Barefoot??

[DipseyDeb]

I'm just curious because horse is shod and sound as a pound, but as there's been quite a few barefoot posts on here lately...what is the difference between barefoot trimming and a farrier trimming an unshod horse??

 

[Fauvea]

There are a lot of different schools of trimming (even in barefoot trimming) so it's quite complicated.
But to summarize, most farriers trims involve taking off frog, digging into the sole to give concavity and trying to get heels as high as possible (with sometimes rasping the sole at the toe to achieve the appearance of a higher heel).
A barefoot trim generally involves rounding of the hoof wall on the bottom (called bevel or mustang roll) and not taking sole off to build the maximum thickness.

 

[Cluck]

I'm just curious because horse is shod and sound as a pound, but as there's been quite a few barefoot posts on here lately...what is the difference between barefoot trimming and a farrier trimming an unshod horse??

I'd suggest going to look at some websites such as:

http://www.hoofrehab.com/

http://www.performancebarefoot.co.uk/

There are hundreds of sites out there with great pictures.

There may be different schools of trimming but the basics are very much the same.

The two main differences between a standard farrier trim and a performance barefoot trim are:

1/ Farriers tend to trim the foot flat for a shoe. A horse's hoof is not naturally flat but follows a slight arch (particularly at the quarters). Barefoot trimmers tend to follow the natural shape of a horse's foot.

2/ Farriers tend to take away sole callous and often overtrim the sole and frog; if the horse goes without shoes they will very often be sore. Barefoot trimmers tend to leave the sole alone and minimally trim the frog. Sole callous and concavity are built rather than carved out.

The mustang roll is really just rounding of the hoofwall edge to help stop chipping. A very heavy roll or bevel is no longer thought to be ideal, according to the research.