Hooves and Shoeing Flashcards
Periople
Coronary band attachment site
Outer hoof wall
Strong, pigmented area. Stronger than inner hoof wall
Purposes of outer hoof wall (4)
- Bear weight of horse
- Protect internal structures
- Store and release energy in each part of stride
- Assist in propulsion
Inner hoof wall
White, more pliable than outer hoof wall
Role of inner hoof wall
- High moisture content allows it to stretch as the outer hoof wall moves.
- Protects from shock
- Allows movement between the third phalanx bone and the outer hoof wall
White line
Joins the sole to the inner hoof wall and seals off the border of the third phalanx bone
Purpose of white line
creates a shallow crease in the bottom of the hoof, which, as it fills with dirt, creates traction for the foot.
Sole of foot
area inside the white line on the bottom of the foot, not including the bars and the frog
Purpose of sole of foot
protect the sensitive structures beneath it; however, the outer perimeter also provides support in the toe area
Bar of the hoof
Extension of the inner and outer hoof walls that runs along the side of the frog, ending approximately halfway along the frog.
Purposes of the bar (2)
- Control movement of back of hoof
2. Adds strength to heel area and protects it from excess distortion
Collateral grooves
run alongside the frog. The outer wall of the grooves are made up of the wall of the bar and sole, and
the inner wall consists of the wall of the frog
The frog
Works with coronary band, the bars and the sole to provide resistance to distortion of the hoof during the stride
The frog should be wide and made up of a ____ material
thick, leathery
Pressure placed on the frog during a stride directly influences _______
the health of the digital cushion located internally directly above it
4 secondary roles of the frog
- Protecting sensitive structures in the hoof capsule
- Providing traction
- Assisting circulation
- Absorbing shock
How does the frog enable horses to feel what they are standing on?
Contains many nerves
Central sulcus
Center of frog towards rear of hoof.
Triangular shape, wide and shallow
Heel of the hoof primary purpose
To receive the initial impact of a horse’s weight during a normal stride
Third phalanx bone (i.e. coffin)
Largest bone in the hoof and provide the framework for the shape of the hoof.
Does not have bone marrow and has unusually high density of tiny blood vessels running through it
Laminae
Surrounds the coffin bone and holds the hoof wall to the bone
Solar corium
Produces the sole of the hoof, underneath the bone
Navicular (i.e. distal sesamoid) bone
can be found just inside the back of the third phalanx bone, with the deep digital flexor tendon passing over it
Role of navicular bone
prevents over-articulation of the third phalanx bone, maintains a constant angle of insertion for the deep digital flexor tendon and allows for additional tilt within the coffin joint when traveling over uneven surfaces
Digital cushion location
Behind coffin, above frog
Digital cushion
It is a mass of flexible material that contributes to the formation of the heels. This structure is one of the primary shock absorbers of the hoof.
Lateral cartilages location
located above and below the coronary band, extending around the front, the sides and the back of the
hoof. Below the coronary band, they extend out over the digital cushion and attach to the back of the third phalanx bone.
Lateral cartilages function
provide resistance as the third phalanx bone descends during the weight-bearing portion of the stride, regulating the amount of pressure applied to the coriums. They assist in suspending the third phalanx bone in the correct position as well as acting as springs, storing and releasing energy during locomotion
coriums
vascular structures which manufacture hoof horn
Coriums (4) - what they produce
- Solar corium - sole
- Frog corium - frog
- Coronary corium - tubules and intertubular horn of the hoof wall
- Perioplic corium - periople
sensitive laminae and the insensitive laminae (white line) intermesh together to hold ______
hoof wall to third phalanx bone
Front hooves tend to be _____ than back hooves
rounder
The exterior hoof wall of the front foot should have an angle equal to _____
the pastern and the shoulder
Flat feet
Show a decreased angle of the foot with the ground
Low heel, flat and thin sole
Likely to sustain sole bruises
Rings
Rings may occur from fevers, laminitis, imbalanced trimming or shoeing, shoes that are too small, seasonal effects, or change in diet
May not affect soundness
Boxy or upright
Show an increased angle of the foot to the ground
High, narrow heel
Small frog
Straight walls with little flexibility
Club foot
More pronounced “boxy feet”
Hoof angle > 61 degrees
Long or fleshy
Similar in aspects to flat feet. The toe is long and cannot be reduced to normal size without risk of injury to
the internal, fleshy structures
Thin soles
Thin soles may make a horse very sensitive to hard ground and susceptible to bruising.
Horses with thin soles may benefit from having pads placed between the shoe and the sole.
Dropped sole
Horses with dropped soles have a convex sole and may, in acute cases, have the sole below the surface of the
wall.
Dropped soles are often a sign of chronic laminitis with rotation or sinking of the third phalanx bone
Pronounced ridges or rings
Sign of alteration of growth rate
Thrush
painful bacterial infection involving the central sulcus and the collateral grooves of the frog
Treatment of thrush
paring away the clefts of the frog to allow for cleaning and air to reach the central sulcus. Keeping the hoof
as dry as possible will allow the frog to heal
Canker
chronic infection of the horn tissues of the frog and the sole of the hoof
Usually occurs in wet climates
Treatment of Canker
Similar to thrush, but antibiotics may be needed
Quittor
chronic, deep-seated infection of the lateral cartilage of the third phalanx bone
Quittor treatment
remove the damaged cartilage
Discharge infected material over coronary band
Hoof cracks
Vertical splits between the hoof horn tubule
Contracted Heels
occur when the foot is abnormally narrow or actually contracted.
The condition is often caused by too little pressure on the frog
Sheared Heels
The heel of the horse’s foot has two bulbs, both of which hit the ground simultaneously in a balanced hoof.
If the hoof is unbalanced, one heel will hit the ground first, causing the horse to bear weight on the inside or outside of its heel. This causes an upward displacement of that heel bulb in relation to the other, often leading to soreness on the side that bears the brunt of the weight
Abscess
infection under the sole
horse may have an elevated digital pulse or swelling in the area of the abscess
open, drain, poultice
Stone bruises
Trauma to the inner tissues of the hoof below the sole can rupture small blood vessels, creating bruises.
Corns
Bruises where the hoof wall and the bars come together at the horse’s heel.
Corns are often caused by improper
shoeing or the shoes being left on too long
White Line Disease
A progressive separation of the hoof wall from the foot, starting at the bottom of the foot and moving
upward. It involves the insensitive laminae
Navicular disease is rarely seen in _____
wild horses
Navicular bone location
Heel - back third of frog
Behind the coffin bone, with navicular bursa and deep digital tendon running behind it
Characteristic navicular stride
stiff, shuffling gait with a short, choppy stride (landing toe first due to heel pain)
Navicular diagnostics
hoof testers over the center of the frog.
Because the navicular bone is located beneath this area, a horse with pain in the navicular area will test positive.
Laminitis (founder)
metabolic and vascular disease involving the sensitive structures of the hoof
Progression of laminitis (6 steps)
- bacterial endotoxins and lactic acid are released into the bloodstream.
- These dilate the large digital arteries to the feet, increasing the blood flow while also constricting the small capillaries that nourish the laminae.
- The result is a large volume of blood going to the foot,
but not being granted entrance to the laminae. - Deprived of blood and oxygen, the laminae swell, which causes compression because the hoof wall cannot accommodate the swelling.
- The laminae tissue is then compromised and, unless remedied, the tissue will die.
- When the laminae tissue dies, it weakens the attachment of the coffin within the hoof, compressing arteries and veins, and, in severe cases, rotating the bone towards the sole of the hoof.
Most common cause of acute laminitis
rapid consumption of excess carbohydrates.
The carbohydrate load in the intestinal tract alters the bacterial balance within the cecum, indirectly leading to the release of endotoxins and lactic acid
Legs affected by acute laminitis
Most often front
Symptoms of acute laminitis
Sudden high fever, chills, sweating, diarrhea, a fast pulse (especially the digital pulse) and rapid
breathing.
The horse’s hooves are hot and quite painful
Horse’s foot growth rate
1/4 inch a month
Two basic types of shoeing
Hot and cold
Hot shoeing
the shoe is heated in a forge, shaped, and then applied to the foot or burned on to check for proper fit and contact. The final adjustments are made and the shoe is then cooled in a bucket of water
Benefits of hot shoeing (6)
- Easier to fit shoe to exact shape of foot
- Fitting clips easier and more precise
- Seals tubules
- Kills bacteria
- Toughens the hoof tissue that has been sealed
- Perfect union between shoe and foot
Cons of hot shoeing (3)
- Cost
- Time
- Farrier must be skilled
Pro of cold shoeing
Faster than hot shoeing
Cons of cold shoeing (3)
- Harder to make ideal shape
- Modifications like clips and square toes are less likely to be made
- Difficult to fit clips
Clinch (clench)
where the nail comes through the hoof and is secured by being bent down and in towards the hoof
The wall should be rasped _____
up to but not beyond the clinch line
Hoof ___ or ____ are characteristic of a small shoe
rings or cracks
Short shod
Shoe branches do not extend far enough back to support the heels
Broken-back hoof pastern axis
The pastern angle appears steeper (or more upright) than the face of the hoof.
The horse lands toe first. This is caused by a low hoof angle
Long-toe, low-heel syndrome
Pastern assumes a steep angle
Stress is placed on the coffin joint, navicular structures and the deep digital flexor tendon.
Over time, the horse’s hoof loses shock absorption
Main materials for shoes (4)
Steel, aluminum, synthetic and titanium
Bar shoe
Constructed to strategically alter pressure on a particular part of the foot. A solid bar connects the branches to
each other
Egg bars
Oval shoes that may be used to help with heel soreness or navicular
Trailer shoes
An extra-long branch on one side artificially extends the horse’s heel and helps an unbalanced hoof to land squarely
Wide web shoes
Increases the protection to the bottom of the foot without using a pad.
The wide web should be in contact with the wall but not the sole.
Incorrectly applied, these shoes can cause sole bruising
Glue-on shoes
Used for horses who cannot tolerate nails and for certain types of lameness. Also used if a horse’s hoof wall
has been compromised in a way that makes using nails impossible.
Five options for shoe traction
- Tapped shoes
- Borium
- Rimmed shoes
- Ice, mud or frost nails
- Heels, caulks or grabs
Tapped shoes
Shoes that have holes drilled into them for screw-in studs. Studs come in a variety of heights and shapes for
different footing surfaces
Borium
A metal that is welded to the shoe to provide added traction on asphalt, ice, pavement and other hard surfaces
Rimmed shoes
These shoes have a groove or wedge that runs down the center of the shoe. They offer significantly more traction
than flat or keg shoes.
Ice, mud or grost nails
Large headed nails that give traction until they wear down
Heels, caulks or grabs
Small projections welded to the toes or the heels of shoes. They help to provide traction on grass.
Full pads
Used for sole protection
Packing materials for full pads (5)
- Polyurethane
- Silicone
- Pine tar
- Foam
- Oakum
Types of pads (4)
- Full
- Wedge or degree
- Heel or cut out
- Rim
Wedge or degree pads
Used to elevate heels and correct hoof angles
Heel or cut out pads
To add protection to the heel and frog without covering the entire sole
Rim pads
Placed between the sole and the hoof wall
Used for horses easily bruised by shoes against the soles of their feet
Web
The width of the material from which the shoe is made.
Branch
The length of the shoe from toe to heel
Heel of shoe
Back edge of shoe
Toe of shoe
Front portion of shoe
Bearing surface
Part of shoe in contact with the foot
Clips
Farrier draws these at either the toe or the quarter by heating and shaping the shoe
Fullering or full swedge
The groove made in the ground bearing surface of the shoe
Anvil
A large, shaped iron block used in the shaping of horseshoes
Butcher block brush
For brushing fire scale off of hot steel. Fire scale is a layer of oxides that form on the surface of the
metal during heating.
Clipping or turning hammer
For drawing clips when hot shoeing
Creaser or fuller
Used to make the cut in a horseshoe where the nails are placed
Fire tongs
For turning the shoes in the fire
Fore punch
Makes the nail head shaped holes in handmade shoes. These come in E-head (European) and city head
Forge
A coal, coke or propane fueled furnace where shoes are shaped
Hot fitter
Takes the hot shoe from the forge to the foot to burn the shoe on the foot.
Pritchel
Used to remove the tiny piece of steel left at the bottom of a nail hole after the fore punch has been driven into
the shoe. It can also be used to hold a hot shoe against the foot
Rounding hammer
Used to shape shoes
Shoe tongs
Holds a hot shoe on the anvil
Clinch block
For clinching and setting nails
Clinch cutter or buffer
Has a blade that is used to cut or raise clinches by placing it under the clinch and striking it with
the driving hammer
Clinch gouge
Used to remove a small piece of hoof wall under the nail where it comes out of the foot, which gives the
clinches a good seat
Clinchers
Bends over the piece of nail that comes out of the foot. This holds the shoe on more tightly.
Driving hammer
Drives nails into the horse’s foot
Hoof knife
Made in right and left handed models, this knife is used to cut or pare the outer layer of the sole.
Hoof nipper
Used to cut the hoof wall
Hoof stand
Holds the foot while the farrier is finishing the outside
Hoof tester
Squeezes the hoof to test for tenderness.
Loop knife
For paring the frog
Nail pullers or pinchers
Removes nails from shoes once they have been driven into the foot
Rasp
A file featuring a rough (rasp) side and a smooth (file) side, used to remove hoof tissue. Finish rasps are designed to take off a minimal amount of foot.
Shoe puller
Used to pull shoes, widen shoes and cut nails when necessary
Shoe spreaders
For widening the heels of shoes
Shoeing apron
Heavy suede chaps that protect the farrier’s legs
Shoeing box
Generally an open tool box on wheels
Wire brush
Cleans the foot before shoeing
