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Natural Barefoot Performance Trim
What is a Natural Barefoot
Performance Trim?
Its not just about trimming
the horses hoof!
My Trimming techniques are about the whole horse.
Holistic hoof care adequate turn out, nutrition, and exercise.
Not all horses can go barefoot, I work hard to make sure the
horse is able to go barefoot in the most extreme level of
performance. I trim to the widest part of the weight bearing
frog. In doing this it helps to get a heel first landing which
promotes proper shock absorbing with in the hoof capsule.
One of the first things we need
to understand that going barefoot with a Natural Trim doesn't
just mean going with out horse shoes! It's a way of life in
feeding, exercising, and giving them mental stimulation every
day for their well being. When we domesticate them we now have a
huge responsibility to take care of there daily needs.
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TURNOUT 24/7:
Horses roam up to 20 miles daily when in the wild. Some
of our domesticated horses today don't even go 20 miles
in a month! So giving a horse the opportunity to
move around freely helps to keep their bodies healthy
but also their hooves in a good, natural trim. Domestic
horses NEED MOVEMENT to help keep body and hooves in
optimum condition. Even stalling a horse overnight will
impede any hoof rehab that might be needed and
compromise the circulatory system.
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LIVING IN HERD SITUATION:
For mental health and physical it is best if you can
keep horses in a herd rather than pad docked singularly.
They look to each other for safety, warmth, grooming and
move each other around for exercise.
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CONDITION & TYPE OF GROUND FOR
TURNOUT: As varied type
of terrain as you can find is the most preferable -
rocky, sandy, grassy, forest, wet, dry, soaked ...
horses need to have their hooves constantly exposed to
natural terrains and environments for ultimate health.
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GRAZING: Not
only do horses prefer to be out in the open where they
can see what's going on around them, they graze in a
natural head down position which allows them to be calm
and comfortable. The body actually is hard-wired to send
calming messages to the brain when the head is down. It
also is the way that horses clear their sinus passages
and bronchial tubes from irritants and phlegm. Its best
when horses can eat from ground level at all times.
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SHELTER: If
providing a man-made shelter in the field for the horse,
allow the floor to be a natural substance rather than
shavings. Shavings dry out the hooves in a matter of
minutes and is detrimental to the overall health of the
hoof. Sometimes when we are in a wet environment dry
shavings are a great way for taking the extra moisture
out of the hooves.
FEED & NUTRITION OF THE
BAREFOOT HORSE
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Natural, whole grains should be
supplements to a diet of varied forages and grasses.
Hay, trees, shrubs, bushes, weeds, herbs, flowers --
these are all part of a natural horse's diet. Each
element offers specific vitamins and minerals necessary
to maintain a healthy gut and body.
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Horses eat 18 hours a day in the wild.
Their stomachs are small, relatively speaking and can
only hold 2 - 4 liters of substance at a time. The gut
continually produces acids to break down the feedstuffs
on a 24 hour basis. When horses have nothing in their
stomach the acids will still be excreted into the
stomach. If that continues for some time the acids in
the stomach will begin to erode in inner lining of the
stomach. If supplementing grain for the hay, 4 smaller
feedings a day is preferable to just 1 or 2 feedings a
day. Smaller amounts of grain the better and just give
it to them more times in a day. This will mimic more
closely a horse being in a more natural environment.
HEALTH MAINTENANCE OF THE
NATURAL HORSE
I have made it my Focus to help
Horse Owners transition from Shoes to Barefoot where possible.
In doing so we can help over
come and rehabilitate some of these common hoof problems like:
Laminitis
Founder
Navicular
Cracking
White Line Disease
"Club" feet
Gait Problems
Quarter Cracks
Long Toe/"Low" Heel
AND MORE
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