When to tranquilize a horse

I thought I would address this one after a couple questions regarding tranquilizing horses was put to me by a friend. So, when should you tranq? Whenever your safety or that of your horse is compromised. Simple as that. However, I am of the belief that tranq'ing a horse should always be a temporary measure (whenever possible). Obviously, there is the odd situation (such as having your horse's teeth floated with electric tools at the vet's office) where tranq'ing a horse is necessary at all times. On that note, I don't think it is always necessary to sedate every horse to have its teeth done, but most vets won't do your horse's teeth, particularly with electric tools, without sedating your horse first (or at least that's how it goes up here in Alberta, Canada, anyways). And for good reason. How do they know how your horse is going to react when they power up those dental tools? Their safety has to come first.

So what are some situations where sedating your horse could be okay as a temporary measure?

Farrier work if your farrier's well-being is going to be jeopardized by a fearful or disrespectful horse, it might be time to sedate your horse to have his feet done before they get into really bad shape. Keep in mind though that it should be a temporary measure - in the mean time, you can work directly on having your horse pick up his feet or indirectly on his general attitude.

Clipping there's the odd time it might be absolutely necessary to clip a horse but your horse won't allow it. Whilst working on desensitization and earning your horse's trust enough to clip him the next time, you can sedate him so as to clip him safely.

These are just a couple examples; I am sure there are many more. In my experiences with tranq'ing horses thus far, it does not solve the specific "issue" with the horse on a permanent basis, but it can make your work with said horse safer so as to successfully accomplish a particular task. I have never had a horse tranquilized myself, however we used to do it on a few specific horses at the track; one of which was Link, the Thoroughbred we purchased last fall. He absolutely refused to stand for the farrier and so would be sedated each time the farrier came around to work on him. At that time, while holding Link, I usually played with his ears in the hopes of desensitizing his ears to being touched (he refused to allow his ears to be touched, which could make for a lot of trouble while trying to trim him a bridle path!). It never worked. Not only did he remain a terrible actor with his feet (he would allow me to pick them or pack them, but that was it), he still wouldn't let you to so much as brush his ears when he wasn't sedated.

Sedating a horse does not work (in my experiences) long-term because you are neglecting the root of the issue. There is perhaps the odd situation I can think of off hand where sedating a horse and then working on them could actually progress their training (such as in "sacking out" or such perhaps), but that's just a theory to consider as a last resort. Anyways, it works on a temporary basis obviously because the horse is too dopey to react negatively. However the reason the horse did not want to be clipped/trimmed/shod/etc in the first place (usually) persists and thus when the horse awakes he will still be just as head-shy, clipper-shy, itchy with his feet, etc as he was prior to being sedated. On the other hand, it does not affect a horse adversely to sedate them to perform a task on them, then allow them to wake up. Thus far, when done properly, I have yet to see it destroy a horse's trust in a person or set a horse back in its training...because it really - in itself - isn't doing anything (either negatively or positively) in the first place. In the mean time though, work on the "trouble spot" from another direction. To be honest, after we purchased Link and brought him home, I never actually worked on his feet, nor on his ears, directly. Instead, I worked hard at earning his trust and respect. He now stands good for the farrier 90 percent of the time, and we're working on the other 10 percent by further "unwinding" him emotionally. I can touch his ears almost anytime (or spend a second or two before he gives me permission to touch his ears the times he doesn't allow me to immediately) and he will allow anyone he trusts to touch his ears (those he does not yet trust, he'll raise his head out of reach)...and I never have any problem clipping his bridlepath.

I would definitely consider tranq'ing a horse if yours or the horse's safety could be compromised during a procedure vital to the horse. No, the actual tranquilizing itself should not set your horse's training back, but neither will it likely help you on a permanent basis. So don't consider it a permanent solution, work on a more permanent solution in the mean time and seek professional help if you're stumped! Any experiences out there with sedating horses where it did or did not help?

Trimming

So, as promised, the (short) trimming blog. So, when is a horse in need of a trim? Going strictly by a specific timeline of 6-12 weeks is not really always all that accurate, because each horse is an individual in an individual environment. Trimming frequency depends upon weather, season, ground, genetics, use, ground covered daily, nutrition, etc. Hoof growth rate increases in the summer months and slows in the colder months. Wet ground versus dry ground, humid environment versus arid, good hoof genetics versus poor, 40 acres of pastureland covered daily versus stall life - all play roles in hoof growth. We have horses that, through the winter, have gone up to 4 months before they required a trim. Keep in mind all our horses are pastured. Of course if you are not knowledgeable in regards to feet, definitely go by a regular schedule and/or as per the recommendations of your farrier. In the mean time, check out photos online and talk to your farrier to educate yourself as to what your horse's feet should look like. The following is what they should not look like:

Here is what they should look like (or something similar), in terms of length:

On the hoof note, I have to profess that I am an avid fan of allowing horses to go barefoot, as nature intended. While shoes can be beneficial in some situations, for the most part, allowing a horse to go barefoot has been proven to be healthier for the hoof and thus the horse itself. A shoe can allow for contracted heels and does not allow the (albeit minute) expansion of the hoofwall as the hoof makes contact with the ground. A horse's foot acts as four "heart pumps" - the pressure upon making contact with ground pumps blood back up the leg (against gravity) and back to the core. Do your research, and you will find most horses can greatly benefit from going barefoot. The following are a few sites I have found helpful, from my favourites to the newly-discovered-but-look-promising:

Develop your eye for hoof shape

Successful Natural Horsecare (check out all the info on barefootedness)

Input on the Strasser Method

Barefoot for Soundness

Natural Balance Hoofcare

Equine Vet Journal (more input concerning the Strasser Method)

Why your horse should go barefoot (Horsetalk)

Jaimie Jackson (barefoot expert)

Another Jaimie Jackson website (?)

Pete Ramey (another barefoot prof)

Successful barefoot jumpers

Successful barefoot eventers

The barefoot horse

I have to admit to not having read all of the info on all of these sites - there is just so much out there! Now, just to find the time to delve into it all ;) However I felt some of these sites could be helpful, hence their inclusion in this post. Hopefully they can provide others a foundation from which to bounce off of. Just for the heck of it, also check out the history of shoeing horses - it could add insight into barefootdness as well; I definitely found it interesting.

On a personal level, we have kept all of our own current three horses barefoot as long as we have had them (1, 9, and 14 years), save for the odd temporary shod episode under very particular, special, and elite circumstances. We have never had a soundness issue with any of our horses (save for the odd time a farrier trimmed too short or a rare rock bruising). Ever. Despite their various activities. Coincidence? I think not. My personal belief is that nature probably does a pretty good job of providing our horses with the feet they need to survive. Human interference (ie. shoes) is typically not required except in very particular circumstances and/or with certain horses.

White Hooves v/s Dark Hooves

Just throwing it out there: there is no current scientific data to back white hooves being weaker than dark hooves.

So why does this myth continue to circulate? Because of books like this, or various equine "experts" proclaiming it to be true. Yet when we think about it, what are those "professionals" (be it or not) basing their opinion on? My theory is that they are basing it on "experience". Psychology proves that when we possess a theory, we then (often inadvertently) look for examples to prove our theory valid. Now if someone has an open mind, they may, through broad research, prove themselves wrong and thus undergo a change of opinion. Yet what sorts of examples do professionals experience, when it comes to feet? A farrier does the feet of countless horses over time, and may theorize white hooves to be weaker because he/she seems to run across more horses with white feet that also happened to be weaker. A trainer or owner may run across a number of white-footed horses whose feet were constantly chipping. Yet what do these anecdotes really prove? When we really think about it, nutrition, environment, weather, use, genetics, etc, all play major factors in a horse's hoof health. All the aforementioned factors could even be commonalities between horses a certain professional sees, hence their drawing certain conclusions. Personally, I think the real accurate testament of the different degrees of strength between white hoof and black hoof is scientific evidence. Personal accounts are not enough and are definitely flawed (whether through restriction of research or through human flaw itself), yet too many people continue to rely on WOM - consider it "the Way, the Truth, and the Life", when that just isn't the case.

From Thoroughbred Times:

"Anecdotal evidence exists on both sides of the argument. However, no scientific evidence has yet to be produced to indicate that a white hoof is weaker than a darker one. A 1976 study by James E. Dinger of the University of Maryland entitled "Recent Findings in Hoof Physiology" found no correlation between hardness of the hoof wall and the pigmentation of the hoof. More recently, scientists have viewed cross-section slides of hooves under electron microscopes and failed to find any structural differences between white and black hoof walls, according to Mitch Taylor, a certified journeyman farrier with 22 years' experience and owner of the Kentucky Horse Shoeing School in Mt. Eden, Kentucky."

From The Horse Channel:

"One of the foremost experts in his field, Doug Butler, Ph.D., of LaPorte, Colo., is the author of The Principles of Horseshoeing, one of the most widely used texts on horseshoeing in the world. He also has 30 years of teaching experience and acts as a consultant and lecturer on horseshoeing. In 1976 while doing research at Cornell University, he conducted a study on white versus black hooves by taking squares of hoof material and crushing them in a compressor.
"There was no difference between black and white," he agrees. "The main difference was in moisture content: The softer hooves fell apart easier." He notes that genetics also play a role in hoof strength."

I have always been taught by various "experts" the "Weaker White Hoof Myth" and wanted to check out the scientific evidence for myself, because I was leery as to the accuracy of the WWHM. I am not going to tell anyone that there is absolutely no difference between white and black hooves, as scientific study is far from complete, however it would be wise to look at the data collected thus far. There certainly is not enough evidence (if there is any) collected thus far to suggest that white hooves are "problem hooves" and should be avoided due to their potential for issues. This is a hard tradition to break though and so it will likely circulate for years to come...

In my search I also came across this:

Horses Ban for Overgrown Hooves - it's a few years old now, but wow - look at those feet! Poor horse, and poor owner if her claims of illness are accurate. I hope both are in better health now.

A horse's hooves should be checked on a regular basis - daily or weekly if possible. Typically, horses will require trimming every 6-10 weeks, as a good rule of thumb. Personally, I do not usually go by the 6-10 week timeline, but rather judge our horses' feet on a daily basis and call in the farrier as necessary. Link, our Thoroughbred, has his feet done every 8 weeks at the moment (in the summer) - leave them any longer and they start to chip out. He's been off the track 10 months now and while his hooves continue to improve in leaps and bounds, they are still far from perfect yet. Over the winter however, he was done at about 9 weeks and 13 weeks. Silver, our Quarab, and Koolaid, our Warmblood x, were done at much longer intervals both this winter and spring. I have received horses in for training who have never had their feet done - at 4 or 5 years of age! Those horses still have fantastic feet. One mare the farrier commented had the best feet he's seen in awhile (well, he sort of groaned it out - he was having a tough time clipping through such hard hooves!). One has to consider each individual horse's needs and evaluate a horse's feet on a horse-by-horse basis. Don't make it an automatic 6-10 weeks, because that might not be enough (rarely), or it could be too often even! Learn how to accurately judge your horse's hoof length and what is "too long" (besides the clearly obvious, as above). We pasture all our horses, so they actually seem to wear their feet down quite nicely throughout the year; horses kept in a "natural" environment akin to wild horses often require less trimming because their hooves wear down on their own. Environment, weather, genetics, season, nutrition - all play a huge role in how often a horse's feet need to be trimmed. In winter, of course, a horse's feet grow slower than in the summer (just like our fingernails), so trims are required less often during that season - our horses usually receive a trim late fall and do not require another one until spring sometime. If in doubt, ask your (reputable) farrier and if you are new to horses, certainly keep a schedule of 6-10 weeks. However if you can learn what to look for, you can probably save yourself a fair bit. Evaluate your horses as individuals!