Evolutionary Hoof Care Products was created to promote the
healthy shape and function of the equine hoof. The original tool designs
offered here are the inventions of Leslie Emery. These new tools are
the consequence of 40 years of study and research on the horse's hoof.
The designs of these tools have been painstakingly developed and tested
to ensure that they will be durable and effective. Healthy hooves, sound
horses, and your satisfaction are our goals. Please be sure to consult
all tool use directions, available on our website, both in printable PDF
and video formats. If you have difficulty using our products after
considering these directions, please contact us for assistance. We are
located on Vashon Island in Washington State near Seattle. The name
Evolutionary Hoof Care refers to the concept that the horse evolved
under specific conditions of climate, terrain, and life style. This
concept is outlined below.
The concept of 'Evolutionary Horse and Hoof Care' has a simple scientific basis:
1. Horses as a species have evolved in response to specific types of environments.
2. The traits of those 'evolutionary environments' stimulate the optimal health of the species.
3. Thus, emulating the influences of those environments when caring for domestic horses will make them more resilient
Evolutionary processes 'select' for genetic traits that promote the
adaptation of each species to survive and prosper in specific
environments. Thus, the development of optimal levels of health and
vitality for any species will be promoted by exposure to the qualities
of the environment in which it evolved. Domestication typically removes
animals from their evolutionary environments and life styles. If we
wish to promote optimal health and soundness for horses, then we must
attempt to provide conditions that emulate those for which they are
genetically adapted.
The horse's single digit hoof is the most unique expression of its
evolutionary adaptation. The hoof attains its most resilient form and
healthy function in drier climates where horses range continually across
wide open landscapes. The quality of hooves on domestic horses thus
depends in large part on limiting exposure to moisture, promoting an
active, socially motivated lifestyle, providing feeds similar to those
the species evolved to consume, and shaping hooves in a manner that
mimics wear created by continual movement over the drier terrains in
which the species evolved.
Evolutionary Hoof Care tools have been designed to facilitate the
'fine tuning' of the hoof's bearing surfaces to mimic the form these
take in an evolutionarily environment. The creation and maintenance of a
smoothly rounded edge to the hoof wall is essential to preventing hoof
wall deformity and subsequent debilitation of the hoof and leg's healthy
functions. The shape and contours of the hoof determine how the forces
of weight bearing and locomotion effect the form of the hoof capsule.
The horse's optimal performance and soundness thus are promoted by
maintaining relatively compact, straight walled, short toed hooves with
concave soles because these traits make hooves more durable, promote
efficient circulation of the blood in the leg, and minimise the
locomotive stresses on the limbs. Thus the concern of Evolutionary Hoof
Care is to emulate evolutionary influences that optimize the horse's
genetically endowed adaptive traits.