Mustang Close-Up

"Cuervo"

Cuervo is sort of a rescue mustang who had the good fortune to fall into the hands of Dennis Bright, a talented trainer and clinician in San Marcos, CA. Dennis took Cuervo in when his previous owner had considered dumping him at a sale due to some navicular problems. (Yes, mustangs can have hoof problems; please see below.)

Dennis recognized that with proper management, this horse still had a significant useful life ahead of him. He managed Cuervo's foot problems and used him as a lesson horse for students who were learning low impact skills.

Presently Cuervo is in semi-retirement. I say "semi" because he is still used to help develop proper social skills in impudent young horses. A few days sharing a corral with Cuervo and the savvy mustang usually brings about a pretty decent attitude adjustment. By the way, check out Cuervo's retirement pad. Here's an aerial view of his home which I swiped off the Bright Ranch website:

Now about mustangs and foot problems. Those of us who have handled these horses for any length of time know how impressive their feet can be. They hold up well in their harsh natural range, but when kept in the human environment proper farriery is important. A common problem is leaving the horses' toes too long. As these feet are durable and don't break down easily, the toe can become exaggerated eventually distorting the hoof and causing the heels to run under. (This occurs since the hoof capsule is one integrated unit and the heels have to follow the toe.) Such changes affect the horse's digital support system and in even the hardiest of feet, brusing and damage can result in the navicular area.

For better insights into balanced horse feet and how they relate to wild horses, please follow this link to Balanced Shoeing and Trims