Tip of the week!

[Anaconda Pintler]

I noticed at the last trial I was at that some horses were shod with borium or drilltec. And I never said anything ( I do not like to give my unasked opinion) but I seen a couple of cases where the stuff was plain just put on wrong! In many cases if not applied to the shoe correctly this stuff can and will cause GRAVE danger for the horse. First of all NEVER apply this type of traction device to a horse with known or past known stifle or hock injuries or lameness, second have your farrier use it sparingly, a little goes along ways when used correctly! If borium or drilltec is not located on the shoe correctly it really hinders the biomechanics of the locomotion of the limb, it should never be used on the medial (inside) toe of a hind foot ( this is what I observed) a spot on either heel is fine and a spot on the lateral toe is okay if much traction is needed and desired ( I personally would not use any on the toe) but when applied to the medial side of the toe it does not let the foot slightly rotate to breakover properly, 90% of the horses I see grow and have to much medial toe anyway and this stuff complicates that. I ( just my opinion) always do a flexion test on the hind limbs first the stifle then the hock to try and detect any stiffness or lameness before applying. It is a great product but should be used with caution and sparingly, My opinion would rather see the shoes drilled and tapped for screw in caulks for the times when needed and when not needed they can be unscrewed and stored until needed that way the horses is not having to deal with the unwanted taction 24/7 ! Again just my 2 cents if you think I am off my rocker tell me to keep quiet and I will! well maybe I will!

[RayGubernat]

AP -

I have a real stupid question. Why do you need either on a riding horse, unless you are riding the horse on roadways. Around here the only folks I know who use drill tec or Borium are the Amish whose horses pull buggies on the roads.

I guess if you are riding on icy ground you might need more traction, but that won't be me.

RayG

[Brittguy]

At a lot of spring trials you have ice, in parking lots on the course . etc.Some courses have steep hills with stone and ice.

[Anaconda Pintler]

AP -

I have a real stupid question. Why do you need either on a riding horse, unless you are riding the horse on roadways. Around here the only folks I know who use drill tec or Borium are the Amish whose horses pull buggies on the roads.

I guess if you are riding on icy ground you might need more traction, but that won't be me.

RayG

Ray I dont really feel like there is much call for the stuff here in the south either except for some competitive driving horses I shoe I rarely use it, with that being said I see a surprising number of horses with it, it may be they use the horses on the roads as well when not trialing and one fella told me he does alot of trail riding when not trialing and where he goes there is alot of slab rock to negotiate so all in all it is a good source of traction when used correctly but when not it is a crippling agent!

[Karen]

We tend to keep shoes on the horses through the winter (last trial is over Thanksgiving, and then first one of the spring is the 1st week of February). Both boys are turned out 24/7 in a 6 acre pasture with 3 other horses (5 total), and they run around and play lots. There has been ice in the pasture most of the winter...in fact we got a couple inches of snow yesterday before the temps dropped to a low of 4 degrees, so if there wasn't ice yesterday, there sure is today. Anyway, the farrier does use borium so the boys have some traction. Quinn has shoes all around, Trav probably just the front this time (he took a chunk out of a rear hoof at the end of the season last year so he's been shod all around waiting for his hoof to grow out). Anyway, every other horse in the pasture has had their turn of being lame this winter EXCEPT our 2 horses. They've been perfectly sound all winter.

[RayGubernat]

At a lot of spring trials you have ice, in parking lots on the course . etc.Some courses have steep hills with stone and ice.

I know you are right about all that, but I guess I am a chicken. I won't go to places like Indiantown Gap because of the hills(which are especially tricky in wet weather) and if there is ice on the ground... I ain't riding unless I absolutely have to AND it is at a dead slow walk.


I will probably get my guys shod in March because I will be most likely going up to Clear Spring and it is pretty rocky with lots of slab shale in spots, but I sure won't be putting any traction stuff on.

This winter has indeed been a little tough on the horse's feet. For the first time one of my guys developed tender feet. He has smallish feet for a Walker and I guess the pressure and banging from walking in and more likely, on all the frozen ruts their hooves left in the soft ground in the pasture sored up his feet.

My farrier suggested venice turpentine applied once a day on the bottom of the sole, to deaden them up a bit and hopefully to dry them out nd toughen them a bit also.. That(and a short thaw) did the trick. The horse was able to walk normally without pain and the bottoms of his feet healed up and apparently toughened up in the process.

RayG