Hoof - white or black

[Boot Jack Bulls]

No, I have not read it. I will when the mood strikes me. To be honest, it won't likely change my personal opinion on the matter. I rely on my own experiences first. I personally find that the color often correlates with the quality or lack thereof. Thanks for the passive advice though....

 

[Farm Fence Solutions]

When I was in shoeing school, we put the hooves of several horses in a metered shop press. Black and white hooves from the same end of the same animal kind of thing. It was a dead split. Half the time, a black hoof would fail first, half the time white. Of course, there was no way to gauge sensitivity, but we did figure out how to gauge the pressure it took to shove a coffin bone out the bottom. Later in life, I talked a vet into doing it while watching with a fluoroscope after the necropsy was complete. It was very interesting to see the failure of the sensitive and insensitive lamina in real time. I would bet that the results of our experiments will never be officially recognized, but that's the conclusion we came to, right or wrong.

Edit to add: The horses were dead before we took their feet off and put them in the press.

I hope so. :cboy:

I recently saw a picture shared of a live horse who had just experienced a failure, where the coffin bone had pierced the sole (about 1/2 inch was visible)... as a horse owner, it was heart wrenching to see.

If you think that's something, you ought to see one slough a hoof capsule....or four....and recover. When the dog brought me the second one, I knew it was trouble.

 

[elkwc]

Bright Raven I shared my experiences on the other thread so won't post it again. And having been raised where I've had experience running cattle in very rocky, rough ground and also in sandy ground I'm like Boot Jack Bulls. I will likely continue to choose the animal with a colored hoof if they are equal. Again a PB breeder IMO should raise what a commercial breeder desires not what some scientific study might suggest is ok. I know there are other breeders that think like I do but also many of them I knew are herding cattle in lush pastures above. I doubt you will find many that even look at the color of the hoof. I find that I pay way more attention to how an animal travels and their feet and legs than most. I attribute that to the way I was raised and having seen so many issues as a horse shoer caused by structural issues.

 

[Bright Raven]

Bright Raven I shared my experiences on the other thread so won't post it again. And having been raised where I've had experience running cattle in very rocky, rough ground and also in sandy ground I'm like Boot Jack Bulls. I will likely continue to choose the animal with a colored hoof if they are equal. Again a PB breeder IMO should raise what a commercial breeder desires not what some scientific study might suggest is ok. I know there are other breeders that think like I do but also many of them I knew are herding cattle in lush pastures above. I doubt you will find many that even look at the color of the hoof. I find that I pay way more attention to how an animal travels and their feet and legs than most. I attribute that to the way I was raised and having seen so many issues as a horse shoer caused by structural issues.

I agree. I thought your post on the other thread was very useful. There should not be anything different in the keratin based on the presence of absence of pigment and that is kinda what the publication conclude. However, personal experience is difficult to trump.