01/04/2025
As much as I’d love everything to be in my control… it’s not.
There are so many factors that go into a healthy hoof—things we can influence and things as a hoof care practitioner I simply can’t. I often find myself in conversations with colleagues about the horses that challenge us the most. More often than not, the struggles aren’t just about trimming or shoeing technique; they stem from compensation patterns, or long-standing imbalances that are beyond what we can change with a rasp or a shoe.
And hooves don’t exist in isolation. The entire body is connected.
Proprioception—the horse’s ability to know where it is in space. When one part is compromised, the rest must adapt.
🔹 Hoofcare: The feet are the foundation that everything else is stacked on. A compromised foundation affects the entire structure above it.
🔹 Bodywork: We need to give the body as many opportunities as possible to compensate. Restrictions in one area lead to compensations elsewhere, impacting movement and balance.
🔹 Dentistry: The brain sits on the shelf that is produced by the teeth. A horse’s dental alignment affects jaw mobility, posture, and neural input.
As Dr. Audrey DeClue puts it, “The foot only grows dependent on how the body controls the limb to land. The hoof only grows evenly if there is even pressure.” Hoof growth is a reflection of how the entire limb moves and bears weight, and the health of the body and limb attached to the hoof.
And as Tami Elkayam says, “Feet are an expression of the motion possibilities of the limb above. At some point, the foot shape will lock the motion possibilities of the limb above.” Over time, compensatory movement patterns can restrict what we are able to achieve in the feet if we aren’t being proactive.
At the end of the day, we only have an influence over the horse in front of us for a short period of time each cycle—often just 30 to 60 minutes. In a perfect world, we’d spend longer assessing a horse (statically and dynamically) and documenting progress than actually working on them. But that requires access to facilities where we could slow-motion video, analyze movement in real time, and (dare I say it) actually be paid for that time.
But we work with what we have, doing the best we can with the small window of opportunity we get. Because while we can’t control everything, we can make the most of what we have.
And then we add stress and inflammation into the mix. Whenever we have inflammation present it limits the ability of the body to function and heal. Instead of working with the body’s natural mechanics, we create further restrictions, pain, and imbalance.
A truly holistic approach means looking at the bigger picture, recognising these connections, and working to support the horse as a whole.
