Jason Turk Farrier Services

07/24/2024

Best funny memes of The Day! 🐈‍⬛🥰🐾

07/24/2024

06/24/2024

04/29/2024

A family owned company in Leominster makes products for horses.Subscribe to WCVB on YouTube for more: http://bit.ly/2526UpSGet more Boston news: http://www.w...

04/13/2024

It’s easy for farriers to think of a hoof as a sponge that easily soaks up water from the environment. But scientific studies find no difference in relative hydration between hooves from wet or dry environments. What’s actually going on in hoof hydration is far more complicated.

04/11/2024

Which toe length do we talk about? What — there is more than one? No doubt we all discuss toe length, but exactly what toe length do we mean? Most people will comment that feet are too long simply by looking at the dorsal aspect of the hoof.

04/10/2024

Are you sitting down? Well, maybe you should be. Get comfortable, grab your favorite beverage, relax, stay a while, because I am about to reveal to you who the greatest farrier in the world is. 

03/21/2024

Very Well Said.
Thank You Stewart Farrier Service .

Knowledge sharing post No.1.

Digital/Phalangeal Alignment in a wet environment.
Pollitt and Hampson did a study at University of Queensland a couple of years ago.
They concluded the hoof wall has a constant moisture content. The sole however is like a sponge, soaking up all available moisture .
When hydrated to capacity, it loses it's tensile strength and the ability to support the hoof capsule as intended.
The back third of the hoof, which is also the shock absorbing section, drops or prolapses as a result. Counter rotation of the coffin bone occurs.
This is now known as negative palmer/planter angle. That is the angle the bottom of P3 makes in relation to the ground.
As a farrier, the best results to help this are to engage the back third in a load sharing package. Traditionally a heartbar shoe or wide bar was used. More recently dental impression material or pour in material is added to load share with frogs and commisures.
Plastic frog support pads are available most recently, as skills to fit a heartbar correctly are highest level. Protecting the internal structure are paramount whilst load sharing.

Horse's hooves are not designed to be constantly wet. Best results are to remove the cause.
A dry bedding of pine sawdust draws moisture and helps kill bacterial invasion of the whiteline and/frog's.
Overloading of the over hydrated hoof is exacerbated by the weight of the horse. To many horse's are overweight for the tensile strength of the hoof capsule.
If your horse gets to the situation where it needs this specific shoeing package, it's your responsibility as an owner to change the management or husbandry process.
Horse's shod with a load sharing package should be in a confined environment where they can't gallop about with the possibility of overreaching causing premature shoe loss. They should not be in a herd environment where other horse's can stand on the shoe's at play causing premature shoe loss.
Your farrier sees your horse at a cyclic time to reshoe, trimming the hoof to keep in balance perimeters.
The management between visits falls squarely on the owner.
Unfortunately to often expectations of correct digital alignment are overshadowed by owner mismanagement. I'm older and get grumpy when "buck passing " ends up in my lap.
At the end of the day as a professional tradesperson, it's me who decides if I continue to be trying my best for your horse's welfare 🙏

01/11/2024

As a horse owner, you have likely heard the term “balance radiographs” before, but what does it entail? Essentially, this involves taking two images of each foot from the front and side angles to assess joint compression and other factors. 📐

By measuring various aspects, we can identify any imbalances that could cause discomfort for your horse. Your veterinarian may collaborate with your farrier to make necessary adjustments to your horse’s shoeing or trimming based on the findings, ultimately improving your horse’s overall well-being.

05/18/2023

Strengthening hooves needs a combination of good diet, exercise and balance. This series finishes with how to use your environment to get strong hooves.

05/04/2023

Not a joke...

Have you ever wondered why you can have a 15 acre field and part of it is chewed down to nubs and the other part has grass a hand high, But your horse is constantly grazing in the chewed down part?

Grass 6 inches and taller has less sugars than grass under 6 inches.

For every inch drop below 6 inches, the fructan (sugar) content rises.

Grass under 6 inches is stressed like it's a Monday morning with a project deadline. It uses sugar to repair itself.

Stop mowing your fields short.

Stop grazing your chubbys on chewed down grass. (this is why grazing muzzles are so touted...they keep the horse from being able to get much short grass)

(We aren't saying let your fields be 3 feet tall, by the way. The optimal thing to do is keep them 6-8 inches tall and graze them in small areas there)

04/21/2023

I also highly recommend this product to help keep the feet tight in wet muddy conditions

04/01/2023

Here You Have it.

Thank You Alicia Harlov & The Humble Hoof for this INCREDIBLY VALUABLE INFORMATION

“My horse’s feet didn’t look ANY better with a diet change [or XYZ mineral supplements] so this is all a waste of time.”

I was at a barn a few weeks ago, and someone who works there implied that hoof supplements were a giant waste of money.

While I agree that many companies might have some misleading marketing or may not fully understand what we as hoof rehabbers look for in a supplement, I still hold to the truth that diet can MAKE OR BREAK hoof rehab and for some sensitive horses, diet can mean the difference between life and death- really.

So what are some reasons why diet change might not have worked for your horse?

1. That “hoof supplement” really isn’t giving your horse what it needs.

I constantly see posts about people saying their horse’s hoof issues must just be genetic because “they’re already on a hoof supplement!”
I generally don’t recommend hoof supplements. I recommend feeding the horse AT MINIMUM the daily NRC requirement of minor minerals such as copper and zinc, and increasing if you are struggling with high iron or manganese, especially if you have a metabolic horse. Some popular supplements boast trace minerals - but might only provide, for example, 14mg of copper (yes, I’ve seen an expensive POPULAR supplement with only 14mg of copper per day,) when the NRC recommends at least 100mg per day for an 1100lb horse- and more to balance ratios as needed. While this is only one example of one minor mineral, pitifully low levels of minerals are sadly common in a lot of supplements, and without familiarizing yourself with the NRC daily recommendations, you won’t even realize these supplements are sorely lacking.

Moral of the story: you’re right - the diet change didn’t work for your horse - because it wasn’t meeting basic nutritional needs. Read labels and compare to NRC recs, and for the gold standard: PULL A HAY TEST and balance minerals to what’s actually in your hay!

2. Your horse’s diet is too high in sugar and starch.

Adding a quality supplement won’t do much if your horse is basically eating an all candy/junk food diet at meal time! Excess sugars and starches that aren’t being utilized by exercise or work can wreak havoc on the horse’s system. And this may be controversial, but most horses eating enough quality forage don’t need grain - and some sensitive or metabolic horses downright can’t have grain without having a direct effect on their hoof health and soundness/comfort. For sensitive or metabolic horses, the feed should be less than 4% starch and less than 10% ESC+ starch combined.

Moral of the story: just because a feed is marketed as “low starch” or safe for hoof issues doesn’t mean it is! Always check labels.

3. Your horse is sensitive to grass

Tagging along with #2 above comes those horses that can have a fully forage based, mineral balanced diet, but still have stretched white lines and sensitive/sore hooves … because they can’t handle the rich grass pasture they live on. Often these horses have underlying metabolic issues that simply can’t handle the sugars and starches in grass.

Moral of the story: when in doubt, if your horse is experiencing hoof pain or chronic issues, trial off pasture or with a muzzle to see if things improve.

4. Your horse isn’t getting regular hoofcare

Throwing a mineral supplement at your horse but neglecting to get their feet worked on for months on end isn’t going to help their hoof health. Mechanical wall separation from excess length is a real thing! Not to mention that excess toe length plays a huge role in the forces acting on the palmar aspect of the hoof and up the limb.

Moral of the story: a regular hoofcare schedule is important to hoof health.

5. Your horse isn’t moving enough

While diet can help grow healthier hoof wall and laminae connection, it can’t make up for lack of stimulation/movement. A horse that lives in a stall or who stands at a hay feeder 24 hours a day while barely taking a step will likely have weak feet, even with a perfect diet. You can compare it to a person who eats the cleanest, healthiest diet, but sits at a desk all day. They may be thin and “look healthy,” but they won’t have the strength and muscle that someone who exercises regularly will have! Hooves and their internal structures need movement to be strong.

Moral of the story: proper movement covers a multitude of diet or management “sins” when it comes to hooves! Get those horses moving!

6. Your horse’s environment isn’t clean

A good diet won’t make up for a horse that’s standing in its own urine or manure all day long. While mineral balancing helps immensely with stronger frogs, the caustic nature of their own waste can eat away at even the healthiest of tissue.

Moral of the story: provide your horse with a clean area to live to minimize exposure to nasty microbes.

7. Your horse has undiagnosed metabolic issues

If your horse has chronic hoof issues despite good movement, a clean environment, consistent hoofcare, and a perfect diet, bloodwork can rule out an undiagnosed/uncontrolled metabolic problem. Testing to check for PPID (which isn’t controlled by diet) and IR (where some refractory cases can have high insulin despite a good diet) can help identify another cause of poor hoof health in order to properly treat it.

Moral of the story: a metabolic panel can rule out endocrinopathic causes of hoof issues, or at least tell you where your horse is at baseline.

8. Your horse isn’t actually eating what you think it is

Sometimes even with our best intentions a horse can leave supplements behind or refuse to eat the “bland” forage based feed we try to give it, and if you’re boarding, the barn staff may clean the leftover feed out of the tubs and unknowingly throw all the good stuff in the trash. Double checking to make sure your horse is actually eating what you’re trying to feed it can be important!

Moral of the story: make sure your horse isn’t wasting your hard-earned money by avoiding those expensive feeds/supplements!

Overall, there are many reasons for hoof issues- but before writing off a diet change as “not working,” make sure that there isn’t something above that is sabotaging your efforts.

02/12/2023

There is a proposed state legislative bill (Assembly bill 1547-sponsored by Assemblymember Buttenschon/Senate bill 1414- sponsored by Senator Hinchey) that would exempt commercial horse boarding services from sales and use tax in New York State...

02/01/2023

DID YOU KNOW?

Puncture wounds in the foot qualify as medical emergencies, due to the amount of vital structures just beneath the sole that can be physically damaged and/or contaminated with bacteria when they are penetrated by a sharp object.

If your horse steps on a nail or other sharp object and it remains embedded in the hoof, resist the temptation to pull the nail out and consult with your veterinarian first. Leaving the nail in place will allow the vet to take x-rays of the foot before removal, which helps to identify exactly what structures have been penetrated, and to plan the most appropriate strategy for dealing with the situation.

If your veterinarian advises, carefully remove the nail to prevent the horse from stepping on it and driving it deeper into the hoof cavity. As you remove it, be sure to mark the exact point and depth of entry with tape and/or a marker so the veterinarian can assess the extent of damage. Apply antiseptic to the wound, and wrap to prevent additional contamination while you wait for your appointment.

Penetrating hoof wounds can be extremely serious and shouldn’t be underestimated. The prognosis for successful recovery depends on quick action to identify the path of the nail, treatment of potential infection and mechanical damage to the foot, and proper aftercare. As always, consult your horse doctor for more information and advice!

01/13/2023

Okay, I guess I'll go on a soapbox roll.

Unpopular opinion: if your horse's current living situation isn't able to control laminitic issues, you might have to move the horse in order to save their life.

Up to 90% percent of laminitis is endocrinopathic - which means it is metabolic in nature, highly affected by hormones, diet and exercise (or lack thereof). This means that nearly every laminitic case needs strict guidelines in regards to diet and turn out environment. It can mean the difference between lame and sound, or even life or death.

The management for a metabolic laminitis case should look something like this, especially if there is any sign of pain:

✳️Remove all grain from the diet
✳️Remove access to grass pasture/fresh grass or even weeds
✳️Remove alfalfa - unless the horse is sound and deemed to be not affected by it
✳️Ensure hay is safe - either by testing it or soaking it
✳️Add in safe calories as needed (unmolassed beet pulp, forage cubes like Triple Crown Timothy Balance Cubes, flaxseed, etc)
✳️Feed essential vitamins and minerals in a metabolically safe carrier
✳️ Involve the vet to pull bloodwork and prescribe medication as needed to control ACTH levels or refractory high insulin

I can't tell you how many times I hear from owners of laminitic horses, whether in person or online, that they "just can't" restrict their grass access, or "but the grain says it's low sugar and starch" (spoiler alert: it probably isn't), or "but it's only a little bit of (XYZ)."...

Side note - when it comes to the barns that say "but there's really no grass out there!" my response now is, "If there weren't any horses in the paddock, would there be any grass? If the answer is yes, then the grass is being eaten... Imagine what the grass would look like without horses on it, and that's roughly how much they are eating."

I get it. It's hard to deny your horse something they love. But we are our horses' advocates, and just like a parent to a child, we have to decide what is best for their health and long term quality of life.

I am not writing this post to make anyone feel bad. I just see so many stuck in a cycle of laminitic setbacks, and sometimes a little push is needed.

Metabolic horses take extra special attention and care, and finding the right situation for them can mean the difference between watching them in pain, and watching them thrive for years to come.