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Author
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Topic: Barefoot Trimming (Read 6140 times)
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Kobau
Novice
 Offline
Posts: 16
I love Trakehners!
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Pasture trim is a name some farriers, not the best ones from what i've seen, call a quick trim. It is just quick, and really looks like it is prepping for shoes. Because often the edges of the hoof wall(where the nipping or rasping was done on the bottom side)are left verysharp, no rounding at all of the edge, it often seems to lead to chipping of the outer wall.
I had never heard of it till two years ago, when my farrier retired and i had a new farrier come to trim my horses...I think it is just a name for a quick not top notch trim honestly...
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fuzzy
Guest
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Yup, finishing those edges by roundig them a bit with the rasp is very important and is a huge factor in reducing chips and splits. A sharp edge snags more easliy and has more leverage than a rounded surface. Funny that they would call the unfinished trim the "pasture trim" when you could really only get by with that on a stalled horse that only goes out on good arena footing.
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Kobau
Novice
Offline
Posts: 16
I love Trakehners!
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Yup, it caught me off guard when they said pasture trim. To me it was a nice trim, rounding the edges etc. Like all my previous farriers had done. But to my surprise, withing two days of being trimmed a Morgan mare of mine was chipping, something that in 12 years of owning her i'd never seen... We called the farrier, and well we never heard back from him, so that was that. I was taught to do the basic trims myself years ago during college, we had a trimming class that we had to take and pretty much be perfect at before they would pass us. So now I am reading watching other good farriers and trimming my own horses since they is a very very limited number of good quality farriers where i am! So far, we are having great results, and i'm ending up in very good shape from it all!
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fuzzy
Guest
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Good for you! Even though I make a big share of my living from being a farrier, I really wish more owners would take the time to be more involved with hoof care. I always strongly advise aspiring trainers to take at least a short course in shoeing. Even if all they ever do is the odd trim or fix the occasional loose shoe, the knowledge is worth having. Same goes for breeders, who often don't pay adequate attention to quality hooves on breeding stock.
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fuzzy
Guest
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It's the big breeders who don't pay as much attention. Those are the places where the horses are more likely to be cared for by hired help who don't have advanced skill with horses, and who are more likely to have the horses out, untouched by people, for 6 months+ at a time. But besides the too-infrequent hoof care, there is less attention paid to the genetic aspect of hoof quality. I believe that there are three factors in determining the quality of horses hooves - genetics, feed, and maintenence. Small breeders are more likely to give the horses more one-on-one attention, and so be more aware of what's going on with the feet. They (from what I've seen, anyhow) are more likely to expect the mares to be "working moms", where soundness matters more, and often put more effort into better feed/pasture. If you are a small breeder, and you have a mare whose feet are horrid despite the best feed and farrier, you're probably going to decide that you don't need a baby with those feet. And you might not care to try to sell a foal with those feet, either. A big breeder who has that same mare out on pasture for 6 months or more isn't going to be as aware, will continure to use her, and make more bad-footed foals.
I have seen a couple small breeders where the lack of attention to hooves is atrocious, but that's rare.
BTW, I very rarely see a broodmare with shoes, unless she's in the "working mom" category and goes out on a lot of roads and rough trails. These are also the ones that tend to be a one-time thing to raise a foal to eventually replace an aging member of the herd or free him up for a new young rider in the family.
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Kobau
Novice
Offline
Posts: 16
I love Trakehners!
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I really like doing the trims myself now. It gives me a much closer connection i find. plus i am more watchful, and pay much closer attention to the little things. Though honestly i doubt my sanity when i think i have 22 horses and no "farrier" other than myself and a good friend that trims 4-6 of the horses i have.
And my trimming means that my family is paying closer attention since usually one of them will come and stand with whatever horse i'm working on...
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fuzzy
Guest
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Not to mention saving a few bucks . . . . 
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fuzzy
Guest
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You don't have to do the whole herd at one time. Folks who their own trims often do somewhere from two feet to two horses a day, which is a very reasonable work load for most horse people.
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