Re: contracted heels

["mmieske" <mmieske@netonecom.net>]

Darolyn writes:

 

<Barefootin' is an incredible discovery for bringing health back to the foot.  No more interference, forging, thrush, navicular syndrome..... cures founder & laminitis too.  Almost anyone can learn to trim...  >

 

I have to respectfully disagree about barefoot being the cure all for everything.  There is NO cure for navicular, laminitis (depending on the cause) and founder and barefoot is not necessarily the solution to forging, interference and thrush.  Horses can get thrush with or without shoes and is a result of poor hygiene, not from wearing shoes. They can also forge and interfere with bare feet.  Most of these can be improved with frequent and appropriate trimming...  Nelson has brought back many horses to a useful life (without shoes) after they have been severely foundered but being barefoot did not CURE the ill.  As far as anyone being able to learn to trim...I would caution people on this, too.  You have no idea how many people simply have NO EYE for balance and angle no matter how hard they try to learn and most are simply not capable of holding the foot properly to trim it...by the time we get there, the horse has learned all kinds of tricks to avoid keeping his foot up and his feet are terribly messed up.  Nelson will help people learn to trim if they ask and there are a couple who DO have an eye for it but they are the exception.  Our stallion has BEAUTIFUL feet, among the best I have ever seen, and he goes barefoot for quite a while early in the season but there is no way I would expect him to stay barefoot through an entire season.  He would wear his feet down to nothing.... AGAIN, for the 100th time, PLEASE remember that every horse is an individual and while the Strasser method may be just fine for some horses as well as the Natural Balance and the wild horse/4 point trim may work for some, USE COMMON SENSE in whatever approach you use.  If what you are doing is working, don't try to fix it if it ain't broke.  If you are having trouble, experiment and work with a "professional" farrier to find a solution that works for YOUR horse.

Maggie