Sheared Horse Hooves © Yvonne Cornell, 2013
My regular run in the hills produced a gem of a find the other day — a perfect foursome of sheared horse hooves. Their marbled carmel patina caught my eye as they were scattered across the side of the road. I gathered up my find in hopes of confirming their identity by inquiring with a horse owner who was working in her corral close by. “Sure enough, those are dog cookies,” she confirmed. Did she say dog cookies!? Yes, she saves all her horse’s sheared hooves to give to her dogs as chews, further explaining these I found were from the same horse, one with small hooves. After I photographed the perfect foursome, my dog Phineas enjoyed hours of chewing pleasure with just one. Apparently sheared horse hooves are better for dogs than the commercial dog chews. (A little internet search confirmed hoof shavings are vitamin rich and high in calcium, but safer if the horse is your own to know if chemicals were rubbed on the hooves.)
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