Preparation
for Competition
By Cathy Hanson
Copyright©2014
Lesson Two
Four Months
Prior to Event
Proper hoof preparation and care are a
constant concern as you cannot correct hoof deviations quickly, so you must
strive to have the horse’s feet in balance at all times.
Changing a horse’s foot balance or
making dramatic shoeing changes can create problems and slow down training
time.
Having a good understanding of
the horse’s hoof is your first step to assuring you’ll be ready for any
competitive event.
The exterior parts of the hoof include
the wall, the sole, the bars, the heel and the frog. The normal, healthy foot is strong, smooth
and well balanced. (Be sure to take the
course on Shoeing as it described how to determine and establish hoof
balance.) Front feet are larger, rounder
and stronger than hind feet since they carry more of the horse’s total weight,
while the shape of the hind feet best suits the function of driving the horse
forward.
Any ridges, rings, cracks or uneven hoof shape should be considered
unhealthy and abnormal. Such deviations
may be the result of the material the horse’s feet are most constantly in
contact with—shavings, dry, hard ground, or wet, muddy ground. The surface the horse stands on most can
easily create a dry, hard, or moist, soft hoof wall. Illness or injuries to hoof may also cause
ridges or rings.
The wall has the greatest ground contact and absorbs most of the
concussion forces. The wall continually
grows down from the coronary band. The
healthy hoof grows one and a quarter to three eights of an inch per month.
Inside the healthy and properly shaped hoof, the major bones and
ligaments are adjusted and balanced in such a way as to assure there are no
unequal stresses.
The proper angulation should be what is natural for your horse. The proper angle is found by keeping the hoof
wall from cornet band to toe parallel with the pastern and the shoulder at the
crest of the withers.
An easy, close check on the properly–balanced hoof can be made by
dropping a line down the center of the cannon bone. The line should touch the back of the heel at
the ground surface if the hoof is to best support the horse.
If you suspect interior misalignment due to improper balance of your
horse’s feet, radiographs may give you some answers. The x-rays will show if the bones are
correctly aligned for the foot your horse was meant to have. This is the key – the foot your horse was
meant to have. Trying to make your
horse’s foot larger, taller, or longer is wrong! Perhaps your horse was born with a crooked
leg or pigeon toed. Trying to straighten
his leg or straighten the toes will only lead to disaster.
The time to shoe your horse is when the work is becoming stressful to
the feet. You may start to see some chipping
in the hoof wall. If your young horse
needs help in the impulsion department, hind shoes will help. You may find your young horse does fine and
doesn’t need shoes at home. When a young
horse gets their first pair of shoes, they will frequently step on them and
pull them off. Patience; the horse needs
time to get used to the shoes.
When planning the horse’s show
schedule, give the horse plenty of time for that first pair of new shoes. You will want to put shoes on when you start
traveling to shows. The ground is always
different everywhere, changing from rocky to sandy to hard to deep and
sometimes wet.
Your horse should be shod about every
four weeks. The reason is simple--the
horse’s foot should remain as close to same as possible at all times. The bones, ligaments, tendons, and muscles are
affected by the motion of the horse.
When the feet become too long or are not properly balanced, the muscles,
tendons and ligaments will be used differently to compensate for the difference
in the hoof shape and size. When the
foot is then shortened, the muscles, tendons and ligaments must again make
adjustments. The idea is to provide the
horse with the same foot all the time, therefore making his performance and
soundness consistent. Consider wearing a
well fitting shoe and going for a mile jog.
Now put on a pair of swim fins and go for that same mile jog. You will feel it in your muscles for sure.
As the horse’s owner or trainer it is your responsibility to make sure
the horse is shod properly. Be
consistent in the shoeing schedule.
Every four weeks is a good place to start, then depending on the horse
more frequent or less frequent shoeing may be required. Examine the horse immediately after having
been shod to make sure his feet lands squarely (flat) on the ground. This will tell you that his feet are
level. Landing on the side of the hoot
and rolling the foot flat is extremely damaging to the horse’s ligaments and tendons.
The proper size and placement of the
shoe will allow the shoe to be wider than hoof wall at the quarters and extend
beyond the hoof wall at the heel. The
horse’s hoof will expand as he takes each step.
Having a shoe too small or a shoe which fits too tightly will not allow
for natural hoof expansion, eventually resulting in contracted heels and
possible internal damage.
The sole of the foot should be cleaned,
but not pared. The frog should be
carefully maintained so it does not grow so deep there is no room for
compression, but it should contact the ground.
The frog is both a mechanism to grip the ground and to slow down the
rate of descent of the hoof’s internal bones.
The angle of the horse’s foot should be
the same as the angle of his pastern and shoulder. Keep the toes short so breakover
is facilitated and no unnecessary stress is applied to the tendons of the legs.
Because we invade the hoof wall with
nails and keep our show horses in unnatural conditions, such as 12x12 stalls
with shavings, it is in the horse’s best interest to
do all you can to maintain hoof health.
If your horse has brittle and dry feet, treating them with a hoof
conditioner will be helpful. Feeding a
supplement such as biotin can help promote hoof growth and a healthier
hoof.
Pay close attention to your horse’s feet. Remember the saying “no foot, no horse.”
GROOMING
Grooming is of paramount
importance when preparing to show. A
well turned out horse shows the judge you are serious and have pride in how
your horse is presented.
The health of the horse plays a major
role in creating a shiny coat, well-defined muscle and a happy horse
personality. We start the grooming
process months in advance of the event, by being sure our horse is healthy in
every sense. A bath and some brushing
will make a dirty horse look better, but a healthy horse with a bath and a
brush will look great.
This lesson concentrates on how to
properly groom your already healthy horse to achieve the winning look. (A healthy horses results from proper
nutrition and proper health and disease management—both courses you will study
as part of the Professional Designation program)
Rub, rub, rub and lots of elbow grease
help to create a shiny coat because the stimulation brings out the oils in the
skin and applies it to the horse’s hair.
When
beginning your grooming session, begin with a rubber curry brush. Use the curry in a circular motion. This will separate the hairs and bring dirt
and dandruff to the surface. The curry
is used on the muscle and fatty areas of the horse, briskly and with
pressure. The curry must be used more
gently on the face, legs and flank areas as the skin is so thin and the areas
more sensitive to pressure. The curry is
also a good way to massage tired aching muscles after a hard workout.
Next a medium or dandy brush
will be used to remove the dirt brought to the surface from the curry. The brush is used in short sweeping motions
and then a longer sweep to brush the dirt off.
Use this brush all over, but be careful in the thin- skinned areas such as
the flanks and face. When brushing with
the medium brush, be sure to check the areas where tack may rub or joints are
flexed to eliminate any dirt, which could cause chaffing. A stiff brush can be used on mud or
especially dirty areas or even the hoof wall.
The curry brush should have loosened
any mud, but sometimes a stiff brush is also needed. Horses will often object to this brush if it
is used too briskly in a sensitive place.
Next, a soft brush will be needed to go
over the entire horse, eliminating dust and spreading the oils through the
hair. Use a clean towel to rub, rub, rub and create that beautiful shine. The towel can be used to wipe the nostrils
and clean the horse’s ears as well.
Horses usually like this phase of grooming.
For the feet, clean thoroughly with a hoof pick and check the shoes at
this time for correct fit, loose nails, etc.
Clean the outside of the hoof with the
stiff brush to remove mud and dirt.
Apply a hoof dressing to help prevent drying and cracking. The hoof dressing keeps moisture in the
horse’s hoof. A chipped hoof not only
looks ugly, but foreshadows the losing of a shoe, or should be a warning sign
of an unhealthy or too long a hoof.
For the mane and tail, use a tail brush
(similar to a dog brush). Don’t use a
comb, as this will break the tail hairs.
For the tail start at the bottom of the tail, and use short strokes to
work out the tangles. If the horse has a
delicate tail, apply a “detangler” solution to
protect against breaking the tail hairs.
Keeping the tail clean and conditioned is good for the tail and helps to
prevent the tail hairs from breaking off.
Many horse owners like to keep their
horse’s tail in a tail bag. A tail bag
keeps the tail clean and protects the hairs from breaking, promoting a long and
thick tail. When fitting a tail bag it
is very important to tie or attach the bag below the tailbone. A tail bag tied to the tailbone will cut off
the blood supply causing the tissue to die and the fleshy part of the tail will
fall off.
To complete the grooming session, treat any sores or scraps with a cream
to promote healing. The hock will
sometimes develop sores from the horse lying down and scraping the hock as he
attempts to get up.
Some horses develop keritosis on the front of
the cannon bone of the hind legs. This
is a build up of dirt and sweat. It can
be difficult to get rid of and cannot be taken care of in one attempt. Shaving the legs close is a good start and
then using an anti bacteria shampoo will be helpful. Windex sprayed to the area has proved to be
effective as well.
Keep the horse’s chestnuts and ergots short and close to their
body. A good time to peel away chestnuts
or ergos is after a bath when the horny growth are wet and soft.
Applying some Vaseline will also soften them and make them easier to
peel off. Don’t try to cut them; you can
get too close and cause bleeding.
Fly’s can be very irritating to a horse and can
cause skin irritations as well. These
skin sores do not look pretty and some horses get them all over their
body. If your barn does not have a fly
spray system, consider a flysheet. Some
horses suffer from fly’s biting their legs. Fly leg wraps are very useful and
are cost efficient compared to applying fly spray continually.
After a training session, if your horse is sweaty, a clear water bath is
needed to rinse away the sweat and dirt.
It is important to rid the hair of salty sweat and dirt, as it will make
your grooming more effective and cut down on skin irritations. Using shampoo often will strip the hair of
the oils and dry the horse’s hair coat.
Save the shampoo to be used closer to showing, or limit its use to once
every few weeks.
Scrubbing the legs with a betadine solution or scrub can be done fairly
often and will help with keritosis.
When it is time to give a shampoo bath, shampoo the horse and rinse
thoroughly. Leaving shampoo in the hair
coat can be irritating to the skin and leave the hair looking unclean. Conditioner is only needed on the tail. It is helpful in combing out and prevents
tail hairs from breaking off.
Spray-on coat conditioners are fun, but not really needed. They often contain silicone which when
applied will make the hair very slippery.
So if you do choose to use them, apply everywhere except over the saddle
and girth area.
The key to a well-groomed horse begins on the inside. Good feed, de-worming, good physical
condition and then lots of elbow grease.
GROOMING
Curry comb Tail
conditioner
Dandy
brush
Veterinary ointment
Stiff
brush
Scissors
Soft face
brush
Vaseline
Mane and tail
brush Rubber bands
Hoof pick Fly
spray
Hoof dressing
Clean towels