Healthy Hooves, LLC

Healthy Hooves, LLC

About The Natural Trim

Natural Hoof Care is Holicstic Horse Care
Natural hoof care is holistic horse care. As a natural hoof care provider, I am looking at the well-being of the whole horse and how that translates to hoof health. It is known that horses who are provided a proper diet, free-movement in a social and relatively stress free environment are capable of growing and maintaining healthy hooves. Unfortunately, the domestic setting that our equine companions inhabit is far from ideal. Instead, these animals are both under fed (not provided free choice forage) and over fed (provided bulk rations of feed concentrates one or two times a day). They are not permitted to free-movement, are inadequately socialized (devoid of herd dynamics), and are stressed. As a natural hoof care provider, not only do I trim your horse's feet for healthy maintenance, I work to educate the owner about alternatives to horse care that will lead to a happier healthier horse and hooves.

The natural trim is based on the wild horse model. As a natural hoof care provider I will trim in a way that mimics the wear patterns that the horse would have if it were allowed to move freely over varied terrain day in and day out. To learn about the natural wear patterns as observed in wild horses and to learn more about how the hoof grows and operates, read on.

Wild Horse Model
Wild horses the world over have lived for millenia without the intervention of hoof care by people. These animals move countless miles across rugged and varied terrain and they neither suffer overgrown hoof walls, nor many of the maladies captive equines experience such as cracked walls, wall flare, laminitis, navicular syndrom, and more.

Field observations by Jaime Jackson, president of the AANCHP, has documented the soundness and the characteristics of wild horse hooves from the Great Basin of the Western United States. While individual variation occurs in the wild, one thing remains the same - short hoof walls, deep concavity of the sole, beveled hoof walls where the walls contact the ground, and considerable frog and heal bulb development.

Hoof Growth - Hoof wall, sole and frog all grow from what is called corium. The most obvious corium to a horse owner is the coronet band at the top of the hoof wall just below the hairline. It is at the corium that the body produces cells that become either hoof wall, sole, or frog. A horses hoof grows continually, at a rate that matches the wear of an animal that is in continual movement.

Hoof Mechanism - Hoof mechanism is something that many do not know about but is as critical to the well-being of the horse as his circulatory system - in fact, it is a component of his circulatory system. The hoof is designed to be active. By active I mean that the hoof itself is supposed to expand and contract. The hoof naturally expands when it is load bearing and contracts when it is not load bearing. To get a visual idea of what this mean, imagine a bellows. When it is expanded it is full of air. When it is contracted, or squeezed shut the air is pushed out. Related to the hoof, when the hoof is expanded blood is permitted to flow into that extremity or leg. When it is contracted the blood is squeezed back up the leg to the core of the horses. One metaphor that is frquently used is that the horses feet are in fact four hearts. Each responsible for playing a role in the circulatory system.

Life Style - Imagine the life of the wild mustangs of the Great Basin of the American West. Ask yourself these questions: Who feeds them?; Who trims their feet?; Who treats their medical ailments?: Who warms them in the winter?; Who waters them? The answer is they do. They do not need someone to care for them. They care for themselves perfectly as they have for thousands of years.

Now, look at your own horse. How closely does his/her lifestyle mimic that of the wild mustangs? If there is not much resemblance you may want to rethink your horse care management. Ask yourself these questions: Does my horse need to wear a blanket?; Does my horse need to socialize with other?; Does my horse need to eat X# of pounds of sweet feed, oats, or other feed concentrate during the day?; What happens to my horses digestive track when he fasts between breakfast and dinner? The answer to these questions is that if the wild horses don't need it, neither does your horse. You have not done him any favors by locking him in a stall, socially isolating him, exercising him a few hours a week, wrapping him up like a Christmas present in his quilted rug and providing him a meal to feed a king twice a day.