New Shoes

Will brooks shaping smokey’s hoof.

Will Brooks is measuring the shoe to smokey’s foot.

Will Brooks’s anvil. hammer, and hoof holder.

Will Brooks’s rasps, clinchers, nippers and nails

Will Brooks shaping the shoe.

Will Brooks widening the shoe.

Will Brooks making the ends of the shoe tighter to protect Smokey’s hoof.

Will Brooks checking to make sure the shoe is flat.

Will Brooks nailing the shoe on to smokey’s hoof.

Will Brooks nailing the shoe on to smokey’s hoof

Will Brooks shaping smokey’s hoof to the shoe.

Will brooks finishing the rounding process.

Will Brooks clinching the nails on smokey’s hoof.

Will brooks smoothing the nails down to keep Smokey from cutting himself.

A horse’s hoof is the most important body part on a horse excluding the organs of course. Horses stand most of the day, they even sleep standing up. They stand up to keep the weight of their body from crushing their ribs and organs. If a horse has sore feet so much so that it chooses to lie down instead of stand, the horse can colic and possibly die.

However like I said, most horses are not required to use shoes. Some horses have tough enough feet that they can just be trimmed and use a “natural foot.” Most equine need their hooves trimmed by a farrier every six weeks to keep them from becoming sore. The type of riding that people do with their equine also helps to decide if a horse needs shoes or what type of shoe is needed. If a horse is not being ridden much at all, just a trimmed foot should be enough for that horse. If a rider is using their horse for reining, a reining shoe is probably what they want. A trail rider might choose just the basic flat shoe or if they are riding on the road much a drill tech shoe. A drill tech shoe has special pieces of metal on the corners and on the front to give the horse more grip on slick surfaces. Even if you put shoes on your horse, they do not always have to put shoes on all four hooves. Some horses only need shoes on the front because sixty percent of the horse’s weight is on the front so the front needs the most protection.

Horse’s require moiture in their hooves to keep them from cracking. According to an equine website “equine hooves typically get plenty of moisture in the spring. As a result, the horn that emerges is very pliant and relatively soft. In the summer, drier conditions stimulate the growth of much harder, denser horn. The zone between the soft and hard growth eventually causes the frogs and soles to crack and peel.The condition is temporary, and regular trimming will prevent it from causing your horse any trouble. If, however, be becomes lame or his hooves develop a very foul odor indicative of thrush, consult your veterinarian.”http://www.equisearch.com/horses_care/health/hoof_care/summertime-hoof-changes/

The video below shows how to pick out horse hooves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU9Z5GW0iqU