Because the horses were on the hard, clear surface of the road, I got a really good look at their hooves. I love seeing their perfect outlines where the horses have come and gone, but this was an opportunity to get a good look at the hooves themselves, not obscured by saltbush and other vegetation.
Joe Camp, author of The Soul of a Horse, is a big advocate of barefoot horses, and this post on his blog will tell you a little bit about why: http://thesoulofahorse.com/blog/after-ten-months-of-record-setting-weather/#more-1058. I think you can find more if you poke around, or if you read his book, which I highly recommend (thanks, Pam!).
Is that a little “mustang roll” on those gorgeous hooves of Hannah’s? And aren’t those the hardest, toughest, most solid-looking hooves you’ve ever seen? Nothing soft about THOSE white hooves! 😉
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 
Perfect hooves! Wow.
I have been on a barefoot journey with my own thoroughbred and have been learning all about what a properly trimmed hoof should look like and how it should function. I’m absolutely amazed at how beautiful Hannah’s hooves are doing it the all natural way. It’s encouraging to see these beautiful natural feet and compare them to my domesticated horse’s. It makes me really happy that his look like this!
Aren’t they fabulous!? It’s one thing to see the perfect outlines of their hoofprints in the dirt or catch a glimpse stopped by the camera, but it’s really something to actually see these perfect hooves. Good luck on your journey with your Thoroughbred!
Fabulous hooves! Look at that!
Amazing, eh? 🙂
What great horse feet! I woder if wild horses have as much trouble with hoof problems, such as lamanitis as domestic horses.
They don’t. In fact, people now seem more willing to look at the model – which is the hoof of the mustang – hooves as they were meant to be – hooves as they evolved. Also, wild horses don’t have the nutrition-colic-laminitis problems we impose on our domestic horses. They’re nearly constantly moving, almost always grazing. There’s a huge range of knowledge to be gained by studying mustangs!
omygosh a real mustang roll! great that you got a photo of that. wild bands have such variance in hoof quality based on where the live, and yours seem to have the naturally trimmed feet, what we who trim our own try to emulate.
Cool, huh? I just love their hooves, such a “grounded” connection with their home soil.