Tip of the week!

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Anaconda Pintler
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Tip of the week!

Post by Anaconda Pintler » Wed Oct 07, 2009 6:56 am

The old wives tale about letting your water tank overflow slightly so the horses have to stand in the mud when they drink is just that a wives tale and a bad one at that! It has been often said to practice this so as to keep your horses feet soft for the farrier, this is the worst thing that can be done, a horses foot is not designed to be wet then dry, then wet then dry, more often than not this practice will result in small vertical cosmetic cracks, giving bacteria a ideal hiding spot. So my advice to you all is if a horses feet are hard and dry it is for a reason, probably cuz the ground at that time is hard and dry as well, a hard dry foot is better protected from hard dry conditions than a wet pliable foot and sole! If you want some sole bruised lame horses then get his feet all soft and use him in hard dry conditions! This is just my opinion based on years of experience dealing with foot sore horses and their causes!
Has nothing to do with luck just boot leather and a fine GWP...

RayGubernat
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Re: Tip of the week!

Post by RayGubernat » Wed Oct 07, 2009 8:54 am

AP -

I always wondered about that. What is your opinion of footing in run out sheds?

I am of the opinon that well drained, softer, looser, sandy soil might be better for footing in a loafing shed and try to keep the ground in my horses turnout sheds that way, by adding sandy loam and grading, as needed. I also have a 4X6 rubber horse mat where I feed each horse mostly to keep the feed and hay up off the dirt and to ease cleanup chores, but it may also give a little relief when the ground is frozen in winter or rock hard in summer.

Am I wasting my energy? Is there more than should be done in a pasture setting.

RayG

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Anaconda Pintler
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Re: Tip of the week!

Post by Anaconda Pintler » Wed Oct 07, 2009 8:08 pm

Ray, the softer looser sandy type soil is ideal, there are two reasons in my opinion, that type of soil tends to drain better and gets less "deep and nasty" but the biggest is the good frog and sole pressure the loose soil gives by readily conforming to the bottom of the foot! People think hard ground is hard on feet and creates heel bruising and it does because it never lets the sole and frog help support the load like it is meant to!
Has nothing to do with luck just boot leather and a fine GWP...

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tn red
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Re: Tip of the week!

Post by tn red » Fri Nov 20, 2009 6:35 pm

sand does drain well but keep in mind eating in sandy conditions runs the risk of colic

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