Dogs will eat anything. One of my GSD's almost died after eating about a third of a blanket. His xray looked down-right scary, with this ball in his stomach. We were very close to having to have surgery to cut him open to remove it (which would have been very dangerous and very expensive). Somehow he managed to vomit the thing out in large chunks. We all dodged a bullet on that one.
So, yeah, it doesn't surprise me that they would eat horse hoof trimmings.
If you were to productize something like that you'd have to make sure you run through some testing to ensure dogs won't be harmed. The product liability element in products that people and pets eat should not be ignored, particularly in a litigious society like the US.
Moldy sticks are the best because they come apart when chewing on them!
My brother has a young (but large) dog who is still trying to taste everything. Yesterday he was excavating and devouring(?) some tree roots with great enthusiasm.
At least it distracted him from wanting to chase moles and deers.
Also his treats smell abysmal, but obviously he likes them.
The admonitions about giving dogs bones derive from fast eaters tending to choke on them - not the bone's nutrition. (Although it would not surprise me if somehow the idea has gotten corrupted)
It makes sense, it could look really bad for Chewy. Say your cat got eaten by a pit bull, and then a week later you're reminded what happened by a box of cat food they automatically shipped to your door.
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