Hoof Angle, My Rasp!

A common thread runs through the thinking of the best of the best involved in the barefoot hoof care revolution: hoof function promoted by trimming that respects the internal structures. Traditional farriery relies heavily on angles and markers that can easily be misinterpreted. Dr. Doug Butler, author of “The Principles of Horse Shoeing II” (required reading for anyone studying for the AFA certification) stated recently in the American Farriers Journal that most farriers have difficulty visualizing the internal bone structures and their relationship to the hoof capsule. Not the fault of the farriers, clearly, but the fault of the methods they are taught.

While I am not a student nor a follower of K.C. LaPierre's High Performance Trim, I find much of his work regarding the equine foot and barefoot hoof care insightful and enlightened. This from a man who spent 24 years shoeing horses! (I love it when shoers go renegade! Come over to the Dark Side!! Heh, heh...) His paper in response to the common brush off often given to the success of physiological barefoot trimming (that it "is just the same as any other traditional trim, just applied well and that’s why the horses on it are going sound") makes a well-formulated, compelling argument. Read LaPierre's article here.