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How to Be Kind to your Trimmer

8/15/2019

There are so many benefits to having a long term relationship with a trusted barefoot trimmer. So,naturally, when you find a good trimmer you want to hang on to them.

Trimmers work hard! Drive many miles. Suffer injuries and extreme weather. The act of trimming is, by its very nature a potentially dangerous activity. They might be stomped on, kicked, bitten, etc., Not to mention, the fact that trimming requires a lot of thought, patience, and precision work.

A good trimmer will set an appointment with you that meets the needs of the horse to the best of their ability. They do their best to arrive on time, and if they are going to be late, they communicate with you. They will also be prepared with the appropriate tools, be friendly, calm around the horses, and know their skills well. In addition, you can tell that they are very passionate about what they do because they make efforts to continue their education on trimming methods and even learn about equine nutrition, management, and disease. Lastly, they take the time to explain what they are doing and seeing when they trim, and make suggestions if necessary.

It goes without saying that your horses also benefit from developing a good relationship with their trimmer. If you find trimmer who understands the structure and function of the hoof and how to trim correctly, your horse will be more comfortable, be able to use their foot correctly, and develop a healthier hoof over time. Correct use of hoof allows for comfort, increased movement and improved blood flow, speeding up the healing process.

Some horses find it difficult to trust. A steady trimmer that is kind, quiet, gives lots of breaks, and TREATS will help develop trust with this type of horse, over time. The trust is important because the horse may be more willing to pick up their feet and stand quieter thus allowing the trimmer to perform the precise work that is necessary to improve the hoof.

Also, a trimmer that has the opportunity to work on the same horse over the course of a year or more, helps with the rehabilitation process. In this case, the trimmer and owner can work toward a goal for the horse, that is suffering from founder, Lamintis, Navicular, or Club foot, instead of the owner trying to explain what needs to be done to someone new.

Now, that we have established why it is important to keep a good trimmer, we can think about strategies to ensure that we help them do their very best when they come to trim.

Safety: Remaining safe is a everybody's job, when it comes to horses. They are large and unpredictable. Trimmers must have good common sense and be able to read horse body language. Although, we get focused and or distracted from time to time, we must be responsible for protecting ourselves.
Good Lighting- Trimmers do very precise work and lighting allows them to see what they are doing. They look for clues on the hoof to determine what they need to file or remove. They also have to make sure that the hoof is balanced. Improperly trimmed hooves that are unbalanced can affect the whole horse!
Clear Flat Footing- It is also important that trimmers are provided with flat ground that is clear of debris. This will allow them to see the hoof clearly, at rest on the ground before and after trimming. It enables them to check their work and determine if the hoof looks correct or that the body is balanced. Flat ground is is also necessary if the trimmer uses tools to measure angles.
Clean Horse- Trimmers appreciate when mud is removed from the horse's legs and feet. Mud makes it difficult for the trimmer to see the whole hoof properly. Sometimes the trimmer can spot wounds, thrush infections, abscesses, and other issues. Also, mud is slippery and makes it difficult to hold the hoof. Furthermore, a trimmer's rasp that is filled with mud will not file and can lead to rusting.
Summer Time- The summer poses some interesting issues. It is usually hot, humid and buggy. So a great way to make things more comfortable for the horse and trimmer might be to improve air flow with fans, spray for flies, or put leg socks on your horse.
Exercise and Handling- Exercising your horse regularly is important for many reasons. During certain times of the year, horses stand around eating hay from one location or stand in their sheds because the weather makes them uncomfortable. However, regular exercise in both right and left directions at the walk and trot promotes heel landings and more balanced wear of the hooves. Also, exercise gives the horse a routine and a way to expend energy. This helps a horse be quieter for the trimmer. In addition, handling your horse daily through grooming is also helpful to the trimmer too. Especially, with younger horses, if you pick up their feet, rub them, and mimic the movements that a trimmer does will help desensitize the horse and make them accept things better. You might even go so far as to make a little wooden stand to teach the horse how to put their hoof on a stand so that the horse can get comfortable balancing their foot up and forward.
Where to Stand- One time, I was standing in a field trimming a horse. It was a windy day. I just got done telling the owner to please stand on the same side that I am trimming, when a giant silvery balloon flies into the pasture, startling the horse. The gelding had his hind foot on my stand. He ran away from us and pushed off the stand to make his get-away. it slid down off the stand, landed on my foot. That hurt but, it could have been much much worse. The owner moved just in the nick of time! We were lucky that neither us got run over but it brings up a good point. If it is windy and there is a potential of something blowing into the pasture, reschedule. At the very least to be safe the owner/handler should stand on the same side as the trimmer so that in most cases the horse moves away from the humans. It doesn't always work that way but, the owner can keep watch of potential danger that the trimmer might not see.
Treatment- Sometimes trimmers have lots of experience and can recognize problems such as thrush, white line disease, abscessing, lameness, and other disorders. Although, we care about you and your horse, and want to point them out to help you; we are not vets and cannot diagnose. We might suggest what we would do if it was our horses but, ultimately it is the job of a competent veterinarian with lots of experience dealing with horse hoof issues that should make the final call. So, when in doubt, call the vet. If you know that your horse has, say, a thrush infection, it is important to stay on top of treating the thrush. The trimmer can trim the hoof correctly but, painful infections and injuries must be dealt with if the horse is going to feel comfortable enough to use their foot properly. Typically, when in pain, the horse avoids using the painful areas and compensation leads to issues in other parts of the body! Here is an example: I have a client that has a horse with thrush in both front feet. Her horse was sore and landed toe first. So, she agreed to treat the thrush and help her horse by fitting her with boots. He was more comfortable in the boots, the combination of less grass, better nutrition, an anti-inflammatory, more exercise and a 4-5 week trim cycle made huge improvements. Now this horse is being ridden in lessons at a canter, even jumping! Horses that are not treated may get deep infections and trimming alone cannot resolve these issues. This example only describes an issue with thrush but, this applies to any disease or body aliment that is affecting your horse.

Communication- it is important that you stay in communication with your Trimmer. If you notice any issues, before or after trimming, let them know right away. Sharing the successes, as well as the issues can help your trimmer plan for your next visit or make helpful suggestions. Also, if you do need to contact the vet, sometimes trimmers are very happy to work with your veterinarian to describe certain situations from their perspective which might be even more helpful in determining the correct diagnosis.

Good trimmers are hard to find. They work hard to improve the quality of your horse's hooves. I hope you found this article interesting and useful!

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Measuring the Hoof to Assess Health

8/5/2019

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We all want our horses to be healthy and happy. One of the ways we can achieve that is to understand what a healthy hoof looks like and how to keep it that way! In this blog post, I will talk about some measurements you can take of your horse's hoof. This will allow you to keep track of progress you and your barefoot trimmer make and let you know if you are headed in the right direction.

Take a look at the hoof in the picture on the right. This horse has worn shoes for many yeas and when they were removed, his feet were tender and narrow. The owner was sure that he would never be able to go barefoot. However, this owner was willing to trust me and together we came up with a plan. I think that there are a lot of nice things about this hoof! He has developed a nice frog after suffering from a horrible thrush infection. The heels are wider apart because the thrush is going away and the horse confidently moves around his pasture. Also there is adequate sole depth meaning that his coffin bone has some sole between it and the ground making it easier to walk on a variety of terrain. Also the sole is getting wider and the hoof wall is being rolled or beveled to help with flaring. This helps by pushing the hoof wall towards the hoof rather then pulling it away which is very painful. This hoof didn't always look like this. It took many months of changes to environment, diet, exercise, boots and trimming. The owner was very willing to treat the thrush and complete all of the necessary requirements to help her horse. By making measurements and watching how the hoof changed over time we were able to see whether the changes we made were helping or not.

The Popsicle Stick Hoof Measuring tool
We can gather useful information by measuring our horse’s hooves. Using a measurement tool allows us to record, identify healthy or unhealthy situations, and make changes.

Tools for Data Collection:

My favorite tool, due to accuracy, is an electronic caliper. They can be purchased on Amazon and they usually cost around $20.00.
One that I also like to use is a Precision pick. They come in both metric and inches. You want to keep the surface protected. Otherwise it gets scratched up and it is hard to read. You can use this tool to measure depth, length, width, angles, and clean a hoof too!

However, if you want something very inexpensive, you won’t mind carrying in a pocket or using around your horse; then grab a Popsicle stick! This type of measuring tool is light, cheap, easy to make and small enough to carry. You can make one quickly and suddenly you are armed with a tool that will enable you to look at your hoof. Plus, as an added bonus, you will feel good knowing that you are reusing something that you were going to throw away.

To make a Popsicle stick measuring tool, all you need is:

Ruler
Sharpie marker
Popsicle Stick
Additional water proof marker colors (not necessary)

Directions:

Lay your Ruler down next to your Popsicle stick and line up one end with the very beginning of the ruler.
Then, label the Popsicle stick with a Sharpie as shown in the photo.
You can add additional colors to denote specific things you will look for or remember when measuring the horse’s hoof.

The next step is to go grab your horse and secure him or her on cross ties. Now, that you have your victim secured, you are ready to start using your Popsicle stick measuring tool!

What can the Popsicle Measuring Tool do?
I have created a chart that you can print out and refer to when using the measuring tool. It explains what you can measure, why you would take the measurement and what good parameters would look like. You will also find a place for you to record information that you might find helpful as you work with your trimmer to help make important adjustments. It is also helpful to take pictures before and after trimming to note wear and tear. This can give clues to how and how often your horse moves. This is valuable information that will allow you to make changes to your horse’s conditions and routines to improve health and performance.

There are some other things that you can investigate to determine the health of your horse’s feet that don't require the Popsicle stick. You can look at your horse’s frog. It should be wide, dark, not have a smell, firm and the central sulcus should be closed. If the frog is soft and squishy, smells like garlic, rotting things, or see white powder/black tar you have a thrush infection and it needs to be treated right away.

Get your trimmer involved. They will love to see your findings and they mean something. Identify problem areas and keep track of measurements and physical things that you can do to and with the horse to help improve their situation.

All of the information is a guide and subject to change. Ponies and Draft horses would have different measurements. The complete article with a record sheet you can use to keep track, is linked below. I hope you enjoy. If you find errors please email me at [email protected]