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The Winning Horse
03/19/2009 - By Ralph Casey
Equine Treadmill
In 1988 I began an all out study, on not just sound shoeing, but maintaining the sound horse to allow him to perform at his peak. A lot of horse owners and farriers sort of laughed and sneered when I would lecture on some of my findings.
In 1988 I began an all out study, on not just sound shoeing, but maintaining the sound horse to allow him to perform at his peak. A lot of horse owners and farriers sort of laughed and sneered when I would lecture on some of my findings. It behooved me that no one had ever researched keeping horses sound, they were too busy studying and shoeing horses already in trouble, lame, foundered or navicular. Horse owners began bringing me their horses to evaluate. Many who at one time had the chance to be champions whether it be in cutting, running barrels, hunter jumper events, racing, and on and on. In my evaluations, I would discover that the most important part of the horse had been overlooked and neglected. These horses had received too many $15.00 trims! And further evaluations showed that neither the farrier nor the owner knew what they were actually trying to achieve with each trim or shoeing their particular horse. When I would ask them both, “Show me your technique in keeping the leg lengths the same and what is the goal you are trying to achieve?” They had no earthly idea what I was referring too. When I talked about the importance of keeping the foot symmetrical or like it was the day it was born, they were still lost. My findings were basically simple; most of these horses had already incurred irreversible damage because there was no goal to reach and absolutely the number one problem was no routine schedule of maintenance was adhered to. Remember folks; a horse can win by just a nose, as seen nationally on racetracks and every day, every month and every year counts when it comes to maintaining the hooves.
The hoof carries the entire weight of the horse. So, it must be perfectly balanced, or as close as humanly possible, just like an athlete would require to achieve their maximum performance. Many horse owners become offended when I tell them that everything they do is important to the hoof and they discover they did not know quite as much about their horse as they thought they did. Whether training a champion or gentle trail horse for the kids, everything comes into play, from lunging correctly, proper saddle fit, feed and nutrition. There is more to the science of shoeing than flattening the foot, nailing the shoe on and making it look pretty. Improper trimming and shoeing will eventually cause the bony structure to become out of alignment. The horse will be sore due to the unbalanced toe, heel and leg lengths. This right here is the most common and most serious problem occurring to horses today. As I have said before, the main reason for shoeing the horse is; “to keep the bony column of the leg in alignment, wherein, when the foot strikes the ground, the entire bony column, including the spine, equally absorbs the concussion.” This right here is the basis of our evaluations and studies here at the Farriers’ National Research Center and School. So how can you find out more, you ask?
To achieve this goal we must start from square one, by properly feeding the broodmare, then properly feeding the newborn then on to evaluating and properly trimming the youngster. The entire bony structure of this newborn is growing rapidly and to alter it’s body by improper trims or neglect trimming altogether will create big problems down the road. And there are thousands of youngsters who never see a farrier until the owner wants a set of shoes around two years old. This too is by far one of the most common problems seen in horses today.
Because a farrier has 10 or 20 years experience does not automatically make them a competent farrier. It is very important for horse owners to seek out the education about the farriers’ job and the maintenance plan needed to keep a horse sound and healthy. That is, from nutrition, training and the right question to ask to evaluate the farriers’ work, while that farrier is evaluating the horse!
Horse owners are now fortunate to have access to the only farrier research center in the U.S. dedicated to studying farrier science. Owned and operated by caring horse owners and farriers, free educational clinics are offered here for owners where they can learn what questions to ask their farriers and why. And, one of the first ongoing continuing education programs available for farriers.
Horseshoe’n Time is also an experience for owners AND farriers! Our own weekly television show is aired nationwide by DISH Network on channel 9411. It can also be seen online at Youtube.com. This helps owners and the public learn more about every hoof care and more shoeing topics than you could ever imagine! And all of this information is still provided free for you in part by the members of the Brotherhood of Working Farriers Association, Inc. (BWFA)
