Grass & footiness- barefoot people please.

I just want to make a quick addendum to my "I would use any trimmer who has hard working barefoot horses" statement.

I would NOT use any trimmer who ever draws blood deliberately in a trim. That rules out all Strasser trained trimmers unless they have modified their trimming away from their training guidelines. Ask your proposed trimmer this question:

"Is it acceptable to trim a horse and have it walk away from the trim less comfortable than it walked into it?" If their answer is not a resounding "NO!", turn and run!
 
Hi there.
I had my TB go barefoot on his fronts 4 months ago and on his backs 2 weeks ago. My natural hoof care lady has not refered to limited grazing at all, there are 3 other horses on my yard barefoot and 1 unshod and none of them have any problems. My TB has paper thin front soles and was having pads etc under his shoes but was getting absesses all the time so shoes came off. Was very concerned as all farriers I have used told me his were the worst feet they have ever seen, but I perserved and things are going well. I use Old Mac G2s on is fronts for hacking with comfort pads. He has no heel on backs so am looking for some second hand size 4 Old Mac G2, dont really want new ones cos his feet will be changing dramatically over next few months.
 
Yeehaa! said:
Oh really? mrdarcey SHAME ON YOU! :eek:

... mrdarcey you were Gendenskis Girl on this forum and Lazeearabians on UKNHCP forum and you have changed your story just a tad. Not sure that cptrayes has cottoned on yet. :D

Here is a reminder :cool:

http://uknhcp.myfastforum.org/ftopic1451-0.php


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Hummmm... well if you want to discuss the difference between active pressure/wear and passive pressure/wear, which was my original point, then lets do it. Cptrayes was originally saying that horses walk only on their frogs and soles, not the hoof wall, which is incorrect. Horses actively wear their hoof wall, followed by passively wearing their frogs and soles. There is a difference - if you don't understand what that is then I suggest you read Jaime Jackson's books. All structures play a part and it is dangerous to go around saying things like horses weight bear only on their frogs and soles to vets and other professionals when it is clearly incorrect. The wild mustang hooves clearly show that the hoof wall is the primary weight bearing structure and the frog is not weight bearing unless on soft or uneven ground. I have seen horses in this country with frogs like that and I have also seen the opposite - both are correct and dependent on ground conditions, diet, individual horse etc. Unfortunately the UKNHCP have become so inward looking that you can't debate or disagree with them on anything. Cptrayes has found this out recently - it didn't reflect well on the UKNHCP at all... though I think it's more down to a few individuals than the majority of the members.
 
Allow me to clarify what I meant, if not what I said :)

MY horses, standing still on a flat hard surface, bear weight only on their heels, frogs and sole callous. They do not bear weight on the on the outer hoof wall in that situation and it's very close to call whether they bear any weight outside the white line at all, other than at the heel plane. Since my horses are some of the highest performing jumping barefooters in the country, and sound as a pound on every surface, then I think they have it right for a performance trim for the UK. I don't do this trim, by the way, they do. They are not alone, every really high performing foot I have seen looks very similar.

The hoof wall may be the primary weightbearing structure in a mustang in dry parts of America, but that model seems to me to be far from common in a performance horse in the UK. If a horse chooses it, and is sound in all situations, then that's fine, but it isn't what mine or any other high performing horse I know chooses.

I have nothing to say publicly here about the UKNHCP forum and would ask people not to quote my name in respect of what went on there, please.
 
We'll have to agree to disagree on that one - which I'm always happy to do, everyone is entitled to their opinion after all... at least on this forum anyway! Certainly observing my own horses (high performance endurance horses) they bear weight on their hoof wall, along with bars, frog and sole but we're talking a matter of fraction of inches of hoof wall, specifically the water line, being higher than the sole. On a flat hard surface can you pass a sheet of paper under the hoof wall all the way round? I can't with my horses. The mustang roll is done to make sure the water line is the most distal part of the horse. The only thing I would ask is if the hoof wall is not there to share in bearing weight what is it there for? And why on a hard working hoof does the hoof wall thicken up?


Sorry to bring up the other stuff.
 
My impression is that the hoof wall is there to glue the pedal bones in place, to protect the foot from damage and to damp down the shock that runs through the foot when it is smacked to the floor. I think that it thickens up on a hardworking foot to stop the foot flexing too much and causing damage either to the attachment or the internal foot.

My rehab had very flexible feet because of diet issues. When his feet were part grown he escaped me and went for a hooley. The pressure of doing too much with too long a toe cause his weak foot to crease at the event line. That made him sore and he bled into the quarters of the white line (no pink at the toe or heel, just at ten and two o'clock where the pressure was very severe.) He very quickly grew buttresses of horn from the inside outwards (not down from the coronet, out from inside) at the points where there was most pressure to bend and when he had done that he was sound even with the long toe still growing out.

The faster a foot works and the higher it jumps, the more pressure there is trying to pull the attachment off the pedal bone, and the more solid the hoof wall needs to be to resist that pressure. That's my theory, anyway.

On a flat hard surface the piece of paper you ask about would touch the outside edge of the white line from ten o'clock to two o'clock and most of my horses remove their hoof from ground contact completely at the quarters - I can get a hoof pick under, never mind a piece of paper :-) The sole callous, white line and hoof wall are in one continuous, unbroken curve. At no point from ten to two is the hoof wall longer than either the white line or the sole callous. The hoof wall is higher than the sole at the quarters and seat of corn, but the sole there is so curved, that as I have said, there is no hoof at all in contact with the ground.

We could all do with meeting up at some huge convention in the middle of the country and seeing each others feet, couldnt' we? I'll show you mine if you show me yours!
 
.....one of the dangers of people doing a few days of training, reading a few books, going on a forum or two and thinking they know what they're doing.
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MrDarcey I was just wondering what qualification and experience you have, since you appear to be so knowledgeable on all things barefoot. :rolleyes:

Congratulations on completion of the AANHCP Foundation Course. Every journey starts with a single step :D
http://www.rockcrunchers.co.uk/index.php?p=1_5_News

As your name is not included on the list of UK AANHCP trimmers, I was wondering how you are able to claim such lofty status. Is it an oversight -or is it that you are not quite there yet?

As you suggested, thank you, I have looked on AANHCP website. I see that your foundation course comprises 125 hours of study at 'Training Camp', over 12 days. A large part of this time spent in a classroom environment working on cadaver hooves, attending lectures, demonstrations with a bit of keep fit (for you, not the horse). :confused: There is one fleeting mention of diet referring to colic, laminitis and natural boarding. It is a big subject to shoe horn into an afternoon's study! :eek:

I think there is still a problem with "qualified" trimmers. I'm aware of one set of qualifications which requires (or did when I last looked two months ago) the trainee to have done the same 5 day course 5 times in order to qualify. With one man as the trainer. And the same man as the examiner. Another organisation offering qualifications does not, I am told, teach its trainees even a basic modicum of how nutrition affects the feet.
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Agree with the above quote from cptrayes. 'Training' can mean anything. Wondering where you stand in all this, mrdarcey? :p

Am I right in concluding that you are now able to offer your service to paying barefoot clients - with little more than six months personal experience, 12 days foundation training - with implied status as a graduated AANHCP barefoot practitioner? It all seems a bit misleading to me.
 
Wow Yeehaa - you seem to have a real grudge against me. Can't imagine why....

When deciding what training to undertake I looked at all the courses, including the UKNHCP, compared all the syllabuses, the number of hours spent training, the back up provided by each organisation during training and after training and the qualifications of the people doing the training. I also spoke to people who had done, or at least started, training with the various organisations. The AANHCP stood out head and shoulders above all of them. And to answer your question I'll be taking my final exam in the next few weeks but, just like students of the UKNHCP, my intructors are happy for me to take on paying clients.

Now you can continue to attack me personally for whatever reasons you have but I think it says a lot more about you than it does about me.
 
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maggiesmum said:
Shoes appear to have a numbing affect on the feet, so its not that barefoot horses are more susceptible more that they can actually feel the ground underneath their feet properly.

Someone else also rubbished that fact that grass is bad for horses, grass isn't bad for horses per se, more that the type of grass most of our horses are kept on is bad for them, over fertilised single species rye grass isn't what horses digestive systems were designed for.
I also watch people restrict their horses all summer and then spend all winter stuffing them with food, maybe if a few more people allowed their horses to get a little leaner in the winter they wouldn't have to spend all summer starving them? Just a thought!
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Completely agree with this..give me an old meadow field anyday, rye grass is not ideal for horses but it's difficult to find anything else as so many yards now are on farms that have diversified so it's all rye.
Mine are on a field with little grasss but enough and they have to walk, trot, canter to get the best bits ie|: plenty of exercise at the same time. Shod and always have been.
I had a few years ago a horse that was unshod for about 8 months as well, he was treated the same 'grass wise' no problems.
 
Wow Yeehaa - you seem to have a real grudge against me. Can't imagine why....
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No grudge, just enjoy a robust debate with passion :D all in the interests of healthy discussion as this is such a hot potato under extreme scrutiny. Don't take it personally ...unless the cap fits. Good luck for your final exams.

You have not really answered my points raised. I am not particularly interested in your selection of 'school' even after your Strasser, UKNHCP and anyone-else bashing. I am much more concerned with your implications of expertise.

When, exactly, did you first go barefoot with your own horse/s? I see from your website that you were having problems with one of your shod horse quite recently.

http://www.rockcrunchers.co.uk/index.php?p=1_3_About


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Yeehaa! said:
No grudge, just enjoy a robust debate with passion :D all in the interests of healthy discussion as this is such a hot potato under extreme scrutiny. Don't take it personally ...unless the cap fits. Good luck for your final exams.

You have not really answered my points raised. I am not particularly interested in your selection of 'school' even after your Strasser, UKNHCP and anyone-else bashing. I am much more concerned with your implications of expertise.

When, exactly, did you first go barefoot with your own horse/s? I see from your website that you were having problems with one of your shod horse quite recently.

http://www.rockcrunchers.co.uk/index.php?p=1_3_About


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Robust debate is great. As a new forum member perhaps you should look back at some of the lively debates we've all been having on HHO in the last few months about barefoot - lots of great info for you to mull over. And if there's anything there you disagree with then we can debate on that, with pleasure. As for questions about me personally this forum isn't really the place - I don't want to contravene any forum rules about self advertising and I'm sure you don't either - so if you'd like to know more about me, my background or anything else then PM me or email me and I'll answer any of your questions. And as I've said before any one who wants to see me trim, or see my horses' feet they are very welcome. We love visitors!
 
Rouletterose said:
Completely agree with this..give me an old meadow field anyday, rye grass is not ideal for horses but it's difficult to find anything else as so many yards now are on farms that have diversified so it's all rye.
Mine are on a field with little grasss but enough and they have to walk, trot, canter to get the best bits ie|: plenty of exercise at the same time. Shod and always have been.
I had a few years ago a horse that was unshod for about 8 months as well, he was treated the same 'grass wise' no problems.
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I agree absolutely with every comment made about the quality of modern grazing. But with one of mine, that still isn't the answer. My grazing is hill flower meadow at 1100 feet. My growing season is 8 weeks (4 at each end) shorter than the Cheshire plain. My field has not been fertilized for, to my certain knowledge, at least 21 years. Yet my warmblood is rock crunching if he is kept off it at night, and not if he is on it 24/7.

I wonder if there is some kind of "pulse" effect going on, where the gut gets a break from the green stuff for a few hours when he only gets haylage. He isn't starved when he is in, which is why I am so sure that the "excess calorie" argument is not the whole picture. But I do think maybe his gut gets a chance to recover while the haylage is going through, which allows his feet to stay rock crunching all year round.

I know that Richard Vialls of the UKEP has suggested that one of the reasons that autumn laminitis has been so bad for the last few years is because the wet summers kept the grass very lush and the gut never got a break over the "hot" summer before the autumn fructan levels rose.

I wish we knew!!!
 
Yes of course I did. How stupid of me !!! I'm still overexcited from my written off rehab coming second in a National Qualifier yesterday. I'm so sorry to hear about Storm's diagnosis SB, I hope you have better news for him soon.
 
Thank you! I think everyone except the vets saw that one coming - still hopefully by the end of the week he'll be in the best hands to deal with it, and if nothing else I've finally found a vet who is serious about helping him.

Sorry, rather hijacked the OP's thread, but a lot of this is still answering your questions!
 
I understand what everyone is saying about the grazing being too rich.

But why do horse owners feel the need to tillage and tillage their grazing and then it's the very same horse owners who complain later on in the season that their grazing is too lush and they're having problems with their horses... surely it's commmon sense that tillage = richer grazing = fat/ laminitic horses?
 
Indy said:
I understand what everyone is saying about the grazing being too rich.

But why do horse owners feel the need to tillage and tillage their grazing and then it's the very same horse owners who complain later on in the season that their grazing is too lush and they're having problems with their horses... surely it's commmon sense that tillage = richer grazing = fat/ laminitic horses?
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Unfortunately most people are on livery yards and have no control over their grazing management plus there is still this belief that only ponies get laminitis. A lot of livery yards in my area are ex-dairy farms, so have a long history of rye grass planting and yearly fertilizing. The farmers have got rid of the cows but still think that fields should be fertilized for horses - it's a mindset that will be difficult to change. Plus there are still lots of horse owners who want their horses out on lush grass because they think it's good for the horse. Education is the key and the more we all discuss it on forums like HHO the better.
 
Indy said:
I understand what everyone is saying about the grazing being too rich.

But why do horse owners feel the need to tillage and tillage their grazing and then it's the very same horse owners who complain later on in the season that their grazing is too lush and they're having problems with their horses... surely it's commmon sense that tillage = richer grazing = fat/ laminitic horses?
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I agree that land management amongst horse owners isnt great and a relatively ignored part of owning a horse. Lots of horses are kept on unsuitable grass, overgrazed in winter (too many horses per acre), then fertilised. I understand that some owners have a slim choice of yards and so have to make the best of a bad situation however i also think many owners dont realise the importance of grass management. They agonise over hard feed and hay and take no notice of the grass (except to complain theres too much/not enough)! :confused:

Sorry, rather hijacked the OP's thread, but a lot of this is still answering your questions!
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No complaints from me- im very interested in everyones comments and stories. Im learning :)


Yeehaa- i have got involved in alot of the debates about barefoot because of some dubious statements and claims that seem unfounded. The very question on the start of this thread was an attempt by me to get further clarification of a much mentioned 'fact' by some barefoot people. I am honestly interested in the barefoot debate and what benefits can be given to our horses. However i have found that some of my challenging questions have been carefully ignored! One of my biggest 'issues' is also the minimal training that people can have before going out in the big wide world and trimming other peoples horses for money. I also havnt been able to find/see a clear explanation of what exactly is involved in being a qualified trimmer.

I have seen and disected lots of dead legs. I have studied anatomy, physiology, movement, nutrition, etc for 7 years at university and still wouldnt go anywhere near my horses feet with a rasp! So to me a few weeks learning horrifies me. Many barefoot followers see it as 'just a tidy up with a rasp' but to me that is still unacceptable, even on your own horse, without extensive knowledge.

So i do understand your points of view, although i am unsure as to why you have taken the debate personally with mrdarcy. You obviously have your background info and reasons. I agree with some of your comments but please dont get too personal as i dont want these debates to turn sour- selfishly because i am learning alot!
 
TeddyT your reluctance to trim for yourself after all your training is interesting. It doesn't feel any more risky to me now than filing my own nails. Of course when I started I thought their feet might drop off if I went cross country without shoes :), but as long as you follow a mantra of never going any further if you see the slightest tinge of pink, there is very little harm you can really do with a straightforward horse as long as you don't touch the sole. Especially if you do plenty of roadwork, when your horse will largely trim his feet for himself. What we seem to have forgotten after centuries of tacking metal to our horses' feet is that they really do know how to grow the best foot for their own leg, as long as we let them. The difficulty is the corrupted ones and knowing what to do then, and that does need experience.

There are five trimming organisations offering paper qualifications:

UKNHCP
AANHCP (US based)
UKEP
USEP (US based)
Strasser.

UKNHCP and UKEP were involved in setting up the new National Occupational Standards which are in place but not yet being monitored.

Strasser trimmers are the only ones who have been prosecuted, and successfully too. They are the only ones that I know of who advocate an invasive trim - they will cut into live foot in order to creat the "right" shaped hoof. The foot will bleed. The other organisations consider this unacceptable.

'UK' organisations are both spin-offs of the US versions but there are considerable differences between them and their "parent" and you would need to check the websites of all of them if you want details as to what their training involves.

In addition there are a number of other people who from time to time run one-off courses in the UK and the US, which could in no way be counted as offering any valid qualification for a professional trimmer.

It is perfectly legal for anyone to trim any horse and to offer their services as a paid trimmer.

There, clear as mud, innit??

I'm not aware of ignoring any questions myself, challenging or otherwise. Can you ask the questions people have ignored again - I'm sure I'm not alone in wanting to answer them if I can.
 
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Thanks cptrayes- helpful as always :)

I dont want to trim my horses feet because i dont see it as my job. Much as i have had more training than many professional trimmers ;) i havnt spent 4 odd years on specific training like a farrier and experienced the number of horses that they see, many hours a day, 5+ days a week. I therefore dont see that i should do their feet just as i wouldnt rasp their teeth. Part of it is also that i know what damage can be done to joints, tendons and muscles by poor foot balance, not just the damage to the foot itself. I am happy with my farrier (ive sacked plenty ;)) and i talk to him if i have any concerns and he is happy to discuss things- hes not got his head stuck up his a**e like many! The risk of causing a problem (if not immediately then longer term) outweighs any thoughts of trimming them myself, im just not happy to do it.

Thanks for the outline of organisations. I have looked some of them up individually but they dont exactly make it clear about qualifications! Not to me anyway.

I know that it is legal for anyone to trim, which i disagree with. Unfortunately you are one of the very few who sound like they know what they are doing and i cringe at some of the things people say about trimming their own horses. As with dentistry, i feel it would be much safer for horse welfare if you had to be qualified and registered.

As i have said before, you have taught me alot on this subject and i respect your opinion. you havnt skirted any questions and if the answer has been unknown you have said that rather than ignoring it. I cant remember specific examples but in previous threads some of my queries have been ignored by others though. i will ask you when i remember them!
 
My hunter has on opinion on ground bearing frogs!

He has been ground bearing all winter while he was hunting. I laid him off at the end of April and have ridden only twice since. This morning, his heels had grown to such an extent that he is the first horse in my yard not to have ground bearing frogs on concrete.

So it looks as if, in the UK, it's work related. Horses in hard work seem to wear their heels down to where they are level with their frogs, pack their frogs to a solid lump and then keep those levels by growing as much as is worn. Without enough work, my hunter's frogs are no longer ground bearing and they don't look as healthy as they did. Needless to say, his heels came off sharpish and he is now ground bearing again, because I believe what he makes for himself while he works hard is what nature wants him to have, so I will recreate that wear for him while he isn't working hard enough to do it himself.

Interesting! I must thank him later for adding to the discussion :)
 
Cptrayes - there were more than two trimming organisations involved in setting up the NOS. Even though it might make some people bleed rather than admit it :-)
 
Ah, thankyou for the correction, I have only heard of one organisation from the people concerned, and the second sort of "let slip" over a dinner conversation. The problem now as I understand it is that no organisation is coming forward to "police" the NOS, so they are pretty much pointless?
 
But...a bit of balance.

I trim my own horses. I have done some training, a small amount in the UKNHCP but also with other organisations. I do a good job of my own lads, and have had to deal with some interesting hoof problems.

My vet knows what I am doing, has seen all of my lads regularly, has commented on how good their hooves are, is happy with their feet - and even has objective measures like xrays showing perfect balance.

I also trim a couple of horses owned by friends, and I get paid in red wine :o for a couple of mares that are basically basket cases and have been traumatised, but they like me and behave beautifully for me (mostly) and the owners can't face the sheer stress of going with someone else and dealing with the behaviour issues - anyway they like what I do and their horses have great feet.

Also I know a few barefoot owners who trim their own horses - they are happy to do so and do a great job. One stud farm I know has so many horses they would be bankrupt if they brought in a trimer to do them all! But the feet I saw were beautiful.

So they hysteria that gets spun up over unqualified, non organisational trimers can be a bit overblown, and in the end of the day it is down to the individual to choose what works for their horse.

I am sure there are awful trimmers out there, and their reputation will preceed them, but there are equally awful semi professionals and professionals in other equine services.

But if you have a mind to learn, and know when you're out of your depth, then basic trimming for your own horses is not hard to master. Honest. It's the other 99% of keeping them barefoot that is the hard bit!!
 
brucea said:
One stud farm I know has so many horses they would be bankrupt if they brought in a trimer to do them all! But the feet I saw were beautiful.

So they hysteria that gets spun up over unqualified, non organisational trimers can be a bit overblown, and in the end of the day it is down to the individual to choose what works for their horse.
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Picking holes here but lack of finances is NOT a reason to start trimming your own horses feet! If they cant afford a trimmer/farrier then they shouldnt have so any horses! (Not saying that this is the only reason why they chose to do their own trimming).

Also, trimming (or not in many cases) youngsters is arguably where you can do the most damage- because the bones are still growing and any minor inbalance could have a catastrophic effect on future soundness. You may see this as me being hysterical but horses generally get a tough life anyway, without the added disadvantage of a predisposition to unsoundness because unqualified people have trimmed their feet at a young age.

Of course its up to individuals to decide what to do with their own horses- this doesnt mean they will make the right decision though. They may not actually really know what works- they may just think they know! And choosing to trim your own horse to save money on paying a professional is not a good choice in my eyes. And as i said previously, i know what damage can be done to a horse of any age (let alone a youngster) by poor trimming and i personally feel that this should be done by qualified or very well educated and experienced individuals. In the case of trimming for others then the trimmer should definately be answerable to a governing body in order to minimise the risk of cowboys!
 
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Devil's advocate question: why is trimming your own horses feet different to deciding what it has to eat, what saddle it wears, what bit it has and how it is ridden? All of these things can damage a horse if done badly, but trimming seems to be the one that sparks most controversy. Is it just because in some ways it's a relatively new thing?
 
I quite agree with you, theres many decisions made that can cause a problem. There are plenty of saddle fitters (qualified and not) that shouldnt be fitting saddles! Teachers that shouldn teach, etc. With regards to the bit, saddle and being ridden the consequences are on the whole short term i.e. discomfort for a shorter time period (not that tis excuses it).

With trimming the feet, if it is done badly then the horse has to put up with discomfort or pain 24/7 until the foot grows. In some cases the poor trim can also seriously affect the whole body- joints, muscles, tendons, etc and even cause catastrophic damage. Put a piece of wood on one side of your shoe and see how quickly your back starts to ache! Imagine you are a growing child and see what happens to your bones and joints if you walk lopsided. Go out and perform an athletic sport and see if you find it easy. Land from jump after jump with one side of your foot higher than the other....(but you cant tell anyone because you speak a different language, you can only explain by your behaviour and hope someone understands you)

Also, once hoof is taken off you cant put it back on. In the case of cutting someones hair, the worst this will cause is embarassment if done badly but i still dont cut my own hair! But if too much hoof or the wrong amount/balance is removed this causes a much more severe issue than embarassment.

Furthermore, if it were that easy then why the four year extensive training to become a farrier? Yes, they nail on shoes but the foot has to be balanced first so a huge amount of training is done before they start nailing on shoes. Why should a trimmer be allowed to skip most or all of this training when the consequences on the welfare of the horse have the potential to be so severe?
 
Teddy T the big problem with farriers' balancing a horse's foot is that they have been taught to set the foot square. I know of one who even uses a joinery set-square measure. Very, very often the horses that are lame in shoes and sound out of them don't want the foot "square" to the ground, they need it differently balanced. Allowed to choose for themselves, they grow the foot that best suits the leg and body above it. Set hard with a shoe, they are in constant low-grade pain. (You can tell some of these horses by a change in behaviour when the shoes are removed. They are often labelled "difficult", only to turn into little lambs once their feet don't hurt any more.)

A foot trimmed too far grows back quickly and it's pretty easy to see from how the horse walks away from the trim whether you have the balance better or worse. (How many farriers ever watch the horse move before they shoe it - even one they are just taking on? I've never seen one do it in over thirty years in three different counties and six different stables. ) I've lost count of the dishers that I have seen come out of shoes and straighten up their action when they have a foot to match the fact that their legs aren't straight. We aren't symmetric - why do we shoe them as if they are?

It's my experience that it is far easier to damage a horse with shoes than it is with a mistaken bit of trimming, which the horse usually corrects for itself within days. We seem to have lost track of the fact that a horse actually knows how to grow a good foot for himself. I think that there are many horses out there who would breathe a sigh of relief if their owner was forced into barefooting them by a choice of "sell the horse because I can't afford to keep it" or "learn to trim it for myself and save £800 a year". I've seen such enormous benefits to my horses from being shoeless that I'm happy for it to be any reason at all that encourages people to try it, though I do agree that cost is not an ideal motivator and that paid trimmers should be regulated and insured.

In answer to your question about 4 years training for farriers, they spend a whole year of that learning how to bend metal. Why? There are very few farriers these days who don't use factory shoes. They are taught how to run a business and how to balance a foot to fit a shoe. What they DON'T get taught, and need to have included in their syllabus, is how to keep a barefoot horse performing at top levels on all surfaces. It should be routine for a farrier who is called to shoe a three year old for the first time to ask what work it is going to do, watch it move, and advise the owner how to keep it without shoes if they possibly can. One day, I think it will be, but for the moment we are watching those pigs flying past the window again!

How can we have faith in farriers in general when we can all see that there are thousands of horses in this country walking from their stables to an arena, to a paddock, to their stables, who have no need of shoes whatsoever - yet their farriers continue to turn up month after month and nail metal, definitely unnecessary but quite possibly also damaging, to their feet, pocket the cash and drive away again?

My own faith in farriers was destroyed by having one with 30 years experience and one newly out of college, so bang up to date, tell me that my horse could never work without shoes because of his flat feet and collapsed heels. That horse competed affiliated eventing barefoot well within a year. Of course at that point in time he had neither flat feet nor collapsed heels, both of which had been caused by his shoes in the first place.

I feel sorry for people right now, to be honest. Most people like to pay for the advice of an expert and unfortunately all this barefoot stuff is causing people to question who the experts really are. It's an uncomfortable place for many people to be. I feel lucky that I was forced to start by a farrier-damaged horse in an area where there were no paid trimmers yet operation, so for me it was an easy decision. It is much harder now.

That's why I wish the Worshipful Company of Farriers would grab this wholeheartedly and change their syllabus to include the barefoot stuff - trim, nutrition, environnment and work, and change their ethos to one of shoes being used when they are proved necessary and not routinely applied to every horse and pony. Then everyone would know where they stand again with regard to professional hoof care for horses.

More pigs with wings!!
 
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