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White hooves in the front on a horse in rough rocky terrain would give me pause.

We shod him yesterday.. these feet are tough as nails regardless of the color...

There is no factual basis to 100% support that white feet are always softer.

Myth: White hooves are softer and have more problems than black feet.
The color of the hoof is influenced by the color of the skin above it, so if a horse has white markings directly above the hoof, the hoof itself may carry the same pigmentation. Many people believe that hooves with black walls are stronger than hooves with white walls.

Master Farrier John Burt owns and operates the JDC School of Basic Farrier Science near Texarkana, Ark. He is a member of and tester for the Brotherhood of Working Farriers Association (BWFA) and a 2001 inductee to the BWFA Hall of Fame.
John says, "There is no quality difference on the same horse, no scientific data to sustain any difference. The white and the black hoof are both designed the same structurally; the texture and quality of the hoof is the same."

One of the foremost experts in his field, Doug Butler, Ph.D., of LaPorte, Colo., is the author of The Principles of Horseshoeing, one of the most widely used texts on horseshoeing in the world. He also has 30 years of teaching experience and acts as a consultant and lecturer on horseshoeing. In 1976 while doing research at Cornell University, he conducted a study on white versus black hooves by taking squares of hoof material and crushing them in a compressor.

"There was no difference between black and white," he agrees. "The main difference was in moisture content: The softer hooves fell apart easier." He notes that genetics also play a role in hoof strength. "Some Paint Horses have extremely brittle white hooves and others don�t. Appaloosas seem to have extremely strong feet, no matter what color; genetic propensity seems to be more important than the color of the hoof."

How many of you ride that much without shoes that you're that worried about white feet?

How many of you have had that many shoes pulled off a white foot that you're that worried about it?

I wonder how many super good horses have been passed over because they had some white feet? Tis' a shame and ridiculous. To me anyway.

There are ways to maintain and check the shoes as you're riding if you are that anxious about it.

I suppose there are those who do don't want to pay a good farrier or shell out the extra $10 per foot for a pad? OK so then go buy a truck mud flap and cut your pads from it. You can re-use the pads time and time again... someone once tried that a time or two so I've heard. I would also question why they are taking so much of the dead sole away..ever think it has a purpose?

For me white feet will never give me any reason to question or pass over a horse. The color of the pony or the color of his feet are the last thing I look at... if I do at all.

This stuff drives me nuts. I suppose because after selling over 80 horses last year things like this come up time and time again and you wonder where the metality of this comes from?
I also wonder how may out there have ridden that much, ridden that far to places that far away and back with out getting back "to the barn" to resolve a supposed issue? I have been and know many more who have been and then some, miles and miles away from home for e x t e n d e d periods of time and not worried about there white footed horses.

I have had conversations with multiple people about this. Many, many ferriers as well... there are many ways to "get around" a soft errr white foot.

I wish more people would spend time worrying about how they ride and how their horse is trained then fretting over if he has white feet... I know I do.

I have personally handled, eyeballed and trimmed over 200 different horses in the past 2 years. All of these horses have been barefoot in the MT foot hills on various terrain including ROCKS and A LOT of them. The white feet were not worn more or differently than the black feet.

My wife or I ride pretty much every day... cared for correctly soft feet (white I suppose) are not a big deal... There are other things that warrant attention more than that.

ugghhhh, no worries that's one of the reasons I have this new pony because someone was worrird about white feet I suppose... their loss, my gain.

OK...rant over... off to ride ;-)

Keep your mind in the middle ;-)


WOW THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!! Finally ...

A lot of what vets and farriers have learned recently has been from examining mustano feet. I ran my mules barefoot. Once for a trail ride up in the high Cascades of Oregon which is pure andesite and angular fractured rocks, I shoed the fronts on my good molly. After 120-130 miles or so the front feet and back feet looked the same.

Race horses have rarely been bred for good feet. Most other breeds haven't been until recently. Bad feet or even average feet on a mustang can cost him his life.

I liked to trim the mule feet pretty often. When they get too long the inside edge of the hoof is usually the first place to flake off. I like the "mustang roll" taught to me by a good farrier and teamster from Smith Valley, NV. It replicates the natural rounding off of the toe shown by mustangs that travel for a living in rough country.

I met a good horse hand in the last few years that has become a clinician. He says one of the most important things in raising a good horse for the mountains is to turn them out as foals on rough ground. Let them grow up going up and down hill, traveling on rocks and playing in streams. Horses that live in flat corrals with soft sand sometimes never really learn to be comfortable hanging on a rocky trail 8 inches wide.

How many of you ride that much without shoes that you're that worried about white feet?

How many of you have had that many shoes pulled off a white foot that you're that worried about it?

I wonder how many super good horses have been passed over because they had some white feet? Tis' a shame and ridiculous. To me anyway.

There are ways to maintain and check the shoes as you're riding if you are that anxious about it.

I suppose there are those who do don't want to pay a good farrier or shell out the extra $10 per foot for a pad? OK so then go buy a truck mud flap and cut your pads from it. You can re-use the pads time and time again... someone once tried that a time or two so I've heard. I would also question why they are taking so much of the dead sole away..ever think it has a purpose?

For me white feet will never give me any reason to question or pass over a horse. The color of the pony or the color of his feet are the last thing I look at... if I do at all.

This stuff drives me nuts. I suppose because after selling over 80 horses last year things like this come up time and time again and you wonder where the metality of this comes from?
I also wonder how may out there have ridden that much, ridden that far to places that far away and back with out getting back "to the barn" to resolve a supposed issue? I have been and know many more who have been and then some, miles and miles away from home for e x t e n d e d periods of time and not worried about there white footed horses.

I have had conversations with multiple people about this. Many, many ferriers as well... there are many ways to "get around" a soft errr white foot.

I wish more people would spend time worrying about how they ride and how their horse is trained then fretting over if he has white feet... I know I do.

I have personally handled, eyeballed and trimmed over 200 different horses in the past 2 years. All of these horses have been barefoot in the MT foot hills on various terrain including ROCKS and A LOT of them. The white feet were not worn more or differently than the black feet.

My wife or I ride pretty much every day... cared for correctly soft feet (white I suppose) are not a big deal... There are other things that warrant attention more than that.

ugghhhh, no worries that's one of the reasons I have this new pony because someone was worrird about white feet I suppose... their loss, my gain.

OK...rant over... off to ride ;-)

Keep your mind in the middle ;-)


WOW THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!! Finally ...