Forces within the foot

The hoof wall is not a weight supporting structure. It not only need not touch the ground, but it should not touch the ground. The horse is designed to support itself on the bars and white zones. Thus flares and other deformities, apart from vertical cracks, are primarily cosmetic and are part of natural and appropriate processes.

When the horse is kept trimmed or shod in balance, the forces applied within the hoof are distributed more properly. The hoof maintains a more natural appearance and alignment for longer periods of time (greater periods between needed trims). There is less impact damage done to the structures of the foot. The horse can move more naturally, stumbles less and exhibits fewer gait faults.

Unfortunately many domestic horses don't have the advantage of natural exercise to stimulate hoof processes and provide natural wear. They may, for example, be kept on unnatural footing such as boxstall shavings. Others may have some congenital or pathological weaknesses. Thus we will have to intervene and provide proper hoof management in the absence of Mother Nature's attention.

Here's a horse to which we applied a 4-point trim. It was raining that day and when we picked up the horse's foot to inspect it, we could see the stains from the damp stall mat which showed up at the four intended contact points. (Note the frog and sole are as intact as is practical and the horse is making contact in the grey zones.)

Here are two shoes of equal foot size. The shoe on the left is the conventional keg shoe. The shoe on the right is a natural balance shoe. The natural balance shoe is aluminum and does not require forging in order to create a rocker with the correct point of breakover. Having a pre-formed rocker toe shoe is helpful for cold shoe farriers and those who don't have the time to forge shoes.

Something as small as the edge of a new shoe can affect a horse's way of going. In review of performance horses, they found that the horses performed better when fit with resets of worn shoes (toes rolled from wear) than they did wearing fresh shoes where the breakover of the shoe was sharper and had to be "broken in. "The logical conclusion was that used shoes should be reset so long as they were viable.

Importance of hoof development in foals

If conditions prevent the hoof walls from wearing, they will tend to contract and the foot will not develop to its potential size. In such cases, regular maintenance is warranted and the hoof wall should be kept filed back so it doesn't run under the sole and so that the white zone and the bars of the developing foot can maintain proper ground contact and support the foal.

The "Four Point Trim"

The "four point trim" doesn't mean that the horse has a square foot. The horse is allowed to bear weight on the bars and the forward corners and the toe is rockered back from underneath in order to maintain the 1/3:2/3 ratio in front of and behind the apex of the frog. Thus the toe can still have a pleasing appearance, but the point of breakover (where the hoof no longer contacts the ground) can be brought back appropriately due to the rasping of a rocker to the underside of the toe.

Exfoliating sole material can still be removed, but as much sole as possible should be left in place. Feet should not be pared out to the point that the sole can be palpated. The "waxy surfaces" should be left in place.

The buttress of the frog should not be pared out. While exfoliation in the medial surfaces and apex should be removed,the buttress is an important part of the structure and should be left as intact as possible.

The bars and heels should be brought level, but ordinarily not removed. The shell can be dressed up and made level with a rasp. The dorsal hoof wall can also be dressed, however it should not be seriously rasped in the upper half of the dorsal surface.

Each foot should be considered independently and trimmed to its own needs. While a pair of feet may appear slightly different when trimmed for natural balance, the trim is appropriate for the horse's way of going and the natural corrective forces within the foot, if allowed to operate, will tend to make the feet appear more alike over time.

The point of breakover, created by either rocking the toe or applying a device such as the Natural Balance Shoe, should remain within 1 1/8 to 1 1/4 inches forward of the apex of the frog, or a 1/3:2/3 ratio. Personal comment added: On inspection of draft horse feet it appears that the 1/3:2/3 ratio leaves too generous of a toe. A ratio of 1/4:3/4 seems more appropriate for these horses.

Application of these principles produce a "win-win-win"situation. The horse wins because he can move more naturally and should be less predisposed to hoof disease. The horse owner wins because he may have to trim the horse less often and may also benefit from not anguishing over future hoof problems such as navicular disease. The farrier wins because the natural balance or four point trim is easier to provide and is less time consuming.

A demonstration followed where horses were both trimmed and shod.