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RE: [RC] [RC] Shoeing/Trimming Philosophies - Howard BramhallNot sure which barefoot methods you're talking about here. The one I use dictates that the sole of the horses hoof controls the trim. Balance is everything and keeping the same angle on the fronts to match and, the backs to match at their different angle from the front will, almost everytime, ensure all angles (pastern/hoof),, match up correctly.You develope an eye for this and, even though I do shoe (mostly cause I will eventually live in mountains), your horse's hooves can become your pride and joy when you do it yourself. No waiting, you do it when it needs to be done (and with all this rain I've been getting I've been doing it every two weeks or so), no cracks in the hoof wall, and, you're guys' feet always look fantastic. It can be done and ya'll can do it. If you're ever in my neighborhood (during hurricane season you're quite brave if you are) and have a strong desire to do this, contact me. My only charge for this service is a case of beer. I'm not picky but, please, no Lite Crap. lol. cya, Howard
I 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 _________________________________________________________________ Check out Election 2004 for up-to-date election news, plus voter tools and more! http://special.msn.com/msn/election2004.armx =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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