Do you think making the transition from shoes to barefoot/booted requires enormous courage? I certainly do. I’ve wished for more discussion out there in the wonderful space of cyber about trimming and maintaining the hoof.
I had the privilege two weeks ago to spend a couple of days with Duncan McLaughlin while he assessed my horses and gave tips on trimming and general hoof care.
One of the greatest joys for me in the last 11 months of competing barefoot/booted was coming to terms with the fact that I can have more immediate control over my horses’ feet. I’ve found our natural hoof care practitioners to be generous in their explanations and supportive of my desire to maintain hooves in the weeks between trimmings.
Talking about it.
Duncan is no exception. He can definitely see things I don’t yet see. He takes care to watch the horse move before, during and after trimming. He seems to trim more by feel and intuition rather than by just overlaying theory into his job. And the care and comfort of the horse is always at the forefront – even during the trim itself. Nice.
There were some great take-away lessons for me in the time I observed him: manage the bars, but not too much; manage the heel but not too much; manage the sole but not too much; manage the mustang roll but not too much. I’m fascinated by the relationship between sole, bars, hoofwall and frog.
But that toe! Oy! It’s all about the toe in so many ways – stay on top of it; bring it back and do it often.
Before and after.
So if you want ongoing success in your booting program, maintaining a balanced hoof is Job One. And if you want to spend some time watching Duncan, he will be in the US in July, August and September working with EasyCare on some thermography studies in California, Arizona and Utah. I can’t wait.
Kevin Myers
Director of Marketing
I am responsible for the marketing and branding of the EasyCare product line. I believe there is a great deal to be gained from the strategy of using booted protection for horses, no matter what the job you have for your horse.
Dear Stephanie,
Your timing is impeccable. We’ve had so many requests to bring back the Transition Tuesday blog that we are indeed going to be restarting it. The first one should be up later today.
As well as keeping on top the progress of the four horses who were transitioned last year, I’m going to be working with a new project horse who is just coming out of shoes this week.
Stay tuned!
Kevin
Dear Kevin, I have greatly missed your transition Tuesday posts. This post has been the closest to your old posts. Love the atricle and would be psyched to see more on bare foot hoof care from a trimming standpoint. Pictures of different types of feet that show examples of what to strive for in making super feet would be great. I have scoured the web looking for barefoot pics and articles and can never see too many to be inspired! Any chance Transition Tuesday will return?. Maybe your horses are trasitioned and you just need to come up w/ a different name? Thanks for your great articles! Steph
Thanks for your post Kevin! I have a mare that the toe just seems to ‘shoot out’ in no time flat! It seems, to me, that I just cant get it back far enough fast enough! It doesnt seem to bother her in her movement, that I can tell, but being the ‘mom’, I strive for perfection on her, and just cant seem to get it. Thanks for giving my frustration a break… apparently, I am not the only one who is irritated by the TOE!