NATURAL TRIMMING. WHAT IS IT?

The horse hoof is a magnificent piece of workmanship. It is complex, yet simple.
It is a pump and a shock absorber. In order for it to do its job properly, it must be
allowed to flex, contract, and expand. The whole foot supports the horse, not just the outer wall. When allowed to work properly, it will reduce fatigue, soreness, most lameness and a host of other ailments.

Remember the last time you tried to break in a new stiff pair of boots, or shoes. Your feet hurt, your legs were sore from walking without being bale to bend and flex your feet. Your back hurt and you were probably miserable. You got tired very quickly and wanted to go home. Sound familiar? Now imagine walking around in steel shoes ALL the time…

Horses in the wild do not have laminitis, or navicular disease. Their heels aren’t contracted and they don’t have quarter cracks. There is very little lameness, period. Their hoof walls are thick and their soles and frogs are as tough as nails. The terrain is rough and the animals are hardy. We can help the domestic horse grow, to a certain degree, the wild horse hoof. With some common sense, diet restrictions and Natural Hoof Care we can come close.

  • What is Natural Hoof Care?
    Natural trimming is a balanced trim that allows the horse to grow the optimal hoof. Frequent trims (every 4-6 weeks) are very important. Respecting the “healing” angle is paramount. That is the top 1/3 of the hoof. Allowing the hoof to contract and expand naturally is essential to circulation. Diet and lots of exercise are key components. This works for all breeds, from draft to mini. When the shoes are first pulled, there may be some tenderness. The hoof is experiencing the ground for the first time in a long time. Circulation is again returning to the hoof and the horse is actually feeling again. Some horses require boots to make the transition, most don’t. Some severe cases of founder will require booting for the comfort and mobility of the horse. There are a lot of barefoot trimmers out there. A bad one can do more harm than good. Please use only “certified” trimmers.
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  • I trail ride on rough terrain and my horse needs protection.
    He is not really getting much protection with a half inch of steel around the edge of his hoof. Imagine all the small rocks he has stepped on in the fist sized area that is not protected. He is bruising, he just can’t feel it. Boots offer a much better and broader area of protection. After a short time barefoot, your horse’s hoof will be tough enough to go anywhere you can ride him.

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  • If I pull the shoes off my horse, can I just have him trimmed and then go?
    No. He will need a period of adjustment to toughen up his sole. Boots are very easy to put on should you decide to ride. Remember when you were a kid and went barefoot all summer? The first couple of weeks your feet were tender and you picked your way. But after a bit, you could walk on rocks and hot pavement and never know it. Your feet were tough and calloused. Same principal. It doesn’t take long. Common sense should prevail. If you are going to rougher terrain than is the norm for your horse, boot him up. It only takes a minute or two.

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  • If I pull the shoes, my horse won’t have any foot. His wall is thin and brittle now. Every time he throws a shoe, some hoof wall comes off with it.
    Exactly! Because of the shoes, your horse’s hoof isn’t getting the proper stimulation and circulation that it needs. A shod hoof is like a fingernail with no blood supply. It will get brittle and chip and crack. Eventually it will come off. Cover up the bottom 2/3 of the hoof. The top 1/3 is the hoof his body is trying to grow. That is the part that we haven’t started messing with yet. With time, the old hoof will grow out, his hoof wall will thicken, and his sole will callous and cup naturally. His under run heels will spread open, and quarter cracks will be a thing of the past.

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  • I spend a lot of time getting the farrier to come out and replace shoes that have been thrown. My horse doesn’t hold a shoe very well, so we have had to go to clip shoes.
    He is unable to hold a shoe because of the brittle nature of his hoof. Once again, it is all a matter of circulation. Clip shoes compound the problem even more by reducing an already compromised circulation problem. Nothing is more frustrating than getting ready for a big show, or just going out to ride, and finding out that your horse has thrown a shoe. Then there is the problem of finding a farrier to come out at the last minute, or running around the show hoping that one of the guys has his tools with him. That doesn’t happen with bare hooves. If need be, you boot and go.
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  • I compete in speed events. What about traction?
    There is nothing better suited to this than the bare hoof. Imagine a shovel. Nothing digs deeper than a clean shovel. A bare hoof will clean it self with every step. Shoes hold the dirt and sand. How can a horse feel the ground beneath him if he is a half an inch up on steel?


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  • Why do I have to have him trimmed so often, I only shoe every 8 weeks.
    With frequent trims you allow the hoof to grow strong. If you go too long, the hoof will have damaged itself and begun to crack. It will then spend all its energy trying to repair itself, rather than using the energy to grow thicker and stronger. Think of split ends on your hair… The hoof grows 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A shoe that has been on for 8 weeks stopped fitting a long time ago.
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  • When will my horse be able to run down a gravel road?
    When your pasture looks like a gravel road. Realistically, the hoof will adapt to the terrain it spends the most time in. If you have a hard rocky pasture, then your horse’s hoof will adapt to that. There are easy things you can do to help them. Hauling in a small area of pea gravel fort them to walk thru and allowing water troughs to over flow in the summer all help the hoof.
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  • My horse is gaited. What about them?
    Imagine how light and high his step will be without shoes. If it were the shoes that made a horse gait, then by that reasoning I should be able to go out and put shoes on a quarter horse and have him gait!
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  • What about feed?
    Horses don’t need all the high sugar (molasses) feeds that we keep them on. Imagine horses in the wild. Forage first. Good quality pasture and hay should be the horse’s main diet. Low starch, low sugar feeds are sometimes necessary. Horses don’t process sugars well. Some are even insulin resistant. Diet and lack of exercise are the two main factors contributing to the overwhelming problem of obesity in horses. Diet, lack of exercise, and poor shoeing are major causes of lameness in domestic horses.
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