HOOF CARE
Caring for your livestock’s feet
T
he saying “No hoof no
horse” can also be
applied to all livestock
~ care of your animals'
hooves is fundamental to their
well-being. And a good hoof
and foot maintenance
programme goes a long way
to preventing foot problems
from arising. A good hoof
care programme also leads to
lowered expenses in treatment of problems, as well as
fewer losses due to decreased
performance and productivity
of the animal.
Apart from horses, donkeys
and mules, smallholder
livestock is cloven hoofed.
This means the hoof is split
into two toes. The two digits
of cloven hoofed animals can
be compared with the third
and fourth fingers of the
hand. They are called claws
and are named according to
where they are found on the
foot: the outer or lateral claw
and the inner or medial claw.
The hard outer covering of
QUIRKY
the hoof is called the hoof
wall, or horn. It is a hard
surface, similar to the human
fingernail. The cells that form
the horn are produced by the
tissue directly beneath the
hoof wall, called the corium,
at the hoof head (the
equivalent of the quick of a
Detail of the underside of a
horse’s hoof. All livestock
have similar features to their feet.
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human nail). The corium is a
nutrient-rich tissue that
contains many important
blood vessels and nerves
inside the hoof.
Underneath the hoof is a
slightly softer region, called
the sole. The tissue that
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