Horses Chesnuts

[arabsbiggestfan]

Everybody is fighting about the horses chestnuts. My 4-H leader says that you can kill a horse by picking thier chestnuts. But where i used to take lessons, the instructor said that it's ok and it's better for them? Who is telling the truth? :confused:

[Jumping Genius]

Hey i was always told to pick them Also!!!!!Hey sis!!!

[Bacharel]

Its fine to pick them off if they are getting long. I usually wait until after i give her a bath and then take them off since its easier. :)

[kedwards]

I generally pull off any loosened layers after the horse has been bathed or wet down.

Don't worry, you won't kill them, it's basically just rough skin :D

[entreat]

How on earth could you kill them?? Very odd thing to say!

Caspers are quite hard & chunky & I can take them off when they're ready, but Pippins are very crumbly & crumble apart when I touch them... I don't think either of them are at any risk of dying... :p

How old is your 4-H leader? (what is 4-H anyway?)

[PromiseMe]

Its OK to pick the loose chestnuts, the ones that are half dangling there already.

I always do it when its like that...and so far, she's still alive! :D

[Shizzity]

i know this might sound weird, but those things are pretty fun to pick off! :D :D :D :D :D

[Wally]

I never go near them unless they have grown very long, then I nip them off with the hoof nippers!

None of my lot have ever dropped down dead through nipping of the chestnut.

[vjoy23]

I get the farrier to cut them if they get long along with their ergots

[Eli_Jay]

this is going to sound ridiculous, but i never knew you could pick them off :o do they grow back quickly?

[chev]

Mine tend to knock them off by themselves. I pick them off if they get horribly long but otherwise just leave them alone.

You won't do any damage by picking them off though - much less kill a horse! What an odd thing to say.

[ponylover88]

....

[mustang fan]

Well personaly knowing our club I think the whole it will kill the horse thing may have been made up by one of the 4-Hers. Well entreat our 4-H leader is atleast 40 and has been around horses all her life so I don t think she would say somthing like that. And by the way 4-h is an program where the have diffrant areas such as horses, beef, lamb, swine, garding, computers, photography, ect and it is educational stuff you learn about care show and all that good stuff.

I really think the whole It will kill the horse thing is a miss understanding! :D

[ANN H]

My instructor told me never to pick them off as they can bleed quite badly if you get too close to the leg. I cut them off, and really only for jumping!

[Jumping Genius]

By the way our 4-H leader is about 50 or so.

[Sondra]

What is the purpose of the chestnut anyway?

[Laura+Phantom]

It has no purpose, it's just the remainder of one of the horse's toes from the early days!

[winterbalto]

Probably a silly question but where is the horse's chestnut located? :o

~Nicole

[Laura+Phantom]

On the fore legs chestnuts are just above the knee, on the inside on each leg, and on the hind legs, they are just below the hock joint, on the inside of each leg.

[swerve]

When my horse's chestnuts start flaking I baby-oil them and the next day I scrape them so they're even. A girl at my old pony club had a new horse whose chestnuts *flapped* and thats what the instructor told her to do.

[entreat]

It has no purpose, it's just the remainder of one of the horse's toes from the early days!
I was told it's where the legs are joined in the womb & the ergot is the toe.

[TBEventer2002]

My instructor told me never to pick them off as they can bleed quite badly if you get too close to the leg. I cut them off, and really only for jumping!

I can attest to the bleeding! I tried to get my filly's long ones off, and I guess one wasn't quite ready to come off. I went to yank, she kicked out, and blood started dribbling out. :eek: I felt terrible! Poor filly! I had to wash it out then spritz some meds into it, and it healed ok, but now I'm afraid to get the rest of it so I'll probably just wait for that one to fall off from now on. :D

[mustang fan]

Well... The horse may bleed from it but I dont think the horse would die!
:D

[entreat]

:D *giggle* unless you picked off the whole leg with the chestnut... if you can do that, you're either very strong, or your horse is very sick.... :eek: :p

[Laura+Phantom]

I was told it's where the legs are joined in the womb & the ergot is the toe.

Er no, they're wrong! The ergot is another remainder of a toe...let me think, there's the chestnut, the 2 splint bones, the ergot and the hoof, I think, making up the five 'toes' that were originally there. (been a while since I did evolution of the horse ;) )

On another note, i've never had to pick a chestnut in 12 years, or have them trimmed...maybe my ponies are weird!

[Cheeky]

Yes - you can (and I think you should) pick off chestnuts that are too long, in the way, or are ready to be peeled. This doesnt hurt the horse, its just ... well, there :)

Now, the chestnuts (I dont know if u kno this) are quite handy little thingies ... especially when your buying a horse. Why? Well, if you go down and pick off a chestnut, it can tell you the history/future of your horse - I am not joking. Why? how?? Ok, when you peel off the chestnut, it will either come off in two ways - one: nice and smoothly, two: comes off in small bits at a time.

If it comes off smoothly and in one chunk, then your horse is quite healthy. But if it doesnt, then this is a sign that the horse has (in the past) had laminitice, and may recure again in the future :)

Amazing bit of useless info :) cya

[maren]

shizzity: i totally agree...it's really satisfying to pick em off! (i have a horrible picking habit, i admit it!) anyone notice that they smell kinda funny? a distinct chestnut smell. biggsie always tries to eat them after i've removed them. very gross. :D