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Show Horse Talk every day but I just realized maybe some people ride only once a month or even less. The hoof should be cleaned " regularly. A friend f mine hs a horse that is older and not too well trained so he is not used and just stands around. The other day my friend decided to see what could be done with him and decided to catch him, clean his feet and go for a ride (hopefully). In his hooves (and this is no lie!!!) were maggots embed- ded in the tront and otner , parts of the hoof. Have you heard the expression 'no. " hoof, ho horse." Well, it is true and cleaning the hoof is preventive medicine. One more thing, I don't anyone to get hurt, so if someone is reading this and. has some, fear and doubts, don't try it alone. Get a friend who knows a lot about horses and can help you start out. Any ' questions? Write to "Horse. Talk" in care of this paper. By Linda Offiret , How many times have you gone out to get in your car (or on your bike) and glanced at the tires before taking off? It is a good idea if you want to get where you are going and not do any damage to the rim. How many times do you .clean your horses feet before you go riding? You only need to do it once, each time you go riding.. You are checking for the following: a loose shoe, rocks and other foreign matter embedded in the sole and around; the, frong and V area.' You are also checking for strands of the frong which are loose and long which you should trim off smoothly rather than let it rip off. Believe it or not; there are some people who have never cleaned their horses hooves and in the process of my giving them riding lessons this question has come up: "how do I get him to give me his hoof?" If you have never picked up your horses hoof but your horse has his hooves handled by the horseshoer, you shouldn't have a lot of problems. Start on the front foot, slowly rub your hand. You should be standing with .your shoulder next to his front legshoulder area and your back to his head. Your feet nex tto his left front hoof. Start at the point of the shoulder and work your hand, gently but firmly, down to the hoof area. As you approach the fetlock area (where the tufts of hair at the joint) you may try grabbing ; the hair (if there is enough to grab) and pulling up slightly. Or you can (if your hand is large enough( grab ghe whole fetlock joint and pull up. If there is still no response you can "bang" him with your elbow in the bone (it will hurt you and irritate hime) until you feel some 'give.' It is my experience that most horses realize what you want and will give you the hoof, at which point it is up to you to provide support for it while you clean it. Repeating the whole process if you are still unsuccessful will help. Some horses are so stiff when it comes to giving you their hoff it seems like you need a handiman jack! Horses are a creature of repitition, they like and understand routines so you should keep this , in mind and in the long run you will be teaching the horse and making it easier for next time. You'll love it and so will your horseshoer!! A soothing voice and a command com-mand of 'up' each time you do it may help. No one is going to think you are crazy if you talk to your horse! Keep your cool and be patient. To clean the hoof you do not need to put it between your legs as you have seen the horseshoer do; you should have a firm hold on the hoof so that the horse doesn't think he can pull away (bad lesson if he does) and with a hoof pick (cost .75) start along the edges and dig a little until you can see the sold (bottom of hoof) then you will have a guideline for the rest of the hoof. As you get more center you will reach the "frog and this is where you must be careful. When cleaning the hoof, 1 advise to clean away from you and not pull the hoof pick towards you; it seems your arm becomes stronger as you come towards to-wards you and you could go in very deeply to the frog area and cause damage or otherwise hurt the horse. The horse has a convenient memory; they remember pain you caused them and also the good things you do for them. Ideally, the good should' outweigh the bad. After you have cleaned the hoof and assured the frog is intact, you do not drop the hoof! You set it down deliberatley and pat the horse and then he knows you are done with that foot. Now you are ready for the hind foot. Standing at his left hind,, close to him, now run your hand down his hind end and to the hoof. As you get there, you are giving a slight tug and when he finally gives j you pick up the hoof and v. walk it out a little to the behind and you can set the front of his fetlock joint on your knee while you hold it with one hand and clean it with the other. Yu walk the leg out a little because it hard on the horse to stand . with his leg kinked up under .. him. His anatomy is not built that way. When you are done with the hind leg, you set it down and give the ; horse a pat. Be sure you do not set the hoof down on ybur foot! Now you are ready for the other two legs; yes, there are four! Earlier in the article I said that you need only clean the horses hoof when you are -going riding. I ride almost |