Horse Training - Hoof Care Basics For Equines

     Do you want to know hoof care tips and techniques?

Equines are what you refer to as ungulates. Ungulates are groups of mammals which utilize the tip of the toes to support their mass when in motion. Majority of ungulates are with hoofed feet --- such as equines, donkeys, zebras, camels, deer, and giraffes.

A hoof is the tip of a toe of an ungulate mammal. Keratin strengthens the hoof as a thick, hard outer jacket. The sole of the hoof is somewhat tough yet rubbery, yet softer than the exterior. There is also a hard wall created by the dense nail rolled around the tip of the toe. The soles of the hooves carries the whole horse's weight.

Equine's hoofed feet continuously grow but are also worn down thru continuous moving. The mean weight of horses is often more than 1000 pounds and it is only supported by its four hooves. An equine is treasured due to its power and ability to carry humans and objects for work and pleasure. They are valued for their mobile function. Needless to say, an equine with hoof problems can be greatly problematic.

There are three hoof care tips to consider with hoof care for horses - cleaning, trimming, and shoeing.

Cleaning

We all know that hygiene is very important and it is very vital to clean the hooves of your horse especially before and after riding. Every horse owner should have an important tool, the hoof pick. It will be your best bud in horse grooming particularly with the animal's hooves.

It should be noted that even horses that are not at all ridden should still be groomed with a hoof pick to prevent thrush. It needs to be done daily. A horse with wet hooves is very difficult to keep.

Trimming

As earlier mentioned, hooves are constantly growing. Thus, they need trimming for maintenance and to keep the horse in proper form. Trimming needs to be done about every one to two months, depending on the activity of the animal and the environment the animal is kept in. Trimming can be tough to do and it needs considerable skill. Trained farriers must be the only ones to do this procedure to avoid incorrect trimming.

Mistakenly trimming the walls too short is often the mistake. Paring of too much sole is just like nail-cutting too short and can make lameness in the animal in addition to pain. Hoof care must be done by a professional and what is a few pennies spent in exchanged for an injured equine. Have a capable, skilled farrier do the job. The expense is certainly worth it.

Shoeing

Can you imagine doing hard manual labor without any footwear?

We cover our feet with items such as shoes because we require protection for our feet. Equines needed them more than anything elese. Even though horses are in nature strong and have tough feet, they still need to be shod if they are doing a lot of work.

Some equines may have relatively weak or flat hoofwalls, or simply not fit for hard labor. Such horses need shoes even they are not for work purposes. It is better to ask a vet or a farrier about this, as whoever is doing the corrective shoeing must really experienced.

If you thought this article was helpful, wait 'till we send you our FREE DVDs on natural horse training. It's got many videos on hoof care for horses, horse training tips, techniques, and more of EasyHorseTraining.com's acclaimed training methods.

If you thought this article was helpful, wait 'till we send you our FREE DVDs on natural horse training. It's got many videos on hoof care for horses, horse training tips, techniques, and more of the acclaimed training methods. Visit http://www.easyhorsetraining.com