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[RC] Shoeing/Trimming Philosophies - Karen StandeferI have used all of
the barefoot methods. In my opinion, they are all lacking because they do
not pay attention to the boney column alignment and/or correct
breakover. In addition most show a severe lack of knowledge of the
internal anatomy of the hoof. Most of them concentrate on the solar
aspect of the hoof (this includes Natural Balance and Bergy) without regard for
how it ties into the boney column (leg) of the horse. While many times
these methods may yield a nicely balanced hoof, I've also seen (in person,
myself) the authors of these methods trim/shoe the horse and leave it with
a broken pastern axis. Seeing a mentor in the field of equine podiatry
Intentionally leaving a horse with subluxated phalangeal joints is beyond my
comprehension. A pastern joint that is either broken back or forward at
the time of shoeing/trimming will only become even more so 0before the next
farrier visit. Aligning the pastern/hoof axis correctly will leave
the horse with the correct breakvoer for that leg..
I assume the farrier who did not want to do the NB trim
for a barefoot horse has had the experience of soring horses up by putting a
rocker on the toe. In addition, I think NB sometimes takes off too much
heel for some horses, making the hoof wall acute (broken back pastern axis) and
stressing the DDFT which will leave the horse sore. Generall, I believe
the guidelines are ok. They just don't work for every horse. Your
farrier is smart. I'd keep him around :-)
Karen
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