KEEPING HORSES SOUND

I believe that keeping horses sound is simple. If you learn how too balance a horse too it's natural bone structure. I also believe that in the last five to ten years we have gone back words thirty years in shoeing practices. In the late seventy's and early eighty's farriers were being told that you had too cut the heels down and lengthen the toe, this would give them more stride. What actually happened was as farriers we created a hole lot of navicular horses. How ever this is still being taught at some farrier schools today.In the last couple of years there has been a big push to get the frog and sole on the ground. I had about thirty horses come to me this year with this problem. In every case I have put bigger shoes on and in the more severe cases I have had too use a wedge shoe. Some of these horses could hardly walk. As soon as we got there angle right most of these horses showed immediate improvement. That is why I strongly believe that all it takes too keep a horse sound is too properly balance it too it's bone structure.The problem with this is you have too be willing too measure hoof angle using a hoof gauge. medial lateral balance using a T square, and toe lenght using a tape measure or a protractor.I strongly believe that there is no way anyone can do this just by eye. In my blog you can find all kinds of pictures of improperly shod horses that were just done by eye.If we don't start looking at the horse as a individual we will just keep on making more lame horses. Some farriers believe that it's the shoe that makes the difference. I believe that the shoe or the type of shoe has nothing to do with balancing a horse.I also believe that hot shoeing does not make any difference when it comes to balancing a horse.Just because your farrier makes his or her own shoes does not mean you are getting a better job.I think you are better off with a farrier that is more interested in trimming the foot properly.                                                

        

 

In all of these pictures the horses have too small of shoes and uneven toe length.I am discussed that farriers can do this kind of work and charge money and go home and sleep at night. I wounder where these farriers are learning there trade. I believe that the north American schools are failing there students and the horse owners. When a student goes to a farrier school and all they learn is blacksmithing skills I don't believe that they are getting the wright skills. What they should be learning is proper hoof balance and anatomy. In my 30 plus years as a farrier I have fixed hundreds of horses by just simply balancing there feet.

Hock Injections

Do your horses feet that look like this.If so they have a serious balance problem.

The pic on left shows high on inside,the pic on right shows too small of shoes and under run heels.

Is your horse getting regular hock injections, just too keep it going. I believe at best this is a band-aid solution. What if you could keep your horse going with out injections. I believe that most horses are sore in the hocks because of bad farrier practices. At farrier schools we are taught too leave the heels high on the inside on the hind feet too make them stand straight. If we as farriers and vets would learn to balance the hind feet to the angle of the femur and the natural angle of the leg, we would not have hock problems. For the horses sake we need too look at the long term not just a quick fix.I believe that if you balance a horses feet too it's cannon bone using a T square you can eliminate hock problems. I also believe as equine professionals we need to start measuring toe length and hoof angles. We are the only professionals the can get away with not measuring!  What we go to school for two months and come back with a magic eye.I have had horses come to me so sore that they could hardly stand too be worked on. As soon as I got there feet trimmed to balance using a T square hoof gauge and measuring toe length,they stand relaxed. By using these tools they have staid sound with out drugs for as much as 11 years. RE: Henry a navicular since 2003 still going with out drugs.
I had a customer ask about hock injections as preventative maintenance. I was shocked too here that people are doing this. When it is so easy to keep your sound just by proper hoof balance. Why spend hundreds of dollars on injections when it can be fixed with proper shoeing.






Same horse balanced too it's natural bone structure. Using  just bigger shoes on hind. I believe we can fix any lameness problems by balancing our horses too there natural bone structure.

ZANE HANKLE

When I was down in Texas going to rodeo school I had to get my black horses hocks injected every month. Since I  have been going to Ian Zoerb I have not had to have his hooks injected or use any drugs.

Hoof Crack

Question by Tiffany Rozumniak

I watched your clinic at farm fair and was very interested in you techniques.

I have a gelding who has had a toe crack for probably the last 5 years or so.  I have had  numerous Farriers shoe him and say that is the only way to fix it. However even though the shoes would make it look like it was gone and healing,  there would always still be a hairline crack right from the top. My most recent farrier shod him and he kept losing shoes and his feet seemed to be crumbling so I had him take the shoes off.  He told me there would be no way to fix this crack.  I have attached a picture below and was just wondering if a stitch could be used to fix this crack?

                                                                   

I believe that a stitch would fix this crack. The problem with just shoeing the horse is the foot will expand with the horse's weight. If you just put a shoe on it, it is going to stop it from expanding  at the bottom, but it will continue to expand at the top. This will prevent the crack from healing completely. If it is stitched just above the crack, you will stop it from expanding at the top.  When you were having trouble with the feet crumbling, it is just from using too small of shoes and rasping off too much hoof wall.