Dr. Leslie Dyal, HCP - Rising Phoenix Equine Services

Can a horse with thin soles develop deeper/thicker soles from being barefoot?

"Yes, they absolutely can and in our opinion it is the only option (including boots and glue ons under the barefoot umbrella here) for building sustainable live sole depth. Metal shoes and the flat trimming required to apply them don't allow the hoof to flex, and the horse also leans forward on their toes to try and avoid the pain in their heels from heel horn that is often too long, contracted, crushed and pinching. This toe loading and lack of flexion causes the retention of layers of dead sole while the live sole gets thinner, as it is crushed between P3 and the retained dead sole and metal shoe. There are often claims of increased sole depth on xrays, but once the shoes come off all the retained dead sole starts exfoliating and you are left with a thin live sole, a sore horse and the argument that they just can't be barefoot. We trim to encourage the horse to lean back into their heels and find comfort there, which lifts the pressure from the tip of P3, and allows live sole to build as the dead layers exfoliate. There may be periods of discomfort involved depending on the existing level of damage, especially when you are learning the process as you go through it, but it can be managed with boots, sand if possible, and allowing time for healing. This process is regenerative and sustainable, where as metal shoes and flat trimming are degenerative and a temporary solution at best."

---

This question was recently asked in Hoof Builders and answered by co-founder and advisor, Mollie Cardigan. I always appreciate Mollie's ability to put together succinct explanations of hoof building concepts.

The Penny Drops

I think the biggest thing that is overlooked in horses hooves is how much the horse is affected by minute imbalances in the hoof. Here is an example: take a 4 foot builders level. Fix it vertically to the jamb of a door. Check it for plumb. The bubble should be centered between the lines at the center of the level. Slide a penny between the bottom of the level and the floor, on the jamb side of the level. You should notice the top of the level come away from the jamb about an inch and half. A penny is about 1/16 of an inch thick. That's how much the hoof walls grow in about 5 days. If the leg of a horse isn't plumb then one side of the hoof gets longer than the other from lack of wear. The weight of the horse gets distributed more to the short side of the hoof. The longer this condition persists the more the short side of the hoof gets excessive wear and crushed, the more crushing, the less circulation, the less circulation the less growth, etc. Horses can compensate for years, silently, until their lameness becomes obvious. Most often this appears as a "mystery" lameness or gets diagnosed as a neurological issue or even disease. The cure is the same as the prevention... Keep the heels level, don't just eye ball it. Use a gauge. Remember that a 1/16 inch off at the ground equals an inch and a half at the shoulder. This is pretty significant to the horse when they are trying to keep 300 lbs ( per leg) balanced 4 feet above a 4 inch diameter circle.
- David Landreville

Slow and steady on the “clubby” high heeled hoof. This is a 3 year old who is a hi-lo rehab. Same strategy works on both the high heeled hoof and the low hoof. A hoof building trim to help restore the digital cushion and strengthen heel bulbs. As the high heeled hoof rebuilds soft tissue, it will gradually release dead heel horn and the height can be lowered slowly as the seat of corn allows. The low heeled hoof will build soft tissue similarly. As this happens, the heels will move back under the leg and the well developed heel bulbs allow the heels to stand up. These are long rehabs so check back in on Ruby in a couple years ☺️

So good ♥️

We had a great time chatting with Gideon from the Horse People Podcast. He asked a lot of thoughtful and interesting questions, and we hope you enjoy listening. Thanks Gideon!

---------------

🎙️ New Podcast Alert! 🐴 David Landreville and Mollie Cardigan from Hoof Builders recently featured on the Horse People Podcast with Kotkowski discussing the importance of hoof care and the story behind how it all got started!

In this episode, you'll learn about:

- The significance of regular hoof trimming.
- Insights from David and Mollie about Hoof Builders.
- Advice for any aspiring farriers and hoof builders alike.

Tune in to gain valuable insights into maintaining your horse's hoof health. Link in comments ⬇️

Where is your horse on this spectrum? It can take several years of trimming to build to move from left to right. To rebuild these structures, the back of the hoof must be shaped properly to simulate proper weight-bearing patterns. This is the long term solution offered by the tremendous healing capacity of the horse. For example, Buck (far right photo) is in his 30s and it only took him 2.5 years to develop a robust digital cushion and strong heel bulbs. His starting point was low underrun heels, very thin soles, medio-lateral imbalance and caudal atrophy.

This is 9 months progress rebalancing heels for Chip. Top photo is before his 4th trim, middle photo is after his 4th trim. Bottom photo is the most recent trim.

Chip's lateral heel was collapsing into the center-line of the hoof. To correct the deviation, the heels and frog are trimmed to encourage the horse to engage and re-build the internal caudal structures of the hoof. When the horse engages the back of the hoof properly during movement, the structures that are meant to carry the horse's weight build and "push" off the old hoof capsule. Only dead hoof material is removed at each trim which helps keep the horse moving comfortably during the process. It is essential to remove dead frog material. The frog grows just like the rest of the hoof and must be trimmed just like the rest of the hoof. Keeping the frog true to its corium is critical for setting heels properly and keeping the back of the hoof comfortable and carrying the majority of the horse's weight.

Havana is transitioning out of steel shoes while jumping competitively. At our starting point, the heel shape was unnatural and out of balance after shoe removal as seen the top left photo. After trim 3, I was studying her photos and could easily see the medial heel was ready for correction. However, with the hoof in hand, I chose to respect the sole at the seat of corn. This heel correction was made at trim 4 and maintained through the trim cycle. Overall, the back of the hoof is under much less stress and is regenerating. In the comments I will include this same time series with the sole view. In addition, a movement video showing her after trim 5.

Met a couple new horses today ♥️

💕

Yes…

Tilly and her mom Coco were rescued by a client from pretty sad conditions. All 8 hooves had slippered. These mares are heading in the right direction now. ♥️

Set up trim for a new guy transitioning out of shoes. This is Sam ♥️

Buck and I have rebuilt him an amazing amount of soft tissue in the past 2.5 years of hoof building. Buck is in his 30s. This shows changes in caudal development over the past year.

♥️

We are blown away by this rehab from Hoof Builders member, Travis Underwood. Providing trimming resources and advice online is not something we take lightly or find easy, and seeing results like these helps us know its worth it.

"I’ve been on a barefoot journey, attending clinics and studying other trimmers, but Herman’s Mule feet always challenged me. I first found this group after a number of abscesses over a year time period which is why Herman got double height on his right. We are now 1.5+ years since then and with David’s help - Herman is doing great. As is my 5 other horses (4 mustangs and 1 Arab when bad low / high issues). The key had been trimming sole/frog as taught here.

Glad I found David and Hoof Builders. The help has really been great. Following his previous trimmers did not do Herman good along with not touching the soles / frogs that is what I initially learned barefoot trimming.

He’s been feeling great for the past year. It’s been a few months since a major exfoliation but for awhile every month there were consistent changes. I’ve gradually lowered all 4 feet now."

Great work, Travis!

Trimming to build sequence

Column 1 - pre trim RF Cricket
Column 2 - step 1: true up the frog, lower bars to the sole, remove dead sole ready to exfoliate
Column 3 - Final step: lower wall to the peripheral edge of the sole and apply mustang roll all the way around the hoof wall including the heels

Order does matter to the horse. Can you guess why?

Setup trim after pulling shoes on a new client, Havana 💕

🤭

🤣🤣🤣🤣

This is a recent trim with minimal but critical corrections required to continuously build the caudal structures of the foot. A 3 week trim cycle prevents the hoof from becoming distorted, consequently keeping the hoof in a building/regenerative state. Allowing dead hoof material to accumulate on the bottom of the hoof compromises the internal anatomy and physiology of the hoof and entire horse. I also included a photo of our starting point compared to now after 8 months. The regeneration of the structures at the back of the foot will continue on like this for years, regardless of the age of the horse.

The bottom of the wall needs to be the same shape as the growth origin at the corium. This happens in nature from miles of daily wear. Domestic horses need someone to simulate this for them. When the bottom of the wall gets flat and the outer wall makes contact with the ground, it puts pressure on the soft sensitive growth corium and the wall develops pressure rings. When the mustang roll is properly applied around the entire edge of the sole, the pressure comes off and the pressure rings grow out. If the roll is properly maintained, for at least 7 months, the rings grow all the way out, except in cases of extreme damage, then it takes longer. In my experience, diet and environment can speed up or slow down this process, but not cause it. Once I’ve established a fully live foot, on a bad diet and a wet environment the horse might be sore but the ripples don’t come back as long as I keep the outer wall from being weight bearing. I’ve also grown the rings off of horses diagnosed with metabolic issues. So I don’t believe they’re caused by diet, environment or metabolism. It takes about 2 years of frequent proper trimming to achieve a fully live hoof capsule. It’s also been my experience that this isn’t a common hoof care practice.