Heel Height: Factors to Consider
I've yet to mentor an aspiring trimmer who didn't wish aloud for a hard and fast, always-and-never guide for trimming. Yep, that sure would make it easier! But we're working with a living thing...an...
Oh. My. God. Becky. Look at Her Bulbs!
Let’s take a peek at another facet of impaired function, the indicator of which, I affectionately call “Bulb Butt”.“Oh my God, Becky. Look her bulbs!” or “Do these shoes make my bulbs look big?”In...
What to Know About Trimming the Toe…
Generally, trimming the toe properly is relatively simple. On a reasonably healthy foot, bring the wall about an 1/8" above sole plane, and bevel back to the waterline. Your bevel will be stronger on...
Balanced Hoof, Balanced Horse
Lateral or medial imbalances are fairly common and a symptom of uneven hoof loading. To treat them properly, it's important to understand the cause. The load is dependent on a horse's conformation and muscle...
What In The World Is The F Balance?
What is the difference between the length and the height of a hoof's heel? The photo below illustrates it.The yellow arrow shows the height, the red arrow shows the length of the heel. So, why...
Managing the Club Hoof
Many articles have been written about club 'footed' horses. Actually, horse do not have 'feet', dogs and humans do, but horses have hooves. Therefore the term 'barefoot', as much as it is in common...
Hoof Care Starts In The Gut
They can be seen everywhere, the most unbalanced hooves, long toes, underrun heels, high heels, flares, you name it. It is truly amazing that horses with neglected hooves can sometimes bring superior performances to...
The Challenges of Spring Grass: Laminitis and Founder
By Dawn WilloughbyIn most cases, owners can prevent the ravages of laminitis (inflammation of the laminae between hoof wall and coffin bone) and founder (pulling away of wall from coffin bone due to a...
The Importance of the “Before and After”
We love to do before and after photo comparisons. They're fun and educational for us trimmers and also for our clients, the horse owners. I'm often surprised at how much has changed.I usually take...
Frog Talk, Part II
In Frog Talk, Part I last month, we discussed frog trimming and looked at various frog pictures of all kinds of shape and form. In this second part of Frog Talk, we are going...