13/12/2025
I can’t count the number of times I’ve done a primary evaluation on a horse and asked a client, “so had your farrier explained why his toes are so long?”. I don’t want to disrespect anyone’s farrier, but long toes are a very common problem!
“Toe too long” how to define the correct length?
“Toe too long” is one of the most common comments we hear in practice, but it is also one of the least consistently defined. Some approaches treat toe length as a number, others as a look, others as a relationship to internal landmarks. The research and the major hoof balance theories suggest a better way to think about it:
Appropriate toe length is not a fixed measurement. It is a functional outcome of where breakover happens and the ground reaction forces act, relative to the limb’s centres of rotation. How the base of support is distributed around those points, and how the horse loads the foot through stance.
Why toe length matters biomechanically
Toe length is not just “toe length”. It is a lever arm and factor of ground reaction force distribution.
During late stance, the hoof rotates toward breakover and the location of breakover affects the mechanical demands on the distal limb. Research on breakover manipulation shows that moving breakover (often via shoe placement or toe modification) can change stride kinematics and timing variables at walk and trot, which is why toe management is so commonly used clinically and in performance shoeing (Duberstein et al., 2013). 
More recent work also looks at trimming, angulation, and shoeing variables in relation to breakover duration and timing in vivo, reinforcing the idea that toe related interventions influence breakover mechanics in measurable ways (Hagen et al., 2021). 
We also know that toe length affects static load on the hoof by dorsal migration of the action point of the ground reaction forces. Static assessment of proportions are reflective of vectors and loads experienced at mid stance.
Key point: Toe length is inseparable from breakover location and from the mechanical “moment” the ground reaction force creates around the distal joints.
The classic “base proportion” models are trying to achieve Symmetry and proportional balance from a visual perspective. But what is balance when considering actual physical vectors and how they affect ground reaction forces?
From the combined literature the definition I can formulate for balance is this…
“The hoofs interaction with the ground should provide the horse with mechanical and functional efficiency while considering the skeletal structures of the limb”
That definition sounds abstract, and is more of a what hoof balance should do, then what it is!
What it is, is exactly what the new hoof balance paradigm tries to quantify.
How the 2023 “new hoof balance paradigm” reframes toe length and base proportions
The paper “The quantification and definition of a new hoof balance paradigm” (Yxklinten and Sharp, 2023) proposes a specific midstance “Point Of Balance” (POB) located anterior to the distal interphalangeal joint centre of rotation, described as approximately one quarter of coronet length back from the dorsal coronet in an unperturbed hoof capsule. It then links balance to alignment between:
• POB
• the pressure point of the solar surface (their PPSH concept)
• the centre of pressure of the ground reaction force (COP) at midstance, when horizontal force is zero (Yxklinten and Sharp, 2023). 
Why this matters for toe length:
• Toe length becomes about whether the toe and breakover position allow the GRF line of action at midstance to sit in a relationship with the transference of weight of the horse. keeping the hoof in force and moment equilibrium.
• Base proportions stop being a purely geometric target and become a mechanical target. The “base split” should serve alignment of the load path, not the other way around.
Practical application for farriers and therapists
Stop saying “short toe” and start saying “appropriate breakover and position of the CoP at midstance”

Importantly give the outcome a purpose.
“Balance is where the foot is in equilibrium at midstance, so toe length and base proportions should support that load path while factoring in the shoeing cycle length” (Yxklinten and Sharp, 2023). 
Join me on Monday 15th 11am GMT where I will explain the new hoof balance paradigm and define correct toe length in terms of the hoofs interaction with the ground and protecting tendons and ligaments.
https://equineeducationhub.thinkific.com/courses/toelength
Have a read of this article in the meantime
https://www.theequinedocumentalist.com/the-quantification-and-definition-of-a-new-hoof-balance-paradigm/
