I was asked to start a thread just covering the concept of barefoot trimming vs. regular trims. So here 'tis!
First, a regular trim is one that generally preps the foot for a shoe. The sole is pared out to the live horn, the frog trimmed away so it's nice and tidy. The walls are nipped flat and maybe rasped a little to even out the nipper marks. This is all done from the bottom, or ground surface of the hoof. About the only modification I see from farriers for their "pasture trim" where they don't plan to shoe, is some guys will leave the sole more intact, or will leave a taller wall so the sole won't contact the ground, essentially making a shoe out of the wall. Their goal is to keep the sole from touching the ground to avoid tenderness. Usually the hoof is trimmed to a pre-determined angle of 45-55 degrees, depending on the horse's career. Most of these trims start to flare, chip and crack pretty quickly and the soles bruise quite easily. Some horses are never bothered at all by this trim.
Most farriers are driven to "straighten" out the legs if they aren't perfectly straight and attempt to make the leg appear perfect. This can strain tendons and bones and cause lameness over time.
For a barefoot, natural trim (whatever you choose to call it), the hoof is trimmed in an effort to mimic the way hooves wear naturally if the horse gets enough exercise to balance wear with growth. Domestic horses don't get that much exercise, so the trimming becomes necessary.
The trim is basically leaving the sole intact to cushion the coffin bone. The dead material either gets abraded away with exercise, naturally or is packed down into a callous, toughening the foot. The frog is barely trimmed, if at all, just to remove flaps that can harbor bacteria and breed thrush. The wall is trimmed to just above sole level (about 1/8- 1/4 inch high) to allow the sole to contact the ground some. The walls are also beveled, or rolled at about a 45 degree (average, depends on the horse) to ease breakover. This is usually finished from the top, with the hoof on the stand.The hoof is NOT trimmed to a specific angle, but trimmed to what the foot indicates it needs. (it would take a long time to explain how to determine what the foot is indicating, so I'll skip that), but they usually fall into the "ideal" angles naturally..
The trim is considered balanced when the horse lands comfortably flat footed or heel first, with no extreme deviations of the limb in flight, and no effort is made to force the leg into perfect straightness if the animal is mature. A crooked leg shouldn't be trimmed straight, just as a straight leg shouldn't be trimmed crooked. Barefoot trims can elimintate chipping, flaring and cracking, if kept on the same 6-8 week schedule. Tenderness is not there ( but a transition period may be in order if the horse has been shod for a long time-all the sole that's been pared out has to grow back to eliminate tenderness).
I was asked to post pics to show the differences, but I have a website up for that purpose already. I don't have any of my own pics of "pasture" trims because I don't do those anymore. Feel free to look on my website for pics of natural trims. There is a links page as well to find other barefoot sites. If anyone wants to ask specific questions, don't hesitate.
I hope this satisfies the request for this thread.
First, a regular trim is one that generally preps the foot for a shoe. The sole is pared out to the live horn, the frog trimmed away so it's nice and tidy. The walls are nipped flat and maybe rasped a little to even out the nipper marks. This is all done from the bottom, or ground surface of the hoof. About the only modification I see from farriers for their "pasture trim" where they don't plan to shoe, is some guys will leave the sole more intact, or will leave a taller wall so the sole won't contact the ground, essentially making a shoe out of the wall. Their goal is to keep the sole from touching the ground to avoid tenderness. Usually the hoof is trimmed to a pre-determined angle of 45-55 degrees, depending on the horse's career. Most of these trims start to flare, chip and crack pretty quickly and the soles bruise quite easily. Some horses are never bothered at all by this trim.
Most farriers are driven to "straighten" out the legs if they aren't perfectly straight and attempt to make the leg appear perfect. This can strain tendons and bones and cause lameness over time.
For a barefoot, natural trim (whatever you choose to call it), the hoof is trimmed in an effort to mimic the way hooves wear naturally if the horse gets enough exercise to balance wear with growth. Domestic horses don't get that much exercise, so the trimming becomes necessary.
The trim is basically leaving the sole intact to cushion the coffin bone. The dead material either gets abraded away with exercise, naturally or is packed down into a callous, toughening the foot. The frog is barely trimmed, if at all, just to remove flaps that can harbor bacteria and breed thrush. The wall is trimmed to just above sole level (about 1/8- 1/4 inch high) to allow the sole to contact the ground some. The walls are also beveled, or rolled at about a 45 degree (average, depends on the horse) to ease breakover. This is usually finished from the top, with the hoof on the stand.The hoof is NOT trimmed to a specific angle, but trimmed to what the foot indicates it needs. (it would take a long time to explain how to determine what the foot is indicating, so I'll skip that), but they usually fall into the "ideal" angles naturally..
The trim is considered balanced when the horse lands comfortably flat footed or heel first, with no extreme deviations of the limb in flight, and no effort is made to force the leg into perfect straightness if the animal is mature. A crooked leg shouldn't be trimmed straight, just as a straight leg shouldn't be trimmed crooked. Barefoot trims can elimintate chipping, flaring and cracking, if kept on the same 6-8 week schedule. Tenderness is not there ( but a transition period may be in order if the horse has been shod for a long time-all the sole that's been pared out has to grow back to eliminate tenderness).
I was asked to post pics to show the differences, but I have a website up for that purpose already. I don't have any of my own pics of "pasture" trims because I don't do those anymore. Feel free to look on my website for pics of natural trims. There is a links page as well to find other barefoot sites. If anyone wants to ask specific questions, don't hesitate.
I hope this satisfies the request for this thread.