[gentlearts]

We watch the Animal Planet shows a lot in which they are always rescuing horses which have untended hooves.
Why do a horses hooves need to be filed, etc. in order to be healthy? Wild horses never see a blacksmith, or vet, so what happens to their hooves?

[tinynot]

I would suppose that wild horses hooves are split and chipped, depending on where they are, for example, rocky territory. I don't ever see that show, what kind of horses are they rescuing? I bet if they tried to file a wild horses hooves, the rodeo would be on!

[dreamhunter65]

Horse untrimmed can get elf feet and cripple them. Wild horses get in bad shape but hard ground will keep them down some.

[FiveHorses]

Short answer is the difference in the way horses live au natural vs. how we keep them. The huge distances a wild horse covers naturally wears down the hoof. Domesticated horses don't live anything like that, so the hoof has to be trimmed.

However.... all is not rosey with wild horses hooves and hoof problems and teeth problems (horses teeth also constantly erupt) are going to be the two main causes of death in the wild. Hoof issues mean they can't move on to fresh pasture, get to water, etc - so eventually they die of starvation. Horses cannot survive on only three legs. Ditto teeth in that problems with them too can eventually lead to a slow, unpleasant death.

Horses weren't all that well designed actually. They're a bit like the car that's on the assembly line at 5 p.m. on a Friday....

[kansas sky]

Originally Posted by FiveHorses

Horses weren't all that well designed actually. They're a bit like the car that's on the assembly line at 5 p.m. on a Friday....

You are not kidding! I desperately wanted a horse as a kid. Then I grew up and went to tech school. I was shocked to learn all of the ways horses like to die...and don't even get me started on colic. Now I think if I had a horse I would just live in fear. LOL

[JRTurner]

I was wondering after reading this thread if the wild horses have colic problems like kept horses do?

And not to be gross..... but what about sheath cleaning?

[FiveHorses]

Originally Posted by JRTurner

I was wondering after reading this thread if the wild horses have colic problems like kept horses do?

And not to be gross..... but what about sheath cleaning?

I suspect colic in wild horses is very hard to document. Let's face it, it's down to two options: either it will get survive or it won't. Depending where in the wild by the time anyone finds it there's not going to be a lot left and guessing as to cause of death would be futile. I think it's probably one of those thing we can only guess at - it probably does happen, but as to frequency and/or survival rates, you might as well just throw a dart at a wall of numbers.

As for sheath cleaning? Well, let's see... last time I checked, geldings were not a natural occurrence. Any wild stallion isn't going to allow his bits not to have been in service for long enough to need cleaning.

[FiveHorses]

Originally Posted by kansas sky

You are not kidding! I desperately wanted a horse as a kid. Then I grew up and went to tech school. I was shocked to learn all of the ways horses like to die...and don't even get me started on colic. Now I think if I had a horse I would just live in fear. LOL

Personally, I just live in denial.

[tinynot]

It is not too hard to document horses with colic, if you wanted to document such. Especially if the horse is kept in a somewhat confined acreage. The thing we have done with colicy horses is keep them up and walking and put 4 to six bottles of mineral oil down them. It takes quite a few hours to ride out the bellyache, but eventually if caught early enough, the horse will recover.

I just went and reread thes posts and you guys are talking about wild horses with colic, sorry bout that.

Let me try again, horses were instrumental in the migration across the US in colonial days so I think they were/are designed like a cadillac.

I want a Tennessee Walker so bad....just love horses.

[JRTurner]

Originally Posted by tinynot

so I think they were/are designed like a cadillac

Yet way more expensive than a Cadillac!!