This photo is of a horse’s hoof whose frog has completely sloughed off. The frog is the part of the hoof that is shaped like an arrow. I learned this summer that it is natural for the frog to slough off slowly, but because of the increased amount of rain and mud we’ve had this summer, they are tending to slough off more quickly. The horse is not generally in any pain, but they might be more sensitive when walking across gravel.
At the Kansas Equine Centre I learned a lot about correct and balanced shoeing. The vet that I worked for liked to say that “90% of lameness come from the foot, so when you get out of vet school, make friends with a farrier.” At KEC, we worked with about three different farriers to correct lameness issues stemming from the feet. We would take an initial xray, consult with the farrier, and then take another one or two xrays while shoeing the horse. Balanced shoeing helped decrease the lameness scores of horses suffering from arthritis, navicular, and laminitis.