Re: Cupped soles

[Lynette Helgeson <helgeson@lansford.ndak.net>]

I have one horse that has a naturally cupped black hooves and I have one
with white flat feet. And the one with the flat feet has never had a
stone bruise and the cupped hooves horse gets stone bruises a lot and is
ouchy on gravel. The wide flat footed horse will travel down a gravel
road like it is nothing. So it must have something to do with the
toughness of the soles too, right? Or maybe how the hoof hits the
ground?

Just curious,
Lynette 

Bryan & Laura & Mark wrote:
> 
> Cupped soles are great - better hoof integrity ONLY if Mother Nature
> does it - not the farrier.
> 
> I was a farrier for 13 years, as well as endurance rider (4000 miles
> in the few years I participated seriously).  I would never recommend
> unnaturally cupping a horse's soles and expect them to remain
> unbruised.  My recommendation is to leave the bottom of a horse's foot
> as close to natural for that particular animal as possible..
> 
> Laura Hayes