Barefoot trimming question

[Kite_Rider]

Hi all,

Reading Cortrasna's posts in her diary I'm curious.
Is it normal practise to trim frogs, bars and hoof wall?
I know my farrier used to take quite a bit off Bells feet, often trimmed frogs and used to do what I can only describe as quite a bevel on the toe.
My trimmer hardly touches the wall or bars of her feet and never trims the frog, he just kind of rolls the outside edges of the hoof wall a bit and I mean a tiny bit, what constitutes a good barefoot trim? I'm starting to worry now.

 

[Jane&Ziggy]

My trimmer (Trevor Jones) trims the hoof wall, rubs the bars and pares the frog. But Ziggy's feet have needed lots of work following his laminitis, and he is field kept and in very light work so doesn't wear his frogs at all.

I am not sure that there is a "right" trim as each horse is different.

 

[Joyscarer]

My farrier has only ever tidied the raggedy bit off at the sides as they are a haven for infection.

When I got Littles, he needed to do this a lot, and carefully look at the face too but that changed over time as his frogs hardened up and became broader.

Joy has always had good firm frogs that needed little doing. They get more untidy seasonally but the face of her frogs have never been an issue.

 

[Yann]

There's no right or wrong if the horse is sound and capable and the trim doesn't leave it sore. But there have always been different styles of barefoot trimming, some more zealous than others and over the years a lot of people have realised that it's often less about the trim and more about everything else for a lot of horses. So there has been a shift away from trimming the foot closely and making it look pretty. Barefoot horses in regular work can end up more or less self maintaining, or just needing a little tweak now and again, and some horses, especially those kept turned out on tracks or with some access to abrasive surfaces who may never need trimming at all.

Not the world's greatest feet (or the best pics), but apart from a regular roll at the toe I've done very little with Rio's hooves for a couple of years now, she maintains her own balance pretty well.