Natural Trimming

[edward]

Anyone know how Natural/Barefoot trimming works and if there is any such thing as a natural shoe??

edward

[glory]

hey my name is Jaimie. i have two horses and they are both barefoot. i've never had shoes on them. i think horses going barefoot is great if they are just in pasture and don't ever go on concrete or roads. i'm fixin to put shoes on one of my horses because she has really tender feet and the rocks hurt her feet. but my other horse has really hard feet and she can go barefoot on anything. even rocks. i think whether a horse should go barefoot or not depends on if they have good feet or not. white feet usually need shoes because they're softer. and crack easier. but it really depends on the horse. barefoot horses can do anything a horse with shoes can do. jumping, barrel racing, roping, dressage. and not having shoes on a horse cuts down the cost of keeping a horse. hope i helped. bye

[SarhasMom]

http://www.horseshoes.com/advice/natural/rdstntrh.htm

http://www.healthyhoof.com/articles/trim_styles.htm

I have a 5 year old mare that has been barefoot her entire life. Remarkably, she has only had to have 3 trims as well. However, since moving her to NJ from PA and changing her diet, her feet are growing faster and she will now require more regular trims and her hooves have dried out as well.

I feel that not only good farrier work but diet and exericise play a key role in the maintenance and upkeep of the hooves. My girl now gets oiled daily and will probably soon get some sort of natural supplement, haven't decided.

Good luck in finding your information.

[kelso]

I live in upstate NY and, with the rest of New England, have been experiencing the consequences of all the rain we've gotten (soft hooves and thrush). I have a horse who was neglected from age 6-9, with no farrier work done. I'm surprised she never went lame. As a result, however, her feet were never the same and she has AlWAYS required front shoes in the summer when we ride her the heaviest. It's been this way for 11 years.

Now however, with the soggy season, she's acquired a mild case of thrush b/c the shoes hold the mud and moisture in more than her barefoot compadres in the field. There are 5 people at my barn that have their horses done the "natural way" and I've now decided to give it a try. One of the things natural balance claims to do is allow the frog to expand, and the "mustang roll" technique is used by rolling the edges of the hoof (rather than trimming it to a point) which greatly reduces and in some horses eliminates cracked chipped hooves.

It costs $40 for a trim (so $10 more than a normal trim around here) but beats the cost of shoeing...and there are no nails to weaken the hoof wall. I'll let you know how I make out....if they can save my horses feet, they can save anyone's :) I've heard nothing but positive about the method!

[kelso]

so my mare had her feet trimmed the "natural" way only a few days ago and so far so good. No cracks, no chips (which she tends to acquire daily w/a normal trim) and no tripping. The mustang roll, as they call it, is working. My farrier also mentioned that her feet were very shallow, her heels were too long, and therefore the overall angle of her hoof was off, which causes her to walk without her weight centered down her leg and through her hoof. but by trimming the hoof at the angle it naturally grows at will allow the heel to correct itself, the frog to expand and her hoof to gain some depth and therefore balance (and they never trim the frog down, that was a new concept to me). Natural hoof trimming is not rocket science, and seeing it after reading so much about it makes me think to myself, "duh"! Will keep the updates coming :)