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What Is This Site About?
My introduction to the paradigm of natural hoof care has been a real eye-opener. As I've become more educated, I've made more and more changes to my current horsekeeping practices. Most of these changes have simplified life immensely! I'm hoping that some of my experiences might be useful to those following a similar course.
I expect this web site to grow and evolve. Initially, I'll be adding information as I find it and won't necessarily organize it for easy reading. As I come to conclusions or solidify my understanding, I will summarize findings in "at a glance" format so that users won't have to wade through all the narrative.
What Is Natural Hoof Care?
Natural hoof care is a whole-horse approach to keeping your horses' feet healthy.
Natural hoof care advocates a natural or "wild horse" trim and discourages shoeing.
Natural hoof care promotes a natural lifestyle for your horse. In addition to the natural trim, the horse must be provided with movement, movement, movement! Horses are herd animals - they need the companionship of other horses. Horses evolved eating dry, sparse grass - today's rich feeds are foreign to them.
What is Natural Hoof Care NOT?
It is not for every horse owner. Not everyone has access to the resources that allow a horse to enjoy a natural lifestyle. Limited available acreage, especially near urban areas, makes 24/7 turnout expensive and impractical. Not every horse owner can make the commitment to transitioning their horse to barefoot. Conditioning the hoof that has been shod takes time - time for healing, time for making sure the horse uses his hooves, time for providing surfaces on which to condition his hooves. Not every horse owner is willing to pay to have a qualified practitioner trim their horses' feet.
It is not a newly invented method of trimming feet. Many farriers produce a wild horse trim, but do not call it such. Watch for your farrier to trim the walls with regard to the sole; a flat hoof wall ,such as needed in preparation for shoes, promotes flaring of the hoof walls. Watch for your farrier to keep heels low and not let them run forward. Watch for your farrier to leave the callous at the toe intact; thinning the sole in this way can cause pain.
Tell Me More About The Natural Trim!
There are some excellent web sites explaining the natural trim. In fact, these sites were instrumental in guiding me to natural hoof care. I studied these sites again and again, learning to train my eye to the difference between conventional and natural trimming. There are wonderful explanations, diagrams and background information as well as lots and lots of photos. I certainly can not explain the basics better than these veterans and so I will not try. Some of my favorites are:
In addition to these sites, there are some great books for getting started in natural hoof care. I've lost count of how many times I've read these:
- The Natural Horse by Jaime Jackson
- Making Natural Hoof Care Work For You by Pete Ramey
- The Horse Owner's Guide by Jaime Jackson
- Founder! by Jaime Jackson
As well as his books, Jaime Jackson has some fantastic videos on the wild horse trim that I highly recommend.
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