Proper Trimming Key Procedure For Keeping Your Horse Sound
By John Duckworth, Farrier
It seems like anymore everyone has a theory or an opinion on how to trim or how to shoe a horse. You can ask ten different shoers and get ten different opinions. The fact that you can trim or shoe a horse without causing immediate injury is not a good indicator of your skill level. What really matters is if you can prevent hoof problems in a large majority of horses entrusted to your car over the horse's life span or even increases the horse's life span through soundness.
Lameness is the single greatest contributor of economic loss to the horse industry today. Most lameness cases require both veterinary and farrier intervention. The farrier work done in these cases is often of as much or more importance than that of the veterinarian, as is the one actually trimming the hoof or applying the shoe. In many situations, how the foot is trimmed and balanced and how the shoe is applied can be more critical than what type of shoe is applied.
Your horse's hoof pastern axis is one of the easiest ways to evaluate your horses shoeing job. If your horse's hoof pastern axis is broken back, measures should be taken to correct the excessive toe length, elevate the heel, add a long enough shoe for extra heel support, and rocker or roll the toe of the shoe to increase break over.
When trimming a foot I try to leave as much sole as possible. Cutting out or thinning the sole to where the sole is soft and pliable can predispose your horse to bruised soles and other lameness problems. All parts of the bottom of the hoof (hoof wall, sole and frog) carry and help dissipate the concussion and pressures of the hoof hitting the ground.
An attempt is often made to achieve a certain movement of the hoof or leg by altering the foot. For example, lowering the heels on the front of a western pleasure horse to achieve a flatter knee or lowering the heels of the hind feet of a roping or reining horse to get his or her hind feet up under them more. Changing these angles results in changes in the position and alignment of the bony column as it relates to the foot and puts undue stress and strain on the tendons and ligaments in the leg. Often resulting in lameness problems. Therefore, a better approach is to trim the horse's hoof to the proper hoof pastern axis and then build your shoe to create the movement or action you desire.
I see a lot of hind leg lameness that goes unnoticed and could have potentially been prevented by proper trimming (i.e. trimming to achieve a balanced foot with a proper hoof pastern axis). To evaluate the balance in your horse's hind feet, stand your horse on a solid surface and get behind him ten or twelve feet and look at the hind feet. Compare the bulbs of the heels and the hairline in relationship to the ground. A majority of horses will have a lower heel on the outside of the hoof (outside hairline is closer to the ground). When this horse walks, the outside heel is the first part of the foot that hits the ground. You will also see a slight twist in the foot as it moves forward and breaks over. The foot being out of balance in this manner will put undue stress on the hocks. Over a period of time, this horse may very will end up having hock problems or hind leg lameness of which proper trimming could have prevented.
Try to train your eye to watch your horse's hoof in motion as it hits the ground. You should see which part hits the ground first and the last part of the hoof to leave the ground. A horse that is out of balance or is sore, will not hit flat. If your horse is sore on one side of the hoof, they will walk like you or I and hit on the side where there is the least pain. If we have a blister on our foot we will walk to compensate or put the least amount of pressure to that area. If you watch closely as your horse walks, you can determine which part of the hoof makes contact with the ground first and determine if you horse is making flat ground contact or uneven ground contact. Uneven ground contact may indicate an imbalance or soreness.
The relative hardness and insensitive nature of the external hoof capsule often lead people to think of the foot as solid inert structure, but in looking at its various functions it is evident that it is a living dynamic structure. The hardness and insensitivity of the hoofs exterior surface ate required for biomechanical and protective roles, while the internal components are required for its ability to reproduce and adapt to the environment.
The old timers said the horse was the only animal to have five hearts. One in his body and one in each hoof because of the amount of blood that flows through the hoof. It is said that a horse has ten times as much blood to through his hoof as through his brain.
