In this section,
the trimming process will be described for various types of imbalances
frequently encountered by horses of all breeds and ages. These imbalances
include flaring, high heels, underslung heels, imbalanced heels as well
as frog and sole care.
We start the process of transitioning horses to barefoot by removing
their shoes and doing minimal things in the way of trimming with the
first trim. Horses need to slowly adapt at their own pace to the changes
of being barefoot. The shoes are simply removed, any loose raggedy bits
of frogs and sole are cleaned away. The heels are balanced and some
flaring is removed. Finally a good mustang roll is applied to the walls
to prevent further flaring. What is a flare? Please check the FAQ
section for the answer.
As seen here, the entire foot is flared forward, the heels are long
and underslung in the picture to the left. The shoe is removed and the
hoof cleaned up, (photo on right). The bottom photo shows where the
foot needs to be and how the trim will correct the imbalances.
Long Toe Underrun Heels
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Shod Horse Before Transition |
Same Horse – 1st Natural Trim
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Roll your mouse over Area A, Area
B, and Area C to learn more about the
this hoof's anatomy. |
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Even though the hoof is only 3 months
into the rehabilitation process,
you can see in this before trim photo at Area A, the flare has been
significantly reduced to about an inch off the ground. Notice in
Area C that the heel is now growing in a steeper
and more natural angle approaching the heel bulbs.
Below is another example of a long toe underrun heel. In the photos on the left, this horse had been trimmed 1 or 2 weeks prior to the time these photos were taken. The hooves were trimmed by someone with limited training in natural hoof care and without the proper balancing methods. The toes are flared forward and the breakover point is also too far forward.
My students trimmed the hoof as depicted in the photos on the right, I believe the trim was not complete in the solar shot. This trim is acceptable, however I would have taken the heel back a bit more toward the buttress without lowering into live sole and removed a bit more flare at the quarters, which the students corrected afterwards. With consistent trimming like this, the hooves will assume a healthier much more natural toe/heel angle rather quickly. This will vastly improve the horse's gaits by lengthening the stride and enouraging a heel first landing. Notice the thrushy, ratty frog and heel contraction.
Click on photos for larger view
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