Just working on other stuff and decided this extract was worth posting
For whatever reason, when a horses hoof moves away from its optimum clinical parameters the whole body and not just the feet are forced to compensate
If you follow a horse and are watching how the feet leave the ground (Yes some of us are that sad š, if you see a "snapping" action at the fetlock as the hoof leaves the ground, almost like a whiplash the chances are that biomechanicaly the horse is struggling with its toe length and breakover and that flexor tendons are working too hard and forcing over use of the extensor tendons and muscles as they work harder to assist elevation
The situation will potentially not only cause soreness through the entire front of the horses body from the poll down through the extensor muscle chain, but it can have substantial RSI type trauma to the soft tissue fibres of commonly the flexor tendons, the distal intersessamoid ligaments (fetlock joint compression) and the dreaded damage to the navicular area
sleep patterns can also be interrupted depending on the severity of the leverage as the horse need to be able to lean forward into its body to engage its stay apparatus, crucial for being able to sleep while standing
Nothing at all just playing and sharing š
Good conformation, good diet and good movement
They do help a bit šš
I am NOT a horse trainer! I am NOT an equine behaviourist, psychologist nor anything else along those lines
Meet āPaint Dryingā as I have for affectionate and for confidentiality reasons called him, heās only a young horse and when I first met him (as he came out of his stable, his eyes were the classic out on stalks and nostrils flaring etc ā¦..) in short a very apprehensive and tense chap and who could blame him, he was facing me! Oh, and I think āMenā might too have been an issue, hmm
When it all comes together and you have the time to spend and the trust of the owner fun things can happen, I wanted to give Mr P the space he needed, both for his emotional state and for myself, in hopes he might dash off in any direction other than over the top of me (Iām too old now to wear horses as neck cloths)
This for us both probably was a long session and Iāve cut the vid short as I ended up out of shot and asked the owner to come in for the last 7 mins or so
All ended happy and heās a lovely chap to work with due to the diligence of his owner to who I am very grateful to for allowing me to share these special minutes
Scoot Boot āThe boot that wants to moveā
Having fun at farrier focus with Urban Horse and Rockfoot
No good for TikTok
Why are my trims no good?
For TikTok š
I am so fed up of seeing reels, 60 second bursts etc of people attacking the bottom of a horses foot, without thought or consideration for what the horse needs to end up with in order to stand and move with comfort
My trims are like paint drying, Iām way more interested in what can I leave in place rather than take on autopilot
Very recently I received a complaint for sharing a post where the frog in my words was āskinnedā clearly showing discolouration at the insertion of the deep digital flexor tendon, an area which comes under massive downward force in locomotion and an area I believe needs all the tissue support it can get in the form of an integral and strong frog and sole and not one sculpted to an aesthetic profile just because we have a sharp knife and can
I donāt have a trim method but rather a consistent set of thoughts about clinical positioning, bone alignment, circulation, fluidity of movementā¦.. the list is extensive and the power of thought and consideration BEFORE any tools are applied I believe helps me gain the best I can for that individual
How ironic after my last post share that this happens today
A bit of explanation, 2 ropes joined together simply because 1 longer rope wasnāt immediately to hand
This horse was feeling uncomfortable about having its hind feet trimmed especially this left hind, the horse hadnāt entered into any form of negotiation about the task and felt that kicking should be sufficient communication to rid it of the problem namely me!
NOT violent kicking with determination to hurt me but enough to make the task impossible to complete with any satisfaction for all concerned and to get its point across
For me thatās not an acceptable level of conversation to have with any horse yet, itās a conversation that must be listened to and ignored at ones peril, there is always a reason!
Its a big leap of faith on the part of any owner to hand their horse over to a 3rd party for them to then take full responsibility and yet this owner thankfully did just that and a 1 to 1 relationship could quickly be established with me now free to be in charge!
Simple ground rules were very quickly established - you stand there quiet and compliant and I will do my very best to be as quick as I can and keep you as comfortable as I can while I do what I need to do, but be certain horse, if you force my physical energy to escalate it will, meanwhile it is my responsibility to keep negotiation open, if it hurts it hurts and as the operator I must do all in my power to feel where the horse can and canāt put its body and respond accordingly
If you listen closely to the audio I keep talking to the horse, this isnāt a superficial act its both meant and consequently felt, if I tell the horse Iām proud of it and Iām thanking it for helping me I MEAN IT! And thatās conveyed, frequently I audibly exhale which is both communication and relaxation for the horse meaning everything is okay and safe
During the process Iām frequently ignoring the owner completely as I need to be āin the zone
Robbie Richardson and Mark Johnson -a discussion and exploration into the sole of the horses foot
Ok if you could just send me a video at ground level at trot please? š
āHorses should land flatā
And this horse agrees with that on all four feet, until......
Until that is you make a change to comfort, itās pretty obvious how the introduction of padded boots on those front feet have changed things for the positive, but look closely at those hind feet landings too š
Landing, tracking up and breakover - this very mature horse with several pathologies and metabolic issues flies in the face of all my expectations , itās happy and āforward goingā
Sometimes just doing what we can to create comfort is all one can do
With grateful thanks to Urban Horse for your ongoing help!
šHorses Inside Out 2023 18th and 19th of February š
("VOLAR") - Hard Sole Plane (HSP)
And trimming to the volar plane
āEDIT! Itās no longer āVolarā apparently itās now āHard Sole Planeā (HSP) - at least thatās more readily understandable š
If like me you hadn't heard of volar, especially in the context of hoof care and still haven't then ignore this video and go and do something useful with your life instead
If you have heard the term, chances are there is only a relatively small sphere from which you can have heard it and if so, perhaps this video is for you and lastly, if you do encounter "volar" subsequently and your horse is involved, perhaps you should check back in
In a nutshell, using the volar plane as a singular trimming guide, will likely work just fine on a well developed and well structured hoof but too many of our domestic horses here in the UK are not well developed or well structured and trimming to the volar plane for these horses frankly will spell disaster
this is what this little video is about and as a warning! I am working with a dissected hoof to help relay the points I'm making
lastly in the video I said I was going to use a particular post from Progressive Equine Services as the pre-amble to this video
Wayne has already written so much on this specific subject and to just take a single post seems not to do his input justice, so I'd encourage you to visit his page if you aren't already doing so
ā ļø My apologies!ā ļø It has been pointed out to me that towards the end of the video I referred to the navicular bone being ātorn offā
What I should have said was ātrying to be tornā as I did at the start of the video, I have never witnessed the physical tearing off of a navicular bone but I hope that in the context of the video and the emphasis upon the severe adverse leverage an under developed hoof, limb and subsequently horse suffers, compounded by a misguided trimming protocol that the literal inaccuracies of the statement might be forgiven
Busy prepping for the weekend, āApplying anatomy to hoofcareā
BFBA Farrier Focus
Iām so pleased to have been invited to speak, every single horse Iāve dissected has a story to tell and these subjects are no exception
Most farriers and hoofcare providers know the lower limb anatomy very well so this aināt no anatomy lecture, itās all about function, whatās it do and why doesnāt it do and can we break it or can we fix it
Looking at things we are very familiar with from previously un-tried angles I find is a great way to get the brain cell working and even if youāre sure youāre right
Well, it doesnāt hurt to check and re-check now and again š
Looking forward to this! šš
https://www.forgeandfarrier.co.uk/event/bfba-focus-2022/#page-row-3
Getting busy with the Cody James 'Aggressive' rasp
Flies! Yes itās the season alright but are these annoying critters or more importantly the effect they can have somewhat overlooked?
When working on horses feet we feel every twitch the horse makes, every movement and most definitely every snatch as the horse wrenches itās foot away, unable to tolerate the aggravation any more, then multiply this by horse after horse throughout the day
We know the market is flooded with fly sprays promising all but delivering very little if anything, but some are effective, even if they buy you 20 - 30 minutes relief at a time, so time spent testing and experimenting BEFORE they are needed is time well spent
A rug can often be a godsend and for those which are still driven mad, could cut off stockings or woollen tights around the legs deal with that?
For some it might even be necessary to adjust the appointment time so most of the flies are missed, a miserable horse is a miserable experience for all concerned
On a different note, many of us have witnessed accelerated hoof growth, even while grass growth has slowed with the dry weather, itās probable that continued stamping will excite and even inflame the hoof and horn production mechanisms giving rise to what in effect is trauma growth, so all we can do to mitigate this āannoyanceā must surely help all round?
TURN YOUR SOUND UP! š
FLIES! Yes its the season alright but is this something else which gets a little overlooked?
When working on a horse, every muscle twitch we feel it, every stamp and pull we feel it, every time we are holding a leg and the horse HAS to wrench it away because it cant cope with the irritation for sure, we feel it! and, if the horse is already stiff or compromised in its ability to hold its body all that is magnified
Multiply this by multiple horses acting the same way throughout a long hot day and things become less funny
An obvious is fly spray, but test the damn stuff, we all know that a large percentage of that which is on the market doesn't seem to work so find one that does before you really need it, a rug is often helpful too, but if your horse still remains leg sensitive, could stockings or even wool stockings up the legs be considered?
If your horse just can't cope whatever, consider an early morning appointment or late evening when the flies are at their lowest, fighting fly irritation is miserable for all and "Its the flies" won't do as a response
On a completely different note, many of us are experiencing accelerated hoof growth just now even as the grass is backing off, could this continual stamping on hard ground be a contributing factor, acting as a stimulant through concussion? anyone who has bashed their own finger nail may have seen similar after trauma?
Itās not about bashing the application of steel horse shoes but rather questioning their use in āanother wayā and asking how they serve the horse
I ditched all metal applications on horses feet in favour of hoof boots and composite shoes, 6 horses showed me how much better they were for that decision and Iāve not looked back since
Each time I film a steel shod horse or take the film others have taken and slow it down, I can not see harmony between shoe and hoof, especially on landing, but hey, just because I think this way it doesnāt mean Iām right
