December's News!

From The Editor...

Happy Holidays! As you can see, we have a pretty quiet schedule for this month, since everyone is busy with holiday events and family gatherings. Keep an eye on the calendar and whiteboards in case of any schedule changes in the holiday season. If you are planning to be away and your horse will need extra attention (exercise, grooming, etc.), please try to let us know as soon as possible so that we can schedule our time.

Goings On...

Welcome new boarder, Bear, owned by Kirsten.

Hunter Clinic - We had a great turnout this time for Greg's clinic, and everyone rode well, even though many riders were on relatively new mounts. Greg will be back again in the spring for another clinic, probably for two days.

Clipping - If you want your horse to be clipped this year, take note that we will be doing it in the next week or two.

Results...

We ran our final schooling show of the year last month, and had a good turnout despite the colder weather. Thank you once again to our volunteers, including all of you who were out in the barn helping with the stalls!

We will be running another series in the spring and we're looking for suggestions! If you have any ideas for improving the shows, classes you would like to see, or any other ideas, we'd love to hear from you!

Horse Sense... Winter Shoeing

If your horse wears shoes, you may notice that his or her feed look a little different at this time of year. Bare hoof grips ice fairly well, but shoes don't. In fact, metal shoes tend to act as skates on ice, creating a dangerous situation for both horse and rider. Also, packed snow in the hoof (shod or unshod) can ball up and turn to ice, essentially putting the horse on slippery high heels. Luckily, we have several ways of dealing with winter foot problems.

For horses with shoes, corking is essential to provide traction. Corks are little metal studs that are drilled into the back of the shoe on the bottom. These corks dig into ice, giving the horse something to grip with.

Some farriers use Borium - a different kind of metal - on the bottom surface of the shoe in strategic places, as this metal grips better than the steel. The Borium is melted onto the steel, usually on the heel or toe of the shoe.

All horses, shod or not, can get snowballs accumulating on the sole of their hoof, especially on the front feet. Snow packs into the grooves along the frog, melts with the horses' body heat, and compresses into ice with his/her weight. This is especially common in horses with small feet or with shoes.

If your horse comes in with a lot of ice packed into his/her hoof, you are best to stop and pick it out immediately, as ice and concrete make a bad combination. for this, it is best to use the smaller hoof picks without brushes, as they are harder to bend.

If your horse tends to accumulate snowballs all the time, snow pads may be helpful. One option is a full pad, with a tennis ball sized lump in the middle. This fully covers the sole of the horses' hoof and pops out snowballs before they get big. Unfortunately, these pads do not let air in around the frog, which can cause health problems in the hoof.

The best combination of hoof health and pads to prevent snowballs are tube-type rim pads. These pads leave the frog area open to air, but put a tube of rubber or silicone around the inner edge of the shoe, preventing ice from building up on the metal.

Overall, the best bet this winter season for healthy feet, is close monitoring and early prevention.