A horse with poor hooves is almost the same as a bike that has a flat tire or a tennis racket with a broken string, i.e. limited usefulness.
This is why, one of the most discussed topics regarding the grooming of a horse is centered on their hoof care, where there are theories on the subject that make it difficult to determine what is fact and what isn’t.
Myth: White Hooves Tend to Have More Problems than Black Ones
This is preposterous to even consider, as normally, the hoof’s color is influenced by the color of the skin, which means that the hoof of a horse that has white markings above it, is more likely to carry the exact same pigmentation. Some people also believe that white hooves are soft as compared to black colored ones, which makes them more susceptible to problems.
Master Farrier John Burt, who is the owner of the JDC School of Basic Farrier Science, disagrees. The structure of both is designed in exactly the same way, i.e. the texture and quality of both colored hooves is the same.
Myth: Adding Hoof Supplements to the Feed of All Horses Is Necessary
Adding supplements to the feed of your horse is recommended if there’s something missing from it, so what is being fed to the horse determines whether the equine needs a nutritional supplement to make up for the lack of nutrition from the feed. This means that if the diet of your horse is well balanced, supplements won’t be necessary, although most horses require them, depending on various factors.
You can find different feeds from the market that contain some very crucial nutrients for your horse, such as biotin and methionine; nutrients that help connective tissue and hooves respectively. Other than this, you can easily find a number of products and supplements on our website that can provide the quality care that your horse’s hooves need. The trick is to find one and try it to see whether or not the supplement or product works for your horse and stick to it if it does.
Myth: Hot Shoe Fitting Hurts Horses
This refers to the act of fabricating and forging a custom made shoe for their horse hoof and the process basically involves applying a hot shoe to the hoof. The horse’s hoof is burned because of the hot shoe, when it seats itself to the hoof of the horse. This practice is very popular although there are some who are against it and argue that the burning cause injuries when in reality, a well placed shoe seals the tubules of the hoof, which helps the farrier see high or low spots in the hoof.
Such a practice doesn’t cause injuries to the foot of the horse as like our nails, the hooves of your equine also don’t have any nerve endings, which is why they can’t feel any pain or injury due to hot shoe fitting.
Differentiating between myth and reality will make it easier to take care of your horse when it comes to basic hoof care.
