a critical function as supplementary "hearts". This vital heart-like mechanism is greatly restricted by immobilizing the hoof with steel shoes."
______________________________________________________________________________
And now, a short paragraph from www.healthyhoof.com case studies BC Thoroughbred:
Many people assume that Thoroughbreds have horrible feet, and that having horrible feet is due to poor breeding practices. I want to challenge that assumption.
Consider this; a horses feet account for far less than 1% of the whole horse, right? So, how can TB breeders get 99.5% of that magnificent animal so damned RIGHT and get the only the feet WRONG?
I don't understand! These big majestic animals are marvels of animal husbandry... they have been bred for centuries for strength, agility, stamina, athleticism - and great looks! They aren't all Einstein's' in the brains department, but they are very sensitive and responsive.
So how do all of those many thousands of silly breeders manage to breed "bad" into just the feet???
What's particularly perplexing is why those same horrible TB feet become so wonderfully hard and durable once given a chance to shed their metal shoes... Yes, that's right, I connected the phrases "horrible TB feet" and "wonderfully hard and durable", because this is what happens when the shoes are taken off and the feet are trimmed and balanced by a knowledgeable barefoot trimmer / farrier.
My natural trimmer is coming tomorrow. :) Oh joy.
You know how many months I went through dreading farrier visits? Yeah, I'm glad that's over! :)
Today I give you a quick (at least for me to write :P) post on the effects of shoeing.
Now that I know the truths behind horse shoeing, and how successful natural, barefoot trimming is, I find it sad that people don't know about it. (Or aren't willing to accept it...but moving right along).
I'm going to attach a bit of information from a book I read in a moment. First, I will show you this picture.
The picture illustrates how shoes hinder blood flow in the horse's hoof. And, when you read the explaination below, it's a pretty darn powerful photo.
At least, I find it powerful. (Photo found at www.thenakedhoof.com)
Can you guess which one of the hooves has a shoe on it?*HINT* Look for the one with little blood flow.
Mmmm hmm. Am I the only one who finds that just plain scary?
I hope not. Or...if I am...I hope you'll change.
And now, without further ado, my information. Which I think is pretty darn cool...but I'm not sure how many regular horse readers I have on my blog anyway by now so I'm not really sure if this is worth it, or if this is completely pointless...but it's worth a shot.
Excerpt from the website of the author of "The Soul of the Horse: Life Lessons from the Herd" (Joe Camp). (AW
www.thesoulofahorse.com
--------------------------
Did you know that a horse’s hoof is supposed to flex with every step taken? And that simple act of flexing is just about the most important thing a horse can do for good health and long life? The flexing provides shock absorption for the joints, tendons and ligaments in the leg and shoulder; acts as a circulatory pump for hundreds of blood vessels in the hoof mechanism; and helps the heart get that blood flowing back up the leg.
Without flexing, the hoof mechanism will not have good circulation and will not be healthy. And the heart will have to work harder to get the blood back up the legs. Without flexing, there will be no shock absorption.
And with a metal shoe nailed to the hoof, no flexing can occur.
...................and more......................
And one item I found puts to rest what so many were telling me: that the foot has been bred right off the horse, that the so called "domestic" horse no longer has the same foot as the horse in the wild. Nothing could be further from the truth. It would take a minimum of 5000 years to breed change into the basic genetics of the horse. I also discovered a study confirming that every "domestic" horse today retains the abilty of return to the feral state and be completely healthy. In other owrds, you do not really have a "domestic" horse. Genetically speaking, you have a wild horse in captivity. All horses on this earth are genetically the same.
"If all that's true, why does my horse appear to feel better with shoes on his feet?" I was asked recently.
I had no idea. Back to the experts I went. And quickly the answer fired back: Have you ever crossed your legs for such a long time that your foot goes to sleep? It's because you have cut off the blood circulation to your foot. Essentially that's what's happening when a metal shoe is nailed onto a horses foot. The hoof no longer flexes. Which means a substantial loss of blood circulation in the hoof. Which mean the nerve endings go to sleep. And the ill health the hoof is suffering from lack of circulation is no longer felt by the horse. In other words, the "ouch" never reaches the brain.
That's also why some horses are tender for a time after shoes are taken off. The hoof that has been unhealthy because of shoes now has blood circulation once again, and he can feel. Two of our horses were good to go right from the first minute the shoes came off. Two took a month or so, one about three months, and one took almost seven months. But all are happy campers now, with rock solid feet, on the trail, in the arena, on asphalt, wherever[..........]
Emile Carre, a past president of the American Farriers Association was quoted as saying "The (horse's) foot was designed to be unshod, Anything that you add to the foot, like a horseshoe that is nailed on, is going to interfere with the foot's natural process. Most horseshoes have six to eight nails, possibly one to three clips, all of which constrict the foot's ability to expand and contract. Add pads, packing, any number of alternatives to the shoe, and you create a gait alteration. It all interferes with the natural process of the mechanism."
Less than 5% of horses in the wild have any kind of lameness, and Dr. Jay Kirkpatrick (who has studied wild horses most of his adult life) says that virtually every case of lameness he's seen in the wild is related to arthritic shoulder joints, not hoof problems.
Arizona veterinarian Dr. Tomas Teskey says,"One of the greatest damages that occurs because of the application of steel shoes to the horse's hoof is the greatly reduced circulation within the hoof, and the diminished return of blood back up toward the heart through the veins of the lower leg. Shoes interfere with the hoof's natural blood-pumping mechanism. The natural hoof expands and contracts with each step, letting blood in as it spreads upon impact with the ground, and squeezing blood up and out of the hoof as it contracts when it is not bearing weight. If this sounds familiar, like the blood pumping mechanism of a heart, that's because it is--natural hooves perform a critical function as supplementary "hearts". This vital heart-like mechanism is greatly restricted by immobilizing the hoof with steel shoes."
__________________________
And now, a short paragraph from www.healthyhoof.com case studies BC Thoroughbred:
Many people assume that Thoroughbreds have horrible feet, and that having horrible feet is due to poor breeding practices. I want to challenge that assumption.
Consider this; a horses feet account for far less than 1% of the whole horse, right? So, how can TB breeders get 99.5% of that magnificent animal so damned RIGHT and get the only the feet WRONG?
I don't understand! These big majestic animals are marvels of animal husbandry... they have been bred for centuries for strength, agility, stamina, athleticism - and great looks! They aren't all Einstein's' in the brains department, but they are very sensitive and responsive.
So how do all of those many thousands of silly breeders manage to breed "bad" into just the feet???
What's particularly perplexing is why those same horrible TB feet become so wonderfully hard and durable once given a chance to shed their metal shoes... Yes, that's right, I connected the phrases "horrible TB feet" and "wonderfully hard and durable", because this is what happens when the shoes are taken off and the feet are trimmed and balanced by a knowledgeable barefoot trimmer / farrier.
My natural trimmer is coming tomorrow. :) Oh joy.
You know how many months I went through dreading farrier visits? Yeah, I'm glad that's over! :)
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Post #193
Hello, all!
I ended up not riding in the parade on Saturday...Considering how Daisy wasn't completely fine with the last parade, my mom and I didn't have good "feelings" about this one, as it would be a much longer, larger parade, so I opted not to ride in it...turned out that it was fun, anyway, and I was glad I was there to help out.
Our club still attended the parade, and it was a good thing! Without us, there would, again, be NO horses! What a shame! :-P
I arrived and promptly started braiding tails with ribbon; I did one pony, and then another club member wanted it, too...then I did 2 or 3 forelocks. I'd just like to say, I LOVE our club; the majority of the members....well, actually, all of them, are younger then me, some a lot younger, but it's so fun that way. I never had younger siblings or younger relatives living near me, so it's kinda fun to hang out with the "little" kids. :)
The parade finally started, after getting everyone mounted on ponies and moved out of the way as our club's three trailers were taken away to the place where the parade would end, to pick us up.
We did a lot of waiting in the beginning because traffic was still going on down one side of the street, so we had some waiting to do to get onto Main street. One of our club members was riding Maggie, a Standardbred that Jean recently rescued. Maggie looks awesome now, and was a former Mennonite buggy horse, so she really shouldn't have been nervous at all, but her rider was a little nervous, so I stood with them for awhile...by the time we got going, Maggie was fine. She's a beautiful girl now....maybe one of these days I"ll so before and after pictures of when Jean got her; she's awesome now!
Once we got going, Scout, the pony I rode in a show in May, started getting a little excited, so I lead him and rider for a little bit...then they went alone again, then he got super excited as we passed by a mini-stage playing music, so Jean and I both held him...it's so...sad and annoying. We passed that stage playing music, and the music was loud and jumpy; no wonder Scout was nervous! I wish they'd have turned it down...
The rest of the parade was uneventful; I saw some friends of mine, and it was fun listening to the crowd "oooh and ahh" over the ponies; two of our ponies, Mouse (far left pony in the middle picture) and Biscuit (last little buckskin pony in the last picture) are small and ADORABLE, and you could people all of the place saying "Oh, look at the horsies! Look at the little ones!" :-). At the end of the parade we passed a McDonalds, and we joked that we should ride through the drive through...maybe if I ride next year, I will :-P.
For those who are interested in the horses, left to right in the middle picture are Mouse, Phoenix, and Mari (Samaria is her full name, I think)...Last picture left to right (that you can see; the three ponies) are Bella, Biscuit, and Scout.
____________________________________________
The GREAT news is, I got a natural trimmer!!!!! I'm SUPER excited! I found the name and number for one "through the grapevine" and made and appointment for yesterday afternoon...it was awesome! (did I already say that?) I'm completely thrilled. If you've read my blog from the beginning, you'll know that since I got Daisy I've had problems with her hooves; bruising, getting cut, her being lame, having to soak her hoof, not riding for a week or two at a time, etc. Last year, I had her shod. To put it plainly, it was horrible. She reared, she wouldn't stand still, she obviously hated it, and though I didn't admit it mostly because I thought there was no choice but to shoe her, I dreaded the farrier coming. I read The Soul of a Horse: Life Lessons from the Herd by Joe Camp (gifted to me by my awesome uncle :)) and was completely convinced. Shoeing is terrible.
What I realized yesterday was that the natural trimming gives the horse's hoof actual shape. Normally, the hoof is trimmed so that it's flat the way it would be if it had a shoe on. That's fine, if there's a shoe (which are bad anyway), but if they're just flat and there's no shoe, the parts of the hoof that are NEVER supposed to touch the ground do and that's what causes the horse to go lame and people to say that the horse needs shoes. I found it completely incredible yesterday to watch and listen to the trimmer as he explained the way the hoof should be shaped, and how many problems he's solved with his natural trimming. Horses that were lamanitic so bad that they would be put down were saved because of his trim. The trimmer studied in Canada with Lisa Huhn for awhile, and he said at the end of his studying he had to dissect 16 horse hooves. He said that it was terrible what he saw; the coffin bone in hooves of horses that had shoes was completely deformed and twisted because the shoes were SO bad.
All I can say is, PLEASE, read up about the natural trimming and try to find a trimmer near you; it's not simply having a horse go 'barefoot'. If you go barefoot but still have a farrier trim their hooves, they are still in pain because the hooves are trimmed wrong. Check it out, it's a fascinating subject, actually.
I mentioned to the trimmer that I have Daisy on Smarthoof, a hoof supplement, and he said right away that the supplement was a waste of time. He explained that there are so many excess ingredients in supplements that it really just makes a horse more anxious than need be, and it ends up not using half of the supplement. He said he switched his horses to just plain rolled oats and black oil sunflower seeds and that the sunflower seeds make the horse's coat shiny and give the hooves all the "supplement" they need, naturally. I'm SO going to try that! He also said that sweet feed, which I feed Daisy, is actually too sugary, and just increases the chance of thrush in a horse. I'm almost disappointed with myself for not having questioned feed and supplements before; it all makes so much sense. Really makes me motivated to question everything. Just because the majority of people do something and don't want to hear otherwise, does not mean that it's right.
Daisy evidently LOVED the trimmer; he patted her and even gave her a hug in the beginning, and was one of the few people to ignore her angry ears in the beginning. She seemed to like him from the start, and was so still and quiet, we barely held the lead; sometimes it felt like we could have dropped it right there on the driveway and she would have stood still. It was awesome.
The natural trimmer is holding a seminar in our area soon, and I'm hoping to go; I'm completely intrigued. Makes me want to go into natural horse care when I'm older! That would be a cool job!
Alrighty, sorry this was so long! Hope it gave you something to think about...
I ended up not riding in the parade on Saturday...Considering how Daisy wasn't completely fine with the last parade, my mom and I didn't have good "feelings" about this one, as it would be a much longer, larger parade, so I opted not to ride in it...turned out that it was fun, anyway, and I was glad I was there to help out.
Our club still attended the parade, and it was a good thing! Without us, there would, again, be NO horses! What a shame! :-P
I arrived and promptly started braiding tails with ribbon; I did one pony, and then another club member wanted it, too...then I did 2 or 3 forelocks. I'd just like to say, I LOVE our club; the majority of the members....well, actually, all of them, are younger then me, some a lot younger, but it's so fun that way. I never had younger siblings or younger relatives living near me, so it's kinda fun to hang out with the "little" kids. :)
The parade finally started, after getting everyone mounted on ponies and moved out of the way as our club's three trailers were taken away to the place where the parade would end, to pick us up.
We did a lot of waiting in the beginning because traffic was still going on down one side of the street, so we had some waiting to do to get onto Main street. One of our club members was riding Maggie, a Standardbred that Jean recently rescued. Maggie looks awesome now, and was a former Mennonite buggy horse, so she really shouldn't have been nervous at all, but her rider was a little nervous, so I stood with them for awhile...by the time we got going, Maggie was fine. She's a beautiful girl now....maybe one of these days I"ll so before and after pictures of when Jean got her; she's awesome now!
Once we got going, Scout, the pony I rode in a show in May, started getting a little excited, so I lead him and rider for a little bit...then they went alone again, then he got super excited as we passed by a mini-stage playing music, so Jean and I both held him...it's so...sad and annoying. We passed that stage playing music, and the music was loud and jumpy; no wonder Scout was nervous! I wish they'd have turned it down...
The rest of the parade was uneventful; I saw some friends of mine, and it was fun listening to the crowd "oooh and ahh" over the ponies; two of our ponies, Mouse (far left pony in the middle picture) and Biscuit (last little buckskin pony in the last picture) are small and ADORABLE, and you could people all of the place saying "Oh, look at the horsies! Look at the little ones!" :-). At the end of the parade we passed a McDonalds, and we joked that we should ride through the drive through...maybe if I ride next year, I will :-P.
For those who are interested in the horses, left to right in the middle picture are Mouse, Phoenix, and Mari (Samaria is her full name, I think)...Last picture left to right (that you can see; the three ponies) are Bella, Biscuit, and Scout.
____________________________________________
The GREAT news is, I got a natural trimmer!!!!! I'm SUPER excited! I found the name and number for one "through the grapevine" and made and appointment for yesterday afternoon...it was awesome! (did I already say that?) I'm completely thrilled. If you've read my blog from the beginning, you'll know that since I got Daisy I've had problems with her hooves; bruising, getting cut, her being lame, having to soak her hoof, not riding for a week or two at a time, etc. Last year, I had her shod. To put it plainly, it was horrible. She reared, she wouldn't stand still, she obviously hated it, and though I didn't admit it mostly because I thought there was no choice but to shoe her, I dreaded the farrier coming. I read The Soul of a Horse: Life Lessons from the Herd by Joe Camp (gifted to me by my awesome uncle :)) and was completely convinced. Shoeing is terrible.
What I realized yesterday was that the natural trimming gives the horse's hoof actual shape. Normally, the hoof is trimmed so that it's flat the way it would be if it had a shoe on. That's fine, if there's a shoe (which are bad anyway), but if they're just flat and there's no shoe, the parts of the hoof that are NEVER supposed to touch the ground do and that's what causes the horse to go lame and people to say that the horse needs shoes. I found it completely incredible yesterday to watch and listen to the trimmer as he explained the way the hoof should be shaped, and how many problems he's solved with his natural trimming. Horses that were lamanitic so bad that they would be put down were saved because of his trim. The trimmer studied in Canada with Lisa Huhn for awhile, and he said at the end of his studying he had to dissect 16 horse hooves. He said that it was terrible what he saw; the coffin bone in hooves of horses that had shoes was completely deformed and twisted because the shoes were SO bad.
All I can say is, PLEASE, read up about the natural trimming and try to find a trimmer near you; it's not simply having a horse go 'barefoot'. If you go barefoot but still have a farrier trim their hooves, they are still in pain because the hooves are trimmed wrong. Check it out, it's a fascinating subject, actually.
I mentioned to the trimmer that I have Daisy on Smarthoof, a hoof supplement, and he said right away that the supplement was a waste of time. He explained that there are so many excess ingredients in supplements that it really just makes a horse more anxious than need be, and it ends up not using half of the supplement. He said he switched his horses to just plain rolled oats and black oil sunflower seeds and that the sunflower seeds make the horse's coat shiny and give the hooves all the "supplement" they need, naturally. I'm SO going to try that! He also said that sweet feed, which I feed Daisy, is actually too sugary, and just increases the chance of thrush in a horse. I'm almost disappointed with myself for not having questioned feed and supplements before; it all makes so much sense. Really makes me motivated to question everything. Just because the majority of people do something and don't want to hear otherwise, does not mean that it's right.
Daisy evidently LOVED the trimmer; he patted her and even gave her a hug in the beginning, and was one of the few people to ignore her angry ears in the beginning. She seemed to like him from the start, and was so still and quiet, we barely held the lead; sometimes it felt like we could have dropped it right there on the driveway and she would have stood still. It was awesome.
The natural trimmer is holding a seminar in our area soon, and I'm hoping to go; I'm completely intrigued. Makes me want to go into natural horse care when I'm older! That would be a cool job!
Alrighty, sorry this was so long! Hope it gave you something to think about...
Monday, February 23, 2009
Catchin' Up on Life-_-_-The Subject of Shoeing
Sooo...I haven't posted anything about Daisy lately so I have to do some sharing.
I was sick last week, which happened to be February break from school. I was also sick the week before, and came to the barn on Sunday, didn't go back until Wednesday, and then came on Friday again. That Sunday that I came, the farrier came as well. I recently read a very interesting, thoughtful book called "The Soul of a Horse: Life Lessons from the Herd" by Joe Camp (director/producer of the Benji movies I believe...) that my Uncle Gregor gave me for Christmas. All I can say is, if there is just one book you should read about horsemanship, it's that one. What an amazing read. It was an eye-opener completely. Remember the "roundpenning" video post I did awhile back? Normally, when I round pen (or I'm assuming other people) they put themselves in the position of the horse's "leader" as the do the join up. However, once they leave the pen, they go back to acting the way they did before. Joe Camp brought the join-up OUTSIDE of the pen, and it sounds amazing. It seems to take quite a bit of work and dedication, but I want to try what he did. I would HIGHLY recommend this book, please read it if you own a horse (and otherwise...it's a pretty heart-warming book for anyone who likes animals).
He also had an entire chapter devoted to horse shoeing, and mentioned the topic of shoeing throughout the book. I learned some pretty cool stuff. I myself shod Daisy last season and I would have this season, but this book changed my mind. Please don't be offended, I just want to share what I learned.
Did you know, that shoeing a horse's hoof makes it impossible for the hoof to flex naturally? Read this paragraph from the book, please:
Have you ever crossed your legs for such a long time that your foot goes to sleep? It's because you have cut off the blood circulation to your foot. Essentially that's what's happening when a metal shoe is nailed onto a horses foot. The hoof no longer flexes. Which means a substantial loss of blood circulation in the hoof. Which mean the nerve endings go to sleep. And the ill health the hoof is suffering from lack of circulation is no longer felt by the horse. In other words, the "ouch" never reaches the brain.
I was sick last week, which happened to be February break from school. I was also sick the week before, and came to the barn on Sunday, didn't go back until Wednesday, and then came on Friday again. That Sunday that I came, the farrier came as well. I recently read a very interesting, thoughtful book called "The Soul of a Horse: Life Lessons from the Herd" by Joe Camp (director/producer of the Benji movies I believe...) that my Uncle Gregor gave me for Christmas. All I can say is, if there is just one book you should read about horsemanship, it's that one. What an amazing read. It was an eye-opener completely. Remember the "roundpenning" video post I did awhile back? Normally, when I round pen (or I'm assuming other people) they put themselves in the position of the horse's "leader" as the do the join up. However, once they leave the pen, they go back to acting the way they did before. Joe Camp brought the join-up OUTSIDE of the pen, and it sounds amazing. It seems to take quite a bit of work and dedication, but I want to try what he did. I would HIGHLY recommend this book, please read it if you own a horse (and otherwise...it's a pretty heart-warming book for anyone who likes animals).
He also had an entire chapter devoted to horse shoeing, and mentioned the topic of shoeing throughout the book. I learned some pretty cool stuff. I myself shod Daisy last season and I would have this season, but this book changed my mind. Please don't be offended, I just want to share what I learned.
Did you know, that shoeing a horse's hoof makes it impossible for the hoof to flex naturally? Read this paragraph from the book, please:
Have you ever crossed your legs for such a long time that your foot goes to sleep? It's because you have cut off the blood circulation to your foot. Essentially that's what's happening when a metal shoe is nailed onto a horses foot. The hoof no longer flexes. Which means a substantial loss of blood circulation in the hoof. Which mean the nerve endings go to sleep. And the ill health the hoof is suffering from lack of circulation is no longer felt by the horse. In other words, the "ouch" never reaches the brain.
Is that powerful or what? I thought it was. It sounds pretty bad. Besides what that says up there, the shoe's nails make the hoof wall very weak. And the hoof can't flex.
Throughout the book, Joe will write one chapter about his own experiences, one chapter that he makes up about a herd of horses in the wild. He uses that herd to prove a point:
Horses weren't created to have certain things. They weren't meant to have shoes, blankets, barns, perfect little pastures, leg wraps, stalls, etc. I'm not saying I agree with everything he says. I'm going to continue to stable Daisy. I'm still going to use leg wraps. I'm still blanketing Daisy when it's below 15 degrees. But I don't want to keep shoeing her.
I feel kind of stupid. When I had Daisy shod last summer, she HATED it. Totally hated it. She reared, and she was just obviously uncomfortable. Partially that was because of the farrier, I admit. But it was also because she didn't like it. So WHY did I keep having her shod if I knew she hated it, and it became so stressful to have her shod because I knew she didn't like it? I kept doing it because I thought she needed it. I thought the ground was too hard for her hooves, and we were riding on the road, etc. Other people shoe because they jump, or rein, or barrel race, etc. But in reality, most horses don't need it. The first summer I had Daisy, I didn't shoe her. And her hooves got bruised and she was lame for a bit. I rode her through it, though, and within the 8 weeks between farrier visits, her hooves HAD hardened up, and she wasn't bruised anymore, and she could be ridden anywhere. Unfortunately, her hooves soften during the winter, and I don't want to go through her being lame and bruised again and waiting for her hooves to harden. Soooo...I'm not shoeing anymore because it's bad...But Daisy does have flat soles, and she has pretty sensitive feet. So I'm going to order (as soon as I can be sure of the size) Old Mac G2's. I originally read about them on the blog "7MSN". They are, in short, tennis shoes for horses, produced by EasyCare Inc. They slip on the horse's feet for when you go out riding, and are like shoes except that the horse's hoof can still flex naturally. Sounds good to me. They are kind of expensive, but if you think about it, you spend about $70 to have shoes reset anyway, and the shoes should last at least half a year. I've also ordered SmartHoof from SmartPak (Good quality, smartpak...if you ever plan on getting supplements, check SmartPak's version of it...it's cheaper and many times, better.)
So that's my story...I had a little drama with my new idea of not shoeing, so I just had to share. That's my reasoning. In any case, I still highly suggest Joe Camp's book, it's a cool read.
________________________________
Sorry this post was so long...I've been sick a lot recently, so I haven't really ridden much. I've still been at the barn, but just doing groundwork. I've been pretty happy with that--I've taught Daisy to side pass (to the right) over a pole, which is good because before side passing and poles just didn't mix with her. We're working on the left side now. She seems to enjoy it...we're both getting a little sick of the arena, and can't wait to get back out on the trail.
I'll talk to all you bloggers soon...this post could take awhile to digest...well, as in, read, so....but in the meantime, read The Soul of a Horse! :D
Bloggin' Out,
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Disappointment
Because I've been working for fun at our family's new restaurant, I've spent some money that I've earned. I ordered this saddle pad for my western saddle, because it is baby blue (in the picture) and baby blue is Daisy's show color.
I also ordered this blanket for winter, because it was on sale for $100 off and when I board Daisy at Jean's for a few months this winter she will need a blanket.
Unfortunately, I just opened the box and found this color pad. Green. and tan...I'm kinda disappointed--I was excited that I'd have the blue pad in for the western show I'm in this weekend (Actually, Jean is picking Daisy up in half and hour to take her to her house, where I will board Daisy for the week) and now I get this green pad...granted, I guess I should have realized when it said "assorted colors" and when I wasn't allowed to choose the color that I would get any random color, but still...I guess I will send it back. I will be doing a western pleasure type of show on Sunday and then the Saturday after that I will be doing pole bending/barrel racing/etc, so maybe if I send the saddle pad back now I can get a new one in time for the Saturday show...if not, I'm going with my ugly gray one :-/...this stinks...
I also ordered this blanket for winter, because it was on sale for $100 off and when I board Daisy at Jean's for a few months this winter she will need a blanket.
Unfortunately, I just opened the box and found this color pad. Green. and tan...I'm kinda disappointed--I was excited that I'd have the blue pad in for the western show I'm in this weekend (Actually, Jean is picking Daisy up in half and hour to take her to her house, where I will board Daisy for the week) and now I get this green pad...granted, I guess I should have realized when it said "assorted colors" and when I wasn't allowed to choose the color that I would get any random color, but still...I guess I will send it back. I will be doing a western pleasure type of show on Sunday and then the Saturday after that I will be doing pole bending/barrel racing/etc, so maybe if I send the saddle pad back now I can get a new one in time for the Saturday show...if not, I'm going with my ugly gray one :-/...this stinks...
Luckily I didn't care what color the blanket is. It's navy blue with green straps--it's ok. I'm not going to open it-I'm saving it for winter.
So that's all I have to say...the farrier came today...Daisy reared twice on her first front hoof, but I got mad at her and the rest of the time I said "Whoa" and "Stand" over and over and over again and she was ok...then on the last (front) hoof she reared again so we had to give her hay in a bucket....she actually hit the ceiling the last time...next time the farrier will just take her shoes off completely for winter, so I'm glad--I don't have to deal with her rearing until next spring :-P...
Ok, thanks for listening to me complain.
6:09 PM
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Back to Riding!
So, on Monday we called the farrier and left two messages, one from my mom, one from me, asking (again) if he could come out and shoe Daisy. He called back, and he said he'd come the next day! He came, and checked out her hooves and said her front hoof was still very tender, but he'd shoe her anyway. SO, I had him make Daisy shoes for all four feed, and pads for her front. She has the pads so that she can walk on stones and such without getting bruised again. She also got borium on, which is a type of metal that's kind of rough on the shoe, so she doesn't slip when she walks. First he had to take a little while to 'customize', I guess, Daisy's shoes, and then we went into the barn to put them on, because it was raining. Daisy did just fine on her back hoofs-he aligned the shoes and nailed them in and then filed off the nails when they came out the sides (second picture). Of course, she couldn't let herself get the reputation of being a perfect horse, so she decided it would be acceptable to rear, oh, say, 3 times when he got to the front feet. It was scary-she almost touched the ceiling at one point, and the farrier would have to jump out of the way. The farrier took the halter and chain lead at one point, adjusted the chain, and gave Daisy a hard tug and a little speech about safety....it didn't work for long. She reared another two times, and that's when he suggested hay. Of course, Daisy being a sucker for food, stood very nice and still on the last shoe and chomped away...the little brat! She also had silicone sprayed under the pad on the front feet so that she has more cushioning...the pictures are labeled. The pic of her hoof that's not labeled is her back hoof. Well, after money spent, and shoes, pads, borium, and silicone, I can ride again! I took Daisy for a quick ride today because I actually went and rode Bubba after school today (I took the bus to my 4H leader's house) and it was great! Daisy's hooves sound nice on pavement ;-).
The last pictures are just some I took of Daisy tonight and the sky. Doesn't Daisy look great!? Don't ask what's up with the lead rope-I kind of just threw it on, it's actually just a rope...She's so slick and shiny.
Anyway, thanks for all the thoughts and helpful tips throughout Daisy's little hoof 'ordeal'! My school ends next Wednesday...finals this week and next, and then I might post more often! (or less often ;-)) Bye!
9:17 PM
The last pictures are just some I took of Daisy tonight and the sky. Doesn't Daisy look great!? Don't ask what's up with the lead rope-I kind of just threw it on, it's actually just a rope...She's so slick and shiny.
Anyway, thanks for all the thoughts and helpful tips throughout Daisy's little hoof 'ordeal'! My school ends next Wednesday...finals this week and next, and then I might post more often! (or less often ;-)) Bye!
9:17 PM
Friday, June 6, 2008
Hot Weather & Bruises
So, the farrier came today. Daisy was getting better and better at walking all week, but when the farrier shod her she ended up being bruised *again*. Last year she was bruised on three of her legs, but today she was bruised even worse then last year on her right front (where she was laming) and her left hind. She also had some 'holes' in her hoof sole on both ends. The farrier said to keep soaking in Epsom salts like I am and to put Iodine on her hind leg. Then we'll take it from there, which probably means I have to put shoes and pads on her...*sigh*...just what we didn't want. But you've gotta do what you gotta do...the second picture is taken by a friend of mine, the rest are by me...Today it's 90 degrees out (WOW) and so I bought Daisy a fan, which she is totally loving...I'm having a barn sleepover tonight! IN THE HEAT! lol...it'll be around 70...well, that's it...thanks for all your kind words and insight!...This may sound silly, but how do you put iodine on a horse? Do I soak Daisy's hoof in it, or do I just put it on?
4:35 PM
4:35 PM
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