Barefoot Trimming

Going Barefoot - Advice, Help and Resources

Barefoot trimming is the term used to describe trimming horses hooves so they can be ridden without the use of metal shoes.

Keeping a horse barefoot is a true joy and well worth studying and accomplishing.

Contents

The Removal of Shoes

If your horse is shod, the first thing that needs to be done, is to remove his shoes. You may know how to do this. If not and you wish to learn how to do it yourself, buy Jaime Jackson's DVD - Learn to do a Natural Trim With Jamie Jackson. This explains exactly how to remove the shoes as well as how to trim the hooves.

Or ask your farrier or contact a barefoot trimmer to remove the shoes.

In the above picture you can just see the remaining nail holes from shoes which were removed from these hooves 4 weeks ago.

Trimming of the Hooves

Once the shoes have been removed the hooves need to have a barefoot trim. Barefoot trimming is not a standard pasture trim done by a farrier. It is a specialized trim. Care needs to be taken to make sure that it is done correctly.

With the correct trim you will be well on your way to keeping and riding a barefoot horse. But the emphasis here is correct trimming.

Finding a Qualified Trimmer

To find a qualified barefoot hoof trimmer you can contact the AANHCP. They have a list of qualified trimmers worldwide, or, if they have no trimmer in your area, you may have to search the internet or Contact Us as we may well be able to find a trimmer for you.

However, it is of value if you keep in mind the wild horse model. By familiarizing yourself with the Official Trimming Guidelines of the AANHCP and their trimming restrictions, you will not cause any damage to your horses hooves.

I have listed these Trimming Restriction Guidelines HERE

Once the foot is trimmed and balanced according to this model, it is then a matter of maintaining the hooves.

Maintaining the Hooves

The hooves will need to trimmed and kept in shape regularly. Depending on the amount of work the horse is in, will depend how much maintenance trimming will be required. It can often just be a matter of touching up and:-

1. Defining and trimming the bars,
2. Checking heel height and trimming when necessary
3. Checking frogs
4. Scoop the quarters
5. Removing any excess flare
6. Checking and balancing the hoof
7. Backing/shortening the toe from the top
8. Creating a larger mustang roll

This can, once you know how, easily be kept up by you, or your trimmer, if you prefer, or a combination of both.

So for example you trim/tidy up the hooves and every 3 months they are checked over by your trimmer.

Or alternatively you work out a trimming program with your trimmer, just as you would with a farrier.

Our Trimming

With our barefoot trimming we trim and check the hooves every 4 to 5 weeks. We would only do them more often if the horse was new here and needed more corrective work.

We have found 4-5 weeks is ideal sometimes there is nothing to do if they have been ridden regularly.

How Do You Recognize a Good Trim?

This is something I have struggled with and often wondered about with my own barefoot trimming. i.e. How do I know if my trimming is good?

Without having one of those famous trimmers come here and inspect my work every 4 weeks how do I really know?

Well I finally read the answer in an an old Natural Horse Magazine, it said, "You should see an improvement in hoof form over time. This includes structural integrity: the walls should get thicker, the heels should get wider, the outer walls should be smooth and flat, without slippering or ripples/ridges."

The above has occurred with all our hooves and the horses are sound - so this very simply answers one of the many questions I have asked myself.

In Addition I would also Add....

That the white line should tighten, the sole should deepen and the frog widen and become calloused and the hoof should begin to look more like a wild horses hoof. The horse should become sound and also be able to cross different terrains if he is exercised over different surfaces.

Self Trimming

Ideally with barefoot trimming you want the horses to be 'self trimming' their own hooves. This is the "lazy" model to be working towards! However it will depend how much riding you do, the terrain you ride on and their living terrain.

There are additional ideas on the Grazing and Paddocks page which will help you achieve this.

Books

Books

Horse Owners Guide to Natural Hoof Care by Jaime Jackson.

This is an excellent book. It has a great deal of detail and goes through everything that you will need to know.

Think of it as a reference book, it is not something that you can read in a couple of evenings, but rather a book that you will go back to time and time again. Some of the black and white pictures are sometimes tricky to really see in detail what Jaime is trying to illustrate with the hooves, which is a pity, but that aside, think of it as a foundation book to everything you might need to know on hoof care.

Official Trimming Guidelines of the AANHCP

This is a step by step guide to barefoot trimming your horses hooves. This combined with the book above and the DVD'S will enable you to be well on your way to being able to understand how to trim your own horse's hooves.

What I particularly like in this manual, is the list of guidelines and things "not to do" listed at the back of the book. Until you are familiar with all that there is to know about trimming, if you read and follow these guidelines you are safe. This list outlined clearly makes this book worth buying.

There are some pages of this manual which are left to be filled in and questions to be answered, as it is the manual for training trimmers. This I did not find particularly valuable and again the black and white photo's can be difficult to interpret, especially if you are studying by yourself.

DVD'S

Learn to do a Natural Trim With Jamie Jackson

This is a basic over view and covers all aspects of trimming right down to what you wear and how to remove their shoes. It's quite long but it's all here for you.

The Natural Trim - Eliminating Flare, Splits and Run Under Heels with Jaime Jackson

You need to have watched the first DVD before this one. This DVD covers more detailed trimming techniques. Both are worth buying. If you are learning by yourself you will no doubt be playing these backwards and forwards a few times to really grasp all that he is saying.

Under the Horse by Pete Ramey.

This is an excellent set of 10 DVD discs. There is a tremendous amount of material here and there is a lot to listen to and watch. You get a really good overview of Pete Ramey's trimming and the photography and pictures are very clear.

Very simply it is excellent, a lot of work has gone into it making this. It may take you time to get through all the discs, but if you wish to study more about barefoot hooves this is definitely worth buying.

We aimed to watch one DVD every few days.

Working with A Qualified Trimmer

If you decide to get help - learn and watch alongside your trimmer. The more you understand the trim and your horses hooves and how they effect how your horse goes, the better it will be for you and him.

If you do not understand barefoot trimming and what your trimmer is doing, ask them and read the above recommended barefoot trimming material, until you are happy and confident with their work and how they are trimming.

Doubt their Work?

If you find a trimmer to trim for you, I seriously suggest you read the page at the back of the Official Trimming Guidelines of the AANHCP and make sure your trimmer sticks to these guidelines, until you are really sure of their work.

This may not be necessary later on but by being aware, you will then be in a position to prevent any adverse trimming occurring, which could seriously create problems for your horse.

The Different Opinions on Barefoot Trimming

There are differing opinions on how to do a barefoot trim. There are now a number of bodies and although they all advocate the riding and keeping of barefoot horses, they differ somewhat in their opinions on the correct trim and how to trim the hoof. When I first started researching natural hoof care I found it challenging enough trying to master, without the added confusion of the different bodies not agreeing with each others trim.

I stuck to the wild horse trim as recommended by Jaime Jackson, (AANHCP). Later on I went on and studied Hildrd Strasser's work, (she has received bad press here in the UK). But if you look and read her books, her research and material is excellent. We contacted a Strasser trimmer in order to try and determine what all the fuss was about, however her trim, (she had trained with Hildred Strasser), was excellent and there was nothing that she recommended that caused me any concern.

I have also studied other trimmers and sometimes I am not comfortable with their work as I feel it is too invasive.

I obviously cannot speak for every trimmer, but if you become familiar with the Basic Trimming Guidelines you will then be in a position to assess any trimmer whom you may choose to work with.

What Not To Do

If you try and trim the hoof to get it to the wild horse shape before the internal structures are ready, you may well suffer consequences. The lesson here is, not, to over trim.

Pete Ramey's Trimming Goals

Pete Ramey explains very clearly that when he trims his two goals are :-

• To leave the horse feeling the same or better after a trim
• and for the horse hooves to improve in the following weeks and grow a better well connected hoof wall

He goes on to say that, most people try and trim to much, too quickly and try and erase "10 years of pathology"" in one trim and by doing so violate rule number one.

He says he does not always achieve these goals and will make mistakes, but these are the goals he works towards, which are simple but very powerful.

Finally

When you know how to trim your horses according to the barefoot model it becomes a joy. All the worry goes.........

Need Some Help?

Struggling and don't now what to do? Contact Us and we will help you.