ELI5. When hooved animal’s hooves are left untreated they over grow and become unhealthy. Does this happen in the wild?
In: Biology
Using a horse for an example, wild horses move great distances every day, which naturly wears them down. Domesticated horses may be ridden sometimes but nowhere near enough to wear the hooves down naturally, so we have to step in and help them out.
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Yes its just not as likely as herd animals roam around 40-60km a day and as such spend their hooves. Their diets are also less nutricious compared to domestic animals so they have less nutrients to grow them
I know of goat keepers who provide boulders and such for their goats to avoid this problem. They still get their hooves trimmed annually but it is sometimes not even necessary if they have been on the rocks lots.
No, in the wild they are naturally worn down by their environment. Animals in captivity need intervention because their “normal” habits are disrupted.
Unlikely. A hooved animal in the wild gets to run around on dirt, rock and gravel, so that naturally wears down the hoof. A bit like how if your dog is outside a lot, you don’t have to clip its nails nearly as much as an inside-only pet, because its claws get worn down by the patio, sidewalk, gravel etc.
Those rescue ponies and horses with the super gross curled up hooves, those are because those poor beasties have never been walked on anything but a stall or soft arena dirt, so there’s been nothing to wear them down naturally. The sad thing is that can really screw up their feet; even after the ferrier corrects their hooves they’re not gonna be walking normally for long time.
In the ’70 as a child I went to some summercamps with Iceland ponies. Those were not shoed but during the trips we altered between unpaved and paved roads.
The owner of the ponies would check the hooves every day and decided how much we needed to go over paved roads.
Rarely. I read a story of the capture and short term gentling of a mustang with an elf boot. They figure he had an injury that had him limping on three legs for so long that he was left with the extend-a-hoof to deal with afterwards. They got him gentle enough to approach and cut the hoof and then released him.
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