Preface to farrier FAQs (go to FAQs)
Important themes of my practice include hoof health and whole body health of the horse. I emphasize maintaining balance through frequent hoof care and careful attention to the horse's diet and exercise.

A fundamental element of horse health is owner participation. My clients are involved, informed, and educated about hoof care. Many of my clients trim their own horses. Their questions become more sophisticated as their skill and knowledge increase. Like my clients, I seek answers in many ways: from close observation, from trial and error with each horse I work on, from others who know more about hoof care than I do. As a researcher in addition to hoof care practitioner, I use some of these questions to further define my laboratory studies on the hoof.

The farrier FAQs answered here are simple questions about trimming and shoeing. (The complicated ones don't lend themselves well to quick online answers but when I have time to figure out a way to communicate more complex hoof info, I will be sure to post it!) These answers are based on my experience. However, they are by no means definitive proof of anything. I urge you to ask the same questions to others, and to take whatever makes sense to you for whatever it is worth in relation to your own horse.

Hoof care guidelines depend on the each individual horse's needs. Any guideline is subject to qualifications, exceptions, or modifications based on the case at hand. When you come across hoof care tips, you need to consider the origin of the advice and whether or not it applies to your horse. People get advice from the internet, popular horse magazine, direct from farriers or veterinarians. In each instance, any proclaimed rule should be taken as a small piece of the big picture in order for you to know how to assess it.

Find out about the source of advice. Do not be swayed by someone's credentials. Veterinarians, researchers and farriers can accumulate many letters after their name if they have spend a number of years pursuing degrees and certifications. This alone does not guarantee that their advice is based on experience. Remember, there may be veterinarians who have little to no experience with horses, let alone equine medicine or podiatry, yet they are giving advice out to horse owners! The qualification of DVM is enough to awe many horse owners. But some of the people commenting on hoof care may be small animal veterinarians, may have earned their veterinary degree 30 years ago and not kept up-to-date, or may otherwise unfit to dispense advice about your horse.
Ask people how they know things. Find out if their advice is based on their personal experience, a study they read, or if they are quoting their friends. Knowing the source of someone's opinion can help you assess its validity. It could make a difference to your horse.

Farrier FAQs

• Should the frog touch the ground?
• Should the sole be trimmed with the knife?
• Should heels be raised in lame horses?
• Is the square toe helping my horse?
• Why is my horse's foot a certain shape?
• Why isn't there a simple guideline for how much heel or toe needs to be removed at each trim?
• What does it mean when there are blood flecks in the white line?
• Is wall bruising a sign of hoof problems?
• Why won't my horse stand quietly for the farrier?
• My horse used to wear size one shoes, now he's in a two, are bigger feet better?
• What is the sole plane and how is this used as a guide for trimming?
• Is it normal for my horse's feet to be sore after trimming or being re-shod?
• Is there a correct angle for the horse's hoof?
• I am looking for a hoof care provider; which "barefoot trim" or shoeing style is the best?
• Should foundered horses be put into foam padding?
• Why does your book encourage people to "ask their farrier"? If you are the expert writing the book, won't readers expect you to tell them the answer?

Should the frog touch the ground?
First, understand that the frog slightly off the ground on a hard surface may well be touching the ground on a horse's normal living surface like dirt or pasture. But some feet have shrunken frogs and or high enough heels that even on dirt the frogs will not touch. In this case you have to consider the needs of the whole foot and whole horse. It may help the foot if the frog were contacting the ground, as this could provide additional surface area to take the weight. But some horses cannot tolerate the foot being trimmed so low. This is partly dependent on the horses hoof-pastern axis conformation. Even if done gradually over many months time, certain horses will not be sound if the heels are lowered so much that the frog is weightbearing.

Also consider whether the problem is primarily a shrunken frog or primarily high heels. Excessive attention to one parameter can lead to disastrous results. Often, shrunken frogs will grow if the horse gets more exercise. In that case, had the heels been cut off to place the shrunken frog on the ground, the horse would have been lame.

As for the claim that frogs should not be trimmed, this makes sense only if the frog is already the perfect size! Quite commonly the frog horn is retained, and grows long with overgrowth of the rest of the foot. In such a case the frog clearly needs to be trimmed. Also, a shrunken frog may have thrush, and the diseased tissue, despite the frog being "too small" to start with, can be cut away.
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Should the sole be trimmed with the knife?
As with the frog, advice to leave the sole alone only makes sense if the sole is already the perfect depth. Retained sole that is unable to naturally exfoliate needs to be removed by the farrier. This is especially important when shoeing because the pressure of a shoe and pad over retained sole can cause lameness. Recognizing retained sole takes experience. This is not a decision for the horse owner just learning to do their own trimming.
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Should heels be raised in lame horses?
Conventional wisdom suggests that raising heels helps many horses with pain relief. This may be true in the short term, but experience shows that raised heels, whether this is done by leaving heel horn long or by applying a wedge pad, creates hoof distortion and related problems further on. There are limited instances when a foot has a negative inclination to the coffin bone, which means the back of the coffin bone is lower than the tip. If the solar edge of the coffin bone is parallel to the ground or the palmar processes are actually tipped downwards, this can cause a broken back hoof pastern axis. If the axis is slightly broken back but there are no signs of hoof distortion and the horse is sound, there is no reason to raise the heels. If the horse is lame and needs to perform immediately, it may be worth trying a wedge pad. Normally, heel height should be whatever the foot needs to maintain uniform depth of sole and the widest weightbearing surface possible at the back of the foot.
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Is the square toe helping my horse?
Recent conventional hoof care practice includes the common technique of squaring the toes on either the front or hind or sometimes all four feet. The reason usually given is that this moves the breakover point back, which in turn improves hoof pastern alignment and reduces excess force on the toe laminae. While it is true that squaring the toe moves the breakover back, it is irrelevant. It is equally possible to move the breakover back by rounding the toe. In my observation of sound horses, the natural shape of front feet is rounded toes, and hinds, pointed toes. The squared toes I have seen are on horses with movement problems. Therefore I do not recommend square toes, except in the limited case where a horse has conformational faults that prevent it from being sound any other way than in square toes.

Another reason given for squaring toes is to make the horse break over in the middle of the toe, rather than to the side, as some horses will naturally do. In my experience forcing the breakover in the center causes problems elsewhere in the limb because the horse is unable to swing its foot naturally. If you have a halter horse that is judged on moving straight, and squaring the toe is the only to achieve such movement, then you have a reason to do this. For halter class, it may or may not cause problems. But if you ride that horse, it would be worth exploring other ways to get him to move straight.
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Why is my horse's foot a certain shape?
People want to know about contracted feet expanding, squashed feet becoming more upright, club feet becoming less steep, underrun feet becoming less crushed in the heel, oblong feet getting rounder, dragged, dubbed toes regaining a normal shape, thin walls getting thicker, chipped or flared feet getting better integrity.
All of these changes are possible. Some feet change visibly, others do not. Some don't change much in size but do get stronger hoof horn. No one can tell you at the start how much a foot will improve, or when it has reached full potential. Healing can always happen, but the timetable will vary. You could start with a group of horses with similar distortion, the same farrier working on each horse, and there will be different amounts of change in each case.
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Why isn't there a simple guideline for how much heel or toe needs to be removed at each trim?
Each horse has a different postural tendency, and the feet will grow accordingly. Some horses accumulate more heel than toe in between trims, others will have more toe than heel. Some will have even wall accumulation around the whole perimeter. Some will appear to grow straight upward, and look like they are on stilts when overdue for trimming. Others will grow underrun heel and the toes will look like ski tips when overdue for a trim. Some will have high spots on the medial side, others will be high on the lateral side. Each horse must be trimmed in a way that offsets the postural tendencies that can upset the balance. It is this postural individuality that explains why two horses with similar looking feet might need quite different trim techniques and/or trim schedules to accommodate their needs.
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What does it mean when there are blood flecks in the white line?
It is quite normal to see blood flecks in the white line for some time, months even, when rebalancing the feet. Flares cause tearing in the laminar junction. Once the visible flares are all gone from the outer hoof wall and have not returned for several months, there should be no more blood in the white line. If you do still see blood, then you have to figure out what else could be causing it aside from the flares. One possibility is a movement problem (toe stabbing or dragging) due to a neurological or musculoskeletal disorder. Your chiropractor or veterinarian may be able to figure out what the horse needs to move more efficiently.
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Is wall bruising a sign of hoof problems?
Wall bruising may have come from a bang or single injury at the coronet. Often you see that grow all the way down and not return, and it is nothing to worry about. On the other hand if you see it reappear at the top, it is less likely to be an isolated injury and more likely to be a chronic balance problem. Sometimes even when you balance the feet well, the horse still doesn't use the feet correctly, and can continue to overdo it on one side either landing or loading. Keep track of when/where you first see bruising and how it moves or changes over time. These are clues that can help you figure out, in hindsight, where stuff comes from. The trimming or shoeing can then be adapted accordingly.
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Why won't my horse stand quietly for the farrier?
If your horse keeps pulling his feet away from the farrier, you may have been told he has a "bad attitude" and needs to be tranquilized or twitched. I suppose it could be bad attitude for some reason other than pain, but most of the cases I see it is pain, either in the feet or somewhere in the body that causes them to do this. Some questions for investigating further: Is there a particular part of the process that seems to cause more pulling away: like when nails are banged in, or when nippers are used, or the rasping? Or does it just seem random? Because if its specific things, that can give clues as to what could be hurting in the feet. For example if he pulls the feet away mostly during nailing, there could be pain coming from the laminae. If it seems to hurt a lot when the shoes are pulled off, that could be from laminar pain as nails are pulled through inflammed tissue, or it could be pain the lower limb joints when the foot is wrenched. If its in the body, then you look for things like is there a place where he is more comfortable, i.e. the foot held lower or more inside or outside etc. Does he have the same behavior with the feet up on the hoof stand? Same with fronts and hinds? Where does he naturally want to hang the feet when you pick them up to look at them (you as opposed to the farrier, because maybe with you he's more relaxed.) If the feet want to cross under the body (or if hinds want to cross behind the other leg) this tells you something different than if the feet hang straight or have not trouble being abducted (moved away from the body). Is it one foot that is pulled away the most? Each of these behaviors offers certain clues.

I have found that many horses who used to need tranquilizers or twitching will stand quietly if they are allowed to hold their feet lower or in a different position than some farriers use. It can be harder on the farrier to crouch lower and move closer to the horse, but if it keeps the horse comfortable, the shoeing process goes much better. In other cases, owners have consulted with a chiropractor or a veterinarian trained to detect neurologic or musculoskeletal problems. Once the horse's structural problem is corrected, he can stand quietly for the farrier.
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My horse used to wear size one shoes, now he's in a two, are bigger feet better?
Sure, big feet are good. But only if that is the true size of your horses foot! Sometimes people get carried away with wanting big feet and actually end up letting them grow beyond their natural size, just so a bigger shoe can be nailed on. If that bigger size is taken up by excess horn (and usually this will be flared) these big feet are weak. Although it is common to see feet too small that will grow bigger once they are balanced and shod in bigger shoes, the opposite problem does exist: feet left too long and shod too big. I've had horses go down a shoe size just by balancing the feet and removing flare and they are better of for it in the long run. The laminar attachments inside the hoof are less stressed if all flare is removed. Look at the white line next time he takes the shoes off. If it is stretched, especially in the quarters, that's one sign the shoes are too big and he could go down a size. But some farriers can get nervous taking the feet down in size because they have to be more precise driving the nails! I can appreciate that worry, but still its best for the horse to have the shoe fit to the true size of his foot.
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What is the sole plane and how is this used as a guide for trimming?
The term sole plane was, to my knowledge, introduced to the hoof care world in the 1980s by farrier Gene Ovnicek. The concept is not new but use of this term is new, and has provided a helpful guide for farriers. The sole plane describes the depth of sole where the flakey, dead horn (ready to exfoliate) meets the smooth unexfoliated portion of sole.

The term, despite it widespread use among farriers, often confuses the horse owner or anyone new to hoof care who takes the term literally. The term is not meant to be understood literally! The definition of a plane is a two-dimensional (flat) surface. Farriers know the sole is not flat, and thus the term is understood figuratively.

The expression sole plane is a reference to the true foot of the horse at the level where sole is solid and providing appropriate protection for the foot. If you want to use a more literal term for the trim line, call it the sole contour, sole cup, or sole arch. Or just call it the true foot! Farrier and researcher Michael Savoldi calls the trim line the point at which you find uniform depth of sole, or uniform sole thickness (UST). As I understand it, the UST theory of trimming is similar to the sole plane theory although if you want to be sure about this check with Mike Savoldi!

The short-term goal of each trim is to find the best balance possible. The long-term goal is to get to the true foot. Why can't every foot be trimmed to the true foot? When starting with a distorted foot, particularly one that has been disfigured for a long time, the true foot cannot just be "carved out" by the farrier. It must emerge over time. Proper trimming and shoeing help to remove impediments (flare, retained sole). The healing powers of the horse will do the rest: the true foot will grow in! Whatever the horse needs; stronger heel horn, wider frogs, thicker soles; these come with time.
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Is it normal for my horse's feet to be sore after trimming or being re-shod?
Soreness after the farrier appointment is a common complaint, with owners often suspecting it might be due to farrier error. Soreness is not normal, but should only be a concern if it happens repeatedly. A single instance of soreness after a trim could be from common mistakes including a misplaced nail, feet trimmed to short, or imbalanced feet. Sometimes the farrier returns, corrects the problem, and all is well. Other times the horse gets better on his own within a few days.

A horse that is routinely sore after the farrier appointment is a more serious issue. In my experience the most common cause is that the shoeing interval has been too long. For example let's say your horse's hoof needs to be 3-1/4 inches long to be in good balance. The hoof grows 1/2 inch per month, and he's shod, so nothing is worn off. Two months later (a common shoeing interval) the farrier finds the feet at 4-1/2 inches, trims an inch off and the feet look good. In other words, the feet are balanced properly and trimmed to the "true foot" (sole plane), but the horse is sore, something is wrong! You might think the farrier should leave the feet at 3-1/2 inches, and this is in fact what people sometimes do. While this may prevent soreness after the appointment, consider what happens over time. If you keep this horse on an 8-week schedule but take off slightly less than he has grown during that time, over the course of several shoeings, the feet will be too long even the day they are re-shod.

The solution is to shorten the shoeing interval. At 6 weeks, or 5, or even 4, there will be less change between the last day of the interval and the first day in new shoes. Keeping the horse closer to his ideal balance will help preserve soundness. The same goes for barefoot horses, you just have to calculate wear as a factor. If the barefoot horse lives on soft ground and doesn't move a whole lot, there is very little wear, and he may need the same treatment as a shod horse.

Many people find that barefoot horses need feet left a bit longer or they can be very sore after trimming. Again, leaving them longer is only OK up to a point. If you always take off a bit less than they have grown, you end up with feet that are no longer balanced even the day they are trimmed. The solution with the barefoot horse is to trim frequently enough that nippers are not needed. I have found this to be the best way to deal with those horses that get sore footed after trimming. Trimming this often may not fit with your farrier's schedule, in which case you could do light rasping between appointments. Many owners have started doing this and over time, get so good that the farrier shows up and declares the feet just perfect! If you don't have the time or desire to do any trimming, you owe it to your horse to hire a professional to meet his needs.
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Is there a correct angle for the horse's hoof?
I was taught in shoeing school that front feet should be between 50 and 55 degrees, and hinds a couple of degrees higher than whatever that horse's front are. In practice, I have found this to be true, but it is not something I see as a goal in trimming the foot. There are many different schools of thought on angles, from those saying all horses should have such and such an angle to those saying the angle does not matter one bit. The approach I have found works for my clients horses is to balance the foot based primarily on reading the hoof itself (identifying and eliminating signs of horn distortion or white line damage). I do take the hoof-pastern axis into account, but it is only part of the picture. In horses with good conformation, trimming to the true foot (sole plane) will reveal the correct hoof pastern axis for that horse. But some horses with a broken back or broken forward hoof pastern axis will not be sound unless the hoof is trimmed to alleviate some of the problems caused by the deviated pastern. The details are too complicated for this FAQ response but I just wanted to introduce the notion that basically, I have found there is no single correct angle. As a generalization, I have rarely seen a front foot steeper than 55 that was normal, and have never seen one more sloping than 50 that was healthy. However I have not seen all feet! I have heard that horses can do well with higher or lower angles and so there probably is a wider range of possible that I have seen. I also have never seen a well-balanced horse with more than 2-3 degrees difference between front and hind, but again, I have heard stories that it is possible. Remember also that measuring with a hoof gauge is not an exact science. Even using the exact same gauge, different people can get different readings. So I don't believe we need to place too much stock in exact angles. In fact I no longer use an angle gauge. I was taught to, and did so for a while after shoeing school, and believe it did help develop my eye. But after attending Gene Ovnicek's NBS seminar in 1998, I had the confidence to let my reading of the true foot, rather than an arbitrary angle, dictate my trimming.
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I am looking for a hoof care provider; which "barefoot trim" or shoeing style is the best?
I am often asked about the differences among the various trims on the market today. People list the various trademarked trims and other brand name trims and ask what is best. There is no easy answer, but I can offer you some pointers for meeting your horse's needs. Arm yourself with information about each particular hoof care method and find a practitioner who is highly skilled in that method, or better yet someone who has exposure to various methods. What you will find is it's a lot like trying to get advice about nutrition, another equally complicated and controversial area. Each "hoof guru" believes theirs to be the best way, and each will offer you reasons why theirs is physiologically correct. Because there is not yet scientific evidence to support or refute most of the claims about how feet work and how feet should be shod, you are really on your own in deciding what makes the most sense!

I am familiar with the work of some of the widely known people in this "barefoot movement" and a few of the farriers doing "natural shoeing". From what I have personally experienced, each of these teachers has something to offer the hoofcare world. There is a time for each and it cannot be explained in single system. The best guidelines I have found come from a combination of what I learned in shoeing school, from Dave Duckett's time-tested theories of balance, from Gene Ovnicek's teachings, and from trial and error with each and every horse I have worked on. When a method works for your horse, great! I can only tell you that my experience indicates too much variability to adhere strictly to one method. For example I may put a horse in steel shoes for a season, then find he does better in a different sort of shoe, then another season find he goes better barefoot, during which time I sometimes remove sole, sometimes don't, etc etc. It is just case by case, trim by trim with each horse.

As you search through the hoof literature and competing claims, just keep in mind your own horse's feet. Are they distorted? If so, find a hoof care professional who can get them balanced. If you do not see improvement within three appointments, you need to find another hoof care professional. It may take a long time (even years) for a very lame horse to become sound again, but it does not take long to see improvement. You should see outward distortions lessen or disappear entirely within a few months, if the cause was in fact the feet. (There are non-foot related causes of foot distortion, which is another subject.).

Beware of any practitioner who tells you any of the following: all feet should be at a pre-determined angle; frog, sole and bar should not be removed; frogs should be on the ground; flare should be removed only as much as 1/2 the wall thickness at one time; do not trim behind the white line; shoes are harmful; padding will save your horse from founder. Each of these statements reveals a lack of understanding about the individuality across the horse population. Inexperienced hoof care providers may find it helpful to adhere strictly to "Method" trims, but success for them is generally hit or miss. If you want a customized approach for your horse, seek out someone who can provide that.
Now, to address that last point which may have confused someone who has used padding to good effect on a foundered horse...
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Should foundered horses be put into foam padding?
Again there is not one answer, it depends on the situation! Thanks to the innovative and talented farrier Gene Ovnicek, the entire hoof care world now knows about the value of using padding for foundered horses. Since Ovnicek's introduction of this idea (and input from farrier and veterinarian Dr. Tia Nelson) in the 1980s, many have followed this lead and developed their own versions of foot pads for sore horses. I am in favor of padding in select cases. I have used Ovnicek's pads as well as other products and found good results. But in my experience, the pads are not always necessary. The essential component for success is to balance the feet. Pads can assist in certain cases if the horse is too sore to stand or move even after the balanced trim.

But many people have been led to believe that it is somehow the magic of the pad that will bring their horse back to soundness. For people stranded without a farrier, pads can often tide the horse over until a farrier can be located. On the other hand using the pads without trimming the feet correctly is a false crutch, because the horse will not be able to fully heal, even though he will be more comfortable initially. Applying the pad is somewhat analogous to giving bute: the horse may feel better immediately. He may want to run around! But, as with a horse on bute, exuberant movement while wearing these pads can do more damage to laminitic feet.

Many of the commercially available pads are convenient. Look at product links on barefoot hoof care sites (some are listed directly on the links page and others you will find through those sites). I had good luck with Osha pads for several years, but then the company became unable to ship the product to me, and so I learned to do without them. The cost is prohibitive for many of my clients. In my experience, the same results can be achieved with low cost materials from building or gardening supply stores. Just a few of the materials some of my clients have discovered include:

• "Soflink" flooring from Home Depot. Large puzzle pieces of foam used to create an indoor-outdoor flooring material for decks, children's play rooms etc. This can be cut into hoof shaped pads and makes an economical alternative to very similar expensive products. People have found that if you poke holes in it, the frogs don't sweat as much. This is helpful for horses living in wet climates, or even those in dry climates that have to wear the pads for an extended amount of time. (Eternal thanks to Barb Hoskinson and Mr. Skeeter for this discovery).
• Knee pads from a hardware store.
• Pads that people sit on to cushion hard stadium seating.
• Camping padding for sleeping bags on hard ground.
• That black saddle pad foam from the Tony Gonzalez pads (a 1980s memory of mine, does anyone know if these are still on the market?)

There are probably many other materials you might find in your garage or at various supply shops that can be easily cut into hoof shaped pads. Send me an email with other ideas and I will post the information for others to use!
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Why does your book encourage people to "ask their farrier"? If you are the expert writing the book, won't readers expect you to tell them the answer?
This was a comment from a farrier friend of mine who kindly reviewed the book for me. I understand the logic of his question, and had sort of wondered about this as I was writing those sections of the book. My response is this: I am not the expert or final source of information for my readers. I see my book as a start for people. My goal was to impart some basic information and a framework for analysis. This should allow readers to seek further answers and help them determine valid from invalid sources of hoof care information. I have only been a farrier since 1998, which is not a very long time. No matter what I say about feet, I have not seen very many when you compare my experience to that of my peers who have been farriers for 20, 30, 40 or more years. My book attempts to foster good communication between the educated horse owner and their hoof care professional. When I have puzzling hoof cases, I ask for input from those with more experience and skill than I have. I've made mistakes along the way and listened to self-proclaimed experts for some time before I found out they were bluffing. I hope that my book will give readers enough information that they can continue to develop into more discerning caretakers for their horse. You, the horse owner, are the expert on your horse, your needs, and the context in which you and the horse live. With this foundation, you can now seek out those you regard as truly knowledgeable about the foot. To use a phrase from Jaime Jackson, the "zen of hoofmastery" is the art of listening to each horse and each hoof, of trimming with care and patience. The goal is to let nature show us, case by case, how we can assist each horse. Someone like Jaime Jackson has seen a lot more feet than I have, and I would consider him an expert on the horse's hoof. Even he will agree that there is no single formula that will work for all horses.
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