As a hoof-care consultant, I run into some truly unusual cases now and then, but on a whole, the cases I see usually involve the same problems — deep thrush, quarter cracks, white line disease, chronic abscessing and sore heels.
I’ve been at this a long time (35 years) and have only truly understood the hoof (as all farriers should) in the past few years. At first, it was disturbing to come to the realization that after all those years thinking I knew what I was doing, that I really had no idea at all.
During last winter’s 4th International Hoof-Care Summit in Cincinnati, two veteran farriers tackled a few of the most frequently asked questions about the footcare industry. This unrehearsed, fast-paced session sparked a number of highly interesting views for attendees.
Samson is a 6-year-old Percheron gelding. He stands approximately 17.2 hands and weighs about 1,700 lbs. Prior to this incident of white line disease (WLD), he had been a perfectly healthy horse and had been under my care as both a trainer and farrier.
I was recently introduced to an old Mustang that had foundered in both front feet about 2 years ago. From what I gather, the horse was never shod, just put in a stall on sand.
While we are all familiar with white line disease in its advanced stages, there is no reason a horse should suffer from advanced lesions if we are diligent and observant in our day-to-day shoeing.
White line disease goes by several names. Seedy toe, yeast infection and wall separation are just a few. Not everyone agrees as to the exact cause of white line disease, but it does appear to be anaerobic in nature.
Nutrition has long been known to be an important factor in developing healthy equine feet, but Susan Kempson made it clear to an audience at the International Hoof-Care Summit that diet can also play a role in causing feet to breakdown.
Greg Martin, CJF, of Boerne, Texas, takes the unique approach of marketing his hoof-care practice with a Christmas parade float in Boerne and Comfort, Texas. The award-winning float boasts a variety of surprising features.
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Kawell develops and produces copper alloy horseshoes and inserts, giving horses the care that they need to fight issues associated with white line disease, seedy toe and thrush.
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