Dummies guide to a barefoot trim - help!

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dollyanna

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Can those of you in the know give me a brief rundown of what you would expect from a barefoot trim, in terms of what would normally be trimmed or rasped and what wouldn't - ie wall, sole, frog, bars. Would you expect stress lines to be left or rasped away.

There are reasons for me asking but would like to know the answers first if possible please :-)

Thank you!!
 
Also, are there massive differences in the way different schools trim, or really is it more to do with the individual trimmer? For example, how much difference is there really between a Performance trim and the wild horse model?
 
There are difference between the different schools. It will depend on the specific horse and issues they are addressing, the stage of transition.

If a trimmer is doing the exact same trim on all horses something isn't right. It needs a holistic approach to achieve the desired outcome.

Just like shoeing you will get different camps who believe different approaches and will adamately demand that you should be doing this or doing that. At the end of the day you need to find what works for your horse and its specific situation.

A good trimmer should be able to explain what they are doing and why if they can't find someone else.

Should not be rasping stress lines off the goal isn't to make the hoof look pretty, but some roll the toe to give a break over.
 
Sorry, I want to know the reason before I answer. I've been used like a pawn in too many of these games before, so I dont play any more. Put up pictures if you want a trim critiqued, and tell us the background of the horse.
 
FfionWinnie said:
Interesting thread. I was recently speaking to an EP who's ideology was literally nothing like I expected and I am still in a quandary over it!
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Good trimmers trim the horse in front of them, indeed the single foot in front of them, and modify what they learnt for their qualifications with experience. Can you share what puzzled you, it sounds interesting :)
 
I would totally agree with C and M above.

The only thing I would stick my neck out to add is that NORMALLY I wouldn't expect stress lines to be rasped, NORMALLY I wouldn't like any rasping too far up the wall, NORMALLY I would expect too much, if anything, off the frog. But there are exceptions to everything. As C says a good trimmer should adjust to the requirements of the horse, it's situation and the actual hoof being trimmed.
 
dollyanna said:
Can those of you in the know give me a brief rundown of what you would expect from a barefoot trim, in terms of what would normally be trimmed or rasped and what wouldn't - ie wall, sole, frog, bars. Would you expect stress lines to be left or rasped away.

There are reasons for me asking but would like to know the answers first if possible please :-)

Thank you!!
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Every horse and every foot is individual. As others have said, it is important to trim the foot in front of you, and in context. I try and quiz owners/care givers about their expectations of the horse and the likely exercise/competition schedules.

There are lots of 'usuallys' but very few 'nevers'. One never is to 'Never to cut into live tissue' but a usually is 'usually leave frog alone' but there are times when a frog trim can make a horse instantly more comfortable. For example a newly deshod horse can be left balancing on a 'tall' but fundamentally weak frog. They can find this incredibly uncomfortable and instead of wearing off the frog just gets bruised. So in this instance reducing the frog can be the right thing to do - provided it is safe to do so, the circumstances have been taken in context and there has been proper discussion with care giver.
 
FW- I used and EP too so it may be the same one. It wasn't the best barefoot experience but then neither was it the worst! PM if you want.

From what I've learnt about BF I "buy into" the Pete Ramey and UKNHCP schools of thought. However by trimmer is AANHCP and initially I was worried about the whole "wild horse model" as I don't invest in it. However the trimmer is fantastic and trims the horse in front of her to their requirements. So far, so good.

Sorry that was completely off topic!
 
dollyanna said:
Can those of you in the know give me a brief rundown of what you would expect from a barefoot trim, in terms of what would normally be trimmed or rasped and what wouldn't - ie wall, sole, frog, bars. Would you expect stress lines to be left or rasped away.

There are reasons for me asking but would like to know the answers first if possible please :-)

Thank you!!
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The common denominator of all the bf trims I know about is a 'mustang roll'/bevel. A bevel started on the solar aspect of the the hoof outer wall (as opposed to the inner hoof wall) then often rounded off round the edge of the base of the wall. So the base of the wall isn't flat. Have a look at the photos here.
http://www.hoofrehab.com/
A bead of inner wall is always left proud of the sole ie. weight bearing. Some rehab trims do vary in this regard.

No trimming into live sole/tissue is another rule which most bf trims follow, a notable exception being Strasser.

ps. callousing of sole and frog is encouraged for protection hence very little, if any routine trimming of either when healthy.
 
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Thanks guys, sorry to be a bit cryptic, I'm just trying to work some things out based on all of the stuff I have read on here and elsewhere, and fit it in to my most recent trim. Basically I have 2 ponies with very good feet, recently swapped to a trimmer, first trim was fab, no worries and really pleased, recent second trim is lovely in terms of foot shape and sole, but the frogs look a complete mess on some feet. I did wonder at the first trim about trimming the frog, questioned it, and was told it was just to keep them tidy - which at that point it was. I also queried the wisdom/reasoning behind filing off all the stress lines (I would have liked them to stay so I could see them grow out and see the changes) but I think was told it was just to make it tidy. This time I asked if there were any more stress lines, and he said there was one "but it's gone now". But the frogs looked really quite hacked about, on one foot it is as if he has sliced the heel off on one side, on another there is a big gouge (think about whittling a piece of wood and then slipping so the knife goes in too deep, leaves a cut into it, this is about 2-3cms long). This pony seemed footy afterwards, but not easy to be sure as she is quite short strided anyway and they are field kept and don't do a lot of roadwork as yet (youngsters).
I can't take photos at the moment as my camera is dead, but will try and borrow someones. I also now have another trimmer coming tomorrow - originally for another reason, not feet - who is going to take a look and give me a second opinion. Current trimmer trims to a model that makes sense to me, second one slightly less so, but if he is going to hack at the frogs then I think I might have to be changing.
 
One thing i thought was common for trimmers was that 'looks' dont matter. So rasping stress lines and tidying frogs sounds a bit unusual to me.
 
weebarney said:
One thing i thought was common for trimmers was that 'looks' dont matter. So rasping stress lines and tidying frogs sounds a bit unusual to me.
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Some/most of the bf trims I've looked into address the outer wall for various reasons, tidyness isn't generally said as one of them but it is mentioned as a pleasing (to human eye) side effect. lol Frogs can be trimmed in some methodology depending on the particular theory behind it.

Its very confusing trying to tease out the differences between 'schools' so the horses' response is our (owners) best guide. The skill of the individual trimmer is another factor, however they're trained.

Trimming (if required) is a small part of improving and keeping hooves healthy, diet, movement, comfortable exercize leading to proper use and loading of the hoof (biomechanics) are the important aspects imho.
 
I don't mind trimming of frogs within reason, ie big dead flaps hanging off, but my two both have very healthy frogs and there really was very little that possibly needed to be trimmed, and tbh I would rather he had left it, it was just little tags here and there. Wish I had seen it at the time, and will definitely be asking next time to leave the frogs alone, but I would mind less if they weren't such a hack job. Not nice and smooth, trimmed in one stroke, looks like someone has gone at it with a bunt knife, taking chunks off :-( Looking again today, it is really only 2-3 feet out of 8, but the worst 2 are not acceptable in my eyes.
 
Thank you. That kind of confirms that I am on the right lines, and if nothing else will definitely request no more frog trimming. I can easily keep flaps tidy myself without disturbing the rest of it.
 
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