Horse FAQs

C J Longhorns

Registered Texas Longhorns

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Horse FAQs

A Sunday Afternoon Ride

What does it take to maintain healthy, happy horses?

We at CJ Longhorns are firm believers in keeping our horses as close to nature as we can. We try to provide a natural diet consisting of mostly pasture grazing with clean water and salt and mineral blocks provided free choice. When hay is required, we feed grass hay. When we feed supplemental feed, we always use a feed low in non-structural carbohydrates. Horses also require a safe environment, plenty of exercise, proper yearly immunizations, a scheduled parasite control program, and regular hoof maintenance.

http://www.farmerfirst.com/articles/0805_progressive_d_rl.shtml

www.safergrass.org

Safe environment
Horses confined to pastures require a watchful eye. They can get in trouble with one another, pasture fences, and unknown foreign objects in the pasture. A watchful eye and quick response to emergencies can help to keep from making a bad situation worse. A minor cut can become a major problem if not treated to prevent infection.

Exercise
24/7 turnout helps horses develop sound hooves by promoting exercise and providing the constant stimulation that helps maintain good hoof health. Every step a horse takes on firm ground helps circulate blood through the hoof capsule due to pumping action of the digital cushions and frog of the hoof being compressed and released. This circulation helps stimulate hoof growth. A stalled horse or a shod horse does not maintain healthy hoof circulation nearly as well as a barefoot working horse on 24/7 turnout in a herd.

Hoof maintenance
Whether barefoot or shod, a horse needs routine regular hoof maintenance. A horse will not enjoy a long healthy, productive life without it. We do not shoe our horses for any reason. We believe in natural barefoot trimming based on the model of the western wild horses. We have had excellent results using this method. Our horses are always ready to go, and are sure footed on any terrain. We don't have to worry about them slipping and sliding on pavement, and they do well on trail rides over varied terrain. We became convinced of the benefits of using natural barefoot trimming as a result of our success in rehabilitating one of our horses suffering from severe laminitis. Having had no success with treatments from our vet or our farrier, we were desperate to find some way to help this little guy. During our research we came across Pete and Ivy Ramey's website www.hoofrehab.com. They have a wealth of information about the causes, treatment, and prevention of laminitis, navicular syndrome, and many other equine ailments. Pete and Ivy's website introduced us to many pioneers in the understanding of what it takes to develop healthy, solid horses. Jaime Jackson, www.jaime-jackson.com, has done extensive research into wild horses and developed the model of the wild hoof and the "mustang roll", which is the basis of the trimming method we use. JR. Rooney DVM, http://www.horseshoes.com/farrierssites/sites/rooney/, has done extensive research into the pathology laminitis, as well as other equine hoof and leg ailments, which has given us an understanding of the mechanism of founder. There are many other valuable links and articles on Pete and Ivy's website.

We attended a natural hoof trimming clinic in Gainsville, TX presented by Pete Ramey in January, '06. This little pony was rescued by an equine rescue group. He could not walk normally when they brought him to the clinic for Pete to trim. He just shuffled along slowly. We found this case so interesting and challenging.

The pony's hooves were so overgrown that after a thorough examination the first trimming steps had to be performed with a saw using a precisely placed cut.

Following the initial cut the hoof wall was carefully trimmed using a hoof nipper and a hoof rasp

In order to make the pony comfortable during his rehabilitation, each hoof was fitted with a custom fitted sole pad (cut from a piece of a saddle pad) secured with silver tape. A larger horse could have been fitted with manufactured hoof boots and pads, but they are not made in sizes this small.

He will wear the pads until he regains enough sole thickness to comfortably bear his weight. This may be a matter of several weeks or a few months

After the pads were in place, the pony began to move around comfortably and explore his surroundings. He will need a maintenance trim every 4 weeks. It will take him about six to eight months to grow new hooves from his coronets to the ground. During this time he will build a comfortable sole thickness, providing he has proper diet and exercise.

	Top - front hooves Bottom - rear hooves	This is a pony we observed on the property of a fellow Longhorn rancher. It is not his pony, he is allowing someone to pasture these two ponies on his ranch. This was before we attended the natural hoof care clinic. We had no clue at the time what could be done to help him. He is obviously not being given regular hoof maintenance. Our hearts went out to him as he shuffled across the pasture to greet us.


The pictures above are of a very gentle registered quarter horse mare who shows the effects of months without regular hoof care. She has some difficulty getting around on her overgrown, flared hooves, obviously in some discomfort. It will take a few trimmings to get her hooves back into sound condition.