Well hello and Merry Christmas.
   To bring in the new year i've decided to do something very special for everyone. I will be doing a free drawing and giveaway. The giveaway will be a hand forged ( Out of half a horseshoe ) custom one of a kind personalized Hoof Pick. They are very nice and will last a life time , Personalized with either your first name and last initial forged into the pick or just initials. One giveway per month limited to one per person for the coming months and the winner will be drawn from a pool and announced here on the blog every month . OH how fun !!!   Of course for everyone who has not yet given me a physical mailing/shipping address you'll need to do so in order to be eligable to win and recieve the hoof pick.  You simply leave your name and address at   John@Care4Horses.com and you're good to go and you might even be the first to win. How's that?   
   There is some symbology with regard to the hoof pick other than it's gift quality. Basically the hoof pick will serve as a reminder of me picking on this Farrier industry to get the standards up to speed and quit ruining horses. You know this is really about Malpractice isn't it ?  It's my mission. Those of you who want to take an active role just enter your name and address and when you win every time you use your pick and perhaps someone sees you and inquires about it you'll be reminded to share the wealth of knowledge you have aquired here and to come. And perhaps you'll also be inclined to refer these people to http://www.Farrieritis.Care4Horses.com as well.   But by all means use your hoof pick - they're really cool ! i'll be posting some photos of the pick - some will have a horse head forged into the palm end ( NICE ).... OK - on to business.
 
   I wanted to post some pictures of the bones we're dealing with in the shoeing process. It's important that these bones are aligned and positioned well otherwise we're risking lameness to the horses.  The photo below is of the coffin bone and the two pastern bones. What i'd like you to take notice of is the "TRACK" that the bones "Must" travel in. All the bones there ride in set grooves with a set way of motion ( Namely forward and backward ) in those tracks - You should see there will be little sideways movement possible as well as very little clock wise or counter clockwise motion allowed either. The reason this is being mentioned is due to the dictates of the bones it's wise to understand what kind of uses we put our horses through which might be injurious to them based on this bone construction. 

        Since the bones somewhat dictate horses work best going in straight lines so the bones don't "Bind" it stands to reason then that incessant lunging or tight circles with horses is going to be tough on the joint. Same holds true for the barrel racing crowd or any of the diciplines that require hard work in tight movements. So i'm just hoping to impress on you all the importance of the bone construction in relation to how a horse is used. At least be aware of what this is about then make your own decisions based on your knowledge.

      Equally important as what is mentioned above is how triming the hoof wall "Level" ( when shoeing or trimming )is also necessary so those bones line up nice and straight which is necessary to keep lameness and arthritis and other issues at bay. 

      So take a quick look at this bone study and notice the curves and tracks the bones ride in , i think you'll come out of this with a much better understanding of the horses basic joint functions. You know knowledge is power and all this knowledge will translate into better horsemanship. And you know what's very powerful ?   Your horse "Knows" when you know !!! It's all just another "Link" between horse and rider - in this case it's one of the important ones ..   

      Best wishes - Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all ... To enlightment and a bright and shining new year with horses everywhere.

      As usual happy and safe riding and always remember to www.Care4Horses.com

Don't forget to leave your name & shipping address with me at John@Care4Horses.com so you can be entered into the drawing . 




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