19/06/2025
Sticking with the foot we’re going to talk about the trim. Primarily in this post I am talking about barefoot horses, I will cover shoeing separately.
My rehab methodology stems from the Rockley ‘celery’ method of self trimming. For me, in the most simplistic terms, this means balancing wear and growth whilst allowing the horse to grow the foot they need for that point in their lives.
Hooves are so dynamic and they go through cycles, seasons change the way the hoof looks, environmental factors and the way you ride your horse will all have an impact too. Nothing goes unnoticed by the foot.
When going through rehab, the hooves I tend to see are weak and not performing as they should. All the horses I work with are lame. In these cases we need to be far more aware of what the horse is telling us. There will be wear patterns that cannot be ignored. When we let these feet do what they need, very often they are ugly! Function over form is the mantra at this stage.
The key when this happens is to be constantly monitoring how the horse is moving. As long as there is an improvement to straightness, landings and comfort then we don’t interfere. However, with some drastic changes, at some point we may need to intervene to make sure the horse continues moving well.
If your horse is always sore post trim THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE OR NORMAL. Do not ignore it. You are being told that either you are trimming too frequently or you are taking too much of something away that the horse needs. No trimmer should ever find this an acceptable part of their practice. We all make mistakes sometimes but it should be rare.
Over the next week I will be posting some examples of how dynamic feet are and the evolution of how things can change with both rehabbing and sound feet as well as sharing some of my own stories of the benefits of trimming at the right time or using self trimming to heal.
Share your stories below!
