Article of the month:

Forgetting the Foals.

I am a firm believer, as many Farriers are, in early hoof care. This means calling us out at your babies two week birthday and then, every three to four weeks thereafter for the next six months. Does that seem crazy? Not only is it sane but, you will be putting your foals best hoof forward by early preventative care and the sooner the better. (1)

Many horse owners that I encounter do not have their foals feet tended to until they are weaned or even worse, until they are 1-2 years old. I consider this to be a great disservice to the foal because many hoof distortions can be helped or corrected with regular trimming.

Foals’ hooves grow much faster then that of a mature horse. In fact, they grow three times as fast, (2) making them subject to distort very quickly. Hoof capsule distortion can lead to limb deformity and compromised conformation. Hoof deformities include; upright/club hoof, broken forward, low or extremely high heels, walking on toes, and other more severe deformities that include the bones and tendons located above the hoof. A lot of conformation issues seen at birth can be made better or eliminated all together by early trimming. (3) If the baby is left to its own, the issues may exacerbate as time goes on and then the Farrier can’t do much. Delaying a simple and affordable hoof trim may result in more expensive shoeing and conformation hindrances later in life.

Even if no apparent hoof distortion is visible, please make it a priority to introduce him to the Farrier process as soon as possible. Untrained and ignorant foals have a strong fight or flight instinct. Early trimming of the young ones gets them used to the Farrier and the procedure, which will make it easier on everyone. Have you ever been around for a colts’ first trim at 1-2 years old?? Unless the horse has been trained to lift his feet on command and stand quietly, the horse is not happy with the process and things usually do not go smoothly and can be very dangerous.

In conclusion, please DON’T FORGET YOUR BABIES and Start them off on the right HOOF. Your horse will have an early advantage and your Farrier will be grateful.

(1) Tackling Angular and Rotational Deformities in Foals, Nicholas B Denson, American Farriers Journal, September/October 2003, Pgs. 89-94
(2) The right steps for caring for foals’ tender feet, Pat Tearney, American Farriers Journal, September/October 2005, Pgs. 27-32
(3) Flexure Deformities in Foals, Stephen O’Grady and Derek Poupard, American Farriers Journal, May/June, 1999, Pgs. 72 -76

Thanks for reading and Happy Riding
Debi Gurdock – Farrier Services
724-840-8389 – www.debi.mysite.com


Debi Gurdock
Farrier Services
724-840-8389
www.debi.mysite.com