Farrier Day for some...

From Jim: Early this AM, with luck, our shoer will be here and some of our critters will have their feet done. We have shoes on only a very few horses and, of course, Juan, the mule. These animals have special needs and, without shoes, would be lame. Smokie, our Rocky Mountain Horse, was severely foundered as a colt-twice! He was the victim of an ignorant owner/caretaker that didn't know how to feed a horse. Free access to COB-corn, oats, and barley was the cause. Even after the vet admonished this foolish person to stop the graining, the error was repeated. Smokie almost lost his front feet. The shell of his hooves were actually loose. The coffin bones had fully rotated and penetrated the soles of his feet. It took us about two years of very careful trimming, padding, and shoeing to get him sorted out. He'll always have some issues, some seedy toe, stretched white line, and so forth, but he's comfortable and is OK for light trail work. He'll need shoes for the rest of his life. He's a real love. Rosie, a senior Kiger mare, has fronts that are "low". The soles of her feet have thinned out until the coffin bone lacks sufficient cushioning. This happens to some horses as they get to be really old. The result is lameness and bruising-sometimes abscesses. So Rosie has shoes and pads. She gets along fine. Juan has his orthopaedic shoe for his broken flexor tendon issue. The rest of the herd gets by with trims as needed. We feel barefooted is the best for equines, if everything allows for it. We are not, however, devout about it and do what seems to make sense for the well being and comfort of the animal. We hear, from time to time, that shoeing should never be done. That, with enough time, you can get an animal's feet OK naturally. Well, that may be true, but we don't like the idea of months and months of discomfort for the critter, just to make a point. Likewise, we're not proponents of "shoe em all". A horse's foot works better in its natural state, where it can flex and absorb impact. If there's one variable that makes all the difference, it's the skill and knowledge of your shoer. They're not all the same in that regard and you need to find one that knows his or her business. There's an old saying, "No foot, No horse". It's just as true today as it always was. Proper foot care for our equine friends is critical to their health. We want them all to have "happy feet".