Barefoot Hoofcare

All 19 horses on our farm are barefoot!  In fact, every horse we take into our herd is trimmed under barefoot protocols.  We believe it is the best possible management for the equine hoof.   We have been barefoot hoof trimming our horses for over 9 years and have a wide variety of shapes and sizes to account for.  Some of our horses are used for competition - dressage, eventing or show jumping, some for trail and some as educational mentors with students who come here to study.   Never has the barefoot standard let us down.   ForTheHorse hosted the very first barefoot clinics in this area and we continue to be on the bleeding edge of research and knowledge as it develops.  Check into our website regularly as we develop our schedule to include guest professionals presenting at our facility.

We also rehabilitate poor hoof conditions and pathological feet.  All work is done barefoot with regular radiograph references.  We have many  successful rehabilitation horses to our credit who have gone on to enjoy happy, healthy and productive lives.  Examples of our rehabilitation horses are:  chronic founder, laminitis, navicular, hoof imbalances, cracks, etc.

As we have experienced many horses and the barefoot care of their hooves over the years, we have come to strongly believe that there are many myths turned into tradition, to the horse's detriment.  The following quote from Diana Wittkopf, DVM,  sums up our discoveries and is proof that horses will now live healthier lives.

MYTHS AND LIES ABOUT HORSES’ FEET
Diana Wittkopf DVM

Myth: we have bred the feet off our modern horses
Truth: we have managed the feet off our modern horses

Myth: horses have more problems with their front feet because the front feet carry more weight
Truth: when the horse is moving, the back feet carry more weight.
Young domestic horses are able to develop their back feet more, so the back feet are healthier.

Myth: healthy horses’ feet come in a wide variety of shapes
Truth: there is a specific shape that is healthy for horses’ feet to be. The more their feet deviate from that shape, the less healthy the foot, even though the horse may not be clinically lame at that time.

Myth: bigger feet are healthier
Truth: many sick feet are bigger than they should be

Myth: feet should be trimmed to match the pastern/ shoulder angle
Truth: feet should be trimmed to where the feet want to be trimmed
Truth: if feet are correctly trimmed the shoulder & pastern angles will be fine
Truth: the way the feet are trimmed changes the pastern/ shoulder angle

Myth: horses with upright pasterns are prone to foot problems
Truth: foot problems create upright pasterns

Myth: front toe angle should approximate 45 degrees
Truth: healthy feet have toe angles from 48-58 deg depending on the shapes of the bones in the foot & lower leg

Myth: navicular syndrome is an incurable genetic degenerative disorder
Truth: navicular syndrome is a management problem that is usually easily cured if the owner has the resources & willingness to change management
Truth: navicular syndrome is totally preventable if young horses are managed appropriately

Myth: weak slow-growing feet are nutritional or genetic
Truth: allowing feet to be too long or the wrong shape continuously causes them to grow slower & weaker in compensation
Truth: feet trimmed correctly at appropriate intervals immediately start to grow faster & stronger

Myth: feet that crack & chip when bare need shoes
Truth: cracking & chipping is the means that feet were given to trim themselves when overgrown or incorrectly shaped; shoeing prevents them from helping themselves
Truth: correctly trimmed bare feet do not crack or chip

Myth: narrow, weak heels are “contracted”
Truth: weak heels did not develop properly due to insufficient movement on firm ground as the horse grew
Truth: metal shoes stop heel development in young horses

Myth: high heels help to prevent/ treat navicular syndrome
Truth: high heels increase the likelihood of navicular syndrome.
While they may temporarily relieve pain, they accelerate the destructive process inside the foot.
Truth: horses with truly healthy feet walk on their heel bulbs just like other hooved mammals

Myth: aluminum shoes are healthier than steel shoes because they are lighter
Truth: aluminum vibrates at higher frequencies than steel on hard surfaces, so causes more chronic bone density loss & tissue damage than steel

Myth: it has no effect on the rest of the horse to change the normal shape of horses’ feet to affect their way of going
Truth: abnormally shaped feet radically alter the distribution of weight, force & concussion up the horse’s legs & throughout its body, causing or exacerbating many soundness problems

Myth: the outer hoof wall is the structure intended to bear most of the horse’s weight
Truth: the horse’s weight is intended to be distributed almost entirely over the sole, frog, bars & inner hoof wall; the outer wall is the only structure not intended to bear weight

Myth: the horse’s feet act like auxiliary hearts, pumping tremendous amounts of blood with every step
Truth: only in unshod healthy correctly shaped feet

Myth: wounds below the hocks & knees heal slowly because of poor circulation that far below the heart
Truth: only in horses with shod or incorrectly shaped bare feet

Myth: feral horses have great feet because of their genetics
Truth: feral horses managed like domestic horses from early ages have feet like domestic horses
Truth: domestic horses managed like feral horses from early ages have feet like feral horses

Myth: the frog pumps blood through the foot
Truth: blood is pumped by the expansion & contraction of the entire foot

Myth: founder/ laminitis is a sudden-onset, unpredictable condition
Truth: signs of founder are visible in many feet before the horse becomes noticeably lame
Truth: cresty-necked horses are giving warning of likelihood of diet- caused founder
 

For extreme terrain conditions, rehabilitation and transition, we use the Marquis Hoof Boot, www.MarquisBoot.com.   All of the horses in our rehabilitation program have appreciated the Marquis hoof wear.  As Diana states above, "there is a specific shape that is healthy for horses' feet to be.  The more their feet deviate from that shape, the less healthy the foot,..."  The Marquis hoof wear are biomechanically designed around this specific shape.  Therefore, trimming your horse with this shape in mind gives your horse a healthier hoof!  We have done this for years with our poof hoof rehabilitation horses.  The MPGo are used regularly as well as the original Marquis Hoof Boot and work extremely well for rehabilitation, transition and competition.

Merlin in the winter with all four hoof boots on!

Jester with all four Marquis boots on preparing for Eventing.

BAREFOOT TRIMMING with Isla Adderson

Isla Adderson has been barefoot trimming for the past 9 years. Along with her mother, Christine, Isla studied with Dr. Strasser covering the basic knowledge of barefoot trimming in theory lectures and hands on practice from 2000 - 2003. Over the years, their technique has been influenced by the horses who they have trimmed and she now treats each horse as an individual with a "less is more" approach.   Isla is trimming for other horse owners and applying her knowledge to the most vigorous competition horse or to the back yard pet and anywhere in between.  

For rates and availability please email Isla at Isla@ForTheHorse.com