What About Trimming the Bars?
Very few hoof trimming issues are as controversial as trimming the bars. Opinions vary greatly, from not touching them at all to cutting them down all the way to the sole level or beyond...
A Barefoot Hoof Trimmer’s Guide to Tool Use
Now that you've selected your hoof knife, nippers and rasp, you're ready to actually use them. But for a lot of folks, the first trims feel really awkward, and the tools unwieldy. Natural hoof...
How to Check Hoof Balance
Would you like to impress your trimmer? A fun exercise to try at home is determining if your horse’s hoof is balanced. All you need is a ruler and a permanent marker.Hoof care professionals...
Basic Barefoot Hoof Trim Guidelines (And a Few Noteworthy Caveats)
Acute laminitis cases and other severe hoof problems aside, here are some good general guidelines for a non-invasive, basic barefoot trim.
Trim Wall to Live Sole Plane
As a general rule, bringing wall height within 1/8”...
Don’t Be Negative
We all know that being negative is considered a bad thing, and it's no different for the horse's hoof!A negative palmar (front), or negative plantar (hind), angle in the hoof refers to the orientation...
Bringing a Sole Back To New Life Through Shorter Trimming Cycles
The healing art of a smooth transition from a distorted pathological foot to a sustainable bare foot and then on to a well developed barefoot lies in the knowledge of proper form and recognizing...
Roll With It!
The "mustang roll", or rounding of the edges of the hoof wall, was first noticed by observing the way the wild mustangs of the western United States wear their hooves through constant movement over...
The Mystery of the Collateral Grooves
Original article by Maria Siebrand of The Thoughtful Horseman.Measuring Uniform, Adequate Sole Depth Using the Collateral GroovesThe above image is from Marjorie Smith's barefoothorse.com (thank you, Marjorie!) but I've relabeled the image because...
Trimming the Toed-Out or Toed-In Foot
I wrote an article on how to maintain your horse's trim between your trimmer's visits for this week's On the Hoof entry. But I saw a horse yesterday that brought up an issue I...
Is Your Horse Really a Goat?
With all the different trim styles out there it can be difficult to make value decisions for your horse’s feet. Every horse is different, and depending on the environment, the horse’s job and where...