18th century with the advent of the Industrial Revolution.
Closed quarters or stalls made it easier for man to maintain,
and retrieve their horse. The effects were horrific. The horse
spent most of his time standing in a small space, standing in his
own waste, leaving his ground a moist disgusting area to stand
in. Over time the hoofs became weaker and weaker.
It is said that a horse has "5 hearts". One heart in their rib
cage, and one in each of their four hoofs. Through expansion
and contraction of the hoof in movement, blood is pumped in
and out of his hoofs. We thought we were doing what was best
for our horse, but it actually had a damaging affect on him.
Because of the minimal movement allowed by a strip of metal,
nails, and clips, we've restricted the hoof from expanding and
contracting. Even worse, is our belief that the higher the heel
and the longer the toe, the better the angle for the P3 bone
(coffin bone). We couldn't have been more wrong. That's not
the first time that we've been wrong. Remember when we used
to "break" a horse? Now, there are plenty of horse clinicians
out there "gentling" a horse. Two top clinicians have also
changed their thoughts on shoeing. One "downunder" clinician
will air a show about this very same technique in December of
'05. Another very "trusted" clinician had an article in his
monthly newsletter about this technique. With knowledge, we
have improved our relationships with our horses, as well as our
techniques.
It's time to start thinking differently. The same way many of
us have changed our training techniques, we need to change our
hoof care techniques. It's time to do what's best for the horse!
