I am having to find someone new to provide hoofcare for three barefoot Hunters.
The person with the most experience in the area hasn’t trimmed Hunter Jumpers (mostly Western pleasure).
Trying to determine if I’m better off with this person who ostensibly understands the anatomy and has a decade of experience or the other option is someone pretty new (like, under a year).
Thoughts and experiences appreciated…
Good barefoot trimmers all share some fundamental beliefs about feet that are not discipline specific. If you want something that goes against the general barefoot philosophy of short toe, backed up heel, frequent rasping, you won’t get what you want. How do you think Western Pleasure might differ from Hunter? Are you after long toes to influence movement? If so that won’t work with barefoot.
Are you trying to decide between two barefoot specialists?
Just asking to see if you are eliminating your horseshoer as an option or not.
I once asked my farrier if good shoeing was in the trim or the fit. He said 50-50. This was a casual conversation, not science. However, all of my riding horses are shod in front and barefoot behind. I have never felt like my farrier was not competent at a good trim., including horses I’ve barefoot on all fours for various reasons.
I am not clinically educated regarding hoofcare and equine physiology and am hoping to gain a better understanding.
I don’t know (hence my post) if the stresses put on legs, particularly soft tissue, in various disciplines correlates to a benefit from different angles or anything of the sort.
A Western Pleasure horse isn’t jumping and my Hunter doesn’t have the explosive bursts and tight turns of a barrel racer or cutting horse, etc.
Human athletes are more prone to certain types of injuries depending on which sport/how they are using their bodies and training and care does reflect these differences in both how the body is being used as well as the physiological differences between a long distance runner and a linebacker - is there a corollary with equine athletes and hoof care? I have no idea but am curious for sure…
One trimmer mentioned doing a “Mustang Roll” because they’ve found that it minimizes cracks in horses walking a lot. Does this provide the same benefit to jumping horses that primarily work in a ring, or does it negatively affect them in some way? I have no clue but am trying to learn if it is “one trim fits all”.
If I could find a farrier who did a good job with trimming that would be great - we’re a little limited in farrier options as well.
One horse in particular needs hoof rehabilitation and since I have to make a change anyways, I am hoping to find someone with a solid background with barefoot…
The main thing with folks doing mainly Western horses or breeds of Western horses, is that they tend to try making the feet too small for the “accepted look” of western horses. This is their “ideal” hoof look. Hunters tend to have bigger feet under substantial bodies, need their hooves trimmed bigger, not short-toed, no sole depth.
I used to attend a number of Western type clinics, mostly for reining and handling skills. My horses were large, 16.1H to 17H, with proportionally large hooves, wearing 4 or 5 Kearkart shoes. At EVERY clinic I had folks (including a couple western farriers) come over to offer me the name of a “good farrier who could fix those hooves for me!” When I asked what was wrong with their hooves, I got “they are so big!” I would politely thank them for the offer but preferred to leave the hooves alone.
These people did not know what proportional hooves on horses looked like. No clue that big
substantial horses need bigger hooves to work well in their various jobs. Tiny hooves were what they were used to seeing, expected on all horses! None seemed to relate THEIR horses being lame in the clinic, moving badly, to the small hoof size it was trimmed down to.
My horses are not lame barefoot or shod, because they have the proper sized feet under them at all times. Husband has been a professional Farrier for over 40 years, working on MANY breeds. Most need a lot longer hoof than how they were previously trimmed and shod with! That is why they come to him, he was the “fixer guy” they needed to make the lame walk! Ha ha
Do you have any old shoes used on these horses? A suggestion could be to show the trimmer these old shoes, tell them not to trim hooves smaller than the shoes. Horses went well when hooves were “this big.”
My old western horse was not too big at 14.2, about 900# when fit. HOWEVER she wore size 1 Diamond keg shoes in front with 0s behind. Her toes were 3 3/8 inches long, great sole depth and thick walls, good hoof quality. Never lost a shoe over many years of use, went barefoot often in use. My point is that those were proportional feet to her size, but you seldom see hooves like that these days. Very few horses have that toe length unless they are bigger animals, which length is actually too short on bigger horses. She came from using horse stock, breeders who firmly believed in “no foot, no horse” for their mileage covering, daily ride horses.
Good luck finding a trimmer for your horses. DO NOT accept " pretty and small" as their criteria for a good hoof trim! There should NOT need to be a transition time going from shod to barefoot. No limping or wincing as horse trots away after their trim, unless they have previous sole depth problems. We go between bare or shod with no time off, EVER. We have rocks, hard dirt at times, doesn’t cause issues. Hope your horses enjoy the time off!
Also, only goal is for the horses to be sound and comfortable- not looking to influence movement for the sake of aesthetics.
Thank you for this! Interesting call out on size - these three are all between 16.2h and 17.2h.
They’ve been barefoot for a couple years now, and transitioned well.
A barefoot trimmer is a barefoot trimmer. Also, most farriers that shoe also know how to take care of a barefoot horse.
I’d suggest as well looking at Pete Rameys material on barefoot trimming.
That’s interesting about WP trimming small. Lots of those QH have naturally too small feet to begin with.
Years ago there was a lot of effort to trim halter and wp horses “tight”… And even more dedication to breed for that tiny hoof. But I think the overall trend is not to trim so tight anymore in the horses I have seen, unfortunately they are still stuck with their success in breeding a small hoof.
To the OP, if your farrier can shoe well, they can trim well. I would just steer clear of the long toe fad farriers and unless a gaited farrier has plenty of non gaited business, I’d probably take a hard pass. Both of those areas are typically not backing up the toe, so why take a chance
Trimming should ALWAYS balance the foot to that leg on that horse. That’s what allows the best chance of longer term soundness, all else equal. It shouldn’t try to straighten a crooked foot, or make feet symmetrical to each other when there is a conformational high-low situation going in, it should all work with the foot in question, independent of the other 3.
This means it should be irrespective of discipline. That doesn’t mean there aren’t farriers and trimmers who trim and shoe feet to adhere to a man-made aesthetic or look or movement. Some of those farriers will do the job their client wants to adhere to those man-made aesthetics, and I’m ok with that WHEN they are doing it in such a way as to minimize the damage. I know a few farriers who trim Big Lick horses with the long feet and stacks, but they do it in a way that minimizes how long the toes are and how crushed the heels get, rather than saying “no thanks, that’s just not cool” and knowing that someone else won’t give a dam.
But those folks also know that the truly healthy foot should look like, and will do what’s right for the “normal” horses.
Mustang roll - be careful with that. Some are very much about the wild horse model and put major rolls on all the horses, regardless of footing, or overall hoof conformation, or the work, and create problems with the ability to grip and push off, thereby creating mechanical issues and resulting lameness.
I would want to see the feet of some of the WP clients’ horses. The average WP foot shouldn’t look weird, it should be a typical healthy foot, but of course, you have to know what that looks like to begin with. I’ve never seen anyone say they trim WP horses differently. They move so slowly, there’s no real impact you can have, and long toes will create more knee/hock action which is death to a WP horse, far more than for a Hunter.
Also, there are plennnnnty of farriers who can’t trim the shod foot, much less the bare foot, so I disagree that most farriers that shoe (it’s only farrier that shoe, trimmers don’t) also know how to take care of a bare foot. There are farriers who do amazing jobs with shoes, perfect nail placement, tight clinches, but they’re putting them on feet that aren’t well trimmed. The ability to do shoes well - look pretty, foot is nicely buffed, tight nails and only 3 on a side, has nothing to do with the trim.
Just someone that is trimming to the limb and balancing the hoof.
IMO it’s silly to say you need a barefoot trimmer because your horses are barefoot.
A good farrier can trim a horse and leave it barefoot or trim a horse and put shoes on it. The idea is the same.
But a poor trim job with pretty nail sets and polished hooves does not a good farrier make.
Less experienced people may have a hard time seeing through the pretty, but experienced horses people don’t have that problem.
Right, but a lot of people think “shoe well” means the things I said
My horse is barefoot and I trim him myself. same with my previous horse. I think you could probably benefit by contacting the lady who does the humble hoof podcast. She’s a professional barefoot trimmer and her extensive network of people trim all kinds of horses.
May I ask what a self-described “barefoot trimmer” does that an excellent farrier doesn’t? I have never met a skilled farrier who wasn’t also skilled at trimming bare feet.
A really good farrier can do a barefoot trim. The best barefoot trimmers are often qualified farriers with technical college training. But many mediocre farriers do crap trims shoes or barefoot. And a mediocre self taught barefoot trimmer is a menace to society.
They are “self-described” because someone who doesn’t use metal shoes isn’t a farrier, they are a trimmer.
If by “self-described” you mean, they don’t have formal education, the same can be said about “self-described” farriers 
A farrier can do all the things a trimmer does, plus use metal shoes. I don’t consider a trimmer who also may do glue-on shoes, or nails on non-metal shoes, to be a farrier but others may consider any type of shoe to be in the realm of a farrier.
Absolutely. Key word being 'skilled". There are many farriers who are viewed as excellent, but who don’t do bare feet trimming well at all, they merely trim for a shoe but just don’t put a shoe in.
And, mediocre self-taught farriers are a worse menace
Oh dear. Self taught farriers. I wasn’t even considering that. We have an actual two year farrier program at a local college.
Some of the shod horses I see upcountry trail riding are appalling so yes, there may be DIY farriers up there.
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