Lucas Equine Services

I just received the first copies of the hoof anatomy booklet 8th Edition! Just in time for overseas shipping before Christmas. I changed a few images and added a bit of color to some of the old ones. German version available as well. I hope you like it.

Duplo STS composite horseshoe with Wolfgang Bush glue on tabs converted into open toe glue on for foundered pony

This animation shows how the onset of laminitis changes the position and form of the distal phalanx, and deforms the hoof capsule. Changes like these usually ta...ke at least 1 year. You have a 2 days left to sign up for my Laminitis Webinar. It's a must-see if you work in hoof care, we're covering a lot with 3 lectures on the process of laminitis, diagnosis, and treatments. Book now: https://bitly.com/laminitis-tickets Even if you can’t attend live you will get the video recording and other materials sent to you by email afterwards, guaranteed. Any questions just email [email protected]

What we are going to post about here is Revolutionary. Maybe some of you have already heard this...but we just had this knowledge imparted to us in the past c...ouple of years. When we learn better, then we do better...at least that is the hope. We certainly will change what we do from here on out. Some of us have taken it upon themselves to learn more about hooves and the healthy keeping of them. It is just so hard to find a knowledgeable farrier who improves the hooves on a horse. Sometimes the best we can do is to find one who doesn't make things worse. (and we aren't interested in debating shoes versus no shoes-just plain old information sharing here) Some breeds in our rescue are especially hard to keep comfortable, and we always wonder why is that? There are people out there who study horse hooves and how our husbandry practices affect them. . . How to help laminitis and navicular, and keep abcesses from forming. In reading publications by one fella well known for this, we stumbled upon the following information, and we felt it was possibly an AH HA! moment that we have been searching for. It is commonly thought that we are genetically breeding our horses into worse and worse feet, but what we are about to share may totally blow this theory out of the water. Foals born in the wild must be ready and able to keep up with a herd moving 20 miles or so per day. Their hooves are hard wired to do this, and the foal hoof grows rapidly to keep up with the wear and tear of the nomadic lifestyle. Foals born into domesticity have the same rapidly growing hooves, but not the ability to roam 20 miles per day. In fact, people (believing foals are delicate creatures) often keep them stalled until they are a bit older. We are coming to find out that our foal keeping practices are setting the horse up to have crappy feet for the rest of its life. Foals Need movement. A lot of people know this already. But the following is where we at HOP have failed in the past. They Also need to have their hooves competently maintained from the very beginning. In other words, a farrier must keep up with the rapid growth of the baby hoof, and keep it in shape. This is the key thing to remember and it is truly revolutionary.... "While in a horse's later years, the coffin bone shapes the hoof, in a horse's earlier years the hoof shapes the coffin bone." Oh my gosh! So if a baby horse's hoof is not kept in shape, the coffin bone will actually begin to distort. And after about the age of 3.5, the distortion is permanent. A horse's hooves continue to widen until about the age of 5 by the way. So the sturdiest hooves are the ones that are allowed to grow, and have good trims and no shoes until the age of 5. (And are exposed to a very diverse terrain) Therefore in some performance horses, who stay out in the field at some farms not being trimmed until they are yearlings, and then many times having shoes put on at 18 months or sometimes earlier to begin their careers... you can see how this may lead to hooves being difficult later! Whatever shape that coffin bone has come to be as the foal grew, a shoe is slapped on it that holds it in that shape, and by 3.5 it is permanently set to an unnatural state of being. So here is what Pete Ramey along with 2 other hoof experts have to say... "Foals are born with perfect, tiny hooves. If they are given living conditions similar to what a wild horse has, their feet and legs will develop with no problems. But most foals in captivity live in conditions quite different from what their feet actually need. It appears that the first hour of a foal's life is critical to hoof health. In the wild, the mare moves the foal quickly away from the place of birth, because predators are attracted to the afterbirth and of course to the foal as well. So the soft foal feet, consisting mostly of raggedy frog tissue with a lot of proprioceptive (tells the brain about limb position) nerve endings, get about an hour of movement on hard ground before the foal ever nurses. Gene Ovnicek believes that this hour of movement is a "window of opportunity" which gets the hoof started towards a lifetime of correct shape and function. In order to develop healthy hooves, foals should not be on soft bedding at all. Instead, from "day one" they should get 10+ miles (15+ km.) of daily movement on hard, uneven ground (not pavement). They should follow along with their mother, who should also be going 10+ miles per day for her own health and hoof care. You can arrange that they move a lot in their 24-hour turnout -- see Jaime Jackson's book Paddock Paradise. If a "track layout" is not possible, riding the mare and ponying the foal is another possibility. (after her recovery of course) Foal hooves are nearly cylindrical at birth. It takes a lot of concussion on hard ground (which horses are designed for) to spread the hooves out into the shock-absorbing cone shape of the adult horse. In soft footing, and especially in bedding, the feet just sink in without flexing. Some foals soon develop a very contracted foot where the base is actually smaller than the coronet -- the walls are "inside the vertical." This is extremely difficult to rehabilitate. Wild foals run with the herd on hard and often rocky ground. Wild horses move 20 miles (30 km.) or more every day, just getting food and water. Foals are "precocious" young, which means they are born able to keep up with the herd (different from other animals' young which must be carried by adults or hidden from predators). Bone alignment in the leg depends on having sufficient movement on firm terrain. The pasterns are nearly upright at birth. They need lots of movement so that the pastern bones align into the harmonic curve which gives shock absorption in the leg. The ligaments and tendons in the legs, as well as in the upper body, can only become as strong as the work they do every day. The toughest ligaments and tendons come from plenty of daily movement on hard or rocky ground. A horse raised this way will be able to handle the athletic demands of an equine sport without breaking down. Dr. Strasser and Gene Ovnicek both note that the "problem" legs that some foals are born with, generally align themselves correctly within 2 weeks, without veterinary intervention, if the foal gets sufficient movement and is not kept on soft footing. A foal at my friend's farm gained good alignment and leg strength in this way within about a week. A horse's feet continue to get wider until the horse has reached its full adult weight, at about age 5. The hoof gets broader as the horse gets heavier. The coffin bone reaches its adult size and shape at age 5. When a young horse is shod, generally at age 3 (or earlier in some cases) when training begins, it restricts the growth of the feet. The coffin bone is no longer able to grow into its correct shape, because the "wall of nails" around the edge of the shoe interferes with further widening. Shoes also begin to contract the heels. The coffin bone grows in a narrowed shape, and the heels curve in towards the frog. I hope that people raising young horses will decide not to shoe them. The horse that stays barefoot will be more confident because, as it learns to do its job, it is able to feel the ground and know where its legs are. A horse raised barefoot is graceful. Its movement is glorious to behold. I believe that once we begin to see some adult horses, raised barefoot, we will realize what we've been missing in our athlete friends." http://www.barefoothorse.com/barefoot_MoreTopics.html So while we believe that genetics may play some role in the modern day hoof woes, truly, like so many other things about horse issues that are directly our husbandry practices, allowing and helping the hoof to shape itself early on will likely result in a much better foundation for the horse to function on. For more in depth reading about the very fascinating information that these 3 have put together, please click on the link above. (Of course we recognize that inappropriate feed, poor farrier care, lack of adequate minerals and some genetics factor in also but we can *ourselves* avoid majorly contributing to the other issues with this knowledge)

I lost my phone on Monday, so if you are trying to get ahold of me fb messenger, email, landline or writing a letter it is for now

Be part of the first annual Duplo composite horseshoe workshop and competition and sign up now!

IT’S NOT HIM, IT’S YOU Why your farrier won’t return your phone calls and what he really wants to tell you but never will ~ written by the wife of seniored far...rier I see it ALL the time, people posting on social media, looking for a new farrier because the last one has disappeared. I quietly think to myself, And you wonder why you got ghosted. Here is a list of ISO farrier ad faux pas that will definitely keep him from responding to your ad or calling you back: Looking for a reasonably priced farrier: A good farrier ain’t cheap and a cheap farrier ain’t good. If you mention anything about price or reasonability, etc. you’re off his list. Maybe not for a young kid that’s starving, but even if he does get your business now, he’ll quickly figure out what a bad idea shoeing one for cheap is and you’ll fall to the bottom of his priority list for someone who’s willing to pay what he’s worth. I need a patient farrier, Trigger is sensitive and scared of men: Your farrier’s job isn’t to train your wild brumby. He spends his days bent over, holding up 1000 lb. animals. His body hurts, and the last thing he has time for is to put up with your spoiled donkey. Please work with your horse to pick up all 4 feet and stand quietly before scheduling an appointment. I need someone ASAP: Dude, a good farrier is booked weeks in advance, has a schedule of good clients and works his schedule around the locations he’s traveling tonot to mention he’s most likely a family man and has to juggle his kids’ activities as well. So, trimming Trigger tomorrow morning may not be at the top of his priority list, and you might to have to be OK with that. I need a corrective shoer: One of the things my husband told me when we first started dating was, I don’t believe in corrective shoeing, I believe in shoeing correctly. All horses are different and need to be shod accordingly. A good farrier has enough education to handle all situations and should have veterinary recommendations for the works he’s done. I keep Trigger on a 12 week schedule: A farrier is not a magician. A good one can keep your horse sound with REGULAR shoeing. Calling him when feet are grossly overgrown, or you FINALLY lose a shoe is not acceptable. This causes lameness issues and creates so many other unnecessary problems. Keep him on a regular 6-8 week schedule, for the love of God! I tell my husband all the time that he should keep his clients on a schedule and call them when they’re due, but I can’t teach an old dog new tricks. You might find that rare unicorn that does that, but it’s unlikely. Best to just put a reminder to call him in 4 weeks to schedule on your calendar. A few more pieces of advice that seem like no brainers, but you’d be surprised what people don’t understand: Don’t make him hunt you down for payment. Have a check or cash waiting when he shows up. Put your damn dogs away. The last thing he needs is Trigger kicking at Fido as he’s trying to steal a piece of freshly cut frog out from under him. Make sure he has a place to work in the shade, free of obstacles and dangerous objects for Trigger to get hung up on. Things come up and schedules change, but please don’t make that a regular thing. He has a schedule to keep and your last-minute cancelation really messes up his day. Don’t give Trigger a bath or mud his legs right before your appointment. There’s nothing worse than shoeing a wet/muddy/liniment-soaked horse. It’s OK to ask questions and have convos about your farrier’s plan, but you’ve hired him because he is a professional and you trust him. You wouldn’t tell your mechanic how to fix your car would you? If you don’t trust his ability, find someone you do trust! A little appreciation goes a long way. Most guys don’t get a lot of credit for the work they do but they are one of the most important people your horse knows. A simple ‘thanks for all you do to keep Trigger happy’ means more than you know. Last but not least, as interesting as it is to you and me, he doesn’t give one single care to how Trigger is bred, what he ate last night, or his favorite color. I know, doesn’t make sense to me either, but he doesn’t and nothing you can say or do will change that.

This week I got forgotten about from different clients three times (or ended up with more or less horses as scheduled) I know things can happen and I'm far away from perfect either... still it sucks when it messes up your whole schedule because it's in the middle of appointments... you can't go home in between... and the next client might not be available any earlier or it messes up their whole day... so it's a waste of my time sitting there waiting... and turning other clients away because the schedule was full... If it's not important to you... it's not important to me!!! This makes me wanting to stop driving to outside clients and make everyone hauling up to the Ranch. At least I can get shit done around there if nobody shows up!!!

Pulling Scotch Bottoms... and trimming the foot back to its natural and healthy shape

Dealing with difficult horses to trim or shoe that tend to blow up in between? This might help to understand what happens and what can help...

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone

Somebody was trying to tell me something

I am asking for an exemption to keep the Claresholm Agriplex open. It is essential for the horses health to get exercised. Especially during winter time when everything is snowy and icy outside not many horse owners have other facilities to keep their horses safely ridden and trained. Riding horses goes hand in hand with social distancing since everybody always will be at least a horse length apart. The Claresholm Agriplex is also important for other small businesses since ho...rse trainers use the facility to train horses to make their living and farriers, chiropractors and osteopathic professionals have an area to treat, shoe and trim horses out of the cold weather. For the horses health it is extremely important and absolutely essential to have their hooves properly and regularly trimmed and shoed. No hoof no horse! Neglecting this part can can end up in lameness, vet bills and can cripple a horse for life. See more

These are absolutely awesome!!!