I Love your videos, as a horse owner is so good to be able to know what the heck is going on with my horses feet. Before I used to take a very passive stance with my horses feet and my farrier. Sometime I would see things in between trims that I didn't know if they were serious or not. Now I feel confident enough to keep my horses feet touched up in between trims, and now have a better understanding as to what is a big deal and what is not.
cont: I tell people less is more,you normally can do a lot less damage by taking off less than taking too much. I can see some new horse person trying this, I know this is not your fault, but they will chop a foot up & do damage thinking they are doing what you did. I just had some yahoo tell me her husband been doing feet for 30 years & was just going to level a horses back feet and ONE rasp of the hoof and it started bleeding.I know BS thanks for putting this out, anything to get rid of nails.
I am VERY thankful for your comments and observations, and respect your understanding and knowledge. And the very thing you said on th is older video are things that I have been seeing in correcting and applying even recently. And I found it really interesting you would make that comment since I had recently seen my error and been doing exactly what you stated.
I think you stated some good points and appreciate what you are trying to do. Over the years hoof care seems to be like other things on a pendulum, years ago high heals were good, then low heals are better, long toe good, then short toe good, bars don't support weight, they do support weight, for a while degree were important and the front had to be different than back, and front hoof carry more weight so they are different than back ??? You sound like you have a good grasp of the hoof. Cont:
Talon, Not to start a fight, but I am always interested in different techniques. If you don't agree with this one, post one with your point of view. I would watch it just to see the differences, plus it would help me learn more about my horses feet. I have to say I don't always understand my farrier, who is also certified. So having good videos as a reference point is always a good thing for me!
PS. Used to never have to tell farriers to get the toe back.Even when the horse developed a toe crack,when the horse never had one before, the farriers still didn't' change what they were doing.And that includes a well known natural trim farrier that was so wrapped up in his jargon that he couldn't see the forest through the trees & adapt when it was clear the toe crack started AFTER he started doing the horse.I did the horse myself... end of toe crack.I relate completely to what she is saying
I have been trimming my own horses, following advice from some well known "famous" barefoot trimmers (I won't list the names) and have not gotten the results I had hoped for. But, because of the various truths about the hoof, which you have so expertly elaborated on, I can now understand why I have not gotten my hoped for results. Your explanation and demonstration of hoof mapping is nothing short of genius! It all makes sense to me now. Thank you so much! And as far as those poor, naysaying "professional" farriers go, you have hit the "horseshoe nail on the head." Thanks for exposing the truth.
Search it out on youtube and start looking close in the video at the grey stallion starting at 1:05. Look at the hoof form, toe angle, pasturn angle and alignment, and watch the stride in the walk. When I finally got my horses toes back, it started walking like that, but at first did not know how to walk, and I thought I'd lamed him. This seems to be a pattern with horses that formerly had long toes, they have to learn to walk again. If they have weak heels/frogs some of it will be soreness.
I have been learning about barefoot hoof trims and studying. I would love to know where you learned your technique, where you get your facts and how many horses you have worked on? You are different from other natural hoof trimmers I have been learning from. You are much more aggressive. If you wish to educate, can you tell me what is your background?
NO, NO, NO Nadine I was not being sarcastic I really meant it and thought you were totally right in what you said, because I have caught myself doing the very thing you said I was not doing, which is not actually digging or trimming down correctly to the true apex. I was truly agreeing with you, and frankly I thought it was quite brilliant of you to find that and point it out to me. I should have elaborated on what I said when I said "Thanks for pointing thyat out."
Thanks so much again for a great video. This is one of your best with the new method and especially useful was learning that as long as you have hard yellow lamina at the toe you haven't taken it back too far. The knowledge that the yellow is still safe really helps. I so wish I could spend a few days with you in the field and learn more. thank you
And now also she does not get sore after a trim, if I did it again, that short like I took this mare, I would cast the feet for two weeks. As it is, I lengthen the measurement from the true apex to the CB to 1 1/4' and now none of the horses I do in this manner get sore. This is a work in process and I do not have all the answers....yet....
Just have to say, have learnt so much from your videos, love the dissections and how you really break down the internal foot in your videos. When I started learning to barefoot trim in 2014 you were among my resources to teach myself after 'professional farriers' messed up not just one of my horse's feet but 2, even making our shetland lame on all 4 feet after one trim. After trying multiple 'professional farriers' they all let me down somehow leaving my horses feet in an unbalanced situation, enormous bell flares and lameness. Because of the detailed videos, you produce and your simplistic terms which are brilliant for my dyslexia I have increased my knowledge and have been barefoot trimming now since 2014. Running a horse sanctuary horses come to us with messed up feet through lack of care mainly due to, not to the owners not getting farriers, but their lack of knowledge to the hoof that they don't know if the farrier has done a correct job or not. Too many 'professional farriers' are lacking in skills or do not care enough to look after our horses correctly. We all should be gaining the knowledge of our horses to their benefit and not just leave it to the judgment of others. Interesting I am doing a BSc in Uni at the moment and this video from 2012 actually supports journals I have been reading that are more recent. Well done! Trimming myself also saves me some £2700 a year with the current amount of horses we have rescued. I've not had one single case of lameness connected with feet since I took over trimming myself. Knowledge is the path, gain the knowledge.
Hi Melanie, Thank you so much for sharing some of your journey with me. It does my heart so much good to hear when what I have gone through and learned has opened the eyes of someone else and really made a difference. For I too still get discouraged at times, now now because of the horses feet, that's pretty much answered, but because of how blind this world is and the needless pain and suffering so many are causing thinking they know when they do not. Now that is what often discourages me, but as they say Rome was not built in a day, and I believe someday all this will be common knowledge and the destructive teachings about horses feet will be a think of the past.
Are you rounding the toe so you don't have leverage at the "corners" or I guess the pillars, i ask because the toe rocker looks to be just straight across? I hope that makes sense!
Surely that is good to know and I will start looking for that. But for people who can barely as yet tell the sole from the wall, or they have a horse with lots of distortion or a very stretched run forward toe, that is too advanced for them to find and be able to bring the toe back correctly and help the horse grow a new hoof capsule. and I deal with a lot of people who have no help and have horses in trouble, this included me so I had to start figguring it out for myself (unfortunately)
I am concerned about getting excess leverages off the hoof capsule so that it can grow down firmly and perfectly connected to the internal foot. 55/55, 60/40 and even whatever methods I may use to determine the placement of P3 is only at best a "close" tool used to determine where I can remove excess over growth and distortion, so as to grow an anatomically correctly fitting hoof capsule on the internal foot as a whole. Proper mechanisum follows as the foot corrects itself over time.
I'm a bit confused by this new thought process of trimming - only because I can't picture in my head what the hoof will look like, or what is is supposed to look like, when all is said and done with this method and the hoof has grown out properly. It seems the entire hoof would be much much smaller? But then the frog would take up most of the bottom... Do you have any images or reference pages online that show how a hoof with proper breakover ultimately grows?
Also, am I to understand that once you are done, the sole will be the load bearing surface and not the hoof wall? Will this lead to bruising in rocky situations?
Definately they should do less until they get a handle on how to do it. Also they should do less...more often, which is better for the hoof in general. I watch your videos all the time by the way and really enjoy them. Regarding what the lady said to you, it just goes to show how little even people who have been doing horses for a long time really know and understand about the foot.
Believe it or not, what little help I've given people has allowed them to fix issues on horses that were before unfixable. And these are people who went through many professionals before in desperation for answers they found this channel. I'm sure I can be wrong, that's why it's called "research", but at least we look for answers and change and are not caught up into traditions and errors established as truth and taught in the farrier schools. If I was younger though I would still do as you say.
Very interesting, but you MUST change your tools ! For mapping your coffin bone, you can open your yes and notice the différent color of the sole. P3 appears like a "ghost" or a watermark in the exact position. Because the sole under P3 is different of the sole of distale border of P3. Your explaination is interesting, mainly the part of the barrs, and the landing area with the heels.
I can't critique this video because I am not a certified farrier and I'm not qualified. I will share this, however: my adopted mustang colt was on his way to lameness at the hands of a so-called "farrier." I wised up and decided that I wanted the same farrier that my equine veterinarian uses (she knows horses and she must know a good farrier from a bad one, right?). Please don't experiment on your horse. Your horse cannot speak for himself, but he deserves your BEST local certified farrier.
Thankyou, I will practice trying to see that, That's a good way to expain it using the word "ghost". So it must be easy to miss. WHAT is wrong with my tools they are top of the line precision instruments ( : Also I have evolved in this area since the last dissection lengthened the mapping to include both sole corium and the sole wall connection, to make sure you are past that, which has almost emiminated any use for casts, and feet are changing in leaps and bounds, with horses comfortable.
Since you never show the hoof from the side, I can't determine what the angle is of what you are rasping off the toe. You always show it straight on. I can''t tell how much toe you are rasping off and at what angle you are rasping. Any help on this would be appreciated. Thanks and great video.
Ya gotta love her simplistic terminology. "The bars are dinky." "The bars are shoved over." She is right about some things. The bars are an extension of the hoof wall, and the bars are part of the containment of sole. That is why if the bars grow overly long the excess/retained sole becomes locked into the hoof. Also if bars lay over white line abscesses are more likely to process can cause lameness. There are some things said and done that I would disagree with and she seems very unsure at times of her mapping and what she is doing. She says herself that she is gobsmacked and blown away by the results of her trims. She shouldn't be surprised by her own work if she is confident of what she is doing and teaching. She is also correct that many horses are being trimmed into mechanical laminitis. MANY!
Hi Linda, I am switching trimmers again and now I want to learn to understand his feet(underrun heels and long toes) myself. And I want to start with the videos you write are the newer ones?? From which date should I watch them best!! Can you recommend me a certain order to view them? I have watched quite a few already. Thanks Simone
I am a woman, 5'4" and 135. I have done my own trimming since I was In high School and I know that when the hoof is damp it is much softer and easy to work with. I felt sorry for her that hoof just seemed so hard. Try it sometime when the horse has been on an irrigated field or in the morning when the grass has been wet . Just a thought for some of you. DIY folks
It really is not about trimming your own horse but at least acquiring the knowledge of the hoof to know why your own horse may not be doing well under someone else's care. Then making the decision to either find someone (IF you can), or as in many cases be forced to undertake to learn to do it your self, which is the case with literally thousands of people around the world.
Also on Pete Rameys site he's got some pictures of wild horses and some cadaver hooves of a 3 year old wild mare that killer herself in a cattle guard. The foot is good to study and the pictures of the wild hooves how those horses stand. Also go google images things like wild horse hooves. Wild horse cadaver dissections, brumby, brumies hooves, Mustang wild horse hooves. You always get something a little different depending on what you type in. Wild horse hoof anatomy, wild horse hoof research.
Also google images of just hoof cadaver dissections on every part of the hoof. I espeically like the images of just the whole foot with the capsule removed, because when you start getting an image of this correctly into your head, your trimming starts to change as you trim the seen of the hoof capsule to the unseen (but seen in your mind) of the whole inner foot. Get so you trim according to an accurate knowledge and not guess work. Reunite the anatomy of the two back together.
I think as you suggest, the way and I speak from my ignorance I am afraid to say, is to trim which you think should not be there of in a couple or more increments. Of course you have to bear in mind foe which you have what plans and do those plans ever need a sturdier long foot? I do not know, I would imagine walking with feet trimmed to perfection after having done so slowly bit by bit must be like a horse who is wearing a properly fitted pair of human boots which actually fit and which can flex and roll after the foot and leg muscles get strong enough, whereas those shoes it has at the moment can perhaps be equated to steel bottom human boots used in building and engineering, you know you get used to them but there is always a relief after taking them off at the end of the day.
Hi thh, Going from what you have said, do you think that means the back of the hoof and ancillary parts have some growing to do once the from is removed and the foot starts to get a better balance? I am asking only because I have always been in ore and fascinated by how anyone can start to ever trim an exuded hoof which has never had any work done on and so for instance it is a couple of years old and the animal was moved out to grass simply because the owner could not afford extra stable fees, then the hoof will over grow badly, so how does one find the correct shape and the various anatomical parts of the hoof and or foot to measure from? I ask in total and honest ignorance of the details you are looking for and on how to even start to trim a hoof and the softer parts, I am just so kissing the ground you walk on at this moment, respect to you, true respect. Can I make a suggestion if it can in any way help and be certain not to be a hinderance. And again I am suggesting this purely from a practical detail that might or not make subsequent hoof trimming and the realisation that the foot is either a ‘better’ shape a few weeks after a trim of the whole hoof and soft parts which because of my ignorance at this moment I hope to rectify in the not too distant future, OK That suggestion is to make a slight mark with a fine stiff saw exactly where the rudimentary parts of the foot and or hoof should be or is, so you can see over the case of six months to a year how the foot and or the hoof has grown and really recognise how it maybe should have grown to be correct? With a saw, or alternatively with a fine triangular file more properly used to sharpen saws. This will lay a map down as you put it, and it will become obvious very quickly, well in the passing of a year or so what part of the hoof and or foot is growing faster by comparison than other parts of the ares marked. Just one point, and I do realise it was done as an easy visual aid, but from experience in using even a fine sharpie on anything, measuring from a mark made and perhaps marking two more marks is not an accurate way to measure or map the foot, when making and altering the hoof if would be much more accurate to draw a cross front to back side to side with a waterproof pen which is about the same thickness as a pencil, and or make the cross shaped cut and measure in whatever different direction you find necessary and either an indelible mark but fine with black ink or a knife cut or very fine triangular saw mark on the bottom and or maybe on the side as well and it will be obvious which part of the foot, as I said earlier is growing more wrongly, or at least make it obvious which part must be cut back. Take care mrbluenun
The poorest 'shoers' I have seen in over 50 years as a full time pro. trainer are the 90 day wonders from the shoeing schools. They are impressed with little they know and take great pride in a 30 Min. start to finish job. You are trying to do a good thoughtful job and contribute to the fund of knowledge .. Saddle horses go slow enough that a few errors are not a disaster. (think NASCAR tires vs your lawnmower ones.)
I saw a picture a gal sent you of a horse who's hooves bled from the coronary band. This was due to excessively jammed walls up into the coronary band. That farrier was an expert, didn't even take it off the bottom and still because of ignornace of true hoof anatomy caused the hoof to bleed. Most hooves have jammed up hoofwalls, but I've never seen anything like that, sad indeed, and the ultimate cause man made.
If this tutorial video is wrong as the many comments suggest, can another tutorial video be suggested by the people who know about mapping the horse's hoof? Should one enrol in a professional farrier course ?
So where are you getting the measurements from? I think that is the big fail in any system that uses measurement.. 1inch on a Shetland is a lot different to 1 inch on a Clydesdale. Also not every horse has the same sized bones within the hoof, a 15hh Arab is going to have different bones to a 15hh TB. So how do you adjust your measurements based on the horse you are doing?
Also in addition to what I said below..."FOR CRYING OUT LOUD...I took off dern near 2 inches of toe, what more do you want in one trim. You can't perfectly correct everything in one trim. We are "growing" a new hoof capsule not cutting a new hoof capsule ( : As it was she was rathter sore after that, came out of it, and now her toes are much grown back closer to where they are supposed to be. It's a process.
Talon, Also not to be a smart ass, but if you do decide to do a video please do one on proper horse shoe fit. I have farrier put shoes on my horses that were to small. They of course got away with it because at the time I didn't know better until another farrier told me they were too small! LOL!
What about the 50/50 or 60/40 heel toe ratio? In your demonstration you still have more toe then heel length on the foot? If you have really found the true tip of P3 and measure back 1 3/4" or 2" depending on the hoof size,to the widest part of the hoof it needs to be 50/50 at least for a balance P3 .( whole hoof balance) You won't achieve a heel first landing without it and the horse will have a tendency to trip or stick it toe in the ground.
The old army shoeing manual said to never take any toe- the horses have been crippled by that idea for 100 years. The really good standardbred shoers knew better.
Wow, you got your thinking cap on, thanks for sharing those observations in those words. Because that is how this thing started for me, in getting an image in my head according to the wild horses and according to the anatomy, and it's a whole different picture. Someone added to that picture for me this morning in sending a link to a youtuve video Utah's Wild Mustangs by tmaster141. (continued)...
The problem is that the hoof wall is very often seperated from the coffin bone and the toes stretched forward. You cannot just follow the wall down to find where the coffin bone is. Watch Gene Ovinicks mapping and trimming the hoof on youtube. This is NOT anyway related to that butcher Strasser. And by removing overly long toe and other leverages you are growing the foot you are speaking of not trimming, cutting or raspoing one.
So since you are a social farrier, why don't you join my yahoo hoof research group, and help rather than hinder owners who wish to trim and help their horses. "Maybe" you might be one of those "rare"....very rare....good farriers. My old saying was "Horshoers and hairdressers, if you find a good one you better keep um." This because I'd been butchered so many times in the beauty shop. I'm not against shoeing, this is about hoof problems, obviously there is more to know, than what they teach,
The best is not your local certified farrier but YOU having knowledge and understanding enough to know if the Vet or the farrier "really" know what the heck they are talking about. You have no idea of how many thousands of testimonials there are on the net of horse owners horror stories concerning your so called "certified" farriers. Get knowledge, get wisdom, get understanding.
That bar she is marking up has abscessed. She doesn't point that out. Also curved bars are reflecting the flared quarter walls. If she isn't sure how much toe to take, she probably should not be publishing this video. I think the mare yanked her hoof away because she got scared of how much toe is being marked for removal and the trimmer feeling unsure about what to trim off. I suggest xrays to know for sure to check your work if you're that unsure. And I suggest doing some proof reading of the text that appears throughout the video. In my opinion, mapping a hoof is never as exact as you think. Especially when mapped in this manner.
OMG you scare me! I was cringing when you were going to remove that much toe at one session. You may hit the coffin bone toe because it moves forward when the toe grows out!!!! Only trim back a little at a time during each session to push that toe back to allow the coffin bone time to move back a bit between each trim.
If you can't afford to have a professional Farrier trim your horse...Which works out to be $5-$10 a week expense...You shouldn't own horses. I been a Certified Journeyman Farrier for over 16 years. You can't watch a TH-cam video or read a book and think you know what your doing. It takes years of experience and thousands of horses to be good. You can seriously harm your animal... I would not have dedicated my life to horseshoeing if any dummy could do it. Maybe I should do a root canal on my kids teeth when I get home. I mean, I do have a drill in the garage.
Highroadgypsies Correct veterinary terminology for solar cell matrix would not be referred to as tubules. The lamallar layers refer to the hoof wall. the lamellar wedge in a lamintic case is common terminology for a deviation between the damaged marix of the hoof wall tubules as laminitic damage grows out. It does not refer to the sole. The sensitive structures of the sole are correctly referred to as sole corium or live sole. The dead sole is referred to as such or insensitive sole. Consistent common veterinary terminology will translate ideas especially when attempting to educate others. Otherwise the language will only mislead and misconstrue a clear educational message.
i take it your being sarcastic, no big deal! you seem like your a very good farrier. In my opinion you probably shouldnt make videos and give people the wrong impression about the natural balance trim. I am a natural balance farrier myself, and there are a few little details you missed or did not do correctly for the "true" mapping. If you would have exfoliated the bars more you would have found where they truly end, approx one inch back from the TRUE apex of the frog (as im sure you know)
Natalie, The bars need to be trimmed yes, if the horse isn't wearing it correctly, but never removed or gouged out of the hoof. The bars are an extension of the wall and a very important supportive part of the hoof structure. I haven't watched this entire video, but just so far, I feel like if she is as unsure as she says she is and she sounds very uneducated about the hoof, I'm not sure she is ready to be doing teaching videos. In my opinion if you have to map a hoof to trim it, you probably shouldn't be trimming.
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I Love your videos, as a horse owner is so good to be able to know what the heck is going on with my horses feet. Before I used to take a very passive stance with my horses feet and my farrier. Sometime I would see things in between trims that I didn't know if they were serious or not. Now I feel confident enough to keep my horses feet touched up in between trims, and now have a better understanding as to what is a big deal and what is not.
cont: I tell people less is more,you normally can do a lot less damage by taking off less than taking too much. I can see some new horse person trying this, I know this is not your fault, but they will chop a foot up & do damage thinking they are doing what you did. I just had some yahoo tell me her husband been doing feet for 30 years & was just going to level a horses back feet and ONE rasp of the hoof and it started bleeding.I know BS
thanks for putting this out, anything to get rid of nails.
I know, she scares me. Was waiting for her to file the coffin bone. Less is more. Less is more. Please only take a small amount each trim.
I am VERY thankful for your comments and observations, and respect your understanding and knowledge. And the very thing you said on th is older video are things that I have been seeing in correcting and applying even recently. And I found it really interesting you would make that comment since I had recently seen my error and been doing exactly what you stated.
I think you stated some good points and appreciate what you are trying to do. Over the years hoof care seems to be like other things on a pendulum, years ago high heals were good, then low heals are better, long toe good, then short toe good, bars don't support weight, they do support weight, for a while degree were important and the front had to be different than back, and front hoof carry more weight so they are different than back ??? You sound like you have a good grasp of the hoof. Cont:
Talon,
Not to start a fight, but I am always interested in different techniques. If you don't agree with this one, post one with your point of view. I would watch it just to see the differences, plus it would help me learn more about my horses feet. I have to say I don't always understand my farrier, who is also certified. So having good videos as a reference point is always a good thing for me!
PS. Used to never have to tell farriers to get the toe back.Even when the horse developed a toe crack,when the horse never had one before, the farriers still didn't' change what they were doing.And that includes a well known natural trim farrier that was so wrapped up in his jargon that he couldn't see the forest through the trees & adapt when it was clear the toe crack started AFTER he started doing the horse.I did the horse myself... end of toe crack.I relate completely to what she is saying
I have been trimming my own horses, following advice from some well known "famous" barefoot trimmers (I won't list the names) and have not gotten the results I had hoped for. But, because of the various truths about the hoof, which you have so expertly elaborated on, I can now understand why I have not gotten my hoped for results. Your explanation and demonstration of hoof mapping is nothing short of genius! It all makes sense to me now. Thank you so much! And as far as those poor, naysaying "professional" farriers go, you have hit the "horseshoe nail on the head." Thanks for exposing the truth.
Great to see 2 of my favorite "horse people" on the same page. Just reassures me that I'm in good company.
Search it out on youtube and start looking close in the video at the grey stallion starting at 1:05. Look at the hoof form, toe angle, pasturn angle and alignment, and watch the stride in the walk. When I finally got my horses toes back, it started walking like that, but at first did not know how to walk, and I thought I'd lamed him. This seems to be a pattern with horses that formerly had long toes, they have to learn to walk again. If they have weak heels/frogs some of it will be soreness.
I have been learning about barefoot hoof trims and studying. I would love to know where you learned your technique, where you get your facts and how many horses you have worked on? You are different from other natural hoof trimmers I have been learning from. You are much more aggressive. If you wish to educate, can you tell me what is your background?
She's the Hoof Whisperer! She was born for this.
NO, NO, NO Nadine I was not being sarcastic I really meant it and thought you were totally right in what you said, because I have caught myself doing the very thing you said I was not doing, which is not actually digging or trimming down correctly to the true apex. I was truly agreeing with you, and frankly I thought it was quite brilliant of you to find that and point it out to me. I should have elaborated on what I said when I said "Thanks for pointing thyat out."
Thanks so much again for a great video. This is one of your best with the new method and especially useful was learning that as long as you have hard yellow lamina at the toe you haven't taken it back too far. The knowledge that the yellow is still safe really helps. I so wish I could spend a few days with you in the field and learn more. thank you
And now also she does not get sore after a trim, if I did it again, that short like I took this mare, I would cast the feet for two weeks. As it is, I lengthen the measurement from the true apex to the CB to 1 1/4' and now none of the horses I do in this manner get sore. This is a work in process and I do not have all the answers....yet....
Just have to say, have learnt so much from your videos, love the dissections and how you really break down the internal foot in your videos. When I started learning to barefoot trim in 2014 you were among my resources to teach myself after 'professional farriers' messed up not just one of my horse's feet but 2, even making our shetland lame on all 4 feet after one trim. After trying multiple 'professional farriers' they all let me down somehow leaving my horses feet in an unbalanced situation, enormous bell flares and lameness. Because of the detailed videos, you produce and your simplistic terms which are brilliant for my dyslexia I have increased my knowledge and have been barefoot trimming now since 2014. Running a horse sanctuary horses come to us with messed up feet through lack of care mainly due to, not to the owners not getting farriers, but their lack of knowledge to the hoof that they don't know if the farrier has done a correct job or not. Too many 'professional farriers' are lacking in skills or do not care enough to look after our horses correctly. We all should be gaining the knowledge of our horses to their benefit and not just leave it to the judgment of others. Interesting I am doing a BSc in Uni at the moment and this video from 2012 actually supports journals I have been reading that are more recent. Well done! Trimming myself also saves me some £2700 a year with the current amount of horses we have rescued. I've not had one single case of lameness connected with feet since I took over trimming myself. Knowledge is the path, gain the knowledge.
Hi Melanie, Thank you so much for sharing some of your journey with me. It does my heart so much good to hear when what I have gone through and learned has opened the eyes of someone else and really made a difference. For I too still get discouraged at times, now now because of the horses feet, that's pretty much answered, but because of how blind this world is and the needless pain and suffering so many are causing thinking they know when they do not. Now that is what often discourages me, but as they say Rome was not built in a day, and I believe someday all this will be common knowledge and the destructive teachings about horses feet will be a think of the past.
That would be nice to see the blinkers come off . For now though be glad you opened up a doorway to help these guys :D facebook.com/paddocksanctuary
Are you rounding the toe so you don't have leverage at the "corners" or I guess the pillars, i ask because the toe rocker looks to be just straight across? I hope that makes sense!
Surely that is good to know and I will start looking for that. But for people who can barely as yet tell the sole from the wall, or they have a horse with lots of distortion or a very stretched run forward toe, that is too advanced for them to find and be able to bring the toe back correctly and help the horse grow a new hoof capsule. and I deal with a lot of people who have no help and have horses in trouble, this included me so I had to start figguring it out for myself (unfortunately)
happy hooves from a disgruntled lady! i love it. i watched your entire video, and i don't even have a horse.
I was a Farrier in another life I think
I am concerned about getting excess leverages off the hoof capsule so that it can grow down firmly and perfectly connected to the internal foot. 55/55, 60/40 and even whatever methods I may use to determine the placement of P3 is only at best a "close" tool used to determine where I can remove excess over growth and distortion, so as to grow an anatomically correctly fitting hoof capsule on the internal foot as a whole. Proper mechanisum follows as the foot corrects itself over time.
I'm a bit confused by this new thought process of trimming - only because I can't picture in my head what the hoof will look like, or what is is supposed to look like, when all is said and done with this method and the hoof has grown out properly. It seems the entire hoof would be much much smaller? But then the frog would take up most of the bottom... Do you have any images or reference pages online that show how a hoof with proper breakover ultimately grows?
Also, am I to understand that once you are done, the sole will be the load bearing surface and not the hoof wall? Will this lead to bruising in rocky situations?
Definately they should do less until they get a handle on how to do it. Also they should do less...more often, which is better for the hoof in general. I watch your videos all the time by the way and really enjoy them. Regarding what the lady said to you, it just goes to show how little even people who have been doing horses for a long time really know and understand about the foot.
Believe it or not, what little help I've given people has allowed them to fix issues on horses that were before unfixable. And these are people who went through many professionals before in desperation for answers they found this channel. I'm sure I can be wrong, that's why it's called "research", but at least we look for answers and change and are not caught up into traditions and errors established as truth and taught in the farrier schools. If I was younger though I would still do as you say.
Very interesting, but you MUST change your tools !
For mapping your coffin bone, you can open your yes and notice the différent color of the sole. P3 appears like a "ghost" or a watermark in the exact position. Because the sole under P3 is different of the sole of distale border of P3.
Your explaination is interesting, mainly the part of the barrs, and the landing area with the heels.
A new rasp would make the job much eaiser for you
I can't critique this video because I am not a certified farrier and I'm not qualified. I will share this, however: my adopted mustang colt was on his way to lameness at the hands of a so-called "farrier." I wised up and decided that I wanted the same farrier that my equine veterinarian uses (she knows horses and she must know a good farrier from a bad one, right?). Please don't experiment on your horse. Your horse cannot speak for himself, but he deserves your BEST local certified farrier.
This is one of your best.
Thankyou, I will practice trying to see that, That's a good way to expain it using the word "ghost". So it must be easy to miss. WHAT is wrong with my tools they are top of the line precision instruments ( : Also I have evolved in this area since the last dissection lengthened the mapping to include both sole corium and the sole wall connection, to make sure you are past that, which has almost emiminated any use for casts, and feet are changing in leaps and bounds, with horses comfortable.
Since you never show the hoof from the side, I can't determine what the angle is of what you are rasping off the toe. You always show it straight on. I can''t tell how much toe you are rasping off and at what angle you are rasping. Any help on this would be appreciated. Thanks and great video.
Ya gotta love her simplistic terminology. "The bars are dinky." "The bars are shoved over." She is right about some things. The bars are an extension of the hoof wall, and the bars are part of the containment of sole. That is why if the bars grow overly long the excess/retained sole becomes locked into the hoof. Also if bars lay over white line abscesses are more likely to process can cause lameness. There are some things said and done that I would disagree with and she seems very unsure at times of her mapping and what she is doing. She says herself that she is gobsmacked and blown away by the results of her trims. She shouldn't be surprised by her own work if she is confident of what she is doing and teaching. She is also correct that many horses are being trimmed into mechanical laminitis. MANY!
Hi Linda, I am switching trimmers again and now I want to learn to understand his feet(underrun heels and long toes) myself. And I want to start with the videos you write are the newer ones?? From which date should I watch them best!! Can you recommend me a certain order to view them? I have watched quite a few already. Thanks Simone
incredible u are amazing thank u that was crazy how the foot changed after toe and heel bar area
Thanks for pointing that out Nadine.
I am a woman, 5'4" and 135. I have done my own trimming since I was In high School and I know that when the hoof is damp it is much softer and easy to work with. I felt sorry for her that hoof just seemed so hard. Try it sometime when the horse has been on an irrigated field or in the morning when the grass has been wet . Just a thought for some of you. DIY folks
It really is not about trimming your own horse but at least acquiring the knowledge of the hoof to know why your own horse may not be doing well under someone else's care. Then making the decision to either find someone (IF you can), or as in many cases be forced to undertake to learn to do it your self, which is the case with literally thousands of people around the world.
Also on Pete Rameys site he's got some pictures of wild horses and some cadaver hooves of a 3 year old wild mare that killer herself in a cattle guard. The foot is good to study and the pictures of the wild hooves how those horses stand. Also go google images things like wild horse hooves. Wild horse cadaver dissections, brumby, brumies hooves, Mustang wild horse hooves. You always get something a little different depending on what you type in. Wild horse hoof anatomy, wild horse hoof research.
Also google images of just hoof cadaver dissections on every part of the hoof. I espeically like the images of just the whole foot with the capsule removed, because when you start getting an image of this correctly into your head, your trimming starts to change as you trim the seen of the hoof capsule to the unseen (but seen in your mind) of the whole inner foot. Get so you trim according to an accurate knowledge and not guess work. Reunite the anatomy of the two back together.
I think as you suggest, the way and I speak from my ignorance I am afraid to say, is to trim which you think should not be there of in a couple or more increments. Of course you have to bear in mind foe which you have what plans and do those plans ever need a sturdier long foot? I do not know, I would imagine walking with feet trimmed to perfection after having done so slowly bit by bit must be like a horse who is wearing a properly fitted pair of human boots which actually fit and which can flex and roll after the foot and leg muscles get strong enough, whereas those shoes it has at the moment can perhaps be equated to steel bottom human boots used in building and engineering, you know you get used to them but there is always a relief after taking them off at the end of the day.
Hi thh,
Going from what you have said, do you think that means the back of the hoof and ancillary parts have some growing to do once the from is removed and the foot starts to get a better balance?
I am asking only because I have always been in ore and fascinated by how anyone can start to ever trim an exuded hoof which has never had any work done on and so for instance it is a couple of years old and the animal was moved out to grass simply because the owner could not afford extra stable fees, then the hoof will over grow badly, so how does one find the correct shape and the various anatomical parts of the hoof and or foot to measure from?
I ask in total and honest ignorance of the details you are looking for and on how to even start to trim a hoof and the softer parts, I am just so kissing the ground you walk on at this moment, respect to you, true respect.
Can I make a suggestion if it can in any way help and be certain not to be a hinderance. And again I am suggesting this purely from a practical detail that might or not make subsequent hoof trimming and the realisation that the foot is either a ‘better’ shape a few weeks after a trim of the whole hoof and soft parts which because of my ignorance at this moment I hope to rectify in the not too distant future, OK That suggestion is to make a slight mark with a fine stiff saw exactly where the rudimentary parts of the foot and or hoof should be or is, so you can see over the case of six months to a year how the foot and or the hoof has grown and really recognise how it maybe should have grown to be correct? With a saw, or alternatively with a fine triangular file more properly used to sharpen saws. This will lay a map down as you put it, and it will become obvious very quickly, well in the passing of a year or so what part of the hoof and or foot is growing faster by comparison than other parts of the ares marked.
Just one point, and I do realise it was done as an easy visual aid, but from experience in using even a fine sharpie on anything, measuring from a mark made and perhaps marking two more marks is not an accurate way to measure or map the foot, when making and altering the hoof if would be much more accurate to draw a cross front to back side to side with a waterproof pen which is about the same thickness as a pencil, and or make the cross shaped cut and measure in whatever different direction you find necessary and either an indelible mark but fine with black ink or a knife cut or very fine triangular saw mark on the bottom and or maybe on the side as well and it will be obvious which part of the foot, as I said earlier is growing more wrongly, or at least make it obvious which part must be cut back.
Take care
mrbluenun
Can you explain why there would be red in the hoof wall ?
The poorest 'shoers' I have seen in over 50 years as a full time pro. trainer are the 90 day wonders from the shoeing schools. They are impressed with little they know and take great pride in a 30 Min. start to finish job. You are trying to do a good thoughtful job and contribute to the fund of knowledge .. Saddle horses go slow enough that a few errors are not a disaster. (think NASCAR tires vs your lawnmower ones.)
Thank you for making such an informative, funny, to the point and just all around rockin video!!!!
Nice work , I love your videos
Well, I feel honored I love his channel. And I bet these kind of comments like you made if he sees them will make him feel real good ( :
I saw a picture a gal sent you of a horse who's hooves bled from the coronary band. This was due to excessively jammed walls up into the coronary band. That farrier was an expert, didn't even take it off the bottom and still because of ignornace of true hoof anatomy caused the hoof to bleed. Most hooves have jammed up hoofwalls, but I've never seen anything like that, sad indeed, and the ultimate cause man made.
If this tutorial video is wrong as the many comments suggest, can another tutorial video be suggested by the people who know about mapping the horse's hoof?
Should one enrol in a professional farrier course ?
So where are you getting the measurements from? I think that is the big fail in any system that uses measurement.. 1inch on a Shetland is a lot different to 1 inch on a Clydesdale. Also not every horse has the same sized bones within the hoof, a 15hh Arab is going to have different bones to a 15hh TB.
So how do you adjust your measurements based on the horse you are doing?
Also in addition to what I said below..."FOR CRYING OUT LOUD...I took off dern near 2 inches of toe, what more do you want in one trim. You can't perfectly correct everything in one trim. We are "growing" a new hoof capsule not cutting a new hoof capsule ( : As it was she was rathter sore after that, came out of it, and now her toes are much grown back closer to where they are supposed to be. It's a process.
Rick, I was two seconds from linking you this video..! Thought it was a helpful and an informative find.
Talon,
Also not to be a smart ass, but if you do decide to do a video please do one on proper horse shoe fit. I have farrier put shoes on my horses that were to small. They of course got away with it because at the time I didn't know better until another farrier told me they were too small! LOL!
What's the name of the song which plays at the start of the video? Thanks : )
Group joined. Time to get smarter!
It sounded hollow which goes well with what you have said.
What about the 50/50 or 60/40 heel toe ratio? In your demonstration you still have more toe then heel length on the foot? If you have really found the true tip of P3 and measure back 1 3/4" or 2" depending on the hoof size,to the widest part of the hoof it needs to be 50/50 at least for a balance P3 .( whole hoof balance) You won't achieve a heel first landing without it and the horse will have a tendency to trip or stick it toe in the ground.
Haha one can only hope, I'm learning lots from your channel!
The old army shoeing manual said to never take any toe- the horses have been crippled by that idea for 100 years. The really good standardbred shoers knew better.
Wow, you got your thinking cap on, thanks for sharing those observations in those words. Because that is how this thing started for me, in getting an image in my head according to the wild horses and according to the anatomy, and it's a whole different picture. Someone added to that picture for me this morning in sending a link to a youtuve video Utah's Wild Mustangs by tmaster141. (continued)...
The problem is that the hoof wall is very often seperated from the coffin bone and the toes stretched forward. You cannot just follow the wall down to find where the coffin bone is. Watch Gene Ovinicks mapping and trimming the hoof on youtube. This is NOT anyway related to that butcher Strasser. And by removing overly long toe and other leverages you are growing the foot you are speaking of not trimming, cutting or raspoing one.
would it hurt the horse to trim the frog?
Thanks for the detailed informative answer ( :
She said sole IS the main weight bearing part of the hoof! Listen?!
your confusing the bridge of the frog with the level the bars must be trimmed too?!
I don't understand why the healthy yellow sole toe is not real sole!?
Is the video new or old and should not be followed instructions wise?
So since you are a social farrier, why don't you join my yahoo hoof research group, and help rather than hinder owners who wish to trim and help their horses. "Maybe" you might be one of those "rare"....very rare....good farriers. My old saying was "Horshoers and hairdressers, if you find a good one you better keep um." This because I'd been butchered so many times in the beauty shop. I'm not against shoeing, this is about hoof problems, obviously there is more to know, than what they teach,
That is not possible to have a tight white line at the distal surface of the foot and still have an 1" of stretching above that.
The best is not your local certified farrier but YOU having knowledge and understanding enough to know if the Vet or the farrier "really" know what the heck they are talking about. You have no idea of how many thousands of testimonials there are on the net of horse owners horror stories concerning your so called "certified" farriers. Get knowledge, get wisdom, get understanding.
If the wall is the main weight bearer, then why are wild horses hooves how they ARE?
That bar she is marking up has abscessed. She doesn't point that out. Also curved bars are reflecting the flared quarter walls. If she isn't sure how much toe to take, she probably should not be publishing this video. I think the mare yanked her hoof away because she got scared of how much toe is being marked for removal and the trimmer feeling unsure about what to trim off. I suggest xrays to know for sure to check your work if you're that unsure. And I suggest doing some proof reading of the text that appears throughout the video. In my opinion, mapping a hoof is never as exact as you think. Especially when mapped in this manner.
I like you Sweetheart! You do a good job!
i love your video's i just wish you'd get a camera person lol
You're a sweetheart! (Loved the pun.) "Pun intended" ( :
that was deleted.
OMG you scare me! I was cringing when you were going to remove that much toe at one session. You may hit the coffin bone toe because it moves forward when the toe grows out!!!! Only trim back a little at a time during each session to push that toe back to allow the coffin bone time to move back a bit between each trim.
You did not find the true apex I the frog because you did not dig down into the sole/frog tissue to find the true apex correctly.
If you can't afford to have a professional Farrier trim your horse...Which works out to be $5-$10 a week expense...You shouldn't own horses. I been a Certified Journeyman Farrier for over 16 years. You can't watch a TH-cam video or read a book and think you know what your doing. It takes years of experience and thousands of horses to be good. You can seriously harm your animal... I would not have dedicated my life to horseshoeing if any dummy could do it. Maybe I should do a root canal on my kids teeth when I get home. I mean, I do have a drill in the garage.
So you see this jerk just called all of his clients dummies.
Laminar sole? Laminar tubules? you can't make this stuff up. Well maybe the happy hoof can
Laminar wedge and sole tubules. This is basic anatomy and will even be substantiated by Pete Ramey and Hiltrud Strasser.
Highroadgypsies Correct veterinary terminology for solar cell matrix would not be referred to as tubules. The lamallar layers refer to the hoof wall. the lamellar wedge in a lamintic case is common terminology for a deviation between the damaged marix of the hoof wall tubules as laminitic damage grows out. It does not refer to the sole. The sensitive structures of the sole are correctly referred to as sole corium or live sole. The dead sole is referred to as such or insensitive sole. Consistent common veterinary terminology will translate ideas especially when attempting to educate others. Otherwise the language will only mislead and misconstrue a clear educational message.
i take it your being sarcastic, no big deal! you seem like your a very good farrier. In my opinion you probably shouldnt make videos and give people the wrong impression about the natural balance trim. I am a natural balance farrier myself, and there are a few little details you missed or did not do correctly for the "true" mapping. If you would have exfoliated the bars more you would have found where they truly end, approx one inch back from the TRUE apex of the frog (as im sure you know)
She is why there are so many backyard horses that are lame 😩
Although the hoof is natural the bars are not and must be removed!!!
Natalie, The bars need to be trimmed yes, if the horse isn't wearing it correctly, but never removed or gouged out of the hoof. The bars are an extension of the wall and a very important supportive part of the hoof structure. I haven't watched this entire video, but just so far, I feel like if she is as unsure as she says she is and she sounds very uneducated about the hoof, I'm not sure she is ready to be doing teaching videos. In my opinion if you have to map a hoof to trim it, you probably shouldn't be trimming.
She's experimenting on the poor victim who has no say in the matter. Scary. Next, brain surgery folks.
My heart is in my mouth watching this. Please god woman get a professional farrier in to sort out your mess.
what joke! poor horse.this lady repeats herself in order to try an convince herself
Show it , stop talking .
Well he needs more nutrition to shed that frog
why are you yelling at me
I feel very very sorry for the horses you are butchering, people like you should not be allowed within 100 miles of a horse!
you need to be more concise. too much repetition at the beginning. just get to the point.