Hoof Care Provider/ Farrier Services

Is your horse really sound?

Denys Antonenko • April 21, 2023

One Minute Discussions #54


Discussing Natural Hoof & Horse Care


IS YOUR HORSE REALLY SOUND?


What is soundness? I think we don’t fully understand this word. Let me illustrate… If I walk a horse across a gravel road and the horse ends up being sore from the gravel but “sound” on softer terrain, is that horse really sound? Another example: your horses’ shoes are pulled but as soon as you let it walk barefoot it is dead lame, but then the shoes get applied and the horse is running around as never before. Again, is that horse actually sound?

In my opinion, NO! Horses that show any signs of lameness or hoof pain are not fully sound/healthy.

This leads to a different question… how likely is it for these horses to be fully sound? Everything depends on what you’re expecting of the animal. If you’re expecting a long time chronically laminitic horse to be endurance riding barefoot, I wouldn’t count on it. How about pasture sound? Some horses have so much damage in their hooves that the best thing to do for them is let them retire.

In any case it really depends on the situation, how damaged the hoof is, the diet, the environment, genetics and how the owner and professionals are managing the health of the horse.

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Denys Antonenko

How to build a dry lot

By Denys Antonenko • April 23, 2024
Click on the button below to download the free PDF step by step guide to building a dry lot or scroll to look at the guide below!

Leave or remove the lamellar wedge?

By Denys Antonenko • April 21, 2023
One Minute Discussions #66 Discussing Natural Hoof & Horse Care LEAVE OR REMOVE THE LAMELLAR WEDGE? The lamellar wedge is the adaptation of the hoof to internal problems. And although it’s a sign of inflammation, it may still serve a purpose during rehab. It’s still responsible for “glueing together” the wall and sole, but that “glue” is not as strong as it’s supposed to be. So how do we address it in the trim. Everything depends on the horses comfort level and the condition of the lamellar wedge. It won’t be a wise decision to totally remove the lamellar wedge if it is soggy, weak and not fully keratinized. But in a lot of cases it is safe to remove most, if not all of it, if the lamellar wedge is keratinized, dry and sturdy (especially if we’re putting the horse in therapy boots). In some cases it is a good idea to trim the bottom, flared growth evenly with the well connected top growth in order to reduce leverage on the lamina as much as we can. Denys Antonenko

What causes lamina separation?

By Denys Antonenko • April 21, 2023
One Minute Discussions #65 Discussing Natural Hoof & Horse Care WHAT CAUSES LAMINA SEPARATION Yesterday on my group I posted a question… what causes lamina separation? And although we’re used to hearing the most common things that separate the lamina, such as poor diet, metabolic problems, excessive toe leverage, etc, we don’t often hear about the less common things that can lead to a path of lamina failure without us noticing it. You’ve heard me say it many times before that lamina failure is not a result of just one thing. There’s always multiple factors contributing to the problem. As an example, bacterial and fungal infections weaken the foot, and that can result in lamina separation. Mental and physical stress can increase hormone levels which may result in poor hoof health. Many different problems happening elsewhere in the horses body (skin issues, allergies, dental problems) can be a factor that leads to a weak lamina. Denys Antonenko
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