Foot wear

One of the commonest concerns I hear regarding taking a horse barefoot is: 'I am worried my horse's feet would wear down too much'. As I was trimming Madam yesterday (it took a couple of hours and was very hot) both her owner and I were wishing 'if only!'.

Madam works most days, over a variety of terrain including lots of rough stuff and roads, has lessons twice a week and does endurance. In just two weeks, despite all this work she had grown half a centimetre of foot.

If a horse is in good health and is worked correctly this amount of growth is typical and the more stimulation the foot gets, the more it grows. Wearing the feet out is the least of Madam's worries. If only her diet was as easy.

Technical look at Madam's front foot

Okay, I appreciate this is not the best, but it's a start. The black rectangle gives a idea of the real ground line (I never take photos straight!). The orange diagonal line shows where the front wall should probably be (it's in line with the newest growth from the coronary band). The black diagonal line is roughly 30 degrees - it also shows the slight bulge in the hair line.

What this picture shows to me is how 'off' the hoof still is. Whilst the trim can (must) be improved, we largely have to wait for this foot to grow while we work hard on the diet, exercise and environment.