Just found an interesting article about feeding your horse for healthy hooves.

New Page 14

There are other interesting articles on Pete Ramey's website too. I'm working my way through them.
Pete Ramey writes about white line disease thrush navicular disease hoof balance

Does anyone have their horses barefoot/have natural hoof trimming? What do you think of it?

I read page 14, but didn't look any further when @ the bottom of the page was-
AND FIX ALL YOUR PROBLEMS WHEN YOU BUY MY SUPPLEMENT

Yes, It does sound good in theory, but...

When do you test your soil, spring,summer,winter,fall
or during the drought or the rainy season.
or where fertilizer and good forage are or the scruffy area of the field thats all weeds.

Ok, fields been tested...
What about;
The commercial feeds and the amounts in them
The other suppliments and amounts in them
The quality/type and location of the hay supply

Then, If multiple horses are living in the same field, which horse do you test...
As they all weigh different amounts
Are different breeds
Are different sexes
Are different ages
Are performing @ different workloads
All metabolize differently
And are being feed different supplements for different reasons

It seems as though it's just another way to try and scare us into buying yet one more un needed product, to many outside variables not discussed for me.

OH H*LL YES!!!!!!!!!!

Barefoot has and is outdoing any other methods/techniques of hoof care. Barefoot (when done correctly to each individual horse) is also MUCH MUCH better to go in healing and correcting hooves.
I am a Natural Barefoot Trimmer.

Let me just show you a few pictures of one of my 4 legged clients who went barefoot: (THIS photos are previous to her going under Natural Barefoot care)











This is a 14 yr old Belgian/Quarter horse mare who's hoof wall (several layers deep) busted immediately after having a front set of shoes applied. Two other horses were also given front sets the same day, with the same farrier who apperantely does NOT KNOW how to properly shoe a horse.

For 4 years this horse had "corrective shoing" with three different "Corrective Hoof Specialists" continuing with all sorts of angles, shoes, pads, glue, staples etc etc... which was only hindering the healing of her hoof. Oral and Topical meds etc... She was almost sentenced to euthanasia due to being so seemingly permanently crippled.

After 6.5 years of unuseful "hoofwork", she was finally handed over by her owners to my care- In as long a time as it takes for the hoof wall to grow from cornerary band, to the ground- I had those hooves COMPLETELY HEALED, WALLS SEALED, and hoof working better barefooted than it had ever known. This horse went from stumbling and falling down on gravel roads- to being 100% physically able to walk/trot/canter, even gallop for several miles during a ride on gravel, rocks, dirt- you name the terrain.

Now- I do not have the final photos of her hooves without the remnants of wall cracks. I still have to upload them. But if you are interested in seeing them- just PM me or post, and I will upload them also asap.

Now let a corrective horse shoer come to me with an argument about horses going barefoot:
I'VE GOT SOMETHING TO SAY.


By the way- thanks for posting this, alot of horse owners are needing to enlighten themselves a little more on hoof care.

During the trim- after the first photos were taken.




Now tell me those first ones I posted weren't absolutely HORRIBLE!

Here are randoms from 6 and a half months later. Several trims were applied before these photos were taken. I don't have all the photos with me, but can get them. See how much of a difference with a simple Barfoot trim? She already has an advanced sole callous here and can travel on rough terrain without the stumbling/tripping/limping as before when she had nothing to walk on but cracked wall that exceeded Sole plain.
(below) Before trim:

(below) before trim:

(below) after trim:

Obveously after trim:

Sorry Rosalind, You've just been hi-jacked

No, I don't believe in natural/barefoot or whatever name they've called it lately.
Don't get me wrong a number of my horses are barefoot, but it has nothing to do with this new idea that all horses should/can go that way.

It is because they have very good conformationly correct legs, proper foot/leg flight and are overall healthy animals.
But, they are trimmed... period.

By a very good and highly educated farrier.

A proper, balanced trim is essential to barefoot or shod horses alike and a well experienced professional will strive for this every time.To describe someones work as a traditional or barefoot trim is ridiculous. In practice simply trim each horse (shod or not) to accomodate that particular animal according to their conformation and environment.

On the topic of barefoot trims, however, Dr. Turner has some words of caution.

“Some are really radical,” he says. “My rules of thumb are: Anything that draws blood can’t be good. Anything that leaves your horse lame afterward can’t be good.”

In theory, a “barefoot trim” gives a domestic horse’s hoof the same shape as a wild horse’s hoof. Supporters of the barefoot trim believe that if it happens in nature, it must be the best thing for the horse. So, it would be reasonable to associate a ‘barefoot trim’ with ‘natural.’

This ‘natural’ design is based largely on a study of mustang hoof wear in some specific western North American environments. Sometimes, you will also hear a barefoot trim referred to as a “mustang trim” for this reason.

None of my horses are Mustangs, and for @ least 5 generations have been bred and born in captivety under a very artificial environment.
So, to try an impose something on them, so radically against the way they are nutured in my minds eye makes little to no sense.

In another research study;
Research has shown that when a foot is routinely trimmed too close at the toe each time the horse is shod, P-3 seems to settle some and the horse can be 'off' for a few days. It is our belief that the sole plays a major role in supporting P-3. When the sole ridge is over-trimmed, the laminae attachment of P-3 at the distal border may be compromised, which can allow the hoof wall to migrate forward, much like in laminitis. The settling of P-3 within the hoof capsule causes a vertical deformity in the hoof wall at the hairline. A common practice for farriers is to trim the toe and leave the heels in order to achieve pastern alignment.� However, when farriers trim the sole close at the toe to raise the foot angle, the heels are frequently left too long. With the weakened laminae attachment at the distal border of P-3, the hoof wall and the long heels will migrate forward, allowing the entire hoof wall to migrate ahead of P-3. This can be easily seen when viewed from the bottom as well as when viewed from the side.

Most, users of the barefoot method agree that your horse will show some signs of foot soreness while adjusting to his new feet.
Why cripple a good foot.

Bottom line, no horse should be sore after any type of correct farrier work.

As, for the above pictures, they don't show the radical side of barefoot, just good common sense and a practical,slow,correct hands on approach.

AQHABreeder,
Thank you for your most interesting Hoof trimming case. The pics are incredible. That horse must have been so uncomfortable before you did your great work on him. It's simply incredible. AND thank you for sharing.
I am so very interested in that type of trimming. I feel Natural Barefoot trimming definitely has it's place and I am sure many horses have been helped where shoeing hasn't been the answer.
I would be so interested in any other pics you have.

When I lived in the UK, I had some not very good farriers and a couple of very good farriers that were almost impossible to book with as all the big named competition owners had them already booked. But I do feel that all horses are so different and that certain farriers are good for certain horses.
Now, I have only just learned about Natural Barefoot trimming and I really like the sound of it.
I am really quite enthused by Pete Ramey. He seems to have done so much research and has helped so many horses. I feel his heart is in the right place.

Thanks again for sharing. Knowledge is a good thing and thank goodness for the internet, it would be so much more difficult to learn about these things without it.

I have taken care of horses with just as bad condiion as the pictures you show, due to shoeing and poor management by a trainer. They all were wearing shoes.
I used proper diet (hoof problems or not) and hoof grease to keep them moist. No problems, all grew out just fine.
When they would go to the trainers, he evidently didn't feed like I did.
Funny, cause he promotes a feed. LOL

Ltc4h,
Thank you for your reply.
I agree, a horse shouldn't be sore after shoeing or trimming. That is my gut feeling.
New names for things, is just a way of saying 'this is new and try it'. Some people are always looking for new things assuming the old is no good.
But I think everything has it's place.
Regarding your remark: 'AND FIX ALL YOUR PROBLEMS WHEN YOU BUY MY SUPPLEMENT'.
I couldn't find where Pete Ramey was selling his own supplement. Did you mean one of the links?
and I agree - a very good and highly educated farrier should be able to shoe or trim well.
Many thanks.

Cuttin74,
Good point and it reminds me that good basics count each time.
What did you think of grazing and hay testing?
Many thanks.



I feel fortunate to be able to listen to others that have so much more experience than me
Thanks all!

Not sure what you mean about grazing or hay testing.
Those horses were all stalled and yes we did test any new hay crops.
I could adjust my mixed grain feed accordingly.
Now, our horses are out most of the time (decent weather conditions.)
We do fertilize and plant every year, so we know what they are getting from the pasture. Plus I keep a rack of dry grass out for them to free choice.
If the pasture gets to low then I start throwing alf. to them. once a day.
If a horse is laid off in a stall or needs to be kept quiet, I will put them on straight grass hay, with supplements and or grain depending on the horse and situation.
Hope I answered you

[quote=Ltc4h;10162]What do you mean by Hi-jacked?

Sorry Ltc, but I've got to argue on this one. And I can because I've done and still doing more- my homework and I can speak from my own experience as a Barefoot Trimmer (Barefoot trim is not the only type of trim out there) with success.

Not a "new" idea. ALL horses used to be barefooted and could go that way. It's the human intervention that degenerates hooves.

So... you want me to show you photos of very conformationaly INcorrect horses with good barefoot hooves or what? There are plenty out there.

It actually is not ridiculous beings there are more than one type of trim. And a standard trim to prepare for a shoe is sometimes quite different than that of a barefoot trim- or a standard trim preparing for barefoot use. There is more than one type.
Very good advice and ALL proffesional barefoot trimmers who have their education will say this. As does Pete Ramey. Horse should NEVER be lame after a trim.


Most likely does not make sense to you because you have never given it a good shot. I have grounds because I speak from experience and not from just what I hear and how I was raised to believe. I like to test the theories and there was a time when I was critical of Barefoot Trimming so I had to dig deeper before making an opinion of it. So I did.
So... it makes no sense to you, the photos I have posted. That this type of trim I am using on said mare just doesn't make sense to you? I would think it certainly will make sense to most of our readers that this type of trim CAN and DID work for this horse (Obveously- she can actually FUNCTION as a horse now- when before she could not).


A Barefoot Trim should not ever come too close at the toe. And P-3 does not move within the hoof though the capsule around it does.

A professional Barefoot Trimmer will plainly tell you that sole should never be over trimmed, and in most cases there is never a reason to trim a live, healthy Sole that is functioning perfectly well. This is part of what defines a Barefoot trim from a Standard farrier's trim. The healthy sole callous should be left alone to function as it was made to function. Period.


This is not part of a Barefoot Trim method. As I have said- there is not only one type of trim.
If they are trimming their horses to the point of soreness/lameness- they are not following a correct Barefoot Trim Method which goes as the horse should never be lame or sore after a trim.
And NO. No experienced professional who knows what he is doing in Barefoot Trimming is going to tell you that your horse will show signs of foot soreness after a trim. That is completely false. Get your facts straight please and study before you post.

VERY correct.

Absolutely not. They perfectly show the difference in typical trimming and a Barefoot trim, which is leaving sole callous and allowing for the outer shell to re develop at the cornerary band and actually close in the cracks. Try it with a standard trim and those cracks will continually SPLIT as they hit the ground. A standard trim was ALREADY PREFORMED on this mare and with no avail. You can see the after photos of being trimmed with this method. They are the first photos where her hooves are broken wide open. Failure.
Barefoot Trim method was the only type that worked.

You are so very welcome Rosalind!! Yes, she certainly was EXTREMELY uncomfortable and was close to being put down due to her constant acute lameness. I am so glad she was put into my care and that she has had nothing but constant success. She had had so much crap done to her, and the final was that typical farrier trim which hacked off her good sole and left her with cracked up wall layers to walk on. Ugh.
Pete has certainly DONE his research and testing and I am extremely thankful that he's done it and wants to take the time to show the rest of use that it doesn't take a rocket scientist to get some good hooves. It's fairly simple. I'll take pictures of the following trim that should close out those cracks forever, and PM them to you.

AQHABreeder,
Thanks! I certainly look forward to seeing the photos.
many thanks.

My horse is without shoes and has very healthy feet thanks to our wonderful farrier. But he is still sore when walking or trotting on gravel (I have never tried canter because he acts so sore). I would very much like to ease his discomfort so I can ride on our gravel road more. Are your barefoot methods different in some way that they may help this problem? Or do you think that it is a problem because of his particular feet (there's nothing wrong with them, but every horse has different feet)? Presently I am saving up for horse-boots (the kind Clinton Anderson uses) so he can wear them on gravel footing, yet continue to go barefoot on other riding surfaces.

Hi IkeE,

I just read an article that may answer your question(s).

One Foot For All Seasons

Take a look, it's really interesting too.

Other hoof articles by the same author that you may be interested in :

Pete Ramey writes about white line disease thrush navicular disease hoof balance
One of the articles is on hoof casts too.


Hope this helps.
I love getting educated! it takes the big mystery away.