If you have taken care of horses for years, you will agree that horse ownership costs have increased and will continue to do so. Increases vary from region and country but on average most horse owners pay shoeing expenses of at least $110.00 per horse every six weeks. Most farriers barely make a living or cover their costs of fuel, time, education, insurance and equipment. In order to feed their families, most farriers need to charge between $130 and $200 per horse.

These men and women work their backs and butts off. The prices are more than fair, but fuel costs have risen over the years and the majority of farriers travel many miles to service horses. Working under horses for a living is dangerous work and the farriers without insurance are taking a dangerous gamble. Insurance costs are on the increase and must be factored into a client’s shoeing bill. Shoes and equipment aren’t getting cheaper and continue to drive costs up. These costs and time in a vehicle are all a cost of business and end up being passed on to the horse owner.

EasyCare proposes one solution to help you lower costs: don’t shoe your horse. Does your trail horse really need iron shoes every six weeks? The majority of us struggle to ride our horses more than once a week. We think you could save the cost of shoeing by keeping your horses barefoot. When your horse needs hoof protection, a hoof boot is the perfect solution. A set of hoof boots equals the cost of roughly two shoeings and most horse owners take more than a year to wear out a set.

In addition to keeping a horse barefoot and using hoof boots when needed, you can learn maintenance trimming from your farrier or hoof care professional that will allow you to increase the time between trimmings. Extending the time between trims means reducing each horse to four or six trims per year rather than eight. Extending the trim cycle with maintenance trims could save you an additional $240.00 per horse per year.

Could you benefit from some extra dollars in your bank account? Opportunities abound, and this is just one of many. Read about the success stories from other horse owners on our blog and Facebook page.

On March 4, 2010, we dipped our feet into the Pacific Ocean, mounted our horses, and began our long journey East towards the Atlantic Ocean – a coast to coast horse ride to benefit Hearts Up Ranch. We started with two riding horses and two pack animals – all barefoot and wearing Easyboot Epics and Easyboot Edges. We have no support vehicle and we ride an average of 15-20 miles per day, though we have gone as much as 30 in a day.

We have covered a huge variety of terrain; everything from paved roads through major cities, gravel and dirt roads, sand, snow, slick rock, and extremely rocky and steep trails over the Rocky Mountains.

Eight months later and 1,800 miles behind us, our horses are still barefoot and wearing Easyboots. We are extremely grateful for the generous sponsorship by the folks at EasyCare who have made it possible for us to keep our horses barefoot. The boots have not only protected our horses’ hooves from natural terrain, but also from glass and trash along the road. We have enjoyed proving to many skeptics along the way that going barefoot permanently in any terrain really is possible.

Additionally, we have had many miles to make observations about Easyboots. The bottom of the boots is made of very tough material. In 1800 miles, we have only worn through about 6 or 7 pairs of boots and put well over 500 miles on each. We like the easy application of the Gloves, the tough hardware of the Edge, and the fast securing system of the Epics. Proper fit is indeed important for successful use and we have had no problems with heel rubbing.

Easyboots have come a long way from what they were years ago. The company is always working to improve their boots, and even while we have been on the trail they have come out with an improved gaiter model.  Easyboots helped us transition our horses from shod to barefoot, they are great as a spare shoe, and they have protected our horses’ hooves half way across the country. The EasyCare company is great to work with and we thank them for their huge part in the success of this “Ride Across America.”

Check out our photo gallery from the trip:

Body condition scoring is a visual assessment of your horse’s level of body fat. You get a body condition score by rating the amount of fat covering various anatomical landmarks against a linear scale. Usually six areas are rated: crest, wither, loin, tailhead, behind elbow, and ribs. Two scales are commonly in use; the US scale runs with values from one (emaciated) to nine (obese), whereas the Australian scale runs with values from zero (emaciated) to five (obese) – they are close but dont directly correspond. Each anatomical area is rated a value from the scale and these are averaged to give your horse’s overall body condition score.

As your horse’s fitness level increases two important things happen to his body fat stores. First, he is able to store more of those very important Intramuscular Triclycerides (IMTGs) between his muscles – refer to Fat: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly for a recap on IMTGs. Remember, the most important role that body fat plays for your athletic horse is as the fat source to replenish IMTGs after work. Second, he can more easily liberate and use energy directly from body fat stores for increasingly strenuous levels of exercise. So as your horse increases fitness you should expect to see an increase in lean muscle bulk and a decrease in body fat stores. Interestingly, fat from body stores is not lost equally: It seems likely that fat along the top of the back and the hindquarter is recruited more quickly than from other fat storage areas, leading to less fat storage along the posterior topline.

This endurance horse has a low level of body fat – body condition score around 3.5 on the US scale, 2 on the Australian scale – yet smooth musculature along the back (not sunken) and large, round, muscular hindquarters. More fat, rating a higher body condition score, would improve the overall topline, but to what end? It is muscle not fat that enables him to truck down the trail.

Body condition scoring your horse tells you nothing about his myofascial helath, muscle glycogen stores, degree of gutfill, hydration or any other parameter related to fitness or performance – it tells you only how much body fat he has. It is muscle, not fat, that propels your horse down the trail, over that jump grid, or after that polo ball. Although body condition scoring is subjective, it is reliable – experienced assesors usually arrive at the same body condition score for any given horse. The key words here are experienced assesors. Over the the last decade or so, it has become increasingly common to confuse horses with healthy musculature to those that are simply fat. For example, the Australian Endurance Riders Association now includes body conditioning score as a parameter in their endurance horse logbooks.

We have seen images of this endurance horse before – refer to That Big Trot – with obvious muscular dysfunction, fascial thickening and reduced circulation in the back, lumbar area and croup. Although I have not provided a complete photo, this horse would be body condition score 4.5 on the US scale, 3 on the Australian scale. Yet it is obvious this horse is lacking the topline and muscular developement through the back and hindquarter when compared to the thinner grey horse above. Increasing this horse’s body fat levels for a higher body condition score would only cover up, not resolve, the muscular dysfunction as well as adding extra, non-functional weight to carry down the trail.

For comparison, here is another horse with the same body condition score (around 4.5 US scale, 3 Australian). Again, there is no extra fat along the back or on the hindquarter but the back muscles are full and fleshy and the hindquarter round and well-developed. The thermograph demonstrates the more consistent and even circulation representative of healthy musculature.

Of course, you dont want to simply hide your horse’s biomechanical issues under a layer of fat. From a pragmatic point of view; all the problems are still there and will manifest just as soon as you ask him to do anything athletic, let alone the ethical considerations from such an approach. Instead you need to address the cause (saddle fit, rider equitation/balance/fitness, poor hoof balance, etc) of the muscular dysfunction and implement a physical therapy program.

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.”

EasyCare is moving forward with a test mold of the first wide version of the Easyboot Glove and Easyboot Glue-On designs.  The mold will allow us to test the wider hoof boot pattern and see how many of the requests from wide hoof horse owners we can help.  If the testing goes well we will move forward with the other sizes of the Glove and Glue-On styles for a spring or summer 2011 launch.

We have hesitated on a wide version in the past because it is my personal opinion that many of these wide feet contain excessive flare. We didn’t want to invest in a new set of molds if the demand wasn’t there or would go away.

I thought that if the flare was managed better or more often a wide version would not be needed and our investment would be a waste.  After more research and some reflection, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are many horses with wide feet and many that will always have flare. Both need a wider hoof boot.

Let us know if you are in need of a wide version hoof boot. Click here to see the competition we started this week to determine a clever name for a wide boot. Start thinking now!

In November 2009, I gave a presentation for the Purina Equine Health Awareness Clinic. After my presentation, I was approached by a lady named Dianne who informed me that she had a horse with asymmetry issues. I was very excited to work on her horse because I had just returned from a trip to California where I had been working with my business partner, Steve Karshner. While I was there, the main focus was rehabilitating horses suffering from the effects of asymmetry.

I learned a lot of new information and was positive I could help her horse. She commented that they had diagnosed him with navicular and had been working with her veterinarian and farrier for years with no significant success. Dianne was ready to give up on this horse until she heard me talk about asymmetry at the clinic. I really liked Dianne from the start; she sincerely cares about her horses, and she was eager to do whatever was prescribed to reverse this unusual and misunderstood condition.

All hoof care professionals know we can’t fix every lameness issue on our own; it has to be a team effort among the horse owner, trimmer and veterinarian. When I saw Chex for the first time it was without a doubt the worst asymmetry case I had ever seen. He walked out of the barn head-bobbing lame, his left front foot was almost straight up and down and the right front foot was horribly underslung.

Chex’s shoulders were extremely uneven, and his left knee was an inch and a half higher than his right knee. Imagine having one leg longer than the other; you would most likely have pain all the way up through your neck and every muscle and joint in your body would hurt.

It’s extremely important for the horse’s body to be aligned. We have to get the horse’s body adjusted first before its feet start to come into balance. You must level and balance the knees, and the shoulders, so the horse is baring weight evenly on both front feet. They have to move correctly with a heel first landing in order to build heel on its low leg, as well as to keep the high heel down and de-contracting. Dianne mentioned that she rode with one stirrup longer than the other. This is typical of the condition.

Chex’s frame was uneven; his shoulders were out of alignment and over-muscled on one side. As a result, the saddle would never fit him properly. His former farrier had shod him in a 2 degree wedge shoe with a pad on the right front and a keg shoe on the left.

His instincts were correct as he was trying to level the knees. But in order to bring this horse into balance you must build heel on the low underslung foot, and that can never be done with a shoe, believe me I tried for years.

I launched Chex’s rehab by pulling off all the shoes and doing my trim. Because I planned on putting Chex straight into a pair of Easyboot RXs, I was able to be aggressive on the first trim and bring his knees nearly level. Next, I fitted Chex in a pair of RXs with dome pads, and when Dianne lead him away from me he took two head-bobbing steps then trotted off like nothing had ever been wrong.

It’s important to get a horse moving properly with little or no pain in order for feet to restructure themselves, and I don’t believe I could make those kind of changes without using the boots as part of the therapy. We made big gains on that first trim, so I set Dianne up on a four week schedule and we stuck to it. I showed Dianne how to stretch him and explained to her how to exercise him daily in the round pen. Dianne was faithful with her responsibilities, and we had her riding Chex in four weeks. She called me about six months into the rehab and told me that Chex was presenting lameness again. At that point, I knew we were on the right track. I know that sounds funny, but I explained to her that when a horse or even a person is lame for a long period of time the muscles must acclimate to moving correctly again.

At this point we had all the pain out of his feet and he was moving the way he should. However his shoulder muscles were sore and not accustomed to a full range of motion. I told her to keep stretching his legs and shoulders before she rode him. Also, Dianne was to keep him trotting in straight lines to re-muscle his shoulders evenly. She stayed faithful to the rehab and did everything I advised her to do. It’s been ten months and Chex is doing great. In September, Dianne entered Chex in a western pleasure class for the first time in years. They won third place and he showed no sign of lameness. Dianne was so excited that I was the first person she called to tell about her success. One thing I can say for sure is that with proper hoof care, and with a client who is willing to do his or her part of the rehab, an asymmetrical horse can be brought back to perform at the top of their game.

There is no better feeling than restoring a horse to soundness, that everyone said was “done” and to hear the owner say, “You gave me my horse back,” and to see the horse and owner back working as a team, performing sound and pain free. So until next time remember, No Hoof No Horse.

Jason McClure – Barefoot Farrier

About the Author
Jason McClure has his Farrier practice in Kansas, and specializes in shoeing and trimming the competitive reining horse, and the rehabbing of Navicular and foundered horses. Check out Jason’s website, www.jasonmcclure.net, for more info on the Asymmetric horse, and for future clinic dates close to you.

If you want your horse to look his best many people believe that a rug is essential to stop the sun from bleaching a horse’s coat.  A dull and faded coat isn’t a good look for any horse, especially in the show ring or a competitive performance horse.  Other suggestions are to keep the horse indoors during the day, paint the horse with products or use a high fat ingredient in the diet to give the horse a shiny sheen but none of these suggestions deal with the actual cause.

A sun bleached or dull coat is a classic sign of mineral deficiency and the way to correct this is to put the horse on a more than adequate nutrient and mineral balanced diet.

All horses have a requirement for carbohydrates, protein, a small amount of fat, vitamins and minerals and water to stay healthy.  Equine nutritionists use the ‘Nutrient Requirements for Horses’, published in 2007 by the National Research Council to calculate needs for horses.  Lactating mares have the highest needs.  Growing horses require less total feed but a higher concentration of minerals compared to mature horses.  The greater the body weight or workload, the greater the requirements for protein and minerals.  This is why the same diet (pasture and supplementary feed) can appear to support one horse but not another if one is heavier or is on a higher workload despite both horses having a good body condition score.

The same can apply to a horse that has his workload increase.  The diet may appear to support the horse quite well at the lower workload but signs of mineral deficiency may be expressed at the higher workload.

Horses most affected by sun bleaching are the darker colors like black and bays but it also affects chestnuts, buckskins and to a lesser extent greys.  Some breeds are more affected than others; Friesans for example don’t bleach as much.  They may be less prone to it because they genetically produce higher concentrations of very dark, protective melanin.  Even if they are producing less than normal it’s still more than most other horses.

It must be said that horses are individuals so two bay horses of the same weight and breed on the same diet and workload may have one exhibiting a more bleached coat.  Both will still have the same mineral deficiency.

Copper and Zinc

A copper dependent enzyme called tyrosinase is responsible for the production of melanin, brownish black pigments synthesised from the amino acid tyrosine. This occurs in plants and animals including micro organisms and us. The lack of tyrosinase activity is responsible for albinism and is related to grey hair in us. Sufficient copper is needed to produce the pigment in buckskins and chestnuts and both copper and zinc are needed for black/brown/grey coats.

The purpose of the pigments is to act as a shield against light. The fading is caused by ultraviolet light oxidising the pigments. If there are less than optimal levels in the diet, the hair will be more prone to bleaching but will look normal until enough pigment has been damaged to cause the color change.

That’s why a newly grown winter coat will appear darker but then lightens over time if the horse is copper and zinc deficient. If your horse is on a more than adequate nutrient and mineral balanced diet, there is no need for rugging or worse, being kept indoors.

Copper deficiency in other species influences coat quality and produces ‘rusting’ of dark coats, this is especially noticeable in the manes of bays and black horses. This effect in horses has not been formally proven, but horses showing red tips on dark manes of dark coats respond well to copper and zinc supplementation.

It’s not enough to simply ensure sufficient levels of copper and zinc in the diet, the balance between the two must also be considered as too much zinc in the diet has been shown to interfere with copper uptake. This is known as a secondary copper deficiency. Too much copper in the diet is believed to interfere with zinc uptake. Some people add copper sulphate to a feed; this is not good practice without taking into account the copper and zinc intake for the whole diet (pasture plus any additional feeds). The ideal ratio for copper to zinc is 1:3.

A secondary copper deficiency can be caused by other factors. High molybdenum and sulphates from grazing on affected pasture is known to interfere with copper intake. Some horse owners add inorganic yellow sulphur to their horses’ feeds. There is a very small requirement for sulphur in a horse’s diet that is easily satisfied by grass or hay, the yellow sulphur obtained from stockfeed suppliers should never be fed to a horse, it can be toxic.

A copper deficiency may be obvious with coat color changes but can be more subtle in other parts of the body. Copper is part of many enzymes responsible for chemical reactions throughout the body. A deficiency can lead to abnormalities in bone, cartilage, tendons and ligaments and has been linked to uterine artery rupture in mares, a fatal complication of labour and with zinc, developmental bone disease in foals.

Studies have shown that a high iron intake can interfere with zinc levels causing a secondary zinc deficiency. Since pasture and hay generally have excessive levels of iron, avoid supplements that add more iron to your horse’s diet unless an iron deficiency is confirmed by your vet.

A zinc deficiency can cause a raft of issues from skin flaking and poor coat quality to poor fertility, poor hoof quality and ridging, mouth ulcers, mild anaemia (oxidative damage), suboptimal immunity and predisposition to skin infections.

It’s worth noting that anaemia due to iron deficiency is extremely rare, more likely caused by a copper deficiency as the production of the oxygen carrying haemoglobin for red blood cells requires a number of crucial copper dependent enzymes.

Other Nutrients

Of course, it’s not just copper and zinc but protein, vitamins and other minerals also need to be part of the balanced diet. Fortunately, the good news is that if your horse is on a high intake forage diet, most of the vitamins will be supplied and won’t need supplementing. An exception is vitamin E if your horse is in work.

The motto to remember is that ‘more is not better’. If there is more than adequate protein in your horse’s pasture, supplementing more is not helping your horse at all as it has to be excreted.

Keratin is an extremely strong protein and is the major component in skin, mane and tail, hooves, and teeth as is the case for us with our skin, hair and nails. Keratin is made up of a chain of amino acids with unique properties depending on the sequence; it can be inflexible and hard like hooves or soft as is the case with skin depending on the levels of the various amino acids.

Many of the amino acids that are needed for keratin are never deficient; horses can manufacture them from other amino acids. One that has to come from the diet is methionine as it cannot be manufactured by the horse. Methionine has a sulphur bond which has confused some people into thinking that sulphur should be supplemented in the diet. Feeding sulphur doesn’t create more methionine but fortunately methionine is in grass and hay and is unlikely to be deficient unless the horse is on a high grain diet with little forage.

The last consideration should be given to fat in the diet. Many people supplement vegetable oils like canola to add a shine to their horse’s coat. Without taking into account the whole diet, rectifying any deficiencies and balancing the minerals, this simply results in a shiny, mineral deficient horse. Since horses evolved on a low fat intake, less than 6%, is this in the best interests of the horse?

Fat is never deficient in the diet if grass is the predominant forage, there is no necessity to supplement more fat unless the horse is on little pasture and hay instead. Grass contains the anti inflammatory omega-3 and pro inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids in a ratio of roughly 4:1. Both are necessary for the immune system. Unfortunately all vegetable oils with the exception of flaxseed contains very little to no omega-3 and an abundance of omega-6 fatty acids. If your horse is mainly fed hay, he should be supplemented with flaxseed oil or the ground flaxseeds as the curing of hay destroys the fragile omega-3 fatty acids.

The next time you visit your stockfeed supplier or saddlery, have a look at all the coat, mineral and hoof supplements, the two minerals they will all have in common is copper and zinc. Ask an independent nutritionist to help you have your pasture and/or hay tested and a mineral supplement formulated to correct any nutritional deficiencies and balance the minerals. Let your horse be the color his genes designed him to be.

Carol Layton B.Sc M.Ed, an independent equine nutritionist does feeding plans for horse owners in the USA, Australia and other countries. To learn more about mineral interactions and hay and grass testing, head to: http://www.balancedequine.com.au and check out the nutrition articles.

To learn how to put together mineral balanced diets for your horses, enrol in Dr Eleanor Kellon’s VMD NRCPlus course: http://www.drkellon.com NRCPlus is based on the nutritional research determining minimum requirements for nutrients and the concept that the balance of nutrients is equally important because they can compete with each other for absorption.

There are many reasons why a horse may be sore-footed, some far more complex to rectify than others. But very often, the problem is easily addressed with hygiene, diet changes, or simply giving the horse time to heal. Here are some of the common causes of tender feet.

Overt and obvious.

The whole enchilada.

Thrush is absolutely the most common problem I see, even in very dry areas. In fact, it’s probably more of a problem in dry environments, because it is harder to identify. Even a mild case will cause the horse to wince if he steps on a pebble, and advanced cases will cause a horse to favor his heels even on very forgiving terrain. It is likely the leading cause of heel pain in the domestic horse. Unfortunately, the severity of the problem is frequently trivialized — most farriers will only mention that your horse has thrush in a sort of offhand way unless it is severe, and even vets may overlook thrush as being a primary contributor to lameness. The fact is that thrush (which is also known as foot rot; perhaps if we called it that more folks would take it seriously!) in the hooves of cattle and sheep is considered the #1 cause of severe, devastating lameness. Incidentally, it has been conclusively shown that a lack (either primary or relative) of zinc and/or copper in the diet predispose cattle to foot rot. The solution? Aggressive hygiene, appropriate footing at all times, movement, movement, movement, and diet balancing.

White line separation can create tenderness, too. Ever gotten a splinter up under your fingernail? Or simply bent the nail back to the quick? It’s not a pleasant experience. Horses with white line separation (stretched, poorly connected lamellae) experience something very similar with each step, and particularly if they get pebbles wedged in the gap between wall and sole. White line separation in an otherwise well-maintained hoof is almost exclusively diet related. Serious in and of itself, white line separation also predisposes the horse to white line disease, an infection which can be devastating. The solution? Diet balancing, hygiene, timely trims, and boots and pads until the separation is grown out.

White line separation.

Thin soles are another common cause of sore feet. Usually, horses are thin soled because they have been trimmed that way. Occasionally, the problem is diet related. Sometimes, a horse will blow an abscess and slough sole dramatically. In any case, thin soles leave the underlying structures precariously close to the ground. Thin-soled feet are in danger of bruising, pedal osteitis, and even coffin bone fractures. The solution? Pinpoint the cause and take steps to mitigate the problem. This may require diet changes, or simply allowing time and proper trimming to build sole material. It’s important to provide some type of protection for thin-soled horses on hard ground or rugged terrain, and also to minimize sole wear between trims. Hoof boots and pads are an easy solution!

Still more thrush.

Inappropriate diet is often a culprit of sore feet in barefoot horses. Just because that pound of sweet feed every day, or five pounds of carrots every Saturday, hasn’t caused a full-blown laminitis attack doesn’t mean it’s not making your horse uncomfortable. A little (and I mean a little!) too much starch/sugar can cause sensitivity in a barefoot horse, even if the horse isn’t suffering from insulin resistance or equine metabolic syndrome. Barefoot hoof care practitioners often refer to the problem as sub-clinical laminitis. If you’ve covered all the other bases, and still have a tender footed horse, try cutting out everything but hay – and only low carbohydrate hay – for a couple of weeks.

Remember, proper barefoot horse keeping isn’t just about trim. Diet, hygiene, lifestyle, and, of course, trim, all play an equal role in forging a truly healthy hoof!

Thin soles and more thrush.

More thrush.

When the USA Endurance team started to sort through the selection process, I became more and more excited about the probability of one or more of the USA Endurance team horses to compete in Easyboots. Easyboot riders heading into the selection process for Endurance included Tennessee Mahoney, Chris Martin, Debra Reich, Heather Reynolds, Jeremy Reynolds, Christoph Schork and Susan Summers. Although the selection process would cut 100 potential team members down to just five participants, I was hopeful that Easyboots and the barefoot horse would shine on the world stage. Our hopes and dreams were confirmed when, after the grueling selection process, three of the five horses selected for the USA Endurance Team were campaigned and conditioned with Easyboots.

Because of the course conditions in Kentucky, all USA Endurance squad members were encouraged to select an aluminum or steel shoe option. The goal was to increase traction on grass. I was obviously disappointed with the change but I supported the decision 100%. I watched the games with enthusiasm and I was on the edge of my seat until the very end. The speed the horses travel at is amazing; they recover and pass through vet checks in minutes and the majority of the competitors finish the 100-mile course well before dark. It’s a whole different level of competition – a level of long distance riding that the majority of riders don’t comprehend.

The highlight of the WEG for me was the gutsy performance of Heather Reynolds and Ssamiam. They remained competitive to the very end and nearly brought home a World Championship medal for the USA. The young team fell short, but crossed the finish line in fourth place, just minutes off the lead. At the final vet check, Ssamiam was pulled due to a hind end muscle cramp. Despite the elimination, Heather’s performance confirmed that the USA can compete at the highest endurance levels.

A phone call from Heather and Jeremy Reynolds as they drove home to California after the games gave me renewed excitement. I expected a somber call but the Reynolds were revved up. Jeremy was animated and full of energy. “We are right there: our training is working and Heather’s performance shows we can compete with the best horses in the world.”

They were grateful to EasyCare and the resulting edge their horses had when training and competing at this world level. “Had it not been for boots, our horses would not be at the top right now. Our horses ran in boots at the first trial: they did 80 miles in 6:10. The boots were awesome at extreme speeds. At the second trial we were informed that the USA powers-that-be did not want us to compete at the WEG in boots and we were to put the shoes that we intended to race on our horses for the trial. The horses that performed best for the USA at the WEG were the horses campaigned regularly in boots. Of the five horses that started for the USA 3 of them regularly compete booted: Ssamiam, Juniper and Monk. Thanks for the great boots, Garrett.”

Their phone call energized me. I could feel the excitement through the phone. It made me envision the next world championship and the USA results. It made me think of the strides hoof boots and barefoot horses have made in the last four years. It made me think of the strides we can make in the next four years.

I’ve started me working on several new tread designs and patterns for our hoof boot line. The USA endurance team and equestrians world will soon have several aggressive hoof boot options to choose from.

Outside our niche of hoof boots and natural hoof care we find that our customer base loves the outdoors and does a fair bit of camping with their equines. One of the products we are looking to add in this area is the RoFlexs portable corral. The RoFlexs portable horse corral is quick to set up, lightweight and easy to transport. It is a true portable corral that takes minutes to set up and take down. No struggle, no fuss. We feel it will be a nice compliment to our HiTie system.

As we move forward to complete the 2011 product line we are looking for feedback. What equine products are you looking for? What type of boot changes and improvements would you like to see? What do you think of the RoFlexs portable corral? Chime in with your thoughts over on our Facebook Page

Dorsal view of a near fore hoof belonging to a well performed barefoot endurance horse. The middle image is a thermograph of the hoof prior to a half hour of barefoot (unbooted), low-intensity exercise on a sand surface. The third image is a themograph of the same hoof immediately on cessation of exercise.

These images reflect what we generally find with all well-trimmed barefoot horses. If you examine the pre-exercise image in the middle, notice:

1. The band of heat (red and yellow) at the coronary band is thin and does not extend down the hoof;
2. There is a thin cold band (navy) at the bottom edge of the hoof where the wall contacts the ground; and
3. The majority of the hoof capsule is of moderate temperature (green and light blue).

Looking at the third, post-exercise image, we notice the entire hoof capsule has increased temperature. As the temperature scale for the two images is the same (16-31degrees C), the colours in the post-exercise hoof look ‘hotter’ but the heat pattern - thin band of heat at coronary band, thin band of cold near ground, majority of the hoof capsule warm – remains the same.

The same two thermographic images as above but with the temperature scale adjusted upward in the second, post-exercise thermograph, to compensate for the increase in temperature to due work. It is apparent just how similar the pre and post-exercise heat patterns are in a well trimmed barefoot horse.

It is probably becoming obvious to you that although it is very difficult to directly compare the feet of different horses, doing different things, in different locations on different days, it is possible to determine statistical trends in both

1. changes in actual temperature; and
2. changes in temperature patterns (or not) across the hoof.

Solar view of the same hoof with pre and post-exercise thermographs. Just for your interest, note that the collateral sulci by the frog (white and red), along with the coronary bands, and the skin around the eyes, nose and anus are always the hottest areas detected: this is not inflammation at the sulci and does not indicated impacted bars or other such nonsense.

Dorsal view of a near fore hoof belonging to a shod western pleasure show horse. The middle image is a thermograph of the hoof prior to an half hour of low-intensity exercise on a sand surface. The third image is a themograph of the same hoof immediately on cessation of exercise.

As noted, it is not possible to directly compare the thermographs of different horses in differerent location on different days. For example, the temperature scale here (25-35degrees C) is different to the barefoot horse at top (16-31degrees C). However, it is possible to compare patterns of heat across the hoof and changes to those heat patterns with work.

This shod hoof shows an extended hoof capsule, at least by barefoot standards and by the standards of shod horses competing in more athletic events (3-day eventing, endurance riding, etc), though not by show horse standards. Both the farrier and the trainer of this horse considered this a well-shod hoof. Looking at the middle, pre-exercise thermograph, notice:

1. The band of heat (pink and red) at the coronary band extends down to encompass well over half the hoof capsule;
2. There is a thick cold band (blue) from the bottom edge of the hoof, extending up and over the level of the nail clenches;
3. The band of warm hoof (yellow and green) is very thin, merely a transition zone between the hot hoof above and the cold hoof below; and
4. The nails are conducting heat. Where the nail clenches are in the cold (blue) portion of the foot they are warmer (green dots), where they are in the warm (green) portion of the foot they are colder (blue).

Although you may consider this a more extreme example, this is the heat pattern we observe in the majority of shod horses.

Looking at the third, post-exercise image, we notice the entire hoof capsule has not only increased temperature but the heat pattern has also changed radically: the entire hoof has become as hot as the coronary band (usually the coronary band is one of the hottest areas detected by thermography and much warmer than other hoof components). As you can see, no amount of image manipulation or temperature scale adjustment will produce a post-exercise image similar to the pre-exercise one.

Later in the year I look forward to sharing with you the results concerning the effects of different hoof protection protocols during more strenuous exercise, in the form of 50 mile rides. Stay tuned.