Choosing Barefoot trimmer / podiatrist

[Hallie]

I’m totally new to the barefoot world and the decision to go barefoot came after finding a lovely track livery for my stressy mare which doesn’t allow shod horses.

There are 4 or 5 trimmers who come to yard, plus others around my area, but how do I know which to choose?!

I’ve also heard phrases like ‘trim to the horse’ and ‘trim to the hard sole’ and have started trying to read around the subject but her first trim needs booking in pretty soon.

Which criteria did you use?

Are there better/ worse qualifications or approaches?

My horse is currently very footsore with average sole depth and thin chipped hoof walls and came out of shoes 4 weeks ago after being shoe for 5 years.

 

[Gloi]

In your case I'd probably look at the feet of the others on the yard and enquire who does the ones that look best (and worst)

 

[Tiddlypom]

Qualifications in barefoot trimmers mean nowt, some are fully qualified/registered and are still shockingly bad.

As @Gloi says, look at the feet of the others on the yard and go with whoever does the best (or least bad) job.

Watch out very carefully for long toe/low heels, which are far too common in barefoot circles. Also, tbf, far too common if you use a farrier .

The other thing is to learn to trim your own mare’s feet yourself.

 

[planete]

I would find out who works their barefoot horse regularly. There is a good chance that a sound barefoot horse in work should be trimmed by somebody who does a good job.

 

[tda]

Ask how many ridden barefoot horses do they trim, truly barefoot not with boots

 

[HopOnTrot]

I wouldn’t touch one again, I’d go for a good farrier any day of the week.

 

[FieldOrnaments]

Bear in mind some stoic horses, shod and not, keep going on feet they really shouldn't. Try to look at their whole client base (Facebook or Instagram page etc) rather than one yard (because shared environmental factors there may be helping horses where the trim is not)
I I also wouldn't personally use anyone who's very evangelical about any particular method and would prefer someone open minded to different things. Nor would I rule out a farrier to provide a good barefoot trim and I will say that if you're considering any of the trimmers that come to your yard already it's worth watching how they interact with and handle the horses.

 

[Boulty]

If there are several trimmers who already come to the yard whose work you can see in person then that should help your decision making as you’re not taking a shot in the dark.

I would discount anyone who seems to consistently make the horses sore after trimming / who thinks this is normal.

Ideally you want someone who checks how the horse is moving pre & post trim.

Think about the level of support you’d like ie do you want someone who is going to discuss it in detail with you how to optimise lots of different aspects of your management such as diet, advising on hoof boots , what surfaces you should be exercising on & for how long, subtle changes in wear patterns etc or do you want someone to come, trim feet, highlight only things that are actively causing a current problem & then leave?

How often are each of them at the yard? If this is first time you’ve tried barefoot someone who’s only there a couple of times a year probably wouldn’t be a good choice (but would be ideal for someone doing most of the maintenance themselves and just wanting an occasional check in)

Watch how the actually handle the horses too.

If your horse is in work then you want a trimmer who trims a decent number of horses who are in work and staying consistently sound. (Ideally without boots but that’s not realistic for every horse / every situation)

Oh and it always helps if you get on with your professionals so if you narrow it down to a couple then I’d pick the one you vibe / get on best with.

Edited to add that if she’s currently footsore getting someone out who’s able to look at booting options with you would probably be a very good idea unless track is purely made up of surfaces that are comfortable for her as not fair for her to spend majority of the time feeling sore.