19/06/2025
🙌Lameness post trim - human error or inevitable consequence of trimming compriomised horses?🙌
This topic is difficult to approach because it has the potential to fuel so many emotions… so I would like to unpack this a little and ease into this topic with grace…
If a horse is lame post trim, firstly, what do we mean by lame, and can we identify what’s the horses lived experience, as much as possible, then zoom in on the factors at play, and make sense of them.
This is my opinion on a horse displaying signs of discomfort after a trim, (for the sake of this post, lets call this ‘lame’ or ‘lameness’ regardless of where in the limb, foot or body it stems from).
Let’s say there are 2 categories of hooves and horses and 2 trimming situations to ponder…
Category 1: a healthy horse with ideal healthy hooves, free from distortion and pathology, and with healthy ideal posture and development. They have ideal depth to their sole, etc. They are on a regular trim cycle, and have a small to reasonable about of excess wall to be trimmed and live in a stable environment. Trimming these should be straightforward, and lameness isnt anticipated post trim.
Category 2: a compensated horse with less than ideal hoof morphology, distorted hooves, and a compensated, less than ideal posture and development. Or a horse with an existing pathology, injury, or disease process anywhere in the body, in any system. This is NOT a maintenance trim, it’s a REHAB trim. The very act of trimming is risky - placing the horse on 3 legs to trim, and removing hoof material can release compensations in the body, aggravate pathology in the feet, limbs or body, and create sensations in the nervous system anywhere as a result of the trimming and removal of hoof material. These horses typically have THIN SOLES, less stable hoof capsules, and are less resilient to change.
✨Situation 1: the maintenance trim horse
If a horse has had a maintenance trim, and it is lame post trim, theres a high probability the trimmer messed up (let’s say 95% chance). If this occurs when the horse is completely free from any underlying injury, inflammation of infection, and the trimmer simply took too much, that’s caused by the trimmer and they should learn, say sorry, take accountability and ideally not do this in the future.
BUT - If the horse wasn’t been walked up in walk and trot, and the hooves and horse weren’t checked over for signs of tension, inflammation or injury, and the trimmer simply trimmed the hoof not knowing there was some underlying pathology, then there is a risk of creating lameness by aggravating something. Could this have been prevented? Maybe or maybe not… it depends on the skills of the trimmer, and how well the underlying pathology or weakness is hidden from the humans!
✨Situation 2: the rehab trim horse
I want you to understand, that most horses fall into this category… so most horses therefore are at risk of being sore post trim, regardless of the skills of the trimmer. This is even more critical to appreciate in barefoot horses, who lack the added protection afforded by an orthosis, prosthesis (shoe or boot). Horses are masters of disguise, and compensate in complex ways and I want to share with you 3 main situations which may result in a horse appearing to be lame post trim when it falls into this category:
✨ Why rehab horses can get sore post trim
A) trimming the hoof can create extra load on the other 3 limbs and the very act of trimming can hurt these horses anywhere - in hoof, limb or body
b) changing the length of the wall in order to prevent further distortions and promote integrative rehab can place a horses sole closer to the ground creating sensations and/or pain in the hoof
C) changing the hoof morphology, balance and tensegrity of the horse through the act of trimming and removal of material can cause a release of compensations, as part of healing, however this can create transient lameness (a healing crisis of sorts)
🐴It is the responsibility of the trimmer to highlight the risks when trimming category 2 horses and make it clear that there is a chance the horse will appear lame, and to ensure there is adequate post trim support available BEFORE trimming.
🐴It is the responsibility of the trimmer to do the best job they can when handling, positioning, and trimming these horses, and to help integrate the changes of the trim to the best of their ability.
🐴It is the responsibility of the trimmer to know where P3 is - in any category, in any hoof. And if you dont know, get radiographs or study more…
🐴It is the responsibility of the owner or carer to provide proper hoof care each and every day, and do everything possible to maintain ideal environments to optimise welfare parameters to support either category of horse, but especially category 2 horses.
🐴It is the responsibility of the owner to provide radiographs to assist accurate trimming in rehab situations
🐴It is the responsibility of the owner to deal with and prevent infections, excess wear, a comfortable footing, have boots at the ready, clean tray, infections control products, hoof armour, and whatever else is needed to support compromised horses, and ideally, assist with trimming between professional visits if this is possible and safe to do so.
🐴It is the responsibility of the owner to communicate with the trimmer about injuries, signs of loss of health, changes in gait, and potential (or knows) changes in environmental stimulus which might impact hoof and horse health.
And I say this with love: before you say “I have never seen a horse sore after a trim” or “a horse should never be sore after a trim” then you simply haven’t seen enough horses post trim to witness it yet, haven’t worked on enough really compromised horses, or you’re lying to yourself.
I feel it is said by hoof care providers when they either have been told this and have adopted the mantra from their mentors, when they want to protect their own arses, if they cannot face up to their past or future mistakes or when they simply lack experience (haven’t trimmed enough horses) and have yet to learn the truth of the impact of their work.
✨Compassionatye, welfare focused integrative hoof care means teamwork. This means open and honest communication, accountability, grace, and forgiveness from both sides, when ‘mistakes’ are made - for we are all human and we are all flawed, and f**k up from time to time. It is what we do with those life lessons that separate average care givers from really good ones ✨
Learn with me! 2 day immersive integrative hoof care events starting August 2-3rd: To learn more and sign up visit: https://www.holisticequine.co.uk/event-details/foundation-in-integrative-hoof-care-2nd-3rd-august-tilefield-equestrian
Www.holisticequine.co.uk - supporting and promoting compassionate equestrianism for the benefit of all 💚🙏🐴
