10/16/2023
We can't fix/save them all......
I read an intriguing post in a farrier group I’m in where someone asked the question, “What do you think is most misunderstood in our industry?”. There were many interesting and thought provoking answers which triggered some thoughts of my own that I thought might be important to share as well. This is the biggest one that hits hard for me because I work on a very large percentage of rehabs.
THAT WE CAN FIX ALL OF THE HORSES.
Unfortunately this is not true 😞. Saying it feels like vinegar in my mouth because I like to believe that we can fix all of the horses hooves we work on. I wish we could, but there are many hooves on many horses that we cannot fix for various reasons. Some of which I have described below.
1. One that gets overlooked is that a horses hoof can only heal to the level it initially development to during the first couple of years of life. If the digital cushion never fully develops the rest of the structures of the hoof can be compromised indefinitely. I think this point is overlooked because usually there is no way for the owner or the hoof care provider to know what a horses hoof history was early on in its life. And there is nothing we can do about it other than try our best to support the hooves as they are and make the horse as comfortable as possible for the rest of its life.
2. Another one is body issues. I am made painfully aware of this one often. So many elements can cause body issues and it is very hard to combat them all. I am very lucky to work alongside an amazing body worker and chiropractor and we frequently collaborate on horses together. There are many hooves that I could not improve without their help. The reverse is true as well. Sometimes those specialists cannot help issues and restrictions in rest of the horses body until the hooves are improved. Then again some body issues and some restrictions have created too much permanent damage if left untreated for too long. If this is the case then the hooves will never fully improve and heal and the body may not either.
3. The next on the list is permanent injuries. Your veterinarian cannot fully heal every injury. Scar tissue associated with permanent damage, to joints, muscles and bones can cause discomfort and pain that will greatly affect the way a horse moves and create compensatory issues that may never go away because the underlying issue cannot be fixed or removed. We try to keep these horses as comfortable as possible with the knowledge in hand that we cannot fix them or their hooves.
4. Another important one is the horses natural conformation. Many horses have not been bred with proper conformation in mind especially when it comes to breeding for healthy hooves. I can only think of a few registries where young horses have to pass a physical inspection to be granted full registration papers. There are also some degenerative diseases that horses may be born with that cause conformation issues like DSLD. These cause hoof problems that we at this point can only try to manage but cannot fix. New knowledge of the C6/C7 malformation is also becoming more understood and the permanent hi/low effect it has on the front hooves. Which we cannot fix because the actual problem is the shape of the cervical processes. This malformation if proving to be more widespread and prolific than we first thought. Also, the lower down you go on the horses limb the sooner in age the growth plates close. So there are conformation issues in the leg that you have a limited window to make corrections in by trying to manipulate those joints with corrective shoeing. Many deformities from the knee down may require surgery when the horse is still a foal. Sometimes these deviations are noticed and dealt with too late to make permanent changes to the horses limb. These deviations and poor confirmation in the horses body will show up as hoof distortions as the body tries to adjust and get back underneath itself when weight bearing and will cause deviations in hoof growth. We cannot fix these hooves without eventually causing joint issues and pain higher up in the horses body. All we can do is trim the horse to their version of straight and balanced. Which actually means we trim them crooked to trim them straight.
5. One that I think the general horse owning population is becoming more aware of are metabolic issues. If a horse has unknown, unchecked, or untreated metabolic issues it is very difficult and sometimes impossible to heal and fix their hooves. If the underlying trigger is not resolved and addressed and the horse continues to have repeated laminitic episodes, many types of irreversible damage will start to occur. The coffin bone will demineralize and remodel, the lamina will become scarred to the point it cannot form a new solid connection to the hoof wall, and the solar corium can become compressed to the point where blood flow is severely limited and the horse loses its ability to to grow new healthy sole. I cannot help heal these hooves after too much permanent damage has occurred. Pete Ramey has shown that when a horse has foundered and the coffin bone has sunk, if the measurement from the exstensor process of the coffin bone to the hairline is more than 12-15 millimeters, the damage is generally irreversible. I cannot do anything to treat the underlying cause of the symptoms showing up in the horses hooves. I merely become a damage control specialist at that point and try my best to keep the horse as comfortable as possible.
6. Sometimes the combination of therapies required to rehab a horses hooves effectively and efficiently are not within the owners current budget. This is a harsh reality that every horse owner at some point has to reconcile with. Horses are expensive and a lot of the therapies that could heal the horse just cost too much. That said I don’t think only the rich should be able to own horses. I know most owners are doing the best they can with the resources they have available. But at the same time I can’t fix all horses with only a barefoot trim. Sometimes more expensive treatments and modalities are required during the rehab process or for the rest of the horses life.
7. The horses diet and environment play a huge roll in the health of their hooves. These two elements are also out of your hoof care providers control. Horses fed diets high in starch, sugar and iron, and low in copper and zinc and the correct forms and percentages of absorbable protein are going to have hoof issues. Nitrogen deficient pastures full of clover and short sugary grasses grasses can cause hoof issues. I could discuss diet and environment indefinitely but will keep in short being as this post is not solely about those topics. But both can cause hoof issues that I cannot fix.
8. Another one that hoof care providers don’t discuss enough is that sometimes we can’t fix a horses hooves because we are at the end of our level of knowledge and expertise. In that case it is important to contact a trusted mentor for help and advise or refer a client and their horse to a professional that has experience and the skill sets necessary to help that horses hooves. It might feel like a big ego deflator but it’s also a great opportunity to learn how to help future similar cases. Sometimes the toughest cases are the ones that propel us forward in our levels of experience and understanding. I am so grateful to my mentors and other hoof care providers, and the tough hooves that have helped me advance my level of knowledge and skill sets. But there is always more to learn!
Unfortunately I am sure there are many more reasons beyond the ones I have listed. I don’t like to think about these reasons but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist or will magically go away. They are an ever present part the reality of owning and caring for horses. Some owners like to believe we can fix everything and are seemingly infallible. We appreciate the vote of confidence but often times sadly this is not the case. Nobody gets into hoof care because they don’t love horses. Quite the opposite really. We would love to fix every hoof on every horse but that is not the reality many of us in this industry are faced with daily. And often times it hurts our hearts as much as the owners.
