Post by Dawn Perkins on Nov 14, 2012 15:03:48 GMT 1
NicBarker recently bought a foal for her partner, to be his hunter in years to come. The foal was bought at 10 weeks old and went to Rockley Farm with his dam. He is now four months old and, for those who are interested in discovering the progress of hooves which have never been shod, this provides the ideal case study.
I had read (in 2009) in Nic and Sarah Braithwaite's book "Feet First" that there is a perception that native ponies have naturally strong hooves and that TBs and Warmbloods have poor feet and that it is all to do with genetics. Nic was never convinced of this and her many successful ex-rehab TBs and Warmbloods seem to have proved her correct.
On page 63 of the book, she and Sarah say:-
"An ironic fact is that the more expensive a horse is, the more we will tend to cosset and confine him. As a result, the hooves on some of the most highly priced horses receive little or no challenge or stimulus from birth onwards. These hooves are likely to be under-developed and weak in the adult horse.
By contrast, a feral Exmoor foal, worth only a few pounds, will roam on challenging surfaces from the day of his birth and, if this carries on throughout life, he will develop much healthier hooves, giving him a better prognosis for long-term soundness."
It will be extremely interesting to follow Bryher's progress, as he begins to follow Nic's recipe for a lifetime of hoof soundness.
These are the links to Bryher's blogs, the final one being the start of his hoof monitoring:-
rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/rockley-next-generation.html
rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/he-has-name.html
rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/bryher-and-big-boys.html
rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/foal-feet-and-hoof-development.html
Dawn Perkins
I had read (in 2009) in Nic and Sarah Braithwaite's book "Feet First" that there is a perception that native ponies have naturally strong hooves and that TBs and Warmbloods have poor feet and that it is all to do with genetics. Nic was never convinced of this and her many successful ex-rehab TBs and Warmbloods seem to have proved her correct.
On page 63 of the book, she and Sarah say:-
"An ironic fact is that the more expensive a horse is, the more we will tend to cosset and confine him. As a result, the hooves on some of the most highly priced horses receive little or no challenge or stimulus from birth onwards. These hooves are likely to be under-developed and weak in the adult horse.
By contrast, a feral Exmoor foal, worth only a few pounds, will roam on challenging surfaces from the day of his birth and, if this carries on throughout life, he will develop much healthier hooves, giving him a better prognosis for long-term soundness."
It will be extremely interesting to follow Bryher's progress, as he begins to follow Nic's recipe for a lifetime of hoof soundness.
These are the links to Bryher's blogs, the final one being the start of his hoof monitoring:-
rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/rockley-next-generation.html
rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/he-has-name.html
rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/bryher-and-big-boys.html
rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/foal-feet-and-hoof-development.html
Dawn Perkins