What are you doing to prevent your horse from coming up lame? 

A recent poll by thehorse.com showed that 20% of horse owners have experienced one of their horses becoming lame due to a tendon or ligament injury.   Leg wraps and good footing are essential, but what about supporting your horse from the inside out? 

Feet & Bone Support from Silver Lining Herbs is the next step to add additional support to prevent soft tissue injuries in your horses. Backed by 25+ years of being used by some of the most well-regarded professionals in the industry and over 80 5-star reviews, you can trust Feet & Bone Support for added protection from injury.

How does it work? Eleven specific natural ingredients have been blended to look at all aspects of the horse. A few of the key elements are boneset to increase blood flow, dandelion to strengthen bones, tendons, and ligaments, and white willow bark to support your horse's natural ability to reduce inflammation.

What are customers saying?

• ”I give this to all my weanlings and up.” - Virginia
• ”I cannot say how much I love this product…she never takes a lame step.” - Eve
• ”Feet & Bone has made such a difference! I love this stuff!” - Rebekah

Cracked hooves are a common problem for horses and can be caused by many factors: 

• Ground conditions: A change from wet or muddy conditions to dry environments can cause hooves to crack. 
• Trauma: Hooves can crack under pressure from trauma or forces within the hoof. 
• Farriery: Poor or neglected trimming and shoeing can cause hoof balance problems, leading to cracks. 
• Nutrition: Poor nutrition or a lack of essential nutrients can weaken hooves and make them more likely to crack. 
• Other factors: Hoof disease, coronary band defects, thin hoof walls, and dry or overly moist hooves can also cause cracks.

What are customers saying? 

• ”My [horse} can now walk across the gravel!” - Catherine
• ”I cannot say how much I love this product…she never takes a lame step.” - Eve
• ”Feet & Bone has made such a difference! I love this stuff!” - Rebekah

Navicular Syndrome is not what you want to hear as a horse owner. It's likely due to a combination of factors, including genetics, environment, and biomechanics: 

• Genetics: Navicular syndrome is more common in certain breeds, such as quarter horses, thoroughbreds, and warmbloods. 
• Environment: Poor hoof care, inadequate exercise, and poor nutrition can all contribute to navicular syndrome. 
• Biomechanics: Horses with narrow, upright feet, small frogs, and contracted heels are more likely to be affected. Other biomechanical factors include poor conformation, excessive weight bearing on the front limbs, and inappropriate shoeing. Hoof trauma and anything that interferes with the blood supply to the navicular bone can also play a role. 
• Other factors: Some propose that vascular changes in the hoof could cause navicular syndrome. 

Navicular Syndrome can cause degeneration of the navicular bone's structures over time, leading to pain and lameness. Horses with navicular syndrome may display a distinctive shuffling gait.

Does your horse have back pain?  They may be dealing with Kissing spine. Kissing Spine is a condition that affects horses when the dorsal spinous processes (DSPs) of their vertebrae touch or overlap. These DSPs are thin bones that project upward from the vertebrae and are normally spaced apart. When they touch, it can cause pain and inflammation, reduce back mobility, and make it difficult for the horse to move. 

Kissing spine is the most common cause of back pain in horses and can affect up to 40% of them. It's most common in Thoroughbreds and Warmbloods, but horses of any age can develop it. Symptoms of kissing spine include: 

• Back pain: When pressure is applied to the spine or muscles around it 
• Discomfort: When the saddle is placed on the horse's back, it may swish its tail and hold its ears back 
• Behavioral changes: The horse may be reluctant to engage its hindquarters, have a shortened stride, or be resistant when ridden. It may also struggle to transition between paces, buck, rear, run away, kick out, or shy. Cantering can be a key indicator, as horses with kissing spine may have trouble picking up the correct lead or maintaining a three-beat canter. They may also be reluctant to roll or lie down.

Seeing swelling or heat in your horse's legs? Horses can experience tendon injuries due to a variety of causes, including repetitive use, overwork, trauma, and ongoing stress. These injuries can happen gradually over time or suddenly, like when a horse falls. Tendon injuries can make it difficult and painful for horses to move around and put weight on their joints. 

Signs of tendon damage include: 

• Inflammation 
• Heat 
• Swelling 
• Lameness 
• Toes pointed up 
• Painful and swollen limb 
• Fetlock sinking at the walk

If your horse has a stone bruise, you already know how painful it is. Stone bruises are often caused by walking on rocky ground, gravel roads, or hard surfaces and are more common in horses with thin soles or flat feet. 

Symptoms of a stone bruise include: 

• Sudden lameness or limping on one foot 
• Reluctance to bear weight on the affected foot 
• Sensitivity to pressure or touch 
• Discoloration of the sole, such as red or blue spots, which may not appear for several months 
• Increased foot warmth 
• Increased digital pulses through the digital arteries 

The bruising can cause small vessels to rupture, which leads to a hematoma or blood pocket, that can cause inflammation and pain. If the bruise develops into lameness, the blood vessels can rupture and pool, putting more pressure on the hoof and increasing the risk of infection or abscess.

Contracted heels occur in horses when a horse's hoof narrows or shrinks, causing the heels to move closer together. This can put pressure on the hoof's inner structures, leading to pain, lameness, and long-term hoof damage. 

Symptoms of contracted heels include: 

• Visible narrowing of the bulbs, which are the soft, fleshy areas where the hoof wall, heel, and coronary band meet 
• A skinny, upside-down "V" shape 
• Compressed frog 
• Frog shrinkage 
• Heels growing inward towards the frog 

Some causes of contracted heels include: 

• Unbalanced feet or overgrown hooves 
• Improper shoeing 
• Irregular, incorrectly trimmed hooves 
• Neglected hoof care 
• High heels 
• Lack of engagement of the back of the hoof 
• Heels that are too low