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Horses have Five Hearts One in their chest, and one in each foot!
What is Hoof Mechanism? Each hoof has a huge blood supply. This blood supply is a dense collection of vessels much like a thick spider web or sponge. In other species, the blood flows back up the limbs aided by muscle contractions that "squeeze" the blood back up the leg. Horses do not have muscles in their lower limbs. Therefore they rely heavily on "Hoof Mechanism" to return blood up the limb. Simplistically, as they take each step the hoof expands drawing blood into the hoof. As the foot comes off the ground, the hoof contracts and pushes blood back up the leg. With each step the feet are "pumping" blood up the legs. This is why we say the horse has FIVE hearts! This is a simplified explanation of hoof mechanism, but gives a good idea about how it works. In order for a horse to have normal blood flow to the limbs, feet and the rest of the body it must have a working hoof mechanism and the ability to move. As you can see, many things could interfere with this hoof mechanism. Horses are grazing animals and are designed to walk and eat nearly 24 hours a day. They take brief rest periods where they sleep (usually 15-20 minutes at a time). Confining a horse to a stall where it cannot walk will greatly inhibit the normal blood flow in a horse. Improperly nailing a rigid shoe to the hooves will also inhibit the hoof mechanism. There are a variety of techniques for shoeing horses that can minimize this restriction, but no shoe will allow the mechanism to work as it would without the shoe. Though hoof mechanism is important, we do NOT recommend or practice the trimming techniques that rapidly increase hoof mechanism. Rather, the best trimming techniques make changes slowly and result in a stable athletic foot which will eventually have good hoof mechanism without specifically "trimming" for it. You CAN take a shod horse to barefoot without making it lame. Mustang Feet The Mustang is our best example of how healthy and hardy horses can be barefoot. Wild mustangs live on very hard ground, often extremely rocky ground. They also cover from 20-30 miles daily looking for food, water, and avoiding predators. Mustangs have excellent hoof conformation with short heels, a dubbed toe, large frogs, and short bars. Mustangs are almost never seen with a hoof deformity or lameness.
(Examples of Mustang feet.) However, our domestic horses are not mustangs. And not all horses live in arid rocky climates. A rider's goals, their horse's genetics and the boarding situation will make the difference in just how far an individual horse can go barefoot. A horse that is stalled the majority of the time may have problems living a barefoot lifestyle. Bare feet are natural, stalls are not. Historically horses were ridden and used in battle barefoot until the practice of stalling them caused shoes to become "a necessary evil." Stabling conditions cause the feet to be exposed to extreme drying situations (bedding) which then became wet situations (soiled bedding) while minimizing hoof mechanism due to the restricted movement. This leads to deterioration of the hoof wall and form, thus bringing about the practice of shoeing to keep them protected. Horses that are primarily ridden in sandy arenas, or a grassy playing field (dressage horses, etc) may not need shoes. Horses that are ridden long distances on rocky or hard terrain will need more effort to ride barefoot, though it is often possible. Many disciplines will require shoeing for competitions or training as they are very different from what "wild horses do". For example, a reining horse will need shoes on the back feet in order to slide without abrading their back heels. There is no barefoot approach which can protect them when performing such maneuvers. (Here is an essay providing a "middle road" approach that I can appreciate.) Some horses need shoes, some don't. Hoof Boots
Removable hoof boots are an alternative to shoes. They allow the benefits of keeping a horse barefoot, yet provide protection when needed that does not damage the hoof (i.e. nails) and is easily removed. With improvements in design and technology there are a lot of fantastic boots available. Above are Swiss Horse Boots. A new boot that has been developed is the Easyboot Bare. Here is their information.
Transition to Barefoot Taking any particular horse from shoes to barefoot can take some time. A few horses will trot off barefoot on rocks and you will wonder why you ever put shoes on them. Many horses will be tender on rocks and hard ground at first. The most important part of the transition to barefoot is getting an appropriate "barefoot trim" done on your horse. The typical "pasture" trim will not keep a barefoot horse sound. Barefoot horses should NEVER have the toe callus trimmed (area of sole between the tip of the frog and the toe). Most farriers thin this area when placing shoes.
This is the main reason people think their horse "can't go barefoot." When the toe callous is left untouched and the trim is appropriate most SOUND horses can easily and comfortably transition to barefoot. If I wanted I could "prove" to you that your horse needed shoes by trimming the toe callus. By removing sole at the toe you have done 2 things. You have just removed the "protective" covering of the coffin bone and you have lowered it closer to the ground. This is no different than running down a gravel road in tennis shoes or house slippers. Which would be more comfortable? Unfortunately the sole is the slowest growing portion of the hoof, and when it has been trimmed and thinned it can take weeks and months to grow back. "Traditional" shoeing methods teach farriers to thin the toe callous to prevent "sole pressure". This is a MYTH. Mustangs wear their hoof walls off so that they are walking directly ON THEIR SOLES. "Sole pressure" is normal. Occasionally, I still shoe my horses.
The best shoes and shoeing method I have found is the Natural Balance Shoe. Here is a photo presentation of placing a set of Natural Balance shoes. It is unlike any traditional "shoeing" method and much more closely resembles the horses natural hoof balance and allows for as much hoof mechanism as is possible with shoes. Though I try to keep my horses barefoot, occasionally I take a horse to an event or competition where they would need hoof protection. Boots are wonderful but have limitations. They require putting them on and taking them off daily. They can also be heavy and lose traction in mud. For my Advanced Level 3 PNH course with Pat Parelli my Quarterhorse had recently had an abscess. He had also only been barefoot for 3 months so his feet were not yet conditioned to ride on rock barefoot. In this case I placed Natural Balance Shoes on him for the 3 week course. This provided him hoof protection, kept me from having to mess around with boots, and as soon as the course was over I pulled the shoes. I believe being Barefoot is the best, but not all horses in all situations can be barefoot. When I have a specific situation, I will "shoe" for it, and then remove the shoes when I'm done. I have found that my horses that have been barefoot the longest are much less likely to need hoof protection. Just as when I was a child I ran around barefoot all summer and never needed shoes. Now I couldn't make it down the steps barefoot without "limping". The longer they are barefoot and the more varied terrain you have to condition their feet the less likely you will need hoof protection of any kind.
Notice how far BACK the shoe is placed. This keeps the weight centered and keeps the break over point in the same place a bare foot would be rather than moving it FORWARD which is what TRADITIONAL shoes do.
Soap Box As a veterinarian and a horse lover.... I do NOT condone the practice of taking a SOUND horse in shoes, doing a RADICAL trim and then causing them to be sore for weeks as part of their "transition to barefoot." Making sound horses lame is NOT appropriate or acceptable. There is no reason to RUSH the changes in their feet and cause a horse discomfort. I have successfully transitioned over 10 horses of my own from shoes to barefoot (and not one of them became lame because of it.) Some of these horses had been wearing shoes all year round for over 10 years! Some changes in the hoof may be desirable, (widening the heels called "decontracting") shortening the toe and/or heels, trimming overly long or laid over bars, etc. Yet these changes can be made gradually! Following a formula and "cutting" your horses feet to match will often result in a sore or lame horse. Don't do this to your friend! Take things slow. I have seen a few horses who were trimmed so radically trying to "go barefoot" that they foundered! Don't let anyone do that to your horse! OK, Off the soap box! If you're thinking about pulling your horses shoes START with this website ► Barefoot for Soundness This site is VERY thorough and comprehensive on what it means to keep horses barefoot, how to trim, and what the entire process entails. Be informed before you start changing things! Case Studies Here is a pictorial foot comparison of 2 of my horses. Fancy Penny and Lazer Lavender
Fancy Penny is a 10 year old Quarterhorse mare. She has very straight angles, high contracted heels and has been wearing shoes for several years. Her shoes were pulled a few weeks ago and I've taken pictures of her second trim since the shoes were pulled. I did not see her feet when she had shoes but she came to me with very long toes, heels high and contracted and some abnormal bar growth on her rear feet. She does not have a "bell shape" to her feet. Her walls are steep and sweep under her foot instead of out. Lazer Lavender is a 4 year old 1/2 Connemara pony who is the opposite of Penny. She has low wide heels, and her feet tend to flatten out like pancakes. To make things more interesting she had an abscess in her right front foot as a baby and that foot has always been smaller and tried to be clubby. 2 weeks ago we cut her check ligament to allow the tendon to stretch down so that we can hopefully get a lower wider heel on the smaller foot. The photos are 2 weeks after surgery and the feet are already remarkably similar. Unfortunately I didn't take "before" pictures, but I plan to track her progress from now.
Penny's front feet prior to her second trim. Look how steep her sidewalls are. Her feet have almost no "bell shape".
These are Lavender's front feet. Her left foot is quite bell shaped. Her right front is smaller, the walls steeper. This is 2 weeks after her surgery and the right heel has already been lowered to match the left, but you can see how much smaller and narrower the foot is. Here is a side by side comparison of one of Penny and Lavenders front feet.
You can see how much wider (more bell shaped) the foot on the right is.
Compare the angle of the black lines.
Penny's heels are high and narrow, her frog is high and doesn't touch the ground. The frog sulcus is narrow and deep. Lavender's heels are wide, the frog wide with a shallow sulcus and full contact with the ground.
You can also see that Penny's coronet is wider than her foot at the ground. Lavender's is hard to see due to her feathers, but her foot is wider at the ground than her coronet. One more pre-trim view. Look at the difference! The Trim
In the barefoot horse, the wall needs to be trimmed to the level of the sole. Leaving the wall longer than the sole creates a "leverage force" in the barefoot horse. Imagine pressing hard with the tip of your finger on a button. If your fingernail is short it will not cause a problem. If your fingernail is long, pressing hard with it will try to peel your fingernail off. If you pressed hard enough or long enough it would start to separate your fingernail from your finger. In a horse this is called hoof wall separation. Many people mistake this for "white line" disease, when it's simply a mechanical leveraging force splitting the wall away from the lamina. Here I have started trimming the wall down to the level of the sole on the left side of the hoof. Always be very careful not to trim the sole, as this is needed for protection and it grows back very slowly. You can see the wall sticking up on the right side of the hoof. It was a very muddy day but you can still see the striations in the white line where it is "stretched" between the sole and the overgrown wall.
Here is the final trim. You can see her heels are still very high, but look at her hoof/pastern angle. They are almost vertical, so she will need higher heels than most horses to be comfortable. Her heels need to widen, but this is done by backing up her toe and trimming the hoof wall to the sole, so that she lands "heel first". Over time her heels will widen on their own without trying to "artificially" widen them. We do not recommend excessive trimming of the heels and bars or "opening cuts" as this can cause mechanical failure of the white line and even founder in some cases. Also notice the "mustang roll", you can see the white line at the toe from the side of the hoof.
Above are Lavenders Right and Left front feet. The foot on the right is the leg that had surgery. Her heels have been lowered and you can see the shape and width of the foot is different from the other. Hopefully over time they will be the same. This is 2 weeks post surgery and we will keep track of the progress. We have purposefully left her toe long (and no mustang roll) on the smaller foot to stretch the tendons in the leg.
This is the final trim for today. The next trim - February 5, 2007 Penny's front foot before the trim.
It has been 3 weeks since her last trim. You can see the wall has grown out slightly from the level of the sole. Her heels are very high, but not as high as last time. Her frog now has a visible "line" in the middle, whereas last time the sides of the frog were pressed up against each other.
This is the "before trim" picture from the last trim and today's trim. You can see the foot has already widened considerably. Look at the difference in her heel width) it has already widened 1cm! (in just 3 weeks). Also the frog is starting to "separate". The picture on the left shows the sides of the frog pressed against each other. On the right you can see the frog is visibly WIDER and there is now a tiny "cleft" visible between the sides of the frog.
Look at the difference from this angle! Look how much wider her heels are. You can also see how "pinched" together the heel bulbs appear on the left, and on the right they are definitely wider and the frog is closer to the ground. Also look at the hoof wall on the sides of the hoof. It angled in a "V" shape on the left (the bottom of the hoof is smaller than the coronet), and the photo on the right shows the angle nearly vertical. She is a long way from "bell shaped" but her heels have widened considerably more than I expected in 3 weeks!
I am trimming the heels very slightly to slowly bring her angles down without making her sore. This shows how I'm barely trimming the heel in comparison to the original height. Below is another view of the heels before (left) and after today's trim (right).
Side by side comparison of the final trim 3 weeks ago (left) and today (right). Look how much WIDER her heels and frog are!! Also note that the bottom of her foot is becoming more of a circle than an ellipse, the foot is wider at the quarters, look at the bars and how they were "straight and nearly parallel to each other last time. Now they are "C" shaped and wider overall. Lavender's progress.
This is the surgey leg. These are 3 weeks apart. The foot is changing shape, and the heels are not growing excessively as they were before surgery. Look at the cleft in the frog and how much wider it is on the right!! The surgery foot is on the left. It has a LOWER heel now than the other foot! The angles should even out over time. The foot on the right needs to be trimmed (it is flaring), and the surgery foot does not need any trimming. Typically 3 weeks after a trim the heels would be very long! They have not grown at all! Also, note the "mustang roll" on the foot on the right. We did not mustang roll the surgery foot in order to keep the toe long and get maximum stretch of the tendons. She is completely sound and has shown no signs of soreness. Watch for more pictures of Penny and Lavender in 3 week! Penny's Touch Up February 11, 2007 Penny has been tolerating having her heels trimmed very slightly (2-3mm), so today I decided to trim them into the true seat of the heel (4-5mm). This will bring her angles down slightly which will place the bones in her feet in better alignment. When the heels are as high as hers it changes the entire angle that the coffin bone sits and all the bones and joints in the leg are affected. On the left are her angles 1 week ago. The right foot had been trimmed, and the left foot had not. You can see the broken axis in the left foot due to the high heel. The picture on the right is after today's touch up (1 week later). You can see the hoof pastern angle is more normal and is a straight line. So far with these changes Penny is sound and comfortable. Angle changes should be made slowly over time. Do not suddenly change the angles drastically on a sound horse if you want to keep riding your horse. (EXCEPTIONS: A lame horse may be more comfortable with a drastic angle change. A horse with severe overgrown feet may need a sudden angle change. We changed Lavender's angles drastically but she had surgery and was not being ridden. Penny has had very steep angles for a long time. Changes to her angles will need to be slow, and she may not tolerate them. If she becomes sore, or her heels grow excessively we will leaver her angles the same. So far she is tolerating the changes and seems more comfortable. After today's touch up, she tolerated riding on gravel even better than she had so far to date.)
Other views today. Left 1 week ago. Right Today. Here are some very informative links.
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