Teeth, Hooves & Training | RES 058

Ride Every Stride | Horsemanship and Personal Growth with Van Hargis

Well, we’ve been roughing it through a South Texas winter – which is to say we practically have our bathing suits on in the near 90 degree weather. This week was Thanksgiving here in the states, and I hope you all got to spend some quality time with your families and horses, too. This week we’re going to talk about a question I’ve gotten a lot as of late, which is how dental care and hoof maintenance pertain to training.

Key Takeaways

Proper hoof care is incredibly important. For example, have you ever walked around in a pair of shoes that “almost” fit, and then walked around in a pair that actually fit? The difference is huge. Horses don’t have the means to communicate to us that their shoes don’t fit, so to speak.

You want to work with an experienced farrier that understands how a horse hoof works, not do a trial and error run with someone who just throws a bunch of trimming tools in the back of their truck.

Think of it this way – I was a running back in college. At one point, I stubbed one of my toes incredibly hard. I wasn’t able to accelerate to my fullest ability or even jog in a straight line properly. My balance was off and there was a good deal of pain associated with trying to play. And that was just one toe!

So, how can you tell someone is learned in the ways of hoof trimming? Checking to see if a Farrier has attended a school approved by the American Farrier’s Association is a good start. Being a member of the AFA also shows that the Farrier likely is continuing their education and training outside of the approved courses. Ask if they go to conferences and how they keep up their knowledge and practice it.

Pricing for a trim can vary from region to region. For South Texas – if some offered to trim for $25 a head I would be a bit worried – that’s underpriced for these parts. $50 a horse is more about what a properly trained Farrier will charge.

So how do teeth play into a horse’s performance? Well, the easier it is for a horse to eat the more nutrients they will get out of their food, making them more efficient. The health of their teeth directly ties into their physical performance as well. Once I’ve weened a baby from its mother I know I have about 2 years until they start shedding their caps – losing their baby teeth for their adult teeth to grow in.

If the caps don’t shed properly a horse can get a “wave”. See, horse’s teeth never stop growing. They grind them down as they eat. So, if one adult tooth is protected by a cap for too long it won’t get worn down evenly with the rest. This can result in a wave of unevenness.

Think about where bits sit in the horse’s mouth – right in the corners of the mouth. If they move their jaw wrong or we are too rough sore spots can develop on the inner tissue of the mouth. This can result in the horse not responding or being incredibly anxious with the bit because they associate it with that pain.