Four horse hoof facts you need to know
- Riikka Kemppainen
- May 30
- 3 min read
Horse hoof is such a fascinating part of a horse's anatomy! When you look at it from the outside, you see the hard outer hoof wall, and sole and frog at the bottom of the hoof. But what is the horse hoof really like, and what are the key things that every horse owner should know about their horse's hooves? In this blog post we share four of the key facts!
1. Large part of the inner horse hoof is made of soft tissues
Although the parts that we see outside the horse's hoof are all quite hard and robust, the inner hoof structures are actually only partially made of bone and other hard tissues. 1/3 of the horse's hoof is made of soft tissues. These are located at the back of the hoof, and the main soft tissue is called the digital cushion.
The digital cushion forms part of the horse's natural shock absorption mechanism, so it's important that this part of the hoof is healthy and strong. Below is a photo that shows how large the digital cushion is in relation to the other structures of the hoof. Notice also how the hard structures are at the front of the internal hoof, and the back of the hoof is made up of soft tissues.
2. The outside of the hoof tells a story
An educated eye can tell a lot about the horse's hoof condition simply by examining it from the outside. Here are two of the most common ones:
Horizontal lines on the hoof wall (a.k.a. event lines) tell about episodes of inflammation in the horse's hooves. Event lines, especially if they are substantial or there are several of them in the hoof, are not "nothing to worry about". They are signs that your horse is in a state of low-grade laminitis.
Flares are a sign that something about the way the horse's hoof care routine needs closer attention. That could be the trim cycle length, the trim technique, the diet or the way the horse moves. Or any combination of these.
Do you want to learn how to recognise these and other common hoof issues, join our Hoof School Tier 1 online subscription course, where we teach you all this in great detail.
3. Hooves grow approximately 10mm a month
Horse hoof grows approximately 10mm (3/8") in a month. That means that if your trim cycle is 6 weeks, the hoof will grow around 15mm (5/8") in that time. That's a lot of growth that can unbalance the hoof in a significant way, if the horse's body or hooves are not balanced.
4. Horse hoof health depends on more than just the trim
How the hooves are trimmed, and how often they are trimmed, has a significant impact on the hoof health. But other things affect the hoof health and condition too.
Diet is a major factor when it comes to hoof health. Pasture full of high-sugar-content grass is the biggest stumbling block that is preventing many hooves from improving. Horse are not designed to cope with rye grass and other high-sugar grasses that were originally planted for consumption by dairy cattle.
Living environment and the amount that the horse is allowed to move in their everyday life is another major factor in hoof health. Horses and their hooves benefit from constant movement; standing in a stable for hours at a time reduces blood flow in the hooves, which is not good for the horse.
Ensuring that the horse's body is balanced also ensures that the horse will move in a balanced way. This is important for hooves; imbalances in the body can cause imbalances in the hooves, and vice versa.
Understanding the horse hoof is important, and not something that should be only left as the hoof care professional's responsibility. The owner is in the best position to make small changes in their horse's daily life that will improve the horse's hoof health in a significant way.
Our goal is to equip every horse owner with this knowledge, and our online courses are specifically designed to help you achieve the knowledge that you need to make the right choices about your horse's hoof care.
