Show expert tells why horses feet fee t require great care horses are shod primarily to prevent the hoof from wear althou although ll 11 many I 1 farm a rm horses working in fields and on dirt roads are never shod in addition to protection says R R B cooley professor of animal husbandry at purdue university shoes if calked balked provide a grip on soft ground or lee ice if calks balks are sharp by virtue of the weight they impose shoes serve to balance and govern the stride and to ac the size and shape of the foot hereditary transmission plays an important part with the root foot of a horse there is probably no serious defect in conformation that is trans transmitted mittel with any more regularity than are small shallow shelly feet obviously it is important to mate good footed seed stock in order that one may reasonably expect the offspring with good teet feet in a state of nature wear does not exceed gr growth howth even when born with good feet most colts require their reet feet trimmed and leveled occasionally more especially during their period of rapid growth this aids in preventing the development of rather serious foot and leg malformations not easily corrected later |