Barefoot trimming, Shoeing, Lameness prevention and correction
The critical importance of the feet and legs is summed up by the traditional adage, "no foot, no horse" The horse hoof begins with the distal phalanges, the equivalent of the human fingertip or tip of the toe, surrounded by cartilage and other specialized, blood-rich soft tissues such as the laminae. The exterior hoof wall and horn of the sole is made of essentially the same material as a human fingernail. The end result is that a horse, weighing on average 1,100 lb, travels on the same bones as would a human on tiptoe.For the protection of the hoof under certain conditions, some horses have horseshoes placed on their feet by a professional farrier. domesticated horses needs to be trimmed (and horseshoes reset, if used) every five to eight weeks... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse#Hooves