@bucci777 There might be some travel time there....I'm in Kansas, the southeast corner, close to Oaklahoma. But sure wish I could come trim and teach you have to do it for your self. Regards ( :
To properly sight the foot you have to let foot hang freely. You don't want your thumb touching the bulbs. Hold the leg and let the foot flop into its natural position, then sight the foot.
Don't you just love all the 'experts' that log onto youtube who, obviously do so to try to learn from others because they're probably not doing very well in their so called farrier work, talk trash. You know the old saying......opinions are like @55holes, everybody's got one!
in my opinion that hoof is not level or balanced, the inside wall at the heel quater is thicker than the outer wall and the inslde heel is higher than the outside!! just some advice also, when you look down the hoof to check for level i see you hold your thumb just at the bulbs of the heels, you can actually move the foot this way to make it look level to your eye, if you hold it at the fetlock and let the hoof hang you can see alot clearer!!! would you agree??
im not trying to be mean or anything im just genuinely asking a question because i wanna become a natural barefoot trimmer but at 6:36 it looks like the hoof has high heels and low/long toes but i can tell its very concave which is good and the outside is curved which is good ( i think) im just confused haha
@pecoslover97 Your seeing better now, that I did when I originally did this video. This mare had a LOT of problems, heals most probably are high but mainly they look high because she's got NO FROG, it atrophied. She's also got compressed heels, retained or "false sole" and both the frog and the sole are way stretched forward. Her foot has changed A LOT in the last several years since I did this video, better trimming, better hoof.
@thehappyhoof What is the difference between a shod hoof and a barefoot hoof does it make a horse have more comfort when barefoot and I have heard they have better stability when barefoot and slip a little more with shoes but I really need to know if a barefoot horse needs less or more trimming and I mean I am not going to ride on gravel and stuff just dirt and leaves
@AmericanPitbulls1 Ultimately a barefoot hoof is ideal because that's what a horse is born with a shod hoof will do more bad than good despite what people think. It cuts off the blood flow and thus rots the hoof. A barefoot horse will probably need to be trimmed about 4-6 weeks. If you really need a shod horse then use a hoof boot, it's a lot easier because the horse is still barefoot yet still has protection. But if you're just riding on leaves and dirt I wouldn't worry. :)
@YukiLoveless oh thank I am getting my first horse I am 12 and I have been to many many horse camps with my neighbor and her horse. So I was wandering if a horse is shod can he be barefoot right away or does it take a bit since you said it cuts off blood supply?
@AmericanPitbulls1 If you mean can you take the shoes off right away, then yes, however he will be very sore so it will take a bit. The slow way is the fast way. It takes a full year for a hoof to grow out so after 3 years of having metal nailed into his hoof it'll probably take another 3 years for him to fully adjust to barefoot. Just take it slow.
@YukiLoveless Oh btw he is a 14 year old gelding gelded very young but he has only had shoes on for 3 years so his feet are in great shape but I noticed he walked as if he was very sore when I had a test ride seeing he was uncomfortable I could not ride him buy him or not I told the owners to rest him a little they said they had "many many" buyers we paid them 100 dollars to call off all rides and buyers for 3 months did I do the right thing or was I paying a man for being mean.
@AmericanPitbulls1 I can't answer that because I wasn't there, but it sounded like you did the right thing. If you're still curious about the hooves I would do some research, thinklikeahorse (dot) com is a good site for some info. Best of luck with your new friend! :)
I love how people come on and curse and then think they'll have anyone believe their comments. lol Thanks for the videos - it clarifies some issues I had been wondering about.
I think your horse's feet look great, and if your horses are happy and sound then you are doing right by them. Very good video, and I cannot believe the ignorant, rude, and immature comments that were being made here. If I found out my farrier talked like that to someone, I'd fire him instantly!!
Your videos give great instruction, thank you so much for posting them!
I have a question regarding that arch you were showing on the side of the hoof wall - when you were sighting the bottom you were looking for it to be flat, so afterwards why do you want that arch appearing? Also, how can you tell when to stop rasping the bottom or the hoof, as in, how do you judge that the hoof is the proper height?
El, thanks so much for posting these two videos. Makes so much sense! The picture of the wild horse hoof compared to how you do it tells the truth. I've got a 25+ Appy mare and a 4 yr Mustang mare that are both barefoot. This is what I needed. Blessings to you.
I have to thank you so much for the videos!!! I found them to be very helpful. Whenever in doubt, I refer back to the video to make sure I'm doing it right. I've shared your videos with friends. I thought the way the video was put together was done very well and found them very interesting. Wonderful job! Thanks so much! Please keep posting! :D
Wonderful video. Thanks for the help. I'm on my first horse and would love nothing more than to keep her maintained by myself, without shawing her. What a great video, thanks again.
Just another example of a lame minded farrier clinging to an obsolete and obscene profession (at least that which concerns nailing iron to a hoof). El's an excellent trimmer and the results speak for themselves.
What the fuck. ''fucking lesbian''? What kind of argument is that. This guy is really lame XD
Such a freaking macho. He says he can do all this, but does he even understand why? Does he even know why barefoot trimming is better? I doubt so. What a jerk.
@shoerripper "NOW IT'S YOUR TURN???" What homie, is this some sort of RAP CHALLENGE? This is really the pot calling the kettle black. You have the exact same filthy, dark mindset, as those others whom you critisize with racial epitaphs. Tell me did you have to get your GED before you went to a shoeing school?
@shoerripper Personally I don't care about your comments and would leave them, but I don't want every person who clicks in here to have to be subjected to you vile language. Didn't yo mamma ever teach you how to express yourself properly?
@thehappyhoof On second thought I am going to leave them in the hopes that one of your clients will happen by here and recognize the mantality of the person they have doing their horse. Also your mentality is in reality pretty common among your profession, and frankly your customers recognize it, and it's one of the reasons they are learning to do their own horses.
@shoerripper It's interesting that you have the same vile mentality as those you critisized in a comment made by you on the Oakland sideshow. "F'n this and that." WOW, now that's that same mentality and intelligence, only difference is the color of your skin.
haha this woman is hillairious. 1, she needs to sharpen her knife 2. invest in a loop knife. 3. learn to clean the foot out properly cleaning out the seat of corn etc and finally learn to trim level, it only had an arch in the horny wall because she dropped the quarters so much. haha oh nd i wondered why u claim to be a barefoot trimmer and then i realised if it takes you that long to trim 1 foot you wudnt shoe many in a day haha
Have you ever heard of Asa Stephens? She is an amazing Barefoot trimmer. She is located here in Las Vegas. She is a great person to learn from. She is from Sweden.
@inc2 Just saw this comment: "I stress that you need a skilled farrier that can handmake a bar shoe, not a barefoot trimmer that does not know what they are talking about!!!"
I am a AANHCP farrier, and have been working as a barefoot and natural specialist for 22 years. I am curious as to why you think we have no idea what we're talking about, and also why you assume putting something unnatural on the horses foot is going to solve its problem?
hey slipknotgirl06, if there is a big chunk of hoof wall missing you might try finding a SKILLED farrier to take a look at it. Usually a bar shoe is the best solution for a problem like you are discribing. I stress that you need a skilled farrier that can handmake a bar shoe, not a barefoot trimmer that does not know what they are talking about!!!
I have a question. I have looked forever for a video to help me with a horse I just got. Her outside hoof wall is bumpy and not smooth and in her right front hoof has a huge chunk missing out of it. The chunk goes about from the middle of the hoof to the soul. That is what is missing. What can I do to help her get healthy hooves and grown back this missing chunk?
@slipknotgirl06 Chances are the horse has way too much hoof anyway, and is trying to self trim. I have seen this happen a lot. The bumps are called growth rings and there are varrious reasons for why you get them. Try hoofmechanics new videos, and learn more about how the hoof should really look, so that you c an judge more of where you are at and what to do.
@slipknotgirl06 Here is the exact name of that video and you can click into their web sight and by the series for about 20.00 Barefoot Hoof Trim - The Basics - Video Intro
So, this isn't trimming but rasping a hoof with a slight rolled wall. I'd been doing that since '72 to save money! I dont undestand why not nippers and do the same thing, in less time. A rasp will take off just as much wall, depending on the hands using it. A rasp is safer...(and more work) but why would a professional not just use nippers and care? Your experience with doing a lot of hooves would save taking off too much, I'd like to assume.
you really pissed me off in one of your other videos when you picked up the hoof all the horse had was a high lateral growth thats something that easily fixed and ran into all the time quit acting like minors problems are major!!!!!
I don't blame you and I apologize for my AT THE TIME ignorance. Since that time, I have learned much more from BOTH sides and can equally bash barefoot trimmers: ) THERE IS GOOD AND BAD, TRUTH AND ERROR on both sides. The controversy is good, as it makes each strive for the right answers. I'm as prone to drawing misconceptions as anyone. Again, please forgive my ignorance, and if you can take any benefits from the other side that may be there, as I do now from your side.
You're kinda throwing gas on the fire when you bash us farrier all you guys do is these kind of trims i've seen you're kind put those damn natural balance shoes on and they are applied completely wrong you guys couldnt nail a shoe on a horse to save your life
i've seen horses walking on hard ground bare foot and acting like they can barely walk. i put shoes on them and they talk the rough ground easier. i understand you guys sayin well let them run on the rough ground their hooves will get harder well take your shoes and socks off and run around on sand and gravel for a few days and tell me how your feet feel
You are right in everything that you say. But there are still some "misunderstandings" on both sides.
When I got into this I did not know there was a big controversy between farriers and barefoot trimming enthusiasts. I tried to get my farrier to look at some of the principles regarding it. Not because I wanted to go shoeless, but because I had two horses that needed some corrective work, and that did not need to be shod, because they were not at the time being ridden.
I asked my farrier to read some things, and try some things with them, as especially my two year old colt was starting to get platter footed, and had been on a reg. trimming scheduel. But my farrier treated me like I was an idiot, and would not read, nor try what I asked. Later I found out that many people have had such experiences, and that their hoses hooves needed corrective work, their farriers did not know how to do. This is what led me to start this.
I have learned a lot even since I did this video, and find there are things to be considdered from both sides. The main thing about some of the principles of barefoot trimming, IF you get into the right method, you do learn how to grow out a healthy hoof, and fix a lot of problems, that sometimes people do not even realize is going on.
Not every horse can be barefoot, but many can. I mean, sometimes there are just a lot of factors that figgure in such as how you are going to use them, and they shape their hooves are in to begin with. Then too it takes time to develpe a this kind of hoof and lots of trims because you are really growing out a whole new hoof. Then you also have to have a pretty good enviorment, as wet climates tend to not develop hard hooves.
I do not think that people into this often realize that wild horse hooves are in reality FORGED. Now you can take a lot of the principles and learn a lot from barefoot trimming, but you can't always "forge" the hoof to be exactly like that of a mustang. Yet some horses to get very very tough hooves from following these principles. And many growth problems can also be corrected.
@thehappyhoof wild hooves have a large variety from crippling to astounding how good some natural feet look. but can you explain how you only remove material and make something stronger or harder
i'm tired of people coming and telling me that the bare foot trimmer tell them their way is the only way and the right way because it's not i have thermal images to prove it. i'm not tryin to bash you people of anything but i'm gettin tired of all the critisism towards us farriers.
an imbalance isnt hard to fix i mean it can be fixed in many different ways there just isnt one way to do it like you're trying to show people i'm not a bare foot trimmer i'm a farrier and i'd aprreciate it you you bare foot trimmer would quit telling the horse owners that your way is the right way because i totally disagree with that.. i can balance a horse just as good if not better than you can.
The people I admire the most are those farriers who have come to understand the principles of barefoot trimming and incorporate it into farrier work, who in fact to both. This is best medieum, taking the best truths from both sides, while also learning to get rid of some of the erronious traditions, which always creeps in to any field. Like this guy at farrierart dot com. Have to write it this way because youtube will not let you post urls.
I really dont see that much difference between the barefoot trim and what is refered to a regular trim. I am a farrier myself, its my job not a hobby! The way i was taught is to take the heels back like you show which i think is very important. Too many old school farriers leave the heels long which only causes problems. The only dif i see is how you lower the quarters of the foot. Not my prefrence because i like the foot level and balanced to the limb, but what ever works for you.
This is an old video and I've changed some things since then. I do not take the quarters down any more. I was taught to do that. And I think you are right in what you said.
El, you are way too nice to some of these comments! I would like to chime in and say that, in my short 50 years of owning, training, shoeing, and now trimming and rehabilitating horses, I have found that the major problems with feet are flares, white line separation, under-run heals, and navicular-all caused mainly by blacksmiths.
@chexmygold navicular is pain in the navicularbone,bursa,or deep flexor tendon. when the horse goes to walk those systems pull the coffin bone and move the foot. how would making the breakover easier by elevating the heel ( same as lowering the toe) cause navicular. if you can answer me ill put all my shoes away
@shaneshaneshoer It's really so very simple. The bottom and back of the foot are suppose to touch the ground in order for the pressure to cause expansion and contraction. Without expansion and contraction at every step, the heels gradually contract and the frog will atrophy.
@shaneshaneshoer This is what causes navicular syndrome. How can raising the heel further, and reducing expansion and contraction make it better? I didn't make this up. Their is plenty of evidence if you care to seek the truth. Start at the horses hoof dot com and look for DR. Bowker and Pete Ramey.
Wow, really good to hear from you. and THANKS. Not all, but on a some of the horses I'm doing they have very long flared toes. So I don't try and get everything together at one time, cause I noticed they get sore. So I just whack the toes way back and leave them the quarters to stand on, but I bevel the quarters, even through I don't scoop them. Then when I get more conncetion and right growth at the toe, I'll deal more with the quarters, but I do alway but a good bevel on them.
Btw: I saw your video on tools of the trade but what we are looking for now is for you to go back and demo usage of the essential ones -- basics for brand new beginners
Thx everything I am finding seems to assume that the reader/viewer has some sort of basic experience. Hard to find stuff to teach the motivated newbie.
Happy hoof: thx for these neat videos! Might you consider posting a video that shows each of the essential tools and how to use each, including how to position leg n hoof etc? I am a green beginner who wants to learn to bare trim my own from the beginning
please explain to me why you are cutting the bars out of this hoof you know that the bars is pretty much what binds the foot together by cutting those out al you are doin is unbinding your hoof which later will create the hoof to become more of a pancake like. if you observe those pictures you shoe of the mustang hooves look pretty round to me please keep laming these horses so us real farriers can come in and clean up your mess
Where I was raised the farriers called that "platter footed", hence like a "pancake" or "dinner platter". Didn't understand it at the time, but obviously from the way they said it, it was to be "dreaded". From the way they talked about it, it was incurabe, cause they never did nothing about it, just complained and seemed to be blaming the horse for having some genetic defect. So I hoped I never got a horse like that..
But now I understand how they get that way, either from a lack of hoof trimming, or from bad trimming. The whole hoof wall is interloced with horn tubuels and intertubular horn much like cement and rebar. The bars are simply "Hoof wall", and like the hoofwall should be trimmed down.
IT is the entire hoof growing down and eventually flairing from lack of trimming that over time makes the whole thing sprread out into a "pancake" like shape, dropping the whole hoof to a lower state. As this happens a laminar wedge is developed between the hoofwall and the coffin bone.
Then to correct it you have to trim in such a say as to get the hoof wall to grown down and out connected to the bone, and grow out the flare, so that they toed will back up and run straight down the coffin bone again, growing out those wedges. But most farriers do not realize this, and just shoe the "platter foot", rasping down the wall and continuing to weaking the whole structure.
Trimming hte bars does not make a pancake foot, and in my opinion and that of many others, the bars are not what holds the whold hoof together. Rather the whole hoofwall being interlocked with tubuels and intertubular horn is what holds the hoofwall together. None of my horses have pancake hooves, and I have fixed quite a few cases of that. as well as very long streched out toes. Also this video is old, and I've improved and changed as we all should do, including farriers.
In thinking about what you said and your reasoning behind it, it dawned on me that in some farrier schools they teach a tradition of "standing them up". Which is growing the heells longer than they would be naturally.
Therefore you would of course not trim the bars, because you are trying to grow heel on them. And this is really because you are trying to get the correct angle and balance of the hoof.
BUT the reason for this, is because in reality the tie over time has flared, stretching the sole and white line forward with it, so that when you trim you come to a nice clean white line, and assume this is the natural length of the toe. And consiquently you want to bring the heels up to get the angles right.
I apprenticed, as well as went to a good school for farrier and horseshoeing as well as AFA certified... I would not allow this to be done on my horses feet.. Very poor way to do feet. Where did the "trim" come in? Must go through a number of rasps LOL!
It depends on what you want for your horse. We're not so much looking for "easy" as "healthy". Being wrongly shod or being shod too much ruins a horses hooves. Just going barefoot with improper hoof care can also be detrimental. It really all depnds on many variables, and the best thing to do is just take some time to educate yourself in order to make the proper decisions for your horse.
Yes I love that movie. And my mother had a book on the history of thoroughbreds, and when he died they weighed his heart and it was actually twice a big as a normal horses heart.
Hi there, I've had my horse barefoot for almost three years, and he's still very "owwie" on anything but pasture/paddock. My farrier is a natural balance guy, but he does (and always has) rasped down the hoof. Do you think that's causing what's causing my horse to never toughen his feet? My farrier has never given me a good answer, just that we humans walk "owwie" if we go barefoot ourselves. Thanks so much for your great video!
There are so many vairables, depending on the true condition of the horses hooves, the type of trim (not all natural trimmers, actually trim right.), and then your enviroment. Once feet are corrected, and the hoof is right, then the hoof has to be "forged". I mean you set them up, to forge and toughen their own hooves.
Did you mean he rasps down the outside of the wall fairly high on the wall? If he's doing that continually, yes that will keep them ouchy too. And if the horse has flares, and flat feet and that's never been really corrected that will also make them ouchy. And if they have hidden thrush that will also make them ouchy. And .....let's see. lots of things make them ouchy.
Actually, as a country kid I hardly wore shoes regularly and didn't go owwie when I walked cause my feet had hardened on the bottom, the arch was nice and high and I could use my whole foot for balance. Once I started wearing shoes all the time I developed a back problem that I'd been compensating for quite well when I was barefoot.
This is the best video for clear and detailed information. Thank you so much for you knowledge and your willingness to share this info. I definately learned more and will apply this to my horses.
I'll have to do a video on that, because it's hard to explain here. But best I can tell you is to take them down and back to the widest part of the back of the frog.
First off thank you for providing this information, it's good stuff. My question is why not use nippers to take off from the bottom instead of the rasp? Is that just a technique your comfortable with or is there a theory behind that?
You have got to be kidding me right. Trimming that poor horse like that her feet will never be normal ( the contraction that is). You can also never blame shoes for problems. A horse that is shod properly will never have problems such as heel contraction which includes the lack of frog. I have a horse that was shod for 14 years and has a beautiful, healthy natural foot and is now barefoot and has been for 4 years. If the foot is contracted, fire the farrier and fine a good one.
Going barefoot is one of the best things I done for my anglo arab and changing his food completely after mild laminitis. I can thank the arogant, ignorant arsewipe farriers for it too. I got fed up watching them shape the hoof to fit the shoe, the long toes(always stumbling), telling you nothing, then take my hard earned $100 and leave. The final straw was the mongrel that pricked my boys both front hooves,2 abcesses and no refund of money of course. Sorry to all the good ones but I'll never ..
"arogant, ignorant arsewipe", that's too funny! Unfortunately a reoccurant and very popular story. Yes there are "some" good ones, out there somewhere....I knew one in California years ago, Here's one for you, "Horseshoers and hairdressers, if you find a good one, you better hold on to um. Only a woman would understand that one.
Hey, thanks so much for your videos. We always had problems with our domestic horse & farriers. We started lettin' em go barefoot and got minis, and needed to learn ourselves going to classes. Now with mustangs and minis we do our own but always look to experts like you to help trim correctly. Thanks, wish you were in Nevada.
The foot should be balanced to the hoof. It isnt! You are correct when you say the outer wall isnt balanced and even all the way round. This will only cause more imbalance.
You cant judge balance when you look down the heel to toe on a horizontal plane. You need to balance the foot in a 3 dimensional plane. You can only see that by looking right down on top of the sole.
da feet to twist eventully, edges wernt rounded 4 safety, the wall isnt rasped which is important so u get that angle right so that the angle of the horny wall is parralel to the 3rd phalanx which is the main thing it trimming, likewise the angle of the pastern axcess
if its going to be done then let the professionals do it, or have some propper trainin 2 get up 2 a decent standard if u go to trim ur horses feet nd get them checked 1s a yr
so please ask a professional 2 show u b4 doin nything
How about spelling properly when you have an opinion? You aren't sending a text message!! It is ignorant and lazy to spell like that when emailing or writing on a forum, no matter what your opinion.
im a farrier in england (4 yrs intense training in anatomy and practical) and we shoe most of are horses and advice to got barefoot when possibable because if on wet grass it becomes common to c abcesses and and if on hard all there life foot sore so theres allways a happy median, but i get someone with training to do it, like there u over lowered the quatres where u rasped mostly there, didnt ease sole pressure, didnt clean seat of corn and the wall isnt an even width all around which causes
Excellent. Always been worried about backing up the toe - but my horse is like molly in the early days - too long a toe and Ive always rasped the wall to try and remove flare. Thanks for the info.
Your videos have been very helpful. I started my horses (5) barefoot almost a year ago. I've been working with a very good trimmer and have been maintaining the hoofs myself. I found your site a month or so ago. I appreciate that I can view your trimming videos and then go out the coral and get trimming. I ride very rocky country and put 20+ miles a week on my horses. My horses have black and white hoofs. No problems with cracking or soreness.
Thanks very much, glad I can help. I have much improved and leaned some new important things since these vidoes, but cameras been broke. Got a new one coming this week, and hope to share some really great stuff. Sounds like you have the ideal country to develop some great hooves.
I would really like to do my own trimming; however with my 19 hand percheron it is difficult to find resources on how to care for such a different hoof. His feet are huge, of course, and splay out on the sides. It also seems the height is a little short...? I would love any advice you could send my way! (I will be using him for riding, not farm or carriage work) I also have a quarter horse with fairly "normal" feet. Thank you for your awesome videos!
When you take down that imbalance at the front toe area you can sore a horse for a few days, but unfortunantly it has to be done. Also, it is a lot easier to start off using just a rasp then nipers unitl you feel comfortable. Also, put a hoof down and start another hoof and come back , double check your balance more than once. There is a lot more to this than it looks. ALWAYS keep educating yourself we are still learning about the hoof. Pete Ramey is great check out his website.
Thank you for a great video. Trying to figure out heel length. Is the cupping even throughout the sole, or is it a little deeper in the heel region? Any videos planned on problem feet (i.e. clubs, underrun heels, etc)?
Thanks, go to abchoofcare and read all her articles, but especially on the right side of the page, mapping the hoof, finding the baseline heel height, and using the periople to find the heel height. I did this on this mare about about 6 weeks ago, and WOW, went from semi sound to fully sound and walking great. Have now doine it on every horse I do, and WOW what an improvment. Also don't be affraid to take off toe callous if the hoof is not balanced, it comes back.
thanks for the reply. I appreciate your hard work and resourcefulness. My question is if the toe callous repeatedly grows back after several attempts to "balance the toe" are we really balancing the toe or is the callous growth showing an inside problem that cann't be fixed totally from the outside and it is the body's way of compensating ?
No it's not the callous that creates the imbalance in the toe it's your trimming. One slide slowly gets longer or higher and you don't notice it.
Then the callous forms on the imbalance toe. You want the callous to form on a balanced toe. Callous is good, it makes the feet tough, and protects the toe. Just like a callous on a hard working hand.
The reason I talk about toe callous like this, is because I was originally taught, and it is a barefoot trimming montra or sacred cow, that you don't touch that toe callous. So then if the hoof is imbalanced it will grow callous on an imbalance, and you don't balance the hoof because you've been taught not to touch that toe callous. So that's error. So you balalance the hoof, and the toe callous will form again on the ballanced hoof.
Not really, I don't really follow any one person. I keep learning from all sorces and changing here and there, adding and tweeking the trim. What I do now is even slightly different than when I did this video, and getting much better results. It's like an art to learn to read and understand hoof growth, and then tweek each trim to grow the desired results. I learn a lot from regular folks that watch these videos and correspond with me. Everyone has something to share to make us all better.
KC Lapierre can help you to "organize" your trim. For exemple your movement for the barre is not symétric... the hoof may be deformed. Your reading of the foot is not good, you can improve your technique.
Do you not use nippers at all then? Just the rasp? I have started trimming my mini's and now that they are done regular I don't have use for my rasp, when I got two of them their feet were so over grown I didnt have much choice but I really thought maybe I was doing something wrong if I didn't need my nippers?
I only use nippers if the hoof is long, to save my arms and my rasp. Once the hooves are good, and you're just doing maintenance, you can just rasp (file) them down, kind of like your fingernails. Good luck.
Great video, I live in the U.K. My horse is Barefoot, still getting his feet back to where they should be,will try doing his feet myself one day, find all your video's most helpful.Thank you.
Ok, so I have been trimming now for about a year on my own horses, and my mare that had foundered so bad, has developed a pretty good toe callus, and is definitely not balanced. So, you are saying, to take the toe callus off and level her foot out, correct? I don't want to go out there and do that until I know for sure this is what you are talking about.
And, from your video, I can sure tell that "less is more", and I am all for that!
Yeah, I know it's sacriligious according to barefoot "tradition". But think about this. A callous developes where ever the sole get's enough ground contact and friction, just like you and me. So if the toe is imbalanced it will still develope callous on an imbalanced toe. And if you get her balanced, it will come back, on a level playing field. But leaving an imbalance will cause arthritus or something else later on.
If your mare is imbalanced like that, you will probably only be taking off more on one side than the other and you'll probably find she's still got some of that callous, left, even after you balance her.
I think because of the mantra and the attitude of the "holy" toe callous, never to "touch it", for in the day thou doest, thy horse shall surely die. ....that many barefooters never look at the balanace of the toe, I know I didn't. Just never looked that far down, at the whole hoof. Then when I finally did, I went "HUM"??? And my colt was not originally crooked like that, it was something that developed because of the toe inbalance. And it actually made the hoof capside twist to the inside.
I mean hoof "capsil", almost like you just slightly twisted the lid of a jar, and it curved the horn tubuels too. And no matter what I did to the heels or the sides it never straightend out. Then in one trim I saw that, took care of it and the foot and leg straightend right out. Which is interesting because they always say, that if they toe in your long on the "outside" and visa versa. But in this case he was long on the inside toe and it was making him toe in. Got to remember we got 4 part here
They talk about medial/lateral balance (inside/outside). But the thing is you got inside toe, inside quater, and inside heel. And you got outside toe, quarter and heel. So 6 parts you got to get right and balanced. It can all look flat when you look "flat" at it, but once you start eyeing down it different ways, it could be high in any of those areas. You will also notice it in the coronet band, it will look crooked or jammed.
Bravissimo again El! I liked how you incorporated the still shots too - very helpful.
Gonna go out and ride in the snow today - pretty deep but NICE - and it gets Joy out of the yard, which she seems to appreciate these days. Besides, if I fall off - it's a nice landing! ;o)
Snow...I miss the snow. Use to sled all winter and ice scate in Pioneer Part in Billings when I was a kid. What fun that was. Snow angels, snow men, tractor tire marks with your feet, snow ball fights, snow forts. I miss the snow.
Thanks, great information, all of it! Anyone still doubting that being barefoot is better than shoes should just keep learning, reading, and watching, with an open mind. In time, the truth will sink in!
Excellent videos! YOU are helping me so much with these videos. I just want to say "THANK YOU", and my mare will agree with me 100%! God Bless You. Keep the knowledge coming! Happy 2009! You are welcome to come to Montana anytime and stay at our place!
Well Thank YOU! Being able to help you is just a blessing in and of itself. I was born in Billings and raised there till 12...well kinda, Forsyth, Roundup, Harden back and forth to all those places with my Mom, till we moved to Wyoming. Also many years later Birney and Kalispell. There's something that happens in my heart the second you come over the state line, things change, the country changes, it really is BIG SKY Country. My ancestors homsteaded there.
Yep, I am sure there are others around and about in Montana that are fans. I know I send other barefooters the videos when she posts new ones. Very helpful! Maybe we could "share" her! LOL
I am in the SW corner of MT, about 90 miles NW of Yellowstone Park. Next to the Tobacco Root Mountains.
We're in the big city of Lincoln.....snow central right now. Went for a ride yesterday and my Haffy girl wanted to outrun snowmobiles....silly horse. She has been barefoot and will continue to be - she has GREAT feet. Did real well on the snowpacked roads too - when their feet are taken care of properly there is no snow build up and GREAT traction. We had a GREAT time! You must be down around Dillon I'm guessing? Need to get El home for a spell - that would be a good tour!
Nice job! Question: in this video at about 8:40-8:50 looking at the bottom, is their seperation at the white line or is that normal? I am wondering about the dark area just inside of the hoof wall around the perimiter. Also, what do you use as a guide for how far back you roll the outside wall edge? Do you roll off just all of the dark, hard wall, or part of the white, soft wall as well? Do you ever roll all the way to the white line? Thanks!
I saw that when I was doing it, and then on the video, and had the choice to take some more off and clean it up, but I did not want to rasp into the sole any more than I did. It had been awhile since she'd been trimmed, and there might have been a bit of seperation starting because of it. Plus it's really wet here now and muddy.
It could just be stained, it's very poreous right there. If you keep them maintained, like filing off a fingernail, they won't get that. But she kind of get's left to last. My colt never has that, because I do him like clockwork. But the little seperation there is that's what it is is very minor not to the bone, not yet a flare.
I've rolled past the white line, in real flared toes, doing that rocker toe. But Ovinick also said just a strong roll will do the same thing. And now, I don't actually ROLL it, I just relieve that ground edge of the hardest part of the wall, leaving softer wall, and let them roll their own custom roll.
I actually bevel it with that flat straight slanted cut, and let them round the edges themselves since I've then relieved the hardest part of the wall at ground level.
Different horses in different country roll different edges. Somewhere along the line, someone looked. I'll take some pictures of her hooves today and post them and we'll see what she's done in all this mud.
My friends a bare foot trimmer
LittleMissILuvSocks 6 hours ago
your inside heel is higher "expert"
bulljam1 2 weeks ago
Where are you in the u.s.? I'm in dallas, Texas ..would pay you to do this to Cisco.
bucci777 1 month ago
@bucci777 There might be some travel time there....I'm in Kansas, the southeast corner, close to Oaklahoma. But sure wish I could come trim and teach you have to do it for your self. Regards ( :
thehappyhoof 1 month ago
To properly sight the foot you have to let foot hang freely. You don't want your thumb touching the bulbs. Hold the leg and let the foot flop into its natural position, then sight the foot.
jiMbo3277 4 months ago
Don't you just love all the 'experts' that log onto youtube who, obviously do so to try to learn from others because they're probably not doing very well in their so called farrier work, talk trash. You know the old saying......opinions are like @55holes, everybody's got one!
dwwilliams72 5 months ago
in my opinion that hoof is not level or balanced, the inside wall at the heel quater is thicker than the outer wall and the inslde heel is higher than the outside!! just some advice also, when you look down the hoof to check for level i see you hold your thumb just at the bulbs of the heels, you can actually move the foot this way to make it look level to your eye, if you hold it at the fetlock and let the hoof hang you can see alot clearer!!! would you agree??
tommyhot100 7 months ago 2
im not trying to be mean or anything im just genuinely asking a question because i wanna become a natural barefoot trimmer but at 6:36 it looks like the hoof has high heels and low/long toes but i can tell its very concave which is good and the outside is curved which is good ( i think) im just confused haha
pecoslover97 7 months ago
@pecoslover97 Your seeing better now, that I did when I originally did this video. This mare had a LOT of problems, heals most probably are high but mainly they look high because she's got NO FROG, it atrophied. She's also got compressed heels, retained or "false sole" and both the frog and the sole are way stretched forward. Her foot has changed A LOT in the last several years since I did this video, better trimming, better hoof.
thehappyhoof 7 months ago
@thehappyhoof What is the difference between a shod hoof and a barefoot hoof does it make a horse have more comfort when barefoot and I have heard they have better stability when barefoot and slip a little more with shoes but I really need to know if a barefoot horse needs less or more trimming and I mean I am not going to ride on gravel and stuff just dirt and leaves
AmericanPitbulls1 4 months ago
@AmericanPitbulls1 Ultimately a barefoot hoof is ideal because that's what a horse is born with a shod hoof will do more bad than good despite what people think. It cuts off the blood flow and thus rots the hoof. A barefoot horse will probably need to be trimmed about 4-6 weeks. If you really need a shod horse then use a hoof boot, it's a lot easier because the horse is still barefoot yet still has protection. But if you're just riding on leaves and dirt I wouldn't worry. :)
YukiLoveless 1 month ago
@YukiLoveless oh thank I am getting my first horse I am 12 and I have been to many many horse camps with my neighbor and her horse. So I was wandering if a horse is shod can he be barefoot right away or does it take a bit since you said it cuts off blood supply?
AmericanPitbulls1 1 month ago
@AmericanPitbulls1 If you mean can you take the shoes off right away, then yes, however he will be very sore so it will take a bit. The slow way is the fast way. It takes a full year for a hoof to grow out so after 3 years of having metal nailed into his hoof it'll probably take another 3 years for him to fully adjust to barefoot. Just take it slow.
YukiLoveless 1 month ago
@YukiLoveless Oh btw he is a 14 year old gelding gelded very young but he has only had shoes on for 3 years so his feet are in great shape but I noticed he walked as if he was very sore when I had a test ride seeing he was uncomfortable I could not ride him buy him or not I told the owners to rest him a little they said they had "many many" buyers we paid them 100 dollars to call off all rides and buyers for 3 months did I do the right thing or was I paying a man for being mean.
AmericanPitbulls1 1 month ago
@AmericanPitbulls1 I can't answer that because I wasn't there, but it sounded like you did the right thing. If you're still curious about the hooves I would do some research, thinklikeahorse (dot) com is a good site for some info. Best of luck with your new friend! :)
YukiLoveless 1 month ago
@pecoslover97 And another thing is she also had jammed coronary bands.
thehappyhoof 7 months ago
@shoerripper Ignorant idiot
Gharwen 8 months ago
I love how people come on and curse and then think they'll have anyone believe their comments. lol Thanks for the videos - it clarifies some issues I had been wondering about.
threehorsez 8 months ago
I think your horse's feet look great, and if your horses are happy and sound then you are doing right by them. Very good video, and I cannot believe the ignorant, rude, and immature comments that were being made here. If I found out my farrier talked like that to someone, I'd fire him instantly!!
notasoccermom30 9 months ago
Your videos give great instruction, thank you so much for posting them!
I have a question regarding that arch you were showing on the side of the hoof wall - when you were sighting the bottom you were looking for it to be flat, so afterwards why do you want that arch appearing? Also, how can you tell when to stop rasping the bottom or the hoof, as in, how do you judge that the hoof is the proper height?
GoodRedBlackRatio 9 months ago
El, thanks so much for posting these two videos. Makes so much sense! The picture of the wild horse hoof compared to how you do it tells the truth. I've got a 25+ Appy mare and a 4 yr Mustang mare that are both barefoot. This is what I needed. Blessings to you.
gpooleii 9 months ago
Good video. Thanks for posting this.
liquidatom 9 months ago
I have to thank you so much for the videos!!! I found them to be very helpful. Whenever in doubt, I refer back to the video to make sure I'm doing it right. I've shared your videos with friends. I thought the way the video was put together was done very well and found them very interesting. Wonderful job! Thanks so much! Please keep posting! :D
EquestrianChild 10 months ago
interesting video, thank you for posting.
a french farrier
astrorafhan 10 months ago
Wonderful video. Thanks for the help. I'm on my first horse and would love nothing more than to keep her maintained by myself, without shawing her. What a great video, thanks again.
LowkeeLT 10 months ago
Just another example of a lame minded farrier clinging to an obsolete and obscene profession (at least that which concerns nailing iron to a hoof). El's an excellent trimmer and the results speak for themselves.
RSW1950 11 months ago
What the fuck. ''fucking lesbian''? What kind of argument is that. This guy is really lame XD
Such a freaking macho. He says he can do all this, but does he even understand why? Does he even know why barefoot trimming is better? I doubt so. What a jerk.
Naessly 11 months ago
this is painful to watch
aamthorobred 1 year ago
@shoerripper "NOW IT'S YOUR TURN???" What homie, is this some sort of RAP CHALLENGE? This is really the pot calling the kettle black. You have the exact same filthy, dark mindset, as those others whom you critisize with racial epitaphs. Tell me did you have to get your GED before you went to a shoeing school?
thehappyhoof 1 year ago
@shoerripper Personally I don't care about your comments and would leave them, but I don't want every person who clicks in here to have to be subjected to you vile language. Didn't yo mamma ever teach you how to express yourself properly?
thehappyhoof 1 year ago
@thehappyhoof On second thought I am going to leave them in the hopes that one of your clients will happen by here and recognize the mantality of the person they have doing their horse. Also your mentality is in reality pretty common among your profession, and frankly your customers recognize it, and it's one of the reasons they are learning to do their own horses.
thehappyhoof 1 year ago
@shoerripper It's interesting that you have the same vile mentality as those you critisized in a comment made by you on the Oakland sideshow. "F'n this and that." WOW, now that's that same mentality and intelligence, only difference is the color of your skin.
thehappyhoof 1 year ago
haha this woman is hillairious. 1, she needs to sharpen her knife 2. invest in a loop knife. 3. learn to clean the foot out properly cleaning out the seat of corn etc and finally learn to trim level, it only had an arch in the horny wall because she dropped the quarters so much. haha oh nd i wondered why u claim to be a barefoot trimmer and then i realised if it takes you that long to trim 1 foot you wudnt shoe many in a day haha
CSFarrier2010 1 year ago
Have you ever heard of Asa Stephens? She is an amazing Barefoot trimmer. She is located here in Las Vegas. She is a great person to learn from. She is from Sweden.
coastiex4xlife 1 year ago
This woman annoys the shit out of me
je73203 1 year ago
@inc2 Just saw this comment: "I stress that you need a skilled farrier that can handmake a bar shoe, not a barefoot trimmer that does not know what they are talking about!!!"
I am a AANHCP farrier, and have been working as a barefoot and natural specialist for 22 years. I am curious as to why you think we have no idea what we're talking about, and also why you assume putting something unnatural on the horses foot is going to solve its problem?
neosapdotorg 1 year ago
i got "my" hooves done today by a lady and i must say she did a very good job :)
ladies rule ;)
nice video =D
schneggilein89 1 year ago
hey slipknotgirl06, if there is a big chunk of hoof wall missing you might try finding a SKILLED farrier to take a look at it. Usually a bar shoe is the best solution for a problem like you are discribing. I stress that you need a skilled farrier that can handmake a bar shoe, not a barefoot trimmer that does not know what they are talking about!!!
lnc2 1 year ago
I have a question. I have looked forever for a video to help me with a horse I just got. Her outside hoof wall is bumpy and not smooth and in her right front hoof has a huge chunk missing out of it. The chunk goes about from the middle of the hoof to the soul. That is what is missing. What can I do to help her get healthy hooves and grown back this missing chunk?
slipknotgirl06 1 year ago
@slipknotgirl06 Chances are the horse has way too much hoof anyway, and is trying to self trim. I have seen this happen a lot. The bumps are called growth rings and there are varrious reasons for why you get them. Try hoofmechanics new videos, and learn more about how the hoof should really look, so that you c an judge more of where you are at and what to do.
thehappyhoof 1 year ago
@slipknotgirl06 Here is the exact name of that video and you can click into their web sight and by the series for about 20.00 Barefoot Hoof Trim - The Basics - Video Intro
thehappyhoof 1 year ago
after the growth plater are closed the leg is set in its shape so ya after a year it still looks crooked because it is.
shaneshaneshoer 1 year ago
So, this isn't trimming but rasping a hoof with a slight rolled wall. I'd been doing that since '72 to save money! I dont undestand why not nippers and do the same thing, in less time. A rasp will take off just as much wall, depending on the hands using it. A rasp is safer...(and more work) but why would a professional not just use nippers and care? Your experience with doing a lot of hooves would save taking off too much, I'd like to assume.
GaterEby 1 year ago
you really pissed me off in one of your other videos when you picked up the hoof all the horse had was a high lateral growth thats something that easily fixed and ran into all the time quit acting like minors problems are major!!!!!
Farrierman52 2 years ago
I don't blame you and I apologize for my AT THE TIME ignorance. Since that time, I have learned much more from BOTH sides and can equally bash barefoot trimmers: ) THERE IS GOOD AND BAD, TRUTH AND ERROR on both sides. The controversy is good, as it makes each strive for the right answers. I'm as prone to drawing misconceptions as anyone. Again, please forgive my ignorance, and if you can take any benefits from the other side that may be there, as I do now from your side.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
You're kinda throwing gas on the fire when you bash us farrier all you guys do is these kind of trims i've seen you're kind put those damn natural balance shoes on and they are applied completely wrong you guys couldnt nail a shoe on a horse to save your life
Farrierman52 2 years ago
i've seen horses walking on hard ground bare foot and acting like they can barely walk. i put shoes on them and they talk the rough ground easier. i understand you guys sayin well let them run on the rough ground their hooves will get harder well take your shoes and socks off and run around on sand and gravel for a few days and tell me how your feet feel
Farrierman52 2 years ago
You are right in everything that you say. But there are still some "misunderstandings" on both sides.
When I got into this I did not know there was a big controversy between farriers and barefoot trimming enthusiasts. I tried to get my farrier to look at some of the principles regarding it. Not because I wanted to go shoeless, but because I had two horses that needed some corrective work, and that did not need to be shod, because they were not at the time being ridden.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
I asked my farrier to read some things, and try some things with them, as especially my two year old colt was starting to get platter footed, and had been on a reg. trimming scheduel. But my farrier treated me like I was an idiot, and would not read, nor try what I asked. Later I found out that many people have had such experiences, and that their hoses hooves needed corrective work, their farriers did not know how to do. This is what led me to start this.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
I have learned a lot even since I did this video, and find there are things to be considdered from both sides. The main thing about some of the principles of barefoot trimming, IF you get into the right method, you do learn how to grow out a healthy hoof, and fix a lot of problems, that sometimes people do not even realize is going on.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
Not every horse can be barefoot, but many can. I mean, sometimes there are just a lot of factors that figgure in such as how you are going to use them, and they shape their hooves are in to begin with. Then too it takes time to develpe a this kind of hoof and lots of trims because you are really growing out a whole new hoof. Then you also have to have a pretty good enviorment, as wet climates tend to not develop hard hooves.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
I do not think that people into this often realize that wild horse hooves are in reality FORGED. Now you can take a lot of the principles and learn a lot from barefoot trimming, but you can't always "forge" the hoof to be exactly like that of a mustang. Yet some horses to get very very tough hooves from following these principles. And many growth problems can also be corrected.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
@thehappyhoof wild hooves have a large variety from crippling to astounding how good some natural feet look. but can you explain how you only remove material and make something stronger or harder
shaneshaneshoer 1 year ago
i'm tired of people coming and telling me that the bare foot trimmer tell them their way is the only way and the right way because it's not i have thermal images to prove it. i'm not tryin to bash you people of anything but i'm gettin tired of all the critisism towards us farriers.
Farrierman52 2 years ago
an imbalance isnt hard to fix i mean it can be fixed in many different ways there just isnt one way to do it like you're trying to show people i'm not a bare foot trimmer i'm a farrier and i'd aprreciate it you you bare foot trimmer would quit telling the horse owners that your way is the right way because i totally disagree with that.. i can balance a horse just as good if not better than you can.
Farrierman52 2 years ago
The people I admire the most are those farriers who have come to understand the principles of barefoot trimming and incorporate it into farrier work, who in fact to both. This is best medieum, taking the best truths from both sides, while also learning to get rid of some of the erronious traditions, which always creeps in to any field. Like this guy at farrierart dot com. Have to write it this way because youtube will not let you post urls.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
I really dont see that much difference between the barefoot trim and what is refered to a regular trim. I am a farrier myself, its my job not a hobby! The way i was taught is to take the heels back like you show which i think is very important. Too many old school farriers leave the heels long which only causes problems. The only dif i see is how you lower the quarters of the foot. Not my prefrence because i like the foot level and balanced to the limb, but what ever works for you.
clermonthorses 2 years ago
This is an old video and I've changed some things since then. I do not take the quarters down any more. I was taught to do that. And I think you are right in what you said.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
El, you are way too nice to some of these comments! I would like to chime in and say that, in my short 50 years of owning, training, shoeing, and now trimming and rehabilitating horses, I have found that the major problems with feet are flares, white line separation, under-run heals, and navicular-all caused mainly by blacksmiths.
chexmygold 2 years ago
Sorry guys, but raising the heal off the ground and putting on a wedge pad does not cure navicular, it causes it.
I would rather have you care for my horses feet than a dozen certified farriers, the difference-a healthy foot!
chexmygold 2 years ago
@chexmygold navicular is pain in the navicularbone,bursa,or deep flexor tendon. when the horse goes to walk those systems pull the coffin bone and move the foot. how would making the breakover easier by elevating the heel ( same as lowering the toe) cause navicular. if you can answer me ill put all my shoes away
shaneshaneshoer 1 year ago
@shaneshaneshoer It's really so very simple. The bottom and back of the foot are suppose to touch the ground in order for the pressure to cause expansion and contraction. Without expansion and contraction at every step, the heels gradually contract and the frog will atrophy.
chexmygold 1 year ago
@shaneshaneshoer This is what causes navicular syndrome. How can raising the heel further, and reducing expansion and contraction make it better? I didn't make this up. Their is plenty of evidence if you care to seek the truth. Start at the horses hoof dot com and look for DR. Bowker and Pete Ramey.
chexmygold 1 year ago
Question for you-Why have you stopped taking down the quarters, if you don't, it just cracks and chips off anyway. Ron
chexmygold 2 years ago
Wow, really good to hear from you. and THANKS. Not all, but on a some of the horses I'm doing they have very long flared toes. So I don't try and get everything together at one time, cause I noticed they get sore. So I just whack the toes way back and leave them the quarters to stand on, but I bevel the quarters, even through I don't scoop them. Then when I get more conncetion and right growth at the toe, I'll deal more with the quarters, but I do alway but a good bevel on them.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
Btw: I saw your video on tools of the trade but what we are looking for now is for you to go back and demo usage of the essential ones -- basics for brand new beginners
Kwaded 2 years ago
Thx everything I am finding seems to assume that the reader/viewer has some sort of basic experience. Hard to find stuff to teach the motivated newbie.
Kwaded 2 years ago
Happy hoof: thx for these neat videos! Might you consider posting a video that shows each of the essential tools and how to use each, including how to position leg n hoof etc? I am a green beginner who wants to learn to bare trim my own from the beginning
Kwaded 2 years ago
Thanks, and as soon as the weather clears I'll see about doing something like that.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
please explain to me why you are cutting the bars out of this hoof you know that the bars is pretty much what binds the foot together by cutting those out al you are doin is unbinding your hoof which later will create the hoof to become more of a pancake like. if you observe those pictures you shoe of the mustang hooves look pretty round to me please keep laming these horses so us real farriers can come in and clean up your mess
clh009 2 years ago
Where I was raised the farriers called that "platter footed", hence like a "pancake" or "dinner platter". Didn't understand it at the time, but obviously from the way they said it, it was to be "dreaded". From the way they talked about it, it was incurabe, cause they never did nothing about it, just complained and seemed to be blaming the horse for having some genetic defect. So I hoped I never got a horse like that..
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
But now I understand how they get that way, either from a lack of hoof trimming, or from bad trimming. The whole hoof wall is interloced with horn tubuels and intertubular horn much like cement and rebar. The bars are simply "Hoof wall", and like the hoofwall should be trimmed down.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
IT is the entire hoof growing down and eventually flairing from lack of trimming that over time makes the whole thing sprread out into a "pancake" like shape, dropping the whole hoof to a lower state. As this happens a laminar wedge is developed between the hoofwall and the coffin bone.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
Then to correct it you have to trim in such a say as to get the hoof wall to grown down and out connected to the bone, and grow out the flare, so that they toed will back up and run straight down the coffin bone again, growing out those wedges. But most farriers do not realize this, and just shoe the "platter foot", rasping down the wall and continuing to weaking the whole structure.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
Trimming hte bars does not make a pancake foot, and in my opinion and that of many others, the bars are not what holds the whold hoof together. Rather the whole hoofwall being interlocked with tubuels and intertubular horn is what holds the hoofwall together. None of my horses have pancake hooves, and I have fixed quite a few cases of that. as well as very long streched out toes. Also this video is old, and I've improved and changed as we all should do, including farriers.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
In thinking about what you said and your reasoning behind it, it dawned on me that in some farrier schools they teach a tradition of "standing them up". Which is growing the heells longer than they would be naturally.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
Therefore you would of course not trim the bars, because you are trying to grow heel on them. And this is really because you are trying to get the correct angle and balance of the hoof.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
BUT the reason for this, is because in reality the tie over time has flared, stretching the sole and white line forward with it, so that when you trim you come to a nice clean white line, and assume this is the natural length of the toe. And consiquently you want to bring the heels up to get the angles right.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
@clh009 OHHHHHHH SHE TOLD YOU LOL
MrHawk757 2 years ago 2
I apprenticed, as well as went to a good school for farrier and horseshoeing as well as AFA certified... I would not allow this to be done on my horses feet.. Very poor way to do feet. Where did the "trim" come in? Must go through a number of rasps LOL!
mhutchins22 2 years ago
Is it easier to have a horse shoed, or just let them walk bare foot?
watchensee 2 years ago
It depends on what you want for your horse. We're not so much looking for "easy" as "healthy". Being wrongly shod or being shod too much ruins a horses hooves. Just going barefoot with improper hoof care can also be detrimental. It really all depnds on many variables, and the best thing to do is just take some time to educate yourself in order to make the proper decisions for your horse.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
I just tried a new farrier who trimmened the bulb and frog. thats not ok is it? what do I do now?
idealistful 2 years ago
I'm watching these videos, and thinking one of my roosters is crowing, but it's not, is it?
ps I LUV that movie Pharlap, not many people have seen it.
kseminole 2 years ago
Thanks for the kind words.
Yes I love that movie. And my mother had a book on the history of thoroughbreds, and when he died they weighed his heart and it was actually twice a big as a normal horses heart.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
Excellent video. Thanks for sharing
kseminole 2 years ago
Thankyou for your kind encouraging words. It makes it all worth while.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
Hi there, I've had my horse barefoot for almost three years, and he's still very "owwie" on anything but pasture/paddock. My farrier is a natural balance guy, but he does (and always has) rasped down the hoof. Do you think that's causing what's causing my horse to never toughen his feet? My farrier has never given me a good answer, just that we humans walk "owwie" if we go barefoot ourselves. Thanks so much for your great video!
lucybees 2 years ago
There are so many vairables, depending on the true condition of the horses hooves, the type of trim (not all natural trimmers, actually trim right.), and then your enviroment. Once feet are corrected, and the hoof is right, then the hoof has to be "forged". I mean you set them up, to forge and toughen their own hooves.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
Did you mean he rasps down the outside of the wall fairly high on the wall? If he's doing that continually, yes that will keep them ouchy too. And if the horse has flares, and flat feet and that's never been really corrected that will also make them ouchy. And if they have hidden thrush that will also make them ouchy. And .....let's see. lots of things make them ouchy.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
Actually, as a country kid I hardly wore shoes regularly and didn't go owwie when I walked cause my feet had hardened on the bottom, the arch was nice and high and I could use my whole foot for balance. Once I started wearing shoes all the time I developed a back problem that I'd been compensating for quite well when I was barefoot.
ztr003 2 years ago
This is the best video for clear and detailed information. Thank you so much for you knowledge and your willingness to share this info. I definately learned more and will apply this to my horses.
usaGoldie 2 years ago
How low do you take the heels? I can't tell from the video.
sunsetangel1 2 years ago
I'll have to do a video on that, because it's hard to explain here. But best I can tell you is to take them down and back to the widest part of the back of the frog.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
First off thank you for providing this information, it's good stuff. My question is why not use nippers to take off from the bottom instead of the rasp? Is that just a technique your comfortable with or is there a theory behind that?
sasulliv 2 years ago
Well, thank you for the nice encouragment. I use nippers too if they are very long, but I think I was trying to show how to use a rasp.
But I got to do some more videos, because wth all those coveralls on I was pretty clumsy. (not that I'm a real whiz anyway)
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
You have got to be kidding me right. Trimming that poor horse like that her feet will never be normal ( the contraction that is). You can also never blame shoes for problems. A horse that is shod properly will never have problems such as heel contraction which includes the lack of frog. I have a horse that was shod for 14 years and has a beautiful, healthy natural foot and is now barefoot and has been for 4 years. If the foot is contracted, fire the farrier and fine a good one.
muzikmaniak09 2 years ago
I was wondering were you got your hoof jack
and how much did you pay for it? and thanks for the videos
sunsetangel1 2 years ago
I just would like to say thank you from Japan. I wish you could come here, I have a lot to talk about and share with you.
Please keep making these great videos. You are always more than welcome if you are ever here in Japan..... Good luck.
Kobetsuzawa 2 years ago
Thankyou for the kind and gracious words. I've written you a message with my email address, if I can be of any more help.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
Going barefoot is one of the best things I done for my anglo arab and changing his food completely after mild laminitis. I can thank the arogant, ignorant arsewipe farriers for it too. I got fed up watching them shape the hoof to fit the shoe, the long toes(always stumbling), telling you nothing, then take my hard earned $100 and leave. The final straw was the mongrel that pricked my boys both front hooves,2 abcesses and no refund of money of course. Sorry to all the good ones but I'll never ..
magnoliacottage 2 years ago 2
"arogant, ignorant arsewipe", that's too funny! Unfortunately a reoccurant and very popular story. Yes there are "some" good ones, out there somewhere....I knew one in California years ago, Here's one for you, "Horseshoers and hairdressers, if you find a good one, you better hold on to um. Only a woman would understand that one.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
Hey, thanks so much for your videos. We always had problems with our domestic horse & farriers. We started lettin' em go barefoot and got minis, and needed to learn ourselves going to classes. Now with mustangs and minis we do our own but always look to experts like you to help trim correctly. Thanks, wish you were in Nevada.
rlhagan56 2 years ago
The foot should be balanced to the hoof. It isnt! You are correct when you say the outer wall isnt balanced and even all the way round. This will only cause more imbalance.
You cant judge balance when you look down the heel to toe on a horizontal plane. You need to balance the foot in a 3 dimensional plane. You can only see that by looking right down on top of the sole.
I wouldnt want my horse timed like that!
Sifuuk 2 years ago
oo7blacksmith i disagree whith you look at her work i think shes doing a great job.
gary77777778888888 2 years ago
da feet to twist eventully, edges wernt rounded 4 safety, the wall isnt rasped which is important so u get that angle right so that the angle of the horny wall is parralel to the 3rd phalanx which is the main thing it trimming, likewise the angle of the pastern axcess
if its going to be done then let the professionals do it, or have some propper trainin 2 get up 2 a decent standard if u go to trim ur horses feet nd get them checked 1s a yr
so please ask a professional 2 show u b4 doin nything
007blacksmith 2 years ago
How about spelling properly when you have an opinion? You aren't sending a text message!! It is ignorant and lazy to spell like that when emailing or writing on a forum, no matter what your opinion.
VivaLaVidaChica 2 years ago
im a farrier in england (4 yrs intense training in anatomy and practical) and we shoe most of are horses and advice to got barefoot when possibable because if on wet grass it becomes common to c abcesses and and if on hard all there life foot sore so theres allways a happy median, but i get someone with training to do it, like there u over lowered the quatres where u rasped mostly there, didnt ease sole pressure, didnt clean seat of corn and the wall isnt an even width all around which causes
007blacksmith 2 years ago
Excellent. Always been worried about backing up the toe - but my horse is like molly in the early days - too long a toe and Ive always rasped the wall to try and remove flare. Thanks for the info.
dartmoorguide 2 years ago
Your videos have been very helpful. I started my horses (5) barefoot almost a year ago. I've been working with a very good trimmer and have been maintaining the hoofs myself. I found your site a month or so ago. I appreciate that I can view your trimming videos and then go out the coral and get trimming. I ride very rocky country and put 20+ miles a week on my horses. My horses have black and white hoofs. No problems with cracking or soreness.
Thanks again.
mtnmandave 2 years ago
Thanks very much, glad I can help. I have much improved and leaned some new important things since these vidoes, but cameras been broke. Got a new one coming this week, and hope to share some really great stuff. Sounds like you have the ideal country to develop some great hooves.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
I would really like to do my own trimming; however with my 19 hand percheron it is difficult to find resources on how to care for such a different hoof. His feet are huge, of course, and splay out on the sides. It also seems the height is a little short...? I would love any advice you could send my way! (I will be using him for riding, not farm or carriage work) I also have a quarter horse with fairly "normal" feet. Thank you for your awesome videos!
AnnaDavisKey 2 years ago
When you take down that imbalance at the front toe area you can sore a horse for a few days, but unfortunantly it has to be done. Also, it is a lot easier to start off using just a rasp then nipers unitl you feel comfortable. Also, put a hoof down and start another hoof and come back , double check your balance more than once. There is a lot more to this than it looks. ALWAYS keep educating yourself we are still learning about the hoof. Pete Ramey is great check out his website.
windie101 2 years ago
Thank you for a great video. Trying to figure out heel length. Is the cupping even throughout the sole, or is it a little deeper in the heel region? Any videos planned on problem feet (i.e. clubs, underrun heels, etc)?
BUOW1 2 years ago
Thanks, go to abchoofcare and read all her articles, but especially on the right side of the page, mapping the hoof, finding the baseline heel height, and using the periople to find the heel height. I did this on this mare about about 6 weeks ago, and WOW, went from semi sound to fully sound and walking great. Have now doine it on every horse I do, and WOW what an improvment. Also don't be affraid to take off toe callous if the hoof is not balanced, it comes back.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
why remove the toe callous if it comes back?
erajinete 2 years ago
To balance and level the toe.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
thanks for the reply. I appreciate your hard work and resourcefulness. My question is if the toe callous repeatedly grows back after several attempts to "balance the toe" are we really balancing the toe or is the callous growth showing an inside problem that cann't be fixed totally from the outside and it is the body's way of compensating ?
erajinete 2 years ago
No it's not the callous that creates the imbalance in the toe it's your trimming. One slide slowly gets longer or higher and you don't notice it.
Then the callous forms on the imbalance toe. You want the callous to form on a balanced toe. Callous is good, it makes the feet tough, and protects the toe. Just like a callous on a hard working hand.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
The reason I talk about toe callous like this, is because I was originally taught, and it is a barefoot trimming montra or sacred cow, that you don't touch that toe callous. So then if the hoof is imbalanced it will grow callous on an imbalance, and you don't balance the hoof because you've been taught not to touch that toe callous. So that's error. So you balalance the hoof, and the toe callous will form again on the ballanced hoof.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
Pete ramey school?
cooki1977n 2 years ago
Not really, I don't really follow any one person. I keep learning from all sorces and changing here and there, adding and tweeking the trim. What I do now is even slightly different than when I did this video, and getting much better results. It's like an art to learn to read and understand hoof growth, and then tweek each trim to grow the desired results. I learn a lot from regular folks that watch these videos and correspond with me. Everyone has something to share to make us all better.
thehappyhoof 2 years ago
KC Lapierre can help you to "organize" your trim. For exemple your movement for the barre is not symétric... the hoof may be deformed. Your reading of the foot is not good, you can improve your technique.
DIY is good but not enough ... courage!
cooki1977n 2 years ago
Seen the videos......again :o)
Blessings from Denmark
Jaan135 2 years ago
Do you do consult with video and pics? Tried to explain my situation, but not enough charachters.
2bnl 2 years ago
7:56 .. LOL!
tgeneaqha 3 years ago
Love the Videos. Keep up the great work. Horses are gods gift and they all deserve the very best. Peace..
Robsworld911 3 years ago
Hey, Thankyou very much. They have definately been a tremendous blessing for my life, and have taught me much. Pease Back.
thehappyhoof 3 years ago
I agree, horses definitely have been and are a tremendous blessing in our lives.
maertzda 3 years ago
Do you not use nippers at all then? Just the rasp? I have started trimming my mini's and now that they are done regular I don't have use for my rasp, when I got two of them their feet were so over grown I didnt have much choice but I really thought maybe I was doing something wrong if I didn't need my nippers?
KMSpeed 3 years ago
I only use nippers if the hoof is long, to save my arms and my rasp. Once the hooves are good, and you're just doing maintenance, you can just rasp (file) them down, kind of like your fingernails. Good luck.
thehappyhoof 3 years ago
we'd like to talk with you about hosting your videos on our horse community site. Can you provide a contact source- we'd love to speak with you
wildwestwebs 3 years ago
Great video, I live in the U.K. My horse is Barefoot, still getting his feet back to where they should be,will try doing his feet myself one day, find all your video's most helpful.Thank you.
missannie24 3 years ago
Thank you, Horses have saved me (that is the Lord through them, many times). And I'm just glad that I can now do something to help pay them back.
thehappyhoof 3 years ago
Ok, so I have been trimming now for about a year on my own horses, and my mare that had foundered so bad, has developed a pretty good toe callus, and is definitely not balanced. So, you are saying, to take the toe callus off and level her foot out, correct? I don't want to go out there and do that until I know for sure this is what you are talking about.
And, from your video, I can sure tell that "less is more", and I am all for that!
videogal20062006 3 years ago
Yeah, I know it's sacriligious according to barefoot "tradition". But think about this. A callous developes where ever the sole get's enough ground contact and friction, just like you and me. So if the toe is imbalanced it will still develope callous on an imbalanced toe. And if you get her balanced, it will come back, on a level playing field. But leaving an imbalance will cause arthritus or something else later on.
thehappyhoof 3 years ago
If your mare is imbalanced like that, you will probably only be taking off more on one side than the other and you'll probably find she's still got some of that callous, left, even after you balance her.
thehappyhoof 3 years ago
I think because of the mantra and the attitude of the "holy" toe callous, never to "touch it", for in the day thou doest, thy horse shall surely die. ....that many barefooters never look at the balanace of the toe, I know I didn't. Just never looked that far down, at the whole hoof. Then when I finally did, I went "HUM"??? And my colt was not originally crooked like that, it was something that developed because of the toe inbalance. And it actually made the hoof capside twist to the inside.
thehappyhoof 3 years ago
I mean hoof "capsil", almost like you just slightly twisted the lid of a jar, and it curved the horn tubuels too. And no matter what I did to the heels or the sides it never straightend out. Then in one trim I saw that, took care of it and the foot and leg straightend right out. Which is interesting because they always say, that if they toe in your long on the "outside" and visa versa. But in this case he was long on the inside toe and it was making him toe in. Got to remember we got 4 part here
thehappyhoof 3 years ago
They talk about medial/lateral balance (inside/outside). But the thing is you got inside toe, inside quater, and inside heel. And you got outside toe, quarter and heel. So 6 parts you got to get right and balanced. It can all look flat when you look "flat" at it, but once you start eyeing down it different ways, it could be high in any of those areas. You will also notice it in the coronet band, it will look crooked or jammed.
thehappyhoof 3 years ago
Bravissimo again El! I liked how you incorporated the still shots too - very helpful.
Gonna go out and ride in the snow today - pretty deep but NICE - and it gets Joy out of the yard, which she seems to appreciate these days. Besides, if I fall off - it's a nice landing! ;o)
Keep up the good work!
happycampersMT 3 years ago
Snow...I miss the snow. Use to sled all winter and ice scate in Pioneer Part in Billings when I was a kid. What fun that was. Snow angels, snow men, tractor tire marks with your feet, snow ball fights, snow forts. I miss the snow.
thehappyhoof 3 years ago
Thanks, great information, all of it! Anyone still doubting that being barefoot is better than shoes should just keep learning, reading, and watching, with an open mind. In time, the truth will sink in!
chexmygold 3 years ago
Excellent videos! YOU are helping me so much with these videos. I just want to say "THANK YOU", and my mare will agree with me 100%! God Bless You. Keep the knowledge coming! Happy 2009! You are welcome to come to Montana anytime and stay at our place!
videogal20062006 3 years ago
Well Thank YOU! Being able to help you is just a blessing in and of itself. I was born in Billings and raised there till 12...well kinda, Forsyth, Roundup, Harden back and forth to all those places with my Mom, till we moved to Wyoming. Also many years later Birney and Kalispell. There's something that happens in my heart the second you come over the state line, things change, the country changes, it really is BIG SKY Country. My ancestors homsteaded there.
thehappyhoof 3 years ago
Nice to see a Montana following - but I get first dibs on her! Where are you located? Methinks we should start a happy hoof fan club.....
happycampersMT 3 years ago
Yep, I am sure there are others around and about in Montana that are fans. I know I send other barefooters the videos when she posts new ones. Very helpful! Maybe we could "share" her! LOL
I am in the SW corner of MT, about 90 miles NW of Yellowstone Park. Next to the Tobacco Root Mountains.
videogal20062006 3 years ago
We're in the big city of Lincoln.....snow central right now. Went for a ride yesterday and my Haffy girl wanted to outrun snowmobiles....silly horse. She has been barefoot and will continue to be - she has GREAT feet. Did real well on the snowpacked roads too - when their feet are taken care of properly there is no snow build up and GREAT traction. We had a GREAT time! You must be down around Dillon I'm guessing? Need to get El home for a spell - that would be a good tour!
happycampersMT 3 years ago
Nice job! Question: in this video at about 8:40-8:50 looking at the bottom, is their seperation at the white line or is that normal? I am wondering about the dark area just inside of the hoof wall around the perimiter. Also, what do you use as a guide for how far back you roll the outside wall edge? Do you roll off just all of the dark, hard wall, or part of the white, soft wall as well? Do you ever roll all the way to the white line? Thanks!
chexmygold 3 years ago
I saw that when I was doing it, and then on the video, and had the choice to take some more off and clean it up, but I did not want to rasp into the sole any more than I did. It had been awhile since she'd been trimmed, and there might have been a bit of seperation starting because of it. Plus it's really wet here now and muddy.
thehappyhoof 3 years ago
It could just be stained, it's very poreous right there. If you keep them maintained, like filing off a fingernail, they won't get that. But she kind of get's left to last. My colt never has that, because I do him like clockwork. But the little seperation there is that's what it is is very minor not to the bone, not yet a flare.
thehappyhoof 3 years ago
I've rolled past the white line, in real flared toes, doing that rocker toe. But Ovinick also said just a strong roll will do the same thing. And now, I don't actually ROLL it, I just relieve that ground edge of the hardest part of the wall, leaving softer wall, and let them roll their own custom roll.
thehappyhoof 3 years ago
I actually bevel it with that flat straight slanted cut, and let them round the edges themselves since I've then relieved the hardest part of the wall at ground level.
thehappyhoof 3 years ago
Different horses in different country roll different edges. Somewhere along the line, someone looked. I'll take some pictures of her hooves today and post them and we'll see what she's done in all this mud.
thehappyhoof 3 years ago