Help needed from people who are familiar with barefoot trimming

danda

danda

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Since his retirement my horse is barefoot. I have a new farrier and not sure that he is doing a good job with trimming his feet for barefoot. He is overdue for a trim but am putting it off as he is walking on gravel etc with no discomfort and when he has been trimmed he is fine on grass but serious discomfort on hard ground.

I Am not in UK and more difficult to get across to farrier what I want as do not know all the correct words to use.

Horse has other issues so do not want to add more discomfort.

What I would like is for someone who knows what they are talking about to let me know the main differences in trimming a hoof to take a shoe and trimming a hoof that will not be shod, and I will try and get this translated so he can take it into account.

He is a nice young man and has just set up his own business, I am not sure how much they learn about barefoot trimming while apprentice


Appreciate any help here
 
Usually you don't touch the frog or the sole and often not the bars either. How frequent are your trims normally?
 
If you have a good long look at the Rockley farm posts, or buy their book "Feet First" you will be able to understand how the feet grow and how they respond to wear.
Trimming the unshod horse out a pasture is normally required because they are not worn down on grass in the same way they would be worn if hacked out on tarmac or roaming dry prairies where we see the north american mustangs.
Obviously it depends on the individual, but to me [I am not expert, but reasonably confident within my limits of knowledge], the hoof should be balanced in order that he can walk out confidently on his heels, any suggestion of toe first landing or collapsed heels is highly undesirable. The toes should not be long and the horse should walk with a heel first landing which in turn develops and strengthens the digital cushion [hope I got that right].
The regular UK farrier doing a pasture trim will remove shoes which have been on for 6-8 weeks, probably use the cutters to remove long toe growth, rasp round the edges to form a rounded edge [also known as the mustang roll when exaggerated]. The horse will probably not NEED the frog trimmed but farriers are so fast they have that knife out before you can say, "I want to look at the feet first". For shoeing it seems they need to carve out the sole to a greater or lesser extent, THIS is NOT to be done for horses going barefoot, they need all the sole they can get. Concavity is NOT to be "created" by a farrier's knife.
Leave the bars alone, they seem to be a source of cell growth and even in shod horses the farrier usually just tidies them up in preparation for shoeing.
 
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Thanks for your replies and grateful you have taken the time. Sorry but I am incapable of postings pics or would do so. I will try and translate the necessary words to the MF and see how we go. We have had no rain for months and everything is very hard, his hooves included, nor have they grown as much as they normally do so am not in a hurry, normally he would be overdue already but no cracks or chips and walking well. So thanks again for advice.
 
My former farrier always insisted on trimming the sole, even though I had specifically asked him not to. As a result my horse was always tender after a trim, as his soles were thin, and farrier know this but seemed unable to leave them alone. Since May 2014 I have either trimmed off the excess wall myself or had a trimmer do it, but the sole and frog have exfoliated naturally and as a result his soles are much much better. Could this be where your farrier is making your horse sensitive? Would he leave them if you asked him just to take of the excess wall and nothing else?
 
I will ask him to do this and then will be able to see if it makes a big difference, I really hope so. Thanks
 
I would echo all the above and recommend also Jaime Jackson's books, he is a farrier that pioneered barefoot and Horse Owners Guide to natural Hoofcare and Pete Ramey's books are so very useful.
 
Where in France are you?

One thing you must balance, is that if the hoof wall grows too long it forms a natural "shoe" around the sole, lifting it up and consequently the sole doesn't get any stimulation. Then, when the hoof is trimmed you are back to square 1 with your sole conditioning.

If you are currenlty going 8 weeks between normal trims, then you may need to go for a shorter cycle - it may sound counter productive, but taking a little off more often will be better than a lot off after a long interval.

My youngster grows masses of hoof, and doesn't yet do enough work to be even remotely self trimming. I've agreed with my farrier that he will be trimmed every 4 weeks, while my mare (who does a lot of hacking on roads and tracks) will be done every 8.

Contrary to other peoples advice, I've never had an issue with the farrier tidying up the frog every trim, in a healthy foot, the frog bounces back and callouses up in no time at all.

You haven't posted much information, but how fluent is your French? (I don't want to suggest something, and come across as patronising ;) )
 
I am in the Chantilly area (Picardy). The fluency depends on what I am talking about, some subjects ok and in others pretty poor. Chantilly is a towna a bi like Newmarket, race horses everywhee
 
I followed your advice and my farrier did not touch sole, frog, bars etc and we agreed he would come every 4 weeks and do a little each time BUT 15 days later big chunks of hoof are breaking off , the good thing being he is in no discomfort, I feel however that not enough wall was taken off. Someone advised getting certain books, can you tell me which of them has the best and clearest photos/illustrations as will have to show him the pics. Then hope I can get the book via Amazon. Thanks for your advice
 
I would second the recommendation of Feet First. Also good is Pete Ramey, Making Natural Hoof Care Work for You. He also has online articles etc on his website. Jamie Jackson's books are worth reading too.
 
Chunks coming off isn't a disaster it just means he is getting rid of it himself. You could rasp round the edges regularly if you wanted to keep them neater.

It's certainly better than him being sore after a trim, you just need to find a middle ground.
 
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