December 2003

Keep Corrections Minimal

Before you dive into therapeutic shoeing, consider the side effects.

A good farrier is aware of the drawbacks of corrective work on an older horse.

The horse’s foot is an engineering marvel. No other animal has to bear as much weight, let alone the forces generated during movement at high rates of speed, on a single rigid structure.

Elephants, camels and rhinos have big, flat, sponge-like feet. Gazelles, deer and other herbivores distribute the forces on a hoof with two claws, with an elastic connection between them. Only the horse attempts to get by with a single digit.

It’s not surprising, then, that the horse is prone to hoof problems. We believe you should think long and hard before doing anything to your horse’s foot that interferes with the way that particular hoof was designed…