Equine Hoof Care Flashcards
AFA Certified Farrier
- 1 year of experience
- written exam: anatomy, pathologies, horseshoes, gaits, conformations, physiology
- practical exam: two parts, 1. shoe 2 feet in 1 hours and, 2. horseshoe modification display
AFA Certified Journeyman Farrier
- AFA CF prereq with 2 years of experience
- written exam: more in depth
- practical exam: two parts, 1. shoe all 4 feet within 2 hours, 2. forge a fire welded fullered straight bar shoe from appropriate bar stock
what is under run heel conformation?
greater than 5 degree difference between the dorsal hoof wall and heel
a long pastern =
long feet
T/F: when you initially shoe a horse the shoe should be bigger than the hoof capsule
T, because the hoof is going to expand contract and grow over the shoeing cycle. In the 6 week cycle -> wks 2-4 are ideal -> 4-6 is probably a bit too small
what is the landmark used for fitting a shoe?
the widest part of the horses foot-> half the shoe should be in front and the other half behind
most disease pathologies can be improved by centering the shoe around the __
coffin joint
why are horses trimmed every 4 -8 weeks?
- to remove excess length and distortion
- improve base support
- prevent chipping
- remove dz/deteriorated areas
t/f: all horses need to be trimmed but not all horses need to be shoed
T!
what are the 4 reasons why a horse may need to wear shoes?
- protection: hoof is wearing away faster than it can grow
- Traction: to increase/decrease traction (run fast or uneven terrain)
- Treatment: to aid in the treatment of a disease pathology or compensate for a conformation defect
- Alter Gait: increase animation, prevent interference problems
what happens when a horses feet are not trimmed?
the foot grows dorsally getting longer in the toes and moves forward in the heel making everything move away from the center of mass creating strain on the ST structures of the distal limb and hoof capsule
how are shoes attached?
simply put–> nails in the bottom of the horses foot
- nails go through nonvascular, aneural and epidermal layers
- you should start the nail in the white line, touch a portion of the hoof wall then hit it hard and nail shoots out outside, been 90 degrees perpendicular to the hoof wall
T/F: when shoeing a horse you should start on the inside of/axial to the white line
F!!
why is indirect glue safer than direct glue?
direct glue covers the stratum medium while indirect has all adhesive on the dorsal surface of the hoof
what are some consequences of horse shoes?
- increases shock/concussion to the distal limb
- traumatic hoof wall loss
- puncture wounds from clips/nails
- sprung/twisted shoe (1 side dislodged)
- injury if kicked
- nail too close to sensitive structures
clinchers
fold nails down
nail nippers
cut the excess nail to a nice uniform length
gouge
drives into horses foot perpendicular and removes a small portion of hoof below the nail -> the holes come into play when you need to remove a shoe
what are the 4 methods of removing a shoe?
- cutting clinches: unfold it or cut it
- rasping clinches: will end up removing hoof wall
- shoe pullers: can pull entire shoe at once
- crease nail pullers: removes each nail individually
how can you tell the difference between shoe puller and nippers?
nippers have reigns that flare out
hoof knife
cleans off artifacts and gets good visualization of the frog
large and small loop knife
trim sole and frog
how should you effectively use hoof testers?
use your fingers to squeeze the hoof first and then apply light pressure to increasing pressure with the hoof testers -> a result is only positive if its consistent and non-fatiguable
Rasp
A rasp is a two sided tool that removes portions of the foot. It can be used to take 45 degrees off the outer edges after removing a shoe and to smoothen it out
what should you do while you wait for the farrier to come back after removing a shoe?
bandage and boot it
