A few Personal Preliminary Notes:

Needless to say, with trims and shoeings coming due this week, we have our hoof knifes sharpened and we intend to try the theories presented on the horses that are due for work at the Kickin' Back Ranch.

Through his observations, Mr. Ovnicek found a number of similarities among the horses.

1. The horses' feet were generally all in pretty good shape. Aside from encrusted mud and some rough edges, they looked reasonably like horse's feet which were properly maintained.

2. The horses' feet were consistently in balance.

3. There seemed to be little evidence of club footedness and that which was found was relatively minor and not significant to the longevity of the horse.

4. There were definite pressure points, or points of contact with the ground, that were consistent among all the hooves examined.

Shape and Point of Balance

This 1:2 (or 1/3:2/3) ratio is significant as hoof length and point of breakover is significant when one considers how weight is borne and distributed by the hoof structure. Point of balance also impacts how the structures inside the hoof respond to impact, pressure, damage and other forces.

For those readers scratching your heads over Duckett's Dot, it is located about 3/8" behind the apex of the frog and should be at the widest part of the foot.

Points of Contact

The hoof wall made No Contact with the ground and was not, in that context, a direct weight bearing structure. The sole and four points made contact and bore the weight, typically along the bars and in "the white zone" (laminae / sole junction).

Thus the sole and corners of the toe were heavily calloused and in direct contact with the ground. In addition, the anterior portion of the frog was also in direct contact with the ground. In 50% of the horses, the frog extended about 1/4" below the heels (made ground contact first).

Exfoliation of Excess Material

There is a pattern and logical mechanical progression to the breaking of the hoof wall which varies according to the terrain in which the horse lives. For example:

• On hard ground, such as the rocky terrain in the Pryor Mountains area, the hoof wears reasonably level, maintaining a+/- 55 degree angle.

• On medium ground, such as sod covered clay, the side hoof walls would flare and break away just forward of the bars leaving heel points which would underrun, or extend downward behind the flare breaks, to as much as 6 degrees, forming natural "heel caulks."

• On soft sand, these naturally underrun heels would extend up to 11 degrees below the actual plane of the sole.

(Sketches will be drawn and scanned in.)

The soles and sensitive frog underwent constant natural exfoliation of excess material in the areas where contact was not important. With respect to the frog, the apex exfoliated first, then the median portion, however the anterior, or buttress of the frog did not exfoliate but rather was substantially calloused.

Preliminary Conclusions

On horses which traveled between 5 and 35 miles a day, the hoof structures showed consistently similar attributes over a wide number of horses examined.

The hoof wall did not contact the ground and was not a direct component in "earth-hoof" contact, but was rather more of a containment, protection and to a minor extent an energy dissipation structure.

The sole appeared to be the most responsive structure on the bottom of the horse's foot and adapted almost immediately (within a few days) to changes in the environment.

Mud seemed to play an important part in supporting the horse's foot. The lips of the frog appeared to be designed to trap mud and mud packed into the sole appeared to help dissipate the force when the hoof struck the ground.

Thrush appeared to not be a factor even though the horses' feet were constantly caked with mud. This was attributed to the healthier condition of the tissues of the frog due to increased contact and stimulation, which was explained in better detail later in the lecture.