Hoof care is a vital part of looking after your horses overall health. Ideally you should inspect your horses hooves each day, and minimum two to three times each week. You will be able to become very familiar with what is normal and what is not, and be able to to notice any issues that may be starting.
Following this simple list will hopefully assist you in your daily grooming practices.
1. Looking at your horse make sure the symmetry is close, they don’t have to be perfectly equal, but very similar to being the same size and shape.
2. Carefully examine for faults in the hoof wall and coronary band. Pick up each hoof, run your palm along the exterior of the wall to feel for impairments. Use the exact technique for the coronary band and then squeeze it gently. Applying these two procedures will also show tender areas and moisture bearing areas.
3. Inspect the sole. Check the colouring in every hoof. They should be similar in colour. A clearly defined dark spot should indicate bruising or puncture wound.
4. Look at and compare the frogs. The two front hooves should be similar in size and shape, the same applies to the rear hooves. Try and gently push each frog using your hoof pick, in the majority of areas, with the exception of desert areas, it should be slightly spongy.
5. If already shod, hold the horseshoe and see if it moves. Look for missing clinches, if loose you might choose to take off it before your horse loses it by itself and perhaps removes a chunk of hoof with it.
If you regularly check each hoof, you can avoid a great deal of issues by noticing the problem before it’s too late.
It is recommended you work into your routiene some simple steps. Use a pick from heel to toe. If it is tightly packed you might be required to loosen it up somewhat before it can be removed. Once the material has been taken out, look at all the parts of the hoof and make sure that there is not a smell as this is often a clear indicator of thrush. Be certain there are no pebbles or stones embedded anywhere, even under the shoe.
All hooves should exhibit a natural gloss on the wall of the hoof.
If you see a smooth level surface with no cracks, circles, depressions, flares and a concave sole that meets the shoe, then you should be pretty sure that the hooves are in good health.
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