It is late fall, the leaves are gone, and the nights are cold. The garden has been bedded down for the winter with a green manure crop to prepare it for spring. You come in with an armload of wood, take off your winter coat and set down to a fresh green salad with loose leaf lettuce, spinach, shallots, basil and tomatos. All picked fresh moments ago. Welcome to the Greenhouse!

The goat is one of the smallest domesticated ruminants which has served mankind earlier and longer than cattle and sheep. It is managed for the production of milk, meat and wool, particularly in arid, semitropical or mountainous countries. In temperate zones, goats are kept often rather as supplementary animals by small holders, while commercially cows or buffaloes are kept for milk, cheese and meat, and sheep for wool and meat production. Nonetheless, there are more than 460 million goats worldwide presently producing more than 4.5 million tons of milk and 1.2 million tons of meat besides mohair, cashmere, leather and dung; and more people consume milk and milk products from goats worldwide than from any other animal. Cheese production, e.g., from goat milk even in France, Greece, Norway and Italy is of economic importance. Goat herds, on the other hand low producing though, are an expression of capital assets and wealth in Africa and Asia where they are found in large numbers. In the United States, there are between 2 and 4 million head; with Texas leading in Angora, meat and bush goats; and California leading in dairy goats.

Goats can survive on bushes, trees, desert scrub and aromatic herbs when sheep and cattle would starve to death. Goat herders often have neglected a rational numerical balance between goat numbers and sparse vegetation. Over-grazing has destroyed many tree and woodland areas which was blamed then on goats rather than man, and this has caused widespread ecological and political concerns, erosion, desertification and even ban on freely grazing goats in some areas. On the other hand, goats are valued by cattle and sheepmen in the fight against brush encroachment on millions of acres of open rangeland.

Swiss goat breeds are the world's leaders in milk production. Indian and Nubian derived goat breeds are dual-purpose meat and milk producers. Spanish and South African goats are best known for meat producing ability. The Turkish Angora, Asian Cashmere and the Russian Don goats are kept for mohair and cashmere wool production. In addition, there are Pygmy goats from Western Africa of increasing interest as laboratory and pet animals.

Goat milk casein and goat milk fat are more easily digested than from cow milk. Goat milk is valued for the elderly, sick, babies, children with cow milk allergies, patients with ulcers, and even preferred for raising orphan foals or puppies. Fat globules in goat milk are smaller than in cow milk and remain dispersed longer. Goat milk is higher in vitamin A, niacin, choline and inositol than cow milk, but it is lower in vitamin B6, B12, C and carotenoids. The shorter chain fatty acids (C6, C8, C10, C12) are characteristically higher in goat milk than in cow milk. Otherwise milk gross composition from goats or cows is similar except for differences due to breeds, climate, stage of lactation and feeds.

Breeds of goats vary from as little as 20 lb mature female bodyweight and 18 inches female withers for dwarf goats for meat production up to 250 lb and 42 inches withers height for Indian Jamnapari, Swiss Saanen, Alpine and AngloNubian for milk production. Some Jamnapari males may be as tall as 50 inches at withers. Angora goats weigh between 70 to 110 lb for mature females and are approximately 25 inches tall. Birthweights of female singles are between 3 and 9 lb; twins being often a pound lighter and males 1/2 lb heavier. Twinning is normal in goats with a high percentage of triplets thus giving several breeds an average annual litter size above 2 per doe and more than 200reproduction rate. Females are called doe, young are kids, males are bucks; one speaks of buck and doe kids, and doelings, and of wethers or castrates.

Differentiation

Morphologically, goats may have horns of the scimitar or corkscrew types, but many are dehorned in early age with a heated iron, caustic or later on with a rubber band or surgical saw. Goats may also be hornless genetically. They can be short haired, long haired, have curled hair, are silky or coarse wooled. They may have wattles on the neck and beards. Some breeds, particularly the European, have straight noses, others have convex noses, e.g., the Jamnapari and Nubian breeds or slightly dished noses (Swiss). Swiss and other European breeds have erect ears, while pendulous, drooping, large ears characterize Indian and Nubian goats. The American LaMancha breed has no external ear. A ''gopher'' ear rudiment in LaMancha is less than 1 inch long with little or no cartilage; an ''elf'' ear is less than 2 inches long, but bucks can be registered only with gopher ears. The responsible gene for rudimentary ears is dominant, thus sires with gopher ears will always have gopher or elf-eared offspring, no matter what the genotype of the dam is to which he was mated.

Goats come in almost any color, solid black, white, red, brown, spotted, two and three colored, blended shades, distinct facial stripes, black and white saddles, depending on breeds.

Teeth in goats are a good guide to age. Six lower incisors are found at birth and a set of 20 ''milk teeth'' are complete at 4 weeks of age consisting of the eight incisors in the front of the lower jaw, and 12 molars, three on each side in each jaw. Instead of incisors in the upper jaw there is a hard dental pad against which the lower incisors bite and cut. Some goats have an undesirable inherited recessive condition of ''parrot'' (overshot upper jaw) or ''carp'' mouth (undershot upper jaw) which does not interfere with barn feeding conditions but handicaps the goat severely in pasturing and browsing, because the lower incisor teeth cannot cut correctly against the upper dental pad. With progressing age, the permanent teeth wear down from the rectangular crossectional shape and cores to the round stem which is a further distinguishing mark of age. Furthermore, there are pregnancy rings marking horns and telling age.

The digestive tract of the goat after nursing has the typical four stomach compartments of ruminants consisting of the rumen (paunch) (4-6 gallon), the reticulum (honeycomb) (1-2 liters), the omasum (maniply) (1 liter), and the abomasum (true stomach) (3.5 liters). The intestinal canal is about 100 feet long (11 liters), or 25 times the length of a goat. The total blood volume of the goat approximates 1/12-1/13 of bodyweight; it takes about 14 seconds for goat blood to complete one circulation.

Among diseases, goats are not too different from cattle and sheep in the same regions. Goats tend to have more internal parasites than dairy cows, especially in confined management. They tend to have less tuberculosis, milk fever, post partum ketosis and brucellosis than dairy cows and their milk tends to be of lower bacteria counts than cow milk. They have more prepartum pregnancy toxemia than dairy cows, and are known to have laminitis, infectious arthritis, Johne's disease, listeriosis, pneumonia, coccidiosis, scours, scabies, pediculosis, liver fluke disease and mastitis.

Reproduction

The skin of the goat has sebaceous and sweat glands besides growing the hair cover, horns, hooves and the two compartmented mammary gland (udder). Before the first pregnancy, the udder is underdeveloped, but with sustained repeated gentle massaging, a small, normal milk producing gland can be stimulated in virgin does and even in goat bucks. In contrast to sheep, the teats of goat's udders are conveniently long and large for hand milking.

Tails, scent and horns distinguish goats easily from sheep and cattle. The goat tail is short, bare underneath and usually carried upright. Major scent glands are located around the horn base. They function in stimulating estrus in male and female goats, improving conception. The goat odor is, however, a detriment to goat keeping and milk consumption if not properly controlled. Many goat breeds are seasonal breeders, being influenced by the length of daylight. Artificial insemination is commercially practiced in regions where numbers of females make it economical. Goats are in puberty at 1/2 year of age and can be bred if of sufficient size. Does come into estrus in 21 day cycles normally, lasting approximately 1 to 2 days.

In temperate zones, goats breed normally from August through February. Nearer the equator, goats come into estrus throughout the year. Thus more than one litter per year is possible, considering the length of pregnancy of 150 days. Five days after ovulation one or several corpus luteum form to protect the conceptus from abortion. The goat pregnancy is corpus luteum dependant in contrast to cattle. If no conception occurred, the corpus luteum disappears and new ovulation takes place. A buck ejaculates normally 3/4 - 1 1/2 ml of semen with 2-3 billion spermatozoa each. The life of an ovum after ovulation is about 8-10 hours. As the ovum travels down the goat's oviduct, it is fertilized by semen which traveled up through the uterus. The fertilized embryo becomes firmly attached to the uterine walls and surrounds itself with a nourishing placenta starting at 52 days after conception. Semen of goat bucks freezes as well as that of bulls and may be stored for years in 1 ml ampules or 1/2 ml straws in liquid nitrogen tanks for artificial insemination use.

Origin Wild goats or escaped feral goats are found in many countries and islands and can be harmful to the vegetation if numbers are left uncontrolled.

Truly wild goats are found on Creta, other Greek islands, in Turkey, Iran, Turkmenia, Pakistan; in the Alps, Siberia, Sudan, Caucasus; the Pyrenees, the Himalayan, Central Asian, Russian and Tibetan mountain ranges, and prefer rocky, precipitous mountains and cliffs. Goats can not be herded as well with dogs as sheep; instead they tend to disperse or face strangers and dogs headon. Relatives of true goats are the Rocky Mountain goat, the chamois of the Alps and Carpathian, and the muskox.

Goats belong, scientifically, to the Bovidae family within the suborder of ruminants (chevrotain, deer, elk, caribou, moose, giraffe, okapi, antelope), who besides the other suborders of camels, swine and hippopotamuses make up the order of eventoed hoofed animals called artiodactyla. They have evolved 20 million years ago in the Miocene Age, much later than horses, donkeys, zebras, tapirs, rhinoceroses, who make up the order of uneventoed hoofed animals; and the hyrax, elephants, manatees who make up the ancient near-hoofed animals. All these are herbivorous mammals, i.e., they live from plants and nurse their young with milk from an external gland after the young is born, having been carried in pregnancy to term relatively long in an internal uterus with a complex, nourishing placenta.

Goats and sheep make up a tribe within the Bovidae family called Caprini that include six goat, six sheep and five related species. Goats have a 2n chromosome set number of 60 while domestic sheep have a 2n set of 54; yet living hybrids of the two genera have been reported. The six species of goats can be distinguished by their horn shapes:

• 1. Capra aegagrus, the wild (or bezoar) goat of Near East Asia has scimitar-shaped horns with a sharp anterior keel and a few knobs in- terrupting it.
• 2. Capra ibex, the ibex of the Alps, Siberia and Nubia has scimitar shaped horns with a flatter front and many transverse ridges.
• 3. Capra falconeri, the markhor of Central Asia has sharpkeeled horns that are twisted into open or tight spirals.
• 4. Capra pyrenaica, the Spanish goat has outward-upward curving horns with a sharp posterior keel.
• 5. Capra cylindricornis, the Dagestan tur of the Caucasus mountains has round outward-back inward curving horns.
• 6. Capra hircus, the domestic goat evolved principally from capra aegagrus, except for Angora, Cashmere goats, and Damascus types who descended from capra falconeri.

Breeds

Domestic goat breeds are many. Swiss breeds are distinguished in milk producing ability and have influenced significantly milk production from goats around the world, especially in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. A few breeds kept mostly for meat are the South African boer goat, the Indian beetal, black Bengal, the Latin American criollo, the US ''Spanish'' goats and most of the small or nondescript goats. Fiber producing goat breeds are the Angora in Turkey, USA, South Africa; the Cashmere in Afghanistan, Iran, Australia and China; and Don breed in Russia.

The major breeds of US goats are:

Saanen originate from Switzerland (Saanen Valley), are totally white, with or without horns. The white color is dominant over other colors. They are mostly short haired. The ''Appenzell'' is a similar breed, but partially related to the Toggenburg is from Northern Switzerland, longhaired, white and hornless. Saanen have been exported around the world as leading milk producers. An Australian Saanen doe holds the world record milk production of 7,714 lbs in 365 days. Saanen have been bred in Switzerland for odorfree milk long ago.

Toggenburg, brown with white facial, ear and leg stripes, another straight nosed, horned or hornless, mostly shorthaired, erect eared goat, as all Swiss are, has been very popular in the USA, comes from N.E. Switzerland, but is 4 inches shorter in height and 18 lb lighter in average than the Saanen. They have been bred pure for over 300 years, longer than many of our other domestic breeds of livestock. They are reliable milk producers summer and winter, in temperate and tropical zones. Mrs. Carl Sandburg, wife of the famous US poet had several world record Toggenburg does on official USDA tests.

Alpine (including French, Rock and British), another Swiss breed (French Switzerland), horned or hornless, shorthaired, as tall and strong as the Saanen, with usually faded shades of white into black, with white facial stripes on black. They are second in milk production to Saanen and Toggenburg.

LaMancha is a new, young breed developed in California from Spanish Murciana origin and Swiss and Nubian crossings. They are known for excellent adaptability and good winter production. They are also producing fleshier kids than the Swiss, but are not milking as much. They have straight noses, short hair, hornless or horns, and no external ear due to a dominant gene. They are more the size of Toggenburg. Their milk fat content is higher than that of the Swiss breeds.

(Anglo)-Nubian is a breed developed in England from native goats and crossed with Indian and Nubian which have heavy arched ''Roman'' noses and long, drooping, pendulous ears, spiral horns and are shorthaired. They are leggy and as tall as Saanen, but produce less milk, though higher milk fat levels and are more fleshy. They are less tolerant of cold but do well in hot climates. They ''talk'' a lot, and are in numbers the most popular breed in USA and Canada. They have a tendency for triplets and quadruplets. They are horned or hornless and have many colors that may be ''Appaloosa''-like spotted.

Oberhasli, a western Swiss breed, usually solid red or black, horned or hornless, erect ears, not as tall as Saanen, very well adapted for high altitude mountain grazing and long hours of marching; popular in Switzerland, but milk production is variable. They are also called Swiss Alpine, Chamoisie or Brienz.

Angora originated in the Near East. The long upper coat (mohair) is the valuable product in the Angora in contrast to the Cashmere, where the fine underwool is the valuable product. Head has a straight or concave nose, thin, not very long; pendulous ears and twisted horns, in both sexes. It is a small breed, usually white. The haircoat is long with undulating locks and ringlets of fine, silky hair. The top quality fleece of purebreds may be 1-2 lbs, but slightly more in males and wethers. They are bearded. Spring moult is natural and shearing occurs just before. They are not very prolific and twinning is less frequent than in other breeds.

Pygmy are dwarf, short legged goats from West and Central Africa and the Caribbean. Their growth rates and milk production are relatively respectable, although low, twinning is frequent and they are breeding all year usually. They are adaptable to humid tropics and resistant to trypanosoma.

Others. There is little known about the so-called Spanish or bush goats that are kept on the open range in the Southwest mostly. Also, a few minor breeds exist in this country, e.g. the Sables, which are a colored variety of the Saanen. It would be profitable to know more about the other at least 60 goat breeds in the world and their comparative values under US conditions.

From The National Dairy Database (1992)

This article is designed for the small producer. It contains general information on care, feeding and marketing of feeder pigs, sows and litters. Answers to specific questions can be obtained from your county agent.

Facilities

First of all, check the zoning regulations for your land. Also, you should make sure that your neighbors will not be bothered by odors. Two or more well-drained acres serve as a buffer and provide space for manure disposal.

In planning for your swine keeping equipment and structures, keep the following points in mind. The fence must be hog-proof. 36" woven wire, with a strand of barbed wire below it one inch above the ground and one inch below the woven wire is recommended.

For shelter, an open-fronted shed with plywood hinged sides is fine for Florida. Fifteen square feet of shade area is needed for each animal.

For preventing the possible spread of contagious diseases, an isolation area for new animals is desirable.

Fence off an area with a four-foot radius around trees to keep the animals from damaging them. A covered self-feeder on a wood or concrete platform is desirable and aids sanitation. Provide fresh water at a rate of one to three gallons per animal per day or six gallons per day for a sow and her litter.

Make sure the watering trough will not double as a wallow.

Disease and Parasites

Buy from a reputable producer and inquire about the health status of the pigs before you buy. Healthy feeders are more efficient and healthy stock is vital to a breeding program. Find out what diseases are prevalent in your area and arrange for vaccination and treatment if necessary. Internal parasites are a constant problem, and animals should be dewormed within two weeks after they arrive on your property and then again about three weeks later. Repeat thereafter as often as necessary. Consider working with your veterinarian on diagnosis and treatment of parasites and work out a health program for the entire herd. Table 1 lists the available deworming products and Table 2 the sprays and dips that work well against lice and mange mites. Foot dip also helps prevent the spread of disease to your farm - provide it for all visitors.

Finishing Feeders

Growing hogs (40 to 120 pounds) should be provided with a self-feeder containing a complete feed, or corn mixed with a supplement. In either case, 16 percent protein with the vitamns and minerals listed in Table 5 is recommended.

Antibiotics are of little value after the pigs reach 120 lbs. At that point, switch to a 14 percent protein ration. Tables 5 through 8 contain information for computing rations and amounts of feed required per year. See Table 7 and Table 8 at the end of the document. Hogs are ready for market around 220 lbs. (210-230). Some people slaughter hogs on the farm for their own use (see References), but most people now send them to a custom slaughter plant. Check with the Cooperative Extension Service in your county for details on both methods. To sell your animals, check with the local auction market, packing plant or buying station (where available).

Raising a Litter

Two alternatives when raising a litter are: Purchase a bred gilt (she may cost more, but buying and keeping a boar can be more expensive); Purchase a gilt and boar and start your own breeding program. Spring is the best time for farrowing; the weather is mild and extra shelter is not needed beyond that previously mentioned. However, individual houses such as A-frame huts provide more protection to baby pigs, not only from the elements but their dams as well. Huts also serve to discourage buzzards and other varmints.

Care of the Sow

A sow should be fed about four pounds daily of a 14-16% protein feed during gestation, depending on her condition. Three weeks before farrowing, increase the amount to approximately six pounds but withhold feed the day she farrows. If constipation is a problem, add epsom salts, bran or oats to her feed. Gradually increase the sow's feed after farrowing to about 12 pounds per day. Use common sense: if she is getting fat, cut back; if too thin, feed more of the same feed - do not change the protein content.

After weaning there are several advantages to selling the sow immediately (within three weeks): You avoid the trouble and expense of acquiring a boar for rebreeding; The price of a cull sow is usually enough to buy a bred gilt; If you raised the gilt, and she is a year old, only 40% of the proceeds are taxed under the capital gains provision; There is a three month break between selling the litter as finished hogs and buying another bred gilt to farrow the following spring. Keeping hogs off the land during this time cuts down the likelihood of disease and parasites. It also gives you a break.

There are some disadvantages:

Gilts tend to have smaller litters, and lack the immunity sows have had time to build: Your feed bill is usually higher since the gilt is still growing and requires more feed; The capital gains provision does not apply if you did not raise the gilt and you can depreciate a sow: You may be able to lower fixed costs by farrowing more than once a year.

If you plan to sell the sow, keep her at least one week, because a wet sow is usually docked. In addition, for the first couple of weeks after weaning, a sow has very good feed conversion rate. After that, however, you will start losing money by keeping her.

If the sow is kept, withhold feed one day prior to weaning to stop milk production. After weaning, breed back on the first heat cycle (3-8 days after weaning), preferably mating her twice, 12 to 24 hours apart. If she is too thin, delay breeding until the second estrus. Cut feed to four pounds a day right after breeding, in the first case; if you wait until the second heat, cut to four pounds at weaning. You may also want to investigate the possibility of using AI (artificial insemination) instead of buying or leasing a boar.

Care of Baby Pigs

It is vital that pigs nurse soon after birth since colostrum gives them some protection against infection the first few weeks. Iron shots are not necessary if the litter is farrowed outside (on pasture or dirt), but are recommended as insurance. Give the shots intramuscularly in the neck. Prestarter feed with added edible iron and TBZ powder may be offered in a shallow pan when pigs are seven to ten days old. Place it where the sow cannot get to it.

At weaning, (three to six weeks old, weighing at least 12 pounds), pigs can be fed an 18% CP starter. One hundred to 250 grams (3.5-7.5 oz.) of antibiotics per ton of feed can be added to give pigs a good start, but do not abuse the use. Consult the Drug Withdrawal Guide, available through the Extension service, because the FDA is getting stricter about residues. At 60 pounds pigs can be treated as described under Finishing Feeders.

To improve profits, concentrate on saving as many pigs as possible from birth to market. If you want to sell the litter as feeders (40-60 pounds) ask your county agent for the schedule of feeder pig sales in your area. Make sure pigs are weaned, vaccinated and dewormed, and the males castrated. Pigs with docked tails also may have an advantage. Buyers are looking for the same thing you are: thrifty, growthy, alert pigs they can feed for a profit. If you build a reputation for having good pigs, when you decide to expand, your market will already be developed.

Care of the Boar

Provide separate 1/4-acre pens for each boar. Shade requirements are the same as those for finishing hogs. Except during the breeding season, feed about five pounds a day of the sow ration. During the breeding season, increase the amount to six to eight pounds. Follow a vaccination and deworming program, and provide fence line contact between the sows and boar a few weeks before breeding. As your herd expands, consider keeping at least one extra boar in case something happens to the herd sire.

Pearson's Square

Depending on the amount of protein your pig needs, the ratio of corn to high-protein supplement or soybean meal will vary. One way to decide just how much corn and supplement must be mixed to make the resulting feed have the right percentage of protein is to use Pearson's Square.

In this example 70% corn and 30% supplement is needed to make an 18% protein feed. On a per ton basis, 1400 pounds of corn is mixed with 600 pounds of the supplement to make a ton of complete feed. The corn and supplement can also be fed separately.

Glossary

• AI - artificial insemination.
• Barrow- male pig castrated before reaching sexual maturity.
• Boar- male hog or pig with intact testicles.
• Castrate- remove testicles by surgery.
• Colostrum- first milk produced by the sow; it provides immunity to the baby pigs for the first few weeks.
• Creep feeder- area accessible to small pigs but not their dams, in which a high protein supplement is provided.
• Cull sow- full-grown female sold for slaughter.
• Dressing percent- percentage of the carcass usable, compared to liveweight.
• Farrow- to give birth to pigs.
• Flush feed- increase feed to stimulate ovulation in females.
• Full-(self)-feed- animals are allowed to eat as much as they will clean up; feed is available at all times.
• Gestation period- pregnancy, lasting about 114 days in swine.
• Gilt- young female that has not yet produced a litter.
• Growing-finishing pig- animal weighing between 40 and 220 lbs. that is being fed for slaughter.
• Runt- small or weak pig in a litter.
• Shrink- weight loss, usually temporary. Sow- female which has farrowed at least once.
• Wallow- water-filled depression or container large enough for pigs to lay in to cool off during warm weather.
• Weaning- removing young from their mother.
• Yield- percentage of the carcass in the four lean cuts: ham, loin, picnic and Boston butt.

Reprinted from UF/IFAS Circular 470, Date first printed: January 1980. Reviewed May 1997.

You need 3 things for successful home food drying:

Heat - high enough to force out moisture but not hot enough to cook the food
Dry air - to absorb the released moisture
Air movement - to carry the moisture away

Natural drying, outdoors, requires warm days of 90 degrees F (32 degrees C) or more, low humidity, and control of insects. Oven drying or using a food dehydrator are alternatives for small quantities of food. The energy cost of operating an oven is high, however, compared to the cost of operating an electric food dehydrator.

• Many fruits and vegetables can be dried (Table 1). Only ripe foods should be used.
• Rinse fruits and vegetables under cold running water and cut away bruised and fibrous portions. Seeds, stems and /or pits should be removed.
• Most vegetables and some fruits benefit from a pretreatment like blanching or dipping. Blanching is used for most vegetables. Blanching shortens the drying time, prevents enzyme action, and kills many spoilage organisms.

Vegetables may be steam or water blanched as follows.

Steps for steam blanching

• Use a steamer or deep pot containing a wire basket that extends at least 5 inches from bottom of the pot.
• Add two inches of water to the steamer or pot.
• Place basket with vegetables into pot (Vegetables should not make contact with water).
• Cover steamer or pot and steam until vegetables are heated for recommended time (Table 2).
• Remove basket with vegetables and place in cold water to stop cooking.
• Drain and place vegetables on drying tray.

Steps for water blanching

• Use a blancher or deep pot with a tight-fitting lid.
• Add water to cover vegetables and bring to a boil.
• Boil (Blanch) for recommended time (Table 2).
• Remove vegetable and place in cold water to stop cooking.
• Drain and place vegetables on drying tray.

Dipping is an alternative to blanching used to prevent fruits such as apples, bananas, peaches, and pears from turning brown. Lemon juice, ascorbic acid, or commercial products containing ascorbic or citric acid may be used for dipping. For instance, dipping sliced fruit pieces in 1 teaspoon of ascorbic acid crystals per cup of water or directly in lemon juice for three to five minutes will prevent browning.

* Dried vegetables should be brittle or crisp.

The hoof is a vital part of the horse and a healthy hoof is essential to the well being and usefulness of the horse. Trimming is necessary to prevent sand cracks and breaking off of the hoof wall, which often results in lameness. Trimming is also required to balance the hooves so a horse moves consistently and at its best. A horse that receives regular hoof care is potentially a safer horse to ride, both to the rider and horse itself. They are less apt to slip, stumble or fall. Moreover, they are less likely to sustain injuries that would either put them out of service or require the services of a veterinarian.

Horses should receive routine hoof care at intervals of 4 to 8 weeks. Factors determining whether the horse should be shod or just trimmed are: the health of the hooves, the potential or anticipated use of the horse, the defects in gait or conformation and/or the injuries or diseases plaguing the horse. Allowing the feet to accumulate an excessive growth of horn (wall) and/or continued use of the calk shoe (shoes with raised heels) may prevent the frog and elastic structures of the hoof from contacting the ground, thereby, preventing the hooves from performing their proper functions. This can result in a contraction of the whole hoof, which can lead to disease problems in the hoof.

Regardless of whether the horse is being shod or trimmed, it is important to keep in mind the feet should be trimmed in such a manner as to keep them in a condition as close as possible to that which nature intended. Trimming and selecting shoes should be consistent with the amount and class of work required of the animal, the environmental conditions and the surface upon which the horse will be used. If the horse is to be shod, the shoes selected should be determined by the primary use of the horse. To reduce fatigue and allow the most natural way of going, the horse should be shod with the lightest shoe that will withstand the stress placed upon it. Shoes come in a variety of designs or types that effect the amount of traction or grab the horse will have. The common types of shoes are plates, rim shoes, and shoes with calks either at the toes, heels or both. Many horses used on turf or grass surfacesneed more traction than plates can provide. Most horses used on grass or in speed events use some form of rim shoe. The most common types are the polo shoe, barrel racing shoe, race training plates and the basic rim shoe.

Hoof Care is Good Economy

Proper care of hooves is basic economy. Nothing is saved by using heavier shoes than necessary simply to get more wear out of them or by not trimming the feet as often as needed. Hoof care is even more critical in young, growing horses. This care should begin on normal foals at approximately one month of age. As long as everything progresses normally, the foal should be trimmed approximately every four weeks. The feet should be kept level and the edges of the wall rounded to prevent breaking. In the normal foal this will encourage correct bone growth in the hoof and limb. It is also important to keep flares from growing on one side of the hoof, which creates excessive stress on the bones that may lead to lameness and/or incorrect bone growth.

An old adage, "Shoeing is a necessary evil," has been prevalent throughout the horse owning public for several generations. Though this old saying has been accepted at face value for many decades, closer scrutiny will reveal the error in this line of thought. Shoeing is not always necessary; neither is it always evil. Many factors determine if, why and how a horse should be shod. Some of these factors are (1) the intended use of the horse, (2) the condition of the feet and legs, (3) the tasks to be performed, (4) the environment in which the horse is to perform, and (5) the surface upon which the horse will be working.

Another adage frequently heard is "No feet, no horse." This is as true today as when the phrase was first coined. This logic also serves to support the idea that shoeing may not be all evil. It is not expected that all horse owners will or should shoe or trim their horse's feet, however, every horse owner should have a certain basic knowledge of hoof care and be able to evaluate the care given to their horse's hooves. To understand the principles of good hoof care, and evaluate a farrier's work requires a basic working knowledge of the hoof and its care.

Hoof Anatomy

The foot of the horse is truly a complex, very efficient and marvelous structure. It performs supporting, anti-concussion, circulatory regulating and traction functions. The hoof is a highly specialized horny-shell which covers sensitive bones, nerves, blood vessels and tissues. The visible outer covering of the hoof, viewed with the hoof resting on the ground, is called the wall. When the horse's hoof is picked up, it can be seen that the ground surface of the hoof consists of the wall, bars (an inward continuation of the outer wall), the sole (the concave area beginning just inside the wall), and the frog (a V-shaped structure in the center of the hoof).

Each portion of the hoof has a specific function. The wall is designed to carry the bulk of the horse's weight as well as protect the underlying structures. The bars act as a brace to control expansion and contraction of the hoof; the sole covers softer tissues, and is somewhat concave to provide traction and allow for expansion, while the frog aids in absorbing concussion, circulation, expansion and regulating moisture in the hoof. If any of these outer structures are abused by excessive trimming, injury, or infection, then normal function and soundness of the entire hoof is jeopardized.

Conclusion

Common sense, thoughtfulness and a good dialogue between the horse owner and farrier will help assure a horse is ready to perform when called upon. When selecting a farrier, the best is one in which you have confidence and is readily available when needed. A farrier should not be selected simply to emulate someone else, but rather selected on his merits. However, if you have little knowledge about the work of farriers, the best means to find a competent, reliable farrier may be to ask horsemen in your area for recommendations. Your horse must depend upon you for proper care, and as a horse owner you have the obligation to provide for the horse's needs in the best possible manner.

Reprinted from UF/IFAS document AS 38, Printed November 1993. Reviewed: May 1997.