So you want to consider having your horse go barefoot?

Here are some steps to go through for a safe and successful transition!

• Get educated by doing some reading:

  • Dr. Hiltrud Strasser's to books, "A Lifetime of Soundness", and "Shoeing: A Necessary Evil?"

  • Join this E-mail list:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naturalhorsetrim

  • Gretchen Fathauer's excellent Website for horses with serious foot problems: http://www.naturalhorsetrim.com/

  • Visit Horses Hoof Magazine--For great information and advice on all things barefoot: www.thehorseshoof.com

  • See my other Links on this Website.

• Adopt some basic principles of Natural Equine Management and Natural Hoof Care (The following principles are provided by Dr. Hiltrud Strasser and Sabine Kells--used by permission)

  • Freedom of movement 24 hours per day (no closed stalls).

  • Living conditions which provide exposure to the elements.

  • Living conditions which include the types of terrain the horse will encounter when being used (ideally part mud/water, part pasture, part gravel/concrete, etc.).

  • Herd life (more than one horse in the same paddock/pasture).

  • Free choice hay or grazing 24 hours per day, hay fed off ground level (or from feeder allowing this).

  • Natural amount of movement (15+ km) each day on breed-appropriate terrain.

  • Daily exposure of hooves to water (mud/water in part of paddock or pasture, or on the trail, or through daily hoof baths).

  • Trimming (or riding) as necessary to maintain proper physiological hoof shape.

  • No bedding in shelter or paddock (“bedding” means any substance which will absorb and retain ammonia, such as straw, shavings, sawdust, etc.).

  • No articles of clothing such as blankets, leg wraps, bell boots, splint boots, etc.

  • Generally, abstain from using conventional circulation reducing drugs; homeopathics and other natural remedies are, if used properly, not harmful.

  • No horseshoes.

 

• Locate a good farrier who is willing to learn and/or do as you ask

  • Provide your farrier with reading material, pictures and sketches before hand.

  • If you can't find one...don't worry...you are about to embark upon an a real adventure. Many horseowners have learned to do their own trims. You can too.

  • Attend a clinic or course in your area that will provide you with basic knowledge and experience in trimming feet. Especially good are those where you practice on cadaver feet--where you can learn from your mistakes.

   

• Procure some proper farrier tools.

  • A good rasp with a handle--the newer the better.

  • A hoof knife--with a hook on the end.

  • A diamond coated file for sharpening the hoof knife.

  • A hoof pick to clean out the grooves in the hoof.

  • A ruler for measuring.

  • Plastic angles at 30 and 45 degrees or Strasser angles Plexi.

  • Notebook and pen for keeping good records.

  • A camera for taking pics (so you can consult with others on how you are doing).

  • Set of rubberised garden gloves (rasps are sharp)!

• Take the Horse Shoes off your horse.

  • Clip of the ends of each nail bent over on the sides of the horse hoof. Then using a hoof puller or other nippers, pry the shoes off in a direction away from the bottom of the sole. Try not to damage the hoof further by twisting the nails on the way out.

  • Or get your farrier to do it.

• Take measurements and pictures of all hooves for benchmarks.

  • Go to Mapping the Foot located on this website.

  • Pictures of front, side, rear, and bottom.

  • Measure: toe to hairline, toe to heal, quarter to quarter, top to bottom of heels.

• You and/or your farrier start doing a Natural Trim.
  (The following text and picture in Step 2 is provided by Dr. Hiltrud Strasser and Sabine Kells--used by permission)

  1. Examine the hoof, placement and conformation from the front and the side, and determine whether there is anything wrong with the symmetry (from the front or sole) or angles. If the hoof is too steep, remember that the toe must likely be left alone for the time being (it usually is already too short).

  2. Compare coronet diameter and toe length. If the toe is shorter than the coronet diameter, then do not, for now, trim any sole in front of an imaginary line drawn across the frog apex (not to be confused with trimming sole concavity immediately around the tip of the frog, which is necessary).

  3. Slight corrections to the toe may be made after the rest of the trim is complete, for coronet and toe angle adjustments, levelness, etc.

  4. Starting around the frog apex, trim the sole to expose the juncture between frog and sole horn. At this depth, carve a furrow immediately beside the frog toward the heels, to the halfway point of the frog (where the bars should end). There should be no more dirt or crevice between the sole and frog horn in this furrow from the apex to the midpoint of the frog.

  5. Trim the bars. They have their beginning (0 cm height) at the midpoint of the length of the frog (where the bar is at the same level as the sole), and their highest point at the heel (turning point of bar to wall), where they become the wall. They run in a straight line from their origin to the heel. At the halfway (lengthways) point of the properly trimmed bars, the vertical height difference between the upper edge of the bar and the wall beside it should be 1 cm (necessary for the sole to draw flat properly on weightbearing). At the same point, the vertical height difference from the upper edge of the bar to the deepest point of the collateral groove (connection between frog and bar) should also be 1 cm.

  6. Mark proper bulb/heel height (about 3.5 cm vertical height from the top end of the lateral cartilage, or 3 cm from the edge of the hair-bearing skin below them) and the line along which the trim should go along the lateral hoof wall (generally only as far forward as the frog apex).
     
     
     The frog in its heelward third should be level with the heels/wall; its apex can be level with the sole, and should not be much longer. Begin to concave the sole while trimming the walls and heels along this line. If the hoof is contracted or high-heeled, it may be better, after marking the correct heel height, to concave the sole first, and then shorten the heel and wall as properly as possible. This avoids accidentally cutting into corium or leaving the sole convex or too thin.

  7. Carve the solar concavity as a smooth dish. In the bar triangle, the sole level must be shorter than bar and wall (the sole must be relatively thin in this region, to allow proper hoof mechanism). Also, it must allow the bar to protrude slightly for proper skid brake action (in healthy hooves; in hooves which require reshaping or decontracting, this is often not possible). In the lateral regions, the sole should be shorter than the wall. In the region of the moon sickle, the sole is normally at the same level as the wall.

  8. Scoop or “float” the quarters (more important for horses on rocky terrain than on yielding ground). To check, align bulb/toe or place a level object (rasp, plexiglass, etc.) on the wall and view it from the side.

  9. Note hoof angles (toe, coronet, toe/coronet). After correctly trimming sole, walls, bars, frog and heels, check and establish correct coronet and toe angles (seen from the side): a 30 degree coronet, about a 45 degree toe wall on the fronts, and a 55 degree toe wall on the hinds (remembering that these angles are for non-abraded hoof walls).

  10. If necessary (slippered toe, shallow hoof, white line separation, etc.), rasp the toe contour so that an imaginary line drawn from the coronet to the breakover point at the toe has the correct angle (is parallel to the coffin bone), and that the angle of toe wall to coronet is also correct 95 degrees on a hind, 105 on a front). In some cases, this is impossible to achieve due to insufficient toe height (such as in a long-term high-heeled hoof, or one where a good part of the coffin bone tip has been destroyed, seen often with long-term conventional treatment of founder). In this case, the primary importance is to bring the breakover point back to where a coffin bone parallel wall would end.

  11. Check levelness and balance. Examine the placement of the hoof from the front and assure that the coronet is horizontal; especially hinds often tend to bowleggedness (inside high). Correct if necessary (by shortening or weakening) and also assure that the bulbs (end of the lateral cartilage) are of equal height, seen from behind when the hoof is weightbearing. Correct if necessary.

  12. Retouch the sole. After any trimming of the wall, such as after angle or balance corrections or scooping, always check to be sure that the sole is not left protruding relative to the new wall length. Also check that the quarters are still scooped.

  13. Assure that the hoof mechanism functions properly on whichever terrain the horse lives on. If necessary, make opening cuts.      for more information on heel cuts press here

  14. Use the sources listed above to see what you are doing.

  15. Use the online help of websites, E-mail lists, as well consultations with certified Strasser Hoofcare Professionals (for a small fee) if you get stuck or into trouble.

• Take more measurements and pictures.

• Order hoof boots as needed

  • See my other Links on this Website.

  Remember to go slow, learn from any mistakes and take advantage of the knowledge pool that is available to you.

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© 2002 - 2007 by The Naked Hoof Pty. Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of these publications may be reproduced by any means whatsoever without the written permission of the publisher and/or authors. The information and products contained within these webpages and articles are intended for educational purposes only, and not for diagnosing or medicinally prescribing in any way. Readers are cautioned to seek expert advice from a qualified health professional before pursuing any form of treatment on their animals. Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher.

Last edited: 30 June, 2007
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