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Horse Shoes

Horse Shoes are a U shaped accessory made for horses, and are made from a variety of materials, being steel, aluminum, rubber, plastic, rawhide, or a laminate.  Most of them are tacked (nailed) onto the horses hooves, however some have more recently gone to glueing them on - while others have decided on making actual shoes that fit over the entire hoof and do not require nails or glues, while recently titanium horseshoes have hit the markets.  The earliest horseshoes were made out of rawhide and designed to protect the animal’s feet from wear and tear - the rawhide would be tied onto the hoof.   Later metal developed and was more common, being easier to attach and are nailed to the hoof of the horse or animal.

One of the reasons that horse shoes have become a necessity is the nutrition differences from wild and domesticated horses, where wild horses were able to eat all sorts of grasses and grains and gained valuable minerals from the - domesticated horses eat domestic feeds which lack some of these minerals and vitamins, leading to softer hooves and making it a necessity to have stronger horse hooves or protection for their feet, along with this horses are now in wetter environments than the arid areas they evolved in, which leads to softer hooves as well, and many physical stresses make horse shoes a valuable addition.  many horseshoes can be made to custom fit the horse if it has gait problems and correct otherwise detrimental issues, leading to a happier healthier horse - however there are still debates over horse shoes and their actual necessities now.

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Horse Feed

Each horse is different and does different amounts of activities during its days, depending on the age, sex, and size of your horse giving them the proper feed is essential to their health and alos to their survival.  A well fed and properly fed horse is a happy and long lived horse - many who can live past the age of 25 years, with it becoming more common that they live to see thirty years.  The nutrition of a horse is called “Equine Nutrition”.  Horses, by nature, are herbivore, and are a kind of non ruminant - meaning they are most definitely not like cows in their digestive system, and it is in fact similar to humans in that they only have a single stomach.  First off, horses are very sensitive in what they eat, so it is important that you get good food, and never give them anything that has been exposed to mold or other toxins.  A horse will usually eat solid feeds for part of their daily nutrition that they consume throughout the day - and there are three recognized categories.

Forages make up the first of horse feed, and is the most common seen when a horse eats, this is usually hay and grass, then there are concentrates that have pelleted rations or grains for an additional nutritional boost, supplements to help the horse stay healthy with minerals.  Many experts say that horses should have 50% of their food as forages, with the rest being split between the other types.  It is important that the horse have access to forages throughout the day, as that is how they would normally feed rather than eating one lump sum three times a day like humans or other carnivores.  Horses also like treats, such as carrots, sugar cubes, peppermint candies, apples, or horse cookies, which can be healthy for the horse and good for them, however it can be a risk of colic or choke, and kill the horse.  Generally though, carrots and apples are seen as healthy, and not a risk for choking - however human foods should be avoided at all times.  Never let your horse be fed bread, meats, processed sugars, chocolate, and most obviously alcohol.

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