Subject Background
This paper is dedicated to hoof care, and it highlights several narrower aspects of this discipline. Moreover, it emphasizes the history of hoofcare from ancient history to the present day, as well as the difference between a healthy hoof and an unhealthy one. The purpose of this work was to establish the distinctive features of draft hooves from hooves of other species, varieties of barefoot trims and features of corrective shoeing.
Inquiry Areas
Difference of Draft Hooves
Draft hooves are different than other breeds in visual terms. First of all, hooves of this type have a different structure (Horse Care, 2023). For example, raising breeds dance moves with elastic horn tissue, and draft horses are hood with soft hook horn tissue. Moreover, draft hooves diverge from others in size (Horse Care, 2023).
Raising breeds have narrow hoof, and draft hooves are larger. Draft hooves also vary in shape: riding breeds have round of walls and high heels, and draft hooves have flat walls and low heel (Horse Care, 2023). The last distinction is the color of the hoof (Horse Care, 2023). In raising breeds, it is light, stripped and mixed color, and draft hooves have a dark color inherent in the most durable hooves.
Barefoot Trims
Sometimes a horse may limp, start complaining about his back, or refuse to work at all. The reason for this is most often sick hooves or improper care for them (National Today, 2023). Therefore, it is necessary to ensure the health of the hoof horn with the right barefoot trims. They provide for keeping the hooves clean, maintaining normal moisture and elasticity of the hoof horn, regular cleaning, and maintaining their normal shape.
First of all, it is very important to moisten the hooves sufficiently. To do this, it is necessary to wipe them with a damp sponge after work. In addition, the horse’s hooves should be left in the water for 5-6 minutes so that they absorb the necessary amount of moisture (National Today, 2023). Moreover, hoof moisturizers should be used in moderation if previous manipulations are not enough to maintain a sufficient level of hydration.
There are deep grooves around the hoof arrow, into which the earth is constantly hammered. It is necessary to clear it in order to avoid suppuration from falling into the ground (National Today, 2023). To prevent hoof diseases, they should also be regularly removed from the regrown horn. Therefore, after examining and cleaning the hooves from dirt, with the help of a hoof knife, the old horn is carefully cut off from the sole and crumb.
Corrective Shoeing
The corrective type of horseshoes is used for orthopedic correction of the shape of a horse’s hoof. They can be of various sizes and shapes, and can help in the treatment of hoof diseases (Dickerson & Cole, 2021). Such hooves are installed for various diseases in a horse, and the task is to reduce pain and discomfort when walking. They correct the deformation of the hooves, and align the movements of the horse (Dickerson & Cole, 2021).
For example, when the arrow is hit, a round horseshoe with a removable metal bottom or with a wedge is used to protect the arrow. In the case of rheumatic inflammation of the hooves, a round horseshoe with branches extended to the hook and a deep cove is used (Dickerson & Cole, 2021). With median cracks of the hooves, a round horseshoe with two side flaps and two hooked spikes is used. In these cases, the veterinarian recommends to blacksmith what kind of horseshoe to shoe the hoof.
Conclusion
Research Assessments
For this research, diverse sources were used. First of all, these are recent articles published in scholarly journals. They are written by professors of veterinary departments with a large number of papers, that is why they can be considered high-quality research. Another source was discussions from the forum of the Association of horse breeders, in which users shared many years of proven experience. Moreover, during the research, an article published on the National Today website was used, in which information for novice horse breeders was published. Thus, the conducted research was quite versatile, since in its course sources of various nature were carefully studied.
Scholarly Debate
A debate was discovered regarding the strength of hooves depending on their color. Therefore, horse breeders on the Horse Care website claim that one of the explanations for why draft hoof is darker than the hoof of riding horse is the fact that dark hooves are stronger than light ones (Horse Care, 2023). However, Dickerson & Cole write that this is a myth and claim that from an anatomical point of view, all hooves are the same (2021).
Everyone has a water line – an unpigmented inner layer of the hoof wall. This layer can be both strong and weak, although it does not have a pigment by nature. To illustrate their point of view, they cite the example of the striped hoof (Dickerson & Cole, 2021). Creases on it are formed regardless of the boundaries of the stripes, that is, they do not depend on the presence of black pigment.
Concepts
The paper often uses the concept of hoofcare under which scholars understand maintaining the hoof’s cleanliness. They also consider its typical moisture content and suppleness, the hooves’ regular washing and shoeing, and the preservation of their typical shape (Dickerson & Cole, 2021). Moreover, the concept of corrective hoaxing is used in the works, which means the installation of orthopedic horseshoes to lessen pain and discomfort during a horse’s walk as well as to rectify the hoof deformity and level the horse’s gait (Dickerson & Cole, 2021). In addition, the barefoot trims concept is used, which assumes hygienic care of the hoof (National Today, 2023). These three concepts are the main ones and are used in one way or another in all cited papers.
Information Gaps
Among the identified information gap, it is possible to note the difficulties of finding information about the effect of various substances on the hoof. This study is unethical, as it may harm the horse. On the forum, some horse breeders argue that it is acceptable to lubricate the hooves with tar for the purpose of moistening (Horse Care, 2023).
At the same time, there is no data on hoof diseases caused by this method of humidification in the chat. However, scholars write that this substance destroys the hoof horn, so its use is unacceptable (Atack & Margo, 2019). At the same time, they provide only theoretical evidence as to why this may be harmful. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate this issue in more detail in order to confirm or deny the possibility of using tar in the hoofcare process.
References
Atack, J., & Margo, R. A. (2019). Gallman revisited: Blacksmithing and American manufacturing, 1850–1870. Cliometrica, 13(7), 1-23. Web.
Dickerson, M., & Cole, K. (2021). 97 factors influencing horse heart rate during routine hoof care procedures. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 18(5), 154-161. Web.
Horse Care. (2022). Draft hooves..I have questions. Chronicle of the Horse. Web.
National Today. (2023). International hoof care National Today. Web.