Re: RC: Shoeing & frogs

[dave & abby bloxsom <cyclone@snet.net>]

Flemmer, Linda wrote:
> 
> Tivers@aol.com wrote:
> >
> >  By the way, on another subject, a piece by Denise Steffanus just appeared in
> > the Thoroughbred Times concerning a study by Robert Bowker et al that says,
> > "Leave the frog alone." Says there is a reason the frog grows back quickly
> > after a shoer cuts it away--it cushions hoof impact and spares the navicular
> > bone, among other important organs.

> According to my master farrier,
> besides acting as a cushion and sparing navicular bone, the frog also
> acts as a circulatory "pump" for the hoof.

Also, the dirt that catches in the commissures of the frog is the
primary source of traction in the bare foot (not the frog itself, as
many would have us believe).

-Abby


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