Forest is a young draft horse with very healthy
feet. Usually you see drafts with either shod or neglected feet, it seems. His are neither. He does a more "spade"
shaped hoof than your smaller saddle horses, but his are healthy just the same.
He came to me with a chronic thrush problem and a few flares, inspite of frequent
trimming. In Forest's case, however, his problems weren't from neglect or "bad genes". His was an oral problem.
He had not shed his baby molars properly and had minor infections and lacerations of his gums and cheeks. A vet removed the
teeth and floated the others, and once he was able to chew pain free, he was able to utilize the nutrition in his feed and
he blossomed. His thrush went away with the treatment of Apple Cider Vinegar and water. The lack of nutrition was weakening
his immune response, so the opportunistic fungus and bacteria were taking advantage, the ACV just helped to knock out the
infection faster.
Today, Forest is thrush free and very sound. No cracks or chips here, even when
worked on asphalt. He has a beautiful heel first landing that is easy for anyone to spot. His feet are huge, with very wide
frogs, more common in drafts and their crosses. They are built for slow work and their sheer size calls for extra shock absorbing
capabilities, so the frog is even more important for them. Forest has had no sole trimmed away, and very little frog trimming,
beyond the loosest of flaps.
