Blue Mountain Farm Blog

Fjord mare, Elska, at a Pete Ramey Natural Bare Hoof clinic in Boise, ID.

I didn’t wake up one day and suddenly decide I was going to start bare hoof trimming my horses.   I’m not a woo-woo, crystals and magnets kind of person.  I like facts and data.    Up until 5 years ago, I went along with the general populace that shoeing horses with steel was okay.

The big clue that started me down my own path of discovery was personally witnessing how fast the hoof can change in watching  some wild BLM stock, and how the feet looked fresh from the range and then after they had become domesticated.   Domestication was not doing them any favors.

So on down the path of discovery, looking for the things we, as caregivers, were doing that was destroying our equines feet?   Hop forward several years and you find myself and my farrier diving into Bare Hoof trimming.  Luckily we both gravitated toward the teachings of Pete Ramey, who stresses balance and less invasive techniques.  Less is more.    I read his book and went online to read his free articles.  When I saw that he was having a clinic in a nearby state, I jumped at the opportunity and even took along one of my fjords.     It was an eye opening experience.

Most view the hoof as a solid structure.  Sure you can talk about quicking, bleeding or coffin bones inside, but we still think of the hoof as SOLID.  Nothing is farther from the truth.  The hoof is flexible, mobile and changing inside and out.   Every step a horse takes, is pump action that absorbs concussion and helps circulate blood flow up those long legs and around all those important tissues in the hoof.    The hoof inside has structural supporting cartilage and laminae (think of heavy duty Velcro) that adhere the hoof wall to the coffin bone and help equalize loading forces.  The entire hoof and heel bulbs flex and give, it’s not meant to be rigid.   If any of those support structures are compromised, the hoof starts to break down.  The path down Destruction Lane starts out with clues such as; abscesses, wall cracks, hoof lines, hoof wall flares, white line disease, tender thin soles to just name a few.

So what starts this hoof deterioration?  Many things may factor in and often it’s just not one source.  Like diet, incorrect trimming (too long, too short, unbalanced), or metal shoes.   Metal shoes peripherally loads the hoof, so all the weight bearing is on the outside edge of the hoof wall.  The natural hoof is designed to bear weight on the walls, sole and frog together.  Metal shoes also inhibit the natural hoof pumping action for circulation  and without the movement and stimulation, the  internal structures actually start to atrophy from lack of use.

Take your own shoe and cut out the inside sole/tread, but just leave a half inch around the rim to walk on.  Your arch and center line of your foot would be unsupported and inflammation and soreness would be almost guaranteed.  Over time long term damage may result in the human foot from that kind of treatment.    It’s not much different than what is happening inside the hoof.

Remember the Velcro laminae holding the hoof wall to the coffin bone?  When the hoof wall is peripherally loaded and/ or an incorrect diet causes laminae inflammation, then that Velcro starts tearing away.   A lot of this damage can be minuscule, happening over a  period of time, until suddenly the entire structure will collapse.  One can honestly think they are doing the best for their animal, and not know what is occurring, until it slaps you in the face and/or you look at a wild horses hoof and see what truly nature had intended all along (which is so not so what Flicka looks like now).  It’s a painful reality to face, I know.

Then you start into the data and information about how grain and corn are not natural diets of horses, and how the extra sugars and carbohydrate loads can also adversely affect their health and feet.   Even the pasture grass we cultivate for them to graze on might not be in their best interest.   Does your animals have lots of hoof rings on their feet?  That may be evidence of mild laminitis episodes that have occurred without you knowing it, other than the left over evidence on the feet.  The hoof is actually a record of your animals health for the past year, rather like growth rings in a tree.

I got started in Bare Hoof Trimming by reading, going to clinics, and watching my own farrier learn Bare Hoof Trimming.  After a few more years, I jumped off the deep end and started doing the trimming myself.    I still refer back to my favorite resources:

Pete Ramey’s book on “Making Natural Hoof Care work for you”, is a great getting started resource.   See more about the book at:  http://www.hoofrehab.com/making_natural_hoof_care_work_fo.htm

I don’t think currently that the Ramey’s are holding any clinics; but their new DVD  “Under the Horse” has every thing and more than their clinic had.  It’s an excellent resource that I learned a lot from.  http://www.hoofrehab.com/underthehorse.htm

An interview with Pete Ramey by Horse and Rider Magazine:http://equisearch.com/horses_care/health/hoof_care/pete_ramey_barefoot_072308/index1.aspx

An excellent resource is Pete and Ivy Ramey’s own web site, lots of tips and articles:  Hoof Rehabilitation Specialists http://www.hoofrehab.com/.

If you get nothing else out of this, little blog, consider if I can do this, than you can also!     It’s an ongoing journey, learning Bare Hoof trimming.  It’s personal growth as well, as it’s not easy to step outside of one’s comfort zone on a controversial subject.    There is blood (I tend to attack myself with the rasp frequently), lots of sweat and some tears.  But the results are very gratifying with every step my fjords take.

Bare hoofer: Fjord mare, Elska, patiently waits for her bucket trim. Jordy, the mini donk, supervises. Photo by J. Rachau

I confess to sitting down on the job.  How lazy is that?  Well, sometimes you figure out a way to get the job done, even if it doesn’t look elegant. I certainly didn’t invent the bucket trim.  I got this idea from watching someone trim their own herd.  I thought that was so clever, them sitting there with the hoof in their lap.  Relaxed and comfy.   The lap thing didn’t work for me, but the hoof jack did.

I’d never thought I’d be doing complete trims on my own equines.   I wasn’t shy about touching up a youngsters toes with a rasp, but digging into and actually cutting into a hoof with nippers, I’d always been a bit nervous about hurting the animal.  Also, my back is a bit wonkey and the knees not so good.   But after reading Pete Ramey’s book and going to his seminar (http://www.hoofrehab.com/ ),  I wanted to try my own hand at natural bare hoof trimming.  I became fascinated about how much improvement in the entire animal could be effected by hoof care and feeding for hoof health.

Though a bit spendy, the hoof jack really helps me support the animal’s hoof without having to hold up leaners, who seem to think it’s a great game (You Fjordies KNOW who you are!!!)  They do seem to learn to trust the hoof jack quickly and will relax into it.    Then with my bucket seat, and my hoof jack and a cooperative victim (they are getting better all the time about wiggling less!) I can do the hoof trims without throwing out the old back and get the satisfaction of learning and doing hoof trims myself.  Don’t be afraid to follow up on what interests you; being conventional isn’t always the only and/or right way to do things’.    Well, it ain’t pretty, but the trim is now done (on this beastie at least, for the moment).