It is raining Bull Shit!

 

I'm always bothered when it rains BULL SHIT!

Especially when it pours all over the equine world!

When the impact affects the well being of a horse and leaves the horse's human confused, distressed and with no idea which way to turn, it makes me positively mad.

Sadly,  I bet most horse owners will recognise the flood of BS I'm about to expose.  This true story involves a young warm blood, a very caring owner, a farrier,  some mysterious spasmodic lameness and a monsoon of BS!

The lovely mare is shod in front and bare behind.  She's not in work, having just moved to a new yard and a new human owner. Both girls are taking their time to get to know each other and to settle into their new home.  So far so good!

On occasion over the last few months (on soft ground) this sweet natured horse is lame.  At times hopping lame! There's no heat, swelling, lumps, bumps or cuts or nicks.

She arrived with foot X rays which the new owner's vet has looked at and said shows navicular.    She's also got side bones on both front pasterns.  Neither fact is the subject of this post.

A reputable farrier (as they all are) came, recommended and fitted T-Bar Shoes on both fronts, saying "they will give her more support" and "in a few days she'll come right"!

...There it is... the Bull shit... 

For a few brief moments everyone nods and agrees knowingly, mostly because we've heard this sort of BS from farriers for decades.  It's familiar, therefore we assume it's correct.  Minutes later your brain kicks in and you start to question what's just been said (I hope).

What exactly do the words "ssupport her more" mean?  

A dictionary definition offers us this: 

                "Support = 

a thing that bears the weight of something or keeps it upright"

Example: "the best support for a camera is a tripod"

Helpful, but the horse isn't like a camera and therefore not unstable without shoes beneath it!  Nor will a horse fall over or fall down without the support of shoes. How do I know?  I have 3 horses all barefoot and none of them fall down!  They all manage to stand vertically upright, unaided, just fine.

True, the shoes will bear the weight of the horse, but we all seem to forget that the horse was designed by nature for it's feet to bear it's own weight.  Never are horses born wearing man made shoes.

So, is it possible that shoes do provide some sort of support to a horse or horse's foot?

We humans wear underwear (largely for support)  - meaning to hold things up, or in, and in one place - still! This doesn't apply to feet - especially not a horses which are rarely still!

We also wear shoes, again not to support our weight but to protect our feet from cuts and from the terrain. Our weight bears down on them (as with a horse) and receives no relief in the process.

As children Start right shoes were the so called "best" because they 'supported children's feet'.  Sounding familiar?  There's a difference.... Start right had a reputation for letting children's feet grow and move.  They didn't cause pressure points or remain fixed around the foot as metal shoes on horses do.  They were not the best because they held our feet into a static posture preventing us from running, rolling our feet or bending, quite the reverse!

Can we learn something valuable from that for our horses foot care?

Sadly horse shoes are not mirroring the wonders of a Start right shoe.  Instead they hold the whole foot immobile and unable to bend, roll, and flex.

This is far from helpful and far removed from how nature designed the horse's foot to operate.  Anything that stops the hoof from flexing, side to side, is hindering not helping the horse and is out of step with what a healthy hoof needs.

Fortunately for humans, we can take our shoes off after a long day in them to get some relief.  Unlike our horses!

So far, I'm at a loss to imagine how a T Bar shoe can provide support and help a horse to 'come right'.  Perhaps I'm missing something more fundamental about the workings of a horse's foot. Perhaps I'm getting side tracked with parallels to humans, our shoes and support underwear?

Let's get into equine foot mechanics, then maybe we'll discover what the farriers seem to know (or believe), or just BS us with!

Some of my own observations: 

1) It seems to me that the T Bar rests across the back of the frog and across the heel purchase area, both usually untouched by traditional u shaped metal shoes.  So, presumably the horse has no feeling in this area and can't feel this new point of pressure!  Wrong many horses will be bruised to bits below the T Bar, we just can't see it.

2) All the different bits of anatomy in the foot work together to form a cohesive functioning whole. If one bit is not functioning correctly, this can cause strain on other areas. This strain may lead on to some of the well known hoof problems such as Navicular Syndrome, White Line Disease and Laminitis to name a few.

3) When asked, most of us have no idea what the function of any individual part of a horses foot is for.   For example how would you answer this question.... "what is the function of the horses toe?" When I was asked that 3 years ago I had no idea whatsoever!  Not something I'm proud of but I quickly went and found out!  

Truthfully, we don't stop to think about the function of particular parts of the foot.  It's so basic,  we ignore it.  Yet, if we stopped to consider  the function of each part, we would be able to make more informed decisions about hoof care and spot the BS when it hits us from the so called 'experts'.

As an example the horse's foot has the following functions:

• Support of the horse’s weight  - (who'd of guessed it?)

• Propulsion - (sends the horse forwards, upwards etc)

• Shock Absorption - (useful to prevent pain big time)

• Circulation - (critical not just for blood but to send kinetic energy around the foot)

• Protection for internal structures -( most of us don't even know what those are)

• Traction - (grip to you and I - so that's how barefoot horses can jump and do dressage)

4)  I recommend investigating the function of the frog. To wet your appetite here are 3 of the main functions (and yes, there are more)....

1. Circulation – pressure into the back of the foot squeezes blood vessels in that area and pushes the blood to other areas of the hoof, the pressure varies depending on the phase of the stride.  

2. Traction – the frog is made of soft horn that is non-slip (like the pads on a cat’s paw) and the wedge shape helps arrest forward motion as it digs into soft surfaces. 

3. Flexibility of the hoof capsule – the frog allows the hoof to absorb uneven ground by allowing independent heel movement.

These 3 functions all require movement in the back area of the hoof.  Sideways movement, vertical movement, and movement such as rocking or listing side to side like a boat.  Having read that, how can a T Bar shoe, that holds the foot in a fixed position.... promote health in the horse's foot?  

I don't get it!  Do you?  Could you explain it to someone in your own words and not notice how daft it sounds as you try! 

Facts and observations aside, on this occasion, I hope I'm proved wrong and that our lovely warm blood mare comes right and soon, for her sake and that of her human partner.

Meanwhile I shall not limit my views about the misunderstanding of the role of the T Bar shoe and helping horses be free of pain, if for no other reason than simple logic.  I can't yet see any logic behind why we continue to view it as a helpful devise, can you?

Useful Further Reading on the Equine Foot and Anatomy:

http://www.appliedequinepodiatry.org
http://www.natureshoof.com