Natural Horse Resource Blog
Monday, March 16, 2009
Sossity got into natural hoof care thanks to Faith, her Arab/Trakehner mare. When she went lame as a four year old, Sossity started to question everything and natural hoof care came to the forefront of her attention. She asked herself how she had gone through many years of horse ownership without really knowing anything about their feet.
A friend recommended Pete Ramey's book and things happened quickly after that. She read the book cover to cover in one day and in her own words “became obsessed”. Within a few short years she entered the AANHCP training program, helped found the Pacific Hoof Care Practitioners training program and was accepted by the American Hoof Association. Now on the board for both PHCP and AHA, she says, “I feel like the learning has just begun!”
Why is it critical for a horse's hooves to land heels first?
Horses come with a complex shock absorbing system in the back of their feet. The digital cushion and lateral cartilages under and behind the frog, when fully developed, are designed to absorb the impact of a horse’s weight as it lands. When a horse moves comfortably in a smooth heel-first landing, the entire hoof acts as a hydraulic shock absorber. The tissues are fully perfused with blood and normal expansion and contraction take place, which in turn further develops the internal hoof. It becomes a positive cycle of physical therapy.
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