By: John Samsill, Omega Fields Spokesperson

By feeding Omega Fields Omega Horseshine you are doing your horse a huge favor to help keep him healthy and in good shape. I would like to congratulate you on being a good and caring horse owner. But what are some other things we can do to help our horses stay sound? Some of the things I am going to talk about I have learned through my personal experiences and some I have learned through being a farrier for more than thirty years.

The first thing is going to be obvious, as I am a farrier, but good shoeing or trimming is essential to keeping a horse sound. Toes that are too long are not good for your horse as it creates a lever arm that is forward of the center of articulation of your horse’s coffin joint. Long toes put tension on the deep digital flexor tendon which in turn puts pressure on the navicular apparatus. It can cause tripping and flat soles also. Heels that are either to long or to short also can put strain on tendons. Medial/Lateral balance or the balance on the sides of the hoof capsule is also important as imbalances such as these can cause excessive strain on the collateral ligaments in a horse’s foot along with joint wear and tear. Medial/Lateral imbalances are also a leading cause of sidebone. These are just a few of the reasons why good farriery is so important. These types of imbalances are not always easy to see unless your trained farrier.

Be sure to warm your horse up before any strenuous work out. We can sometimes forget that are horses are athletes and we need to treat them as such. We would not dare run a race or play a game of basketball without warming up properly, but it is easy to think of our horses as indestructible at times. If we warm our horses up properly it will help with not only help with sore muscles but strains and tears of muscle, ligaments and tendons. Sometimes these types of injuries can be catastrophic and take many months of rehab. So please take the time to warm that athlete up properly. It will pay dividends in the long run.

After your horse has worked out or competed its also important to cool your horse out. It is widely believed that cooling down after a workout or heavy exertion will help to prevent a buildup of lactic acid in the muscles. Tying up is also caused by a buildup in lactic acid in the muscles. Remember muscles keep heating up after the workout is over so I like any sweat on my horse to be completely dry before I stop the cool out process. Remember the cooler it is the longer it will take to cool your horse out but the more important it is to do it.

With these simple suggestions and feeding Horseshine you will keep your horse healthier, happier and with us for a lot longer.