Veterinary Madness
A while ago, my attention was once again drawn to a typically poor article on theHorse.com. Not unusually, this is an article about feet and, also not unusual, it is written by a vet and contains citations by other vets. Many people will obviously start to say that ‘the vet will know…’ so why criticise […]
Safety Shoes and the Toilet
I regularly get asked what is so bad about horseshoes. And why horses are shod, if horseshoes are really so bad. To answer the first question, the easiest comparison we can make is that of safety shoes. Imagine that, day in, day out, twenty-four hours a day, you were to wear a pair of safety […]
When are “Good Feet” really “Bad Feet”?
In my line of work, it is nigh on impossible to avoid visiting a stable or livery yard every now and again. And although I am almost always visiting to tend my unshod horse-clients, I cannot help but notice just one or two of the stablemates; in particular, their feet! Unfortunately, it is tactically unethical […]
Hoofing to Nature!
We often eulogize about “The Wonders of Nature” but only when we are actually confronted with them do we realize just how amazing they can be. A few weeks ago I was called out to one of my customers who had just bought an 8 year old horse. The general condition of the horse was […]
Keeping Warm Feet
Horses are, like humans and all other mammals, warm blooded (including the so-called cold-blood breeds). This means that the body’s temperature is regulated internally and not by external influences (the sun). A direct result of this is the minimal variation in temperature noted over the whole body. Some areas are slightly warmer because of the […]
A Heated Discussion
I had a rather heated discussion yesterday with one of my horse-riding students (as opposed to a student of horse-riding). She was very much of the opinion that a horse needed to be shod to stop the hoofs wearing down too quickly. I didn’t actually ask what she did with her horse that would make […]
Winter is here (on paper!)
So the winter has begun; well, according to the meteorological calendar, at least. Our weathermen mark the change of seasons on the first day of March, June, September and December – it makes it easier on the statistics than the infinitely variable 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd or 23rd of the month 😀 Our horses (were […]
The Half-shod Horse
I paid a visit to a riding school yesterday evening and was shocked at the state of the hoofs of the horses there. The horses themselves are in fairly good condition, but those hoofs 🙁 All the horses had recently been reshod but, as is the case with many riding-school horses, in most cases only […]