Essential Hoof Book: The Complete Modern Guide to Horse Feet

I have studied the horse hoof for several years, triggered by watching my horses feet fall apart with traditional trimming and shoeing methods and then finally employing a wonderful (and rare) barefoot practitioner who follows the Pete Ramey and Jamie Jackson method of hoof care. This book calls it physiological trimming and highlights research of this method by many other veterinarians and scientists. Once I started practicing and understanding these methods I have been watching my horses hooves grow better and stronger instead of struggling to keep them sound. I now maintain my horses' hooves myself which has numerous advantages. Not only are my horses healthier and happier, I am saving $$ and am almost never inconvenienced by soundness or shoe issues. The fact that I can maintain their feet frequently (monthly give or take) rather than less frequently if a paid professional did the job creates far healthier and sustainable hooves. I can also spot potential problems and nip them in the bud (usually myself) before they become chronic and hard to reverse. The Essential Hoof Book marvelously explains the hoof and why the physiological methods work so well. It comprehensively explains the anatomy and inner-working of horse feet and the many ailments that can afflict them. It explains the unfortunate and unnecessary problems that many horse owners cause for their horses, lovingly but ignorantly exercising harmful methods thinking they are employing good methods. The illustrations are uncommonly clear, easy to understand and educational. The text is likewise. Kudos to the ladies who created this book! Kudos to all who contributed and all who's research highlighted within. My prayer is that all horse owners and professionals will educate themselves with the information this book so clearly illustrates. I wish I would have had this book years ago. It would have made my learning journey much easier and more effective, saving myself and my horses quite a bit of 'growing pains'. Even though I did already understand and practice much of what this book teaches, I learned so much more in a very short time by reading it. I'm now excited that I can keep my horses' feet even healthier in the years to come. THANK YOU Susan Kauffmann and Christina Cline and all who contributed to the knowledge contained in your book! I hope this book goes viral and becomes a standard reference for horse owners and horse care professionals.

This Essential Hoof book is a must-have for horse owners, trimmers/farriers, vets.....anyone wanting to learn more about the hoof. This book talks about hoof anatomy, nutrition, pathologies, etc. It has wonderful contributions from the likes of Pete Ramey and Gene Ovenick. I've had this book about a year now. I've gone through this book several times, and have lots of places highlighted. It's one of my first go-to books when I have a question on something I'm seeing in a hoof I'm trimming, as there is clear and concise explanations of things, and lots of valuable pictures. Also, the language of this book is geared more towards us lay people, when it comes to talking medical terms and conditions. I've been ready other books written by other vets, and it can be quite a challenge understanding what those vets are saying because they are speaking (writing) in vet medical terminology. Someone of us don't have that kind of background, so it makes deciphering what they're saying difficult. However, that's not the case with this book. They wrote this book for people like me....and they've even incorporate a little bit of humor too (which I greatly appreciated). Just a great resource! I love, too, how it's a spiral bound hardcover book. You can take it out in the field with you, if you so desire. I can't recommend this book enough. Well put together, very informative, and easy to read.

If you can only get one hoof book or one book to help your equine, THIS IS THE BOOK! Horses, mules, and donkeys have been with me for 55 years, I don’t own them, they are family, so my care and responsibilities to them are of utmost importance. I have a happy herd and have been trimming their feet for the last ten years. I originally purchased Pete Rameys Under the Horse DVD’s, it’s priceless information. I have Dr. Rooney’s original copy book The lame horse, again priceless in the information you get from it. I’ve been to Pete’s clinic and he shared with the group that my trim was the best and not to let anyone mess with my mules feet. I have many many books and tapes on feet and function, but I’m always looking to learn and get better. This book is so well done. It should be mandatory to all equine owners. Most people leave it to the farrier or trimmer and never look at the bottom of their equines hoof, that’s where all the life of your equine partner begins. This book could be a text book for all of us who just want to do the best for our equine. The layout of perfect, the illustrations are brilliant, the text is pulling you in and making you want to read more and more. Not boring stuff you gotta read! Great great great. The price is so reasonable it needs to be on every ones Christmas list to give to your equine caring friends and family. The cover is sturdy and easy to lay out and look at and read while doing other things with your hands. The binding is the same as a note book so it should be treated as a note book and turn the pages from the center edge to keep the page going straight. Get this book! Pick up your equines foot! And and let the journey begin! IF you are really dedicated to the health of your equine you will not regret buying this book.

Highly researched, scientific, fact-based, well-organized, well-written with understanding-enhancing illustrations. I own several hundreds of books on horses, this is one of the very best books on 'horses' due to it being not just an anecdotal, 'this is how I do it', but a very objective, highly insightful and erudite book. No hoof, no horse. You can 'use' a horse perhaps for a couple of years with incorrectly trimmed hoofs, but it will catch up. The opposite is also true, with correctly trimmed/cared for hoofs, you'll have resilient hoofs, that improve in soundness with use. (Biological adapation.) If it wouldn't be viewed as offensive, and people would actually read it, I have many times been wishing I could buy a couple of copies to horse-people that would greatly benefit from the content of this book. (Horses.) Oh my how much suffering that could be prevented!!! You simply cannot spend any money on your horse in any better way than this book. No hoof, no horse. Tons of misconceptions and myths out there about hoofs. Get the most important aspect of your horse right and the two of you will fly soundly for decades.

If you want to recognize problems and how to fix them; how to understand hoof anatomy and hoof imbalances; how to see each horse as an individual; how to understand how terrain and climate alter hoof wear and shape, this book, with self-explanatory photos, will help guide you. Even if you're a professional, there will likely be some food for thought here. Easy to read and to the point, the authors draw from the wisdom of old as well as years of practical experience. This is not about current fads; it is about common sense and what the horse needs to stay healthy and trouble-free from a biomechanical standpoint.

I've spent hundreds of dollars on books about hoof health, anatomy, and function, and I learned something from each of them. But this was by far the best, clearest, most comprehensive, and best illustrated of all of them, and at $25.44 - by far the best value I have seen. This is not a "how-to" guide to trimming or shoeing (although the knowledge provided will help immensely if that is your goal). Nor does it proselytize about barefoot vs shoes in any dogmatic way, but does explain the relative benefits of various approaches, and gives you the background you can use to evaluate and understand what your trimmer or farrier is explaining to you and doing (or not doing). I'm especially impressed with the beautiful photographs and diagnostic images and the graphics demonstrating what to look for; what imbalances and certain pathologies look like; and the beautifully done anatomical graphics showing the complex structures of the hoof. I can't recommend this strongly enough for anyone who owns or cares for horses.

The minute I opened The Essential Hoof Book, I was enthralled with the amount of information I held in my hands. I immediately read it from cover to cover. Not only was it interesting, it was informative and educational. If you're a horse owner, this is a necessary book for your home library. As an artist, I needed this book for accurate images of the hoof and I was not disappointed. I highly recommend this book and if I could give it 10 stars, I would!

This book provides the horse owner with all of the information they need to successfully manage their equine's hoof care . It is extemely clear and concise - providing just enough critical information to impart the hoof's form and function and to recognize when a problem may be lurking, along with options on how to validate and treat it. There are just enough excellent well selected and positioned illustrations of hoof anatomy and "normal" vs problematic hoof structure to facilitate understanding. This book will provide the necessary knowledge for finding / evaluating/ selecting and working with / retaining a hoof care professional to keep your equine as sound and comfortable as possible in your chosen endeavour. It provides rational, balanced considerations in the debate on shod vs barefoot , principles to follow in both shoeing and barefoot trimming in order ro maintain natural hoof function, how to approach transitioning to barefoot, and what to expect, if you decide to do that. This book will also provide you with a solid foundation to embark on the journey of maintaining your own equine's hooves. I transitioned my ottb low level dressage horse to barefoot a couple of years ago and have been successfully trimming him myself for the past year. This book provided some valuable missing knowledge and helped me to see where I had some misconceptions on how to balance the foot that would have caused long term harm to my horse' s soundness if gone uncorrected. Highly recommended!

The Book is great with a lot of helpful pictures and written in way that anybody can understand it. Excellent and helpful.

Le meilleur livre à ma connaissance pour comprendre le pied du cheval et son fonctionnement. Ce n'est pas un livre relié ou broché, mais une sorte de classeur à spirales.

O livro traz de forma muito prática, com diversas ilustrações e fotos, as principais características, doenças e tratamentos relacionados aos cascos. É um livro essencial para os criadores e veterinários de equinos.

Excellent in depth and concise book on the equine foot, clear pictures and illustrations to show what you're looking for and structures with details and images on diseases and issues, highly recommend. If you're looking for an accompanying complimentary lameness book I definitely recommend ; equine lameness for the layman by George Robert Grisel which has superb description and videos for all manner of lameness and hoof issues that made much more sense after reading this hoof book. Seller superb after receiving a damaged item in transit, would deal with again, thanks!

Muy bueno, lo malo es que es de espiral