This message is from: Marsha Jo Hannah <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > "Brigid M Wasson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Speaking of hoof trimming, is it true that Fjords have a flatter > foot than other breeds? Barefoot trimming guides tend to recommend > "concaving the sole" but I only remove tissue which is obviously > dead and wanting to flake off. Same for nipping -- what needs to > be removed comes off easily. It seems best (to me) to work with the > shape the foot has naturally (unless, of course, it's badly > deformed) rather than going for a text-book shape.
Flat footedness varies from Fjord to Fjord. Sleepy has very flat feet, as did Nansy; they often required pads under their shoes in the summer, to protect their soles from rocks. Rom has quite a bit of natural "cup" to his hooves, and probably could have gone barefoot more than he did in California. The down side is that Rom is more likely to have a sharp rock packed up in the mud that readily clings in his deeper hooves; Sleepy "throws" his platters of mud before there's enough to capture a rock. Farriers are variable about how much sole they carve off. One farrier I used in CA insisted on making textbook feet. It eventually dawned on me that his recreation was going to shoeing contests, where he wins if he quickly produces the "perfect" (standard) product that the judge is looking for! Nansy and Sleepy did not do well with his hollowed-out hoof trims and "classic" shoes. My next farrier was from Hawaii---used to the idea that horses have to deal with lava-rock. He trimmed only the bare minimum of sole (nature's hoof pad), and took the time to make the trim and shoe do what the individual horse needed. My farrier here in Oregon also takes the minimalist approach---only trims off the sole necessary to get his nippers into position for trimming the hoof wall. He does produce hooves with the "classic" shape (flat lower surface, nothing particularly rolled or rounded). Interestingly, after 8 weeks of barefoot wear, the boys' hooves still have that hoof shape (modulo a little chip here or there). For them, that seems to be their "natural" shape---at least on Oregon turf pastures; if they lived somewhere rocky and sandy, it'd probably be different. Marsha Jo Hannah Murphy must have been a horseman-- [EMAIL PROTECTED] anything that can go wrong, will! 15 mi SW of Roseburg, Oregon
