Midnight
is a 20 year old quarter horse mare.Her lifetime has been
filled with teaching small children how to ride, helping other older
children to gain confidence in their riding abilities and in her most
recent years, working poles, and at a more intense level of exercise.Thinking her foundered to the point of being unable to jump, run
barrels and work at a more intense level, Midnight’s owners decided to
find her a permanent home elsewhere that she would be safe and in good
hands.
Sanctuary workers picked
midnight
up on Tuesday, the 21st of August from her previous home.Darrin Hill, farrier immediately set to work on
Midnight
’s hooves.We were all very anxious to see if what
Midnight
had was actually founder or yet another mis-diagnosis due to poor
farrier work.Well all Darrin had to do was pick up the
hoof and examine.Bingo!Yet another horse had
fallen culprit to lameness due to a botched farrier job.
Sole has not been knifed down, causing the horse pain .
When the sole of the horses hoof is not knifed down below the hoof wall
each trimming/shoeing, the pressure from each step is on the sole, a
tender area for the horse, causing lameness issues. From this view, you
can see the sole of the hoof is extended below the hoof wall, improper
trimming and shoeing practices.
Proper Cleaning Techniques
Step 1: Cleaning Hoof Knife out the Sole as pictured and Trim
the Frog
By knifing the sole and trimming the frog, pressure is kept on the
hard laminate of the hoof wall, protecting the softer tissue areas of
the hoof such as the sole. If a horse’s hooves are too long, there is
no pressure on the frog, the blood is not circulated from the hooves
back to the horse’s heart, causing lack of proper circulation.
Step 2: Nipping off excess growth of hoof wall.
This aids in proper hoof alignment, a properly trimmed hoof, will allow
for cleaner movement rather than issues with toe-in, toe-out, over
reaching, and more.
During this step, most farriers will achieve proper hoof angle and
balance.
Step 3: Filing or rasping the hoof.
Filing the hoof helps to level the surface and keeps it from chipping.
We have come in behind some farriers who have literally filed the
horse’s hoof at a crooked angle, causing the horse to stand leaning
either to the right or left depending on whether that farrier only filed
to the right or the left in one direction. You will notice in the photos
below, Darrin files both with the left and right hand, making for a
level surface.
Denkai Animal Sanctuary has
been organized to operate exclusively for charitable, scientific,
prevention of cruelty to animals, and educational purposes within
the meaning of section 501
(c) 3 of the Internal Revenue Code.
This Sanctuary provides adoption
services and a permanent home for close to 90 animals including
horses, llamas, pot bellied pigs, goats, sheep, chickens, turkeys,
dogs and even a few cats.
We operate through kind
volunteers, and in turn give them the opportunity to foster
compassion for these abused and neglected animals by helping with
their maintenance and rehabilitation. We also work with several
local educational establishments and have worked with mentally and
physically challenged adults and kids. We believe in helping these
animals and giving back to the community.
