How did horses keep their hooves trimmed in the wild

Just like people need their fingernails trimmed on a regular basis horses need their feet trimmed regularly. Wild horse feet are a product of a combination of genetics and lots of use over hard terrain as young horses mature and their feet develop.

Within the natural hoof care philosophy the term barefoot horses refers to.

How did horses keep their hooves trimmed in the wild. Wild horses do not need hoof trimming. Unlike other animals which will intentionally maintain or file down their nails horse naturally take care of hoof growth. You will not see crazy outgrown hooves in nature.

Horses in the wild dont need their hooves trimmed because they wear them down walking around all day long. Domesticated horses need their hooves trimmed because they are kept confined and well fed making it unnecessary for them to travel longer distances in search of. Wild horses dont trim their hooves.

In fact they wear down their hooves every single day by walking and running on unfriendly hard surfaces. This rough and tough lifestyle helps them in developing stronger and healthier hooves that are less likely to be damaged or split. The hoof growth in wild horses is slower as compared to domestic ones.

Wild horses wear their hooves down by using them a lot. Domestic horses kept in a large area of sand and hard ground will also keep their hooves worn down. I have 7 horses and most of them never need trimming because they roam a large pasture.

In short wild horses dont need their hooves trimmed by humans because their wild lifestyle does it for them. The need to trim horse hooves and other animal claws only came about because of the way that we domesticated them. We changed their habits and landscape.

How Horses Got Their Hooves. From top a modern day horse Equus caballus followed by prehistoric horses Pliohippus Merychippus Miohippus Mesohippus and Hyracotherium. New research lends.

There are a couple of considerations here. The first of course is that wild horses dont compromise their balance by carrying people. Being ridden or driven puts stresses on horses feet that wild horses dont have to cope with.

And where wild h. Horses in the wild dont need their hooves trimmed because they walk all day and wear them down. Domesticated horses need their hooves trimmed because when people keep the horses confined and feed them well their hoof growth outpaces the rate at which they can wear them down on their own I tried to explain.

Natural hoof care is the practice of keeping horses so that their hooves are worn down naturally and so do not suffer overgrowth splitting and other disorders. Horseshoes are not used but domesticated horses may still require trimming exercise and other measures to maintain a natural shape and degree of wear. Within the natural hoof care philosophy the term barefoot horses refers to.

A hoof trimmed to the wild-horse shape is different from what we are used to seeing all around us. Here are photos from wild horses that lived and died on dry rocky mountainous terrain. The heel bulbs have been mostly chewed off by scavengers but otherwise the hooves are in excellent shape.

Hoof overgrowth like that usually occurs because the horse is confined too much without corrective trimming. Wild horses spend a great deal of time moving around and that action will wear down hooves. Additionally in wild populations the lines particularly prone to hoof problems should be weeded out of a population via natural selection.

Because the wild horse herds must travel for food and water their hooves are naturally worn down on a daily basis. Domestic horses on the other hand spend a lot of their time sedentary on a perfectly level and relatively soft ground. Over time their hooves grow out and we hire farriers to come and trim.

Horses kept on pasture and stable bedding both soft surfaces for horses to walk on would need to be trimmed more often than horses kept on harder surfaces. Hard surfaces naturally wear away and file the hoof. Thats why horses in the wild dont need their hooves trimmed at all.

So even if you think youre in great shape getting under a horse and performing a trim may cause you to think twice. Trimming a horses hooves can be dangerous. Trimming is one of the most dangerous jobs a person can perform when it comes to horses.

Youre putting yourself and the horse into a very vulnerable position. Just like people need their fingernails trimmed on a regular basis horses need their feet trimmed regularly. Horses hooves play an important role when it comes to their health.

They help with weight distribution and circulation. In order to keep the hooves balanced and healthy its important to get them taken care of on a regular basis. Wild horse feet are a product of a combination of genetics and lots of use over hard terrain as young horses mature and their feet develop.

The end result is usually a very durable and easy to maintain foot. As a wild horse adopter you may have found it difficult to find a farrier to come out and trim your horse.