Barefoot trimming (part 1)

Nice feet, eh? Not actually Possum's as I am too embarrassed to post hers at the moment. A small case of long toes and high heels that I am well aware of. Now that it has stopped raining, I might get a chance to trim them.

Actually, now I have another look, they don't look so great. Is that a big hole at the toe? Don't remember seeing that at the time. And the heels look contracted and squished. Sigh...

But this is in introduction to talking about the trimming course. A, the instructor (for want of a better word), started with a brief talk on all the background things. This covered anatomy, physiology, physics, biomechanics, history and other big words. Luckily, there were lots of photos in the presentation - so it was all good! I'm not here to give a lecture on the pros and cons of barefoot trimming, so I'll leave you to your own research - let me know if you are interested and I can post some links.

Anyway, none of my horses that I have owned have had shoes. Not that there's been many of them when it comes down to it. Although I love the sound of shoes on the road, I am starting to think that horses are better off without them. At the level I am riding, there's no need for studs to give grip and we don't do huge miles on rough terrain, so my horses don't need them. All I have learned about the form and function of horses leads me to think they need their feet to be able to expand/contract, to provide shock absorption and feeling.In summary, the way they are designed is the best way for them to stay.

I started doing my own trimming about a year ago, after a not-so-great experience with my former farrier who failed to point out and treat some seedy toe. I knew he was doing just a paddock trim, but was too scared to go down any other road or have a go myself. But after that, I thought I probably couldn't do much worse. I couldn't find a local trimmer but lucked out and got some one-on-one instruction with a well qualified trimmer who was visiting. Most of it has been learning the hard way, and reading lots and meeting some great people on a forum who have helped.

The way A. trims is a bit different to the way I was taught. But as that method is pretty harsh, I am happy to go to a less invasive trim. It is all about balance, looking at the hoof and reassessing as necessary. All the schools agree about the importance of reducing heel height and toe length. When you first see barefoot hooves, they look horribly short, but now I am used to it, shod feet look horrendous!

I now want to get away from the computer, and get my trimming gear out. More to follow!