wild horse trim

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vyvyen

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Hi,

Does anybody on this site use the wild horse trim on their horses? The farrier I now use uses this method. I was a bit sceptical at first as Lindy and Tonka were sore the day after having their feet trimmed, but six months down the track they have excellent feet. Its a little more costly as they are trimmed every 3 weeks instead of 6 weeks but it seems worth it. Love to hear from anyone else who uses this method.
 
Hi Vyvyen

Is it like the Strasser method of trimming? I've not heard of the wild horse trim.

Could you give me more information on this method as I am very interested in natural horse management, although I felt the Strasser method is a little too extreme for my needs?

thanks
 
Well, this is a new one on me, I assume you me trim with no shoes i.e. bare feet:eek:I have heard of a method of trimming feet to return them to a natural state over a period of 12 months so that they no longer need shoes but I am very sceptical how I must admit I :( must road work do you do? more details please and progress reports:)
 
Well, this is a new one on me, I assume you me trim with no shoes i.e. bare feet:eek:I have heard of a method of trimming feet to return them to a natural state over a period of 12 months so that they no longer need shoes but I am very sceptical I must admit I :( how must road work do you do? more details please and progress reports:)
 
In recent years, two main (similar yet distinct) methods of barefoot horse trimming have emerged.

One method is the "Strasser" method, developed Dr. Hildrud Strasser.

The other method is the "Jackson" method, developed by Jaime Jackson.

Strasser is a vet of over some twenty years, Jackson a master farrier.

In short, I understand the concept to be this:

Slowly, over time, the horses hooves are trimmed in such a way that the pedal bone of the hoof is re-aligned to a more natural state (hairline 45° to ground, bone level, heals lower, toes shorter) - similar to that found wild horses. Removing the shoes/nails allows for hoof wall regeneration and growth, improving the overall strength of the hoof structure.

Brumbies, or Mustangs (wild horses) travel vast distances over often very rough terrain every day. Their hooves become conditioned to the environment in which they live, naturally keeping their shape (wearing down due to constant movement). Rarely is a brumby found with brittle feet! Wild horses have no need for shoes or trimming, yet more often than not are found to have perfect hoof conformation, few injuries and to be leading very healthy lives.

The idea is that our domesticated horses can also flourish barefoot, given the correct trim and gradual exposure (conditioning) to varying ground surfaces (gravel, grass, tarmac, rock.....) - their feet regenerate, much stronger and healthier.

Taking into account domesticated horses naturally don't travel as far as wild horses do, in a day, nor have the same exposure to really rough rocky terrain (hence don't 'wear' down their toes as much wild horses do), a regular trim every couple of weeks is required to maintain correct hoof shape, heal and toe length.

Both Strasser and Jackson are highly regarded, having spent many years studying hoof structure, movement and conformation in domestic and wild horses.

Strasser and Jackson have both also had considerable success in rehabilitating horses diagnosed with 'last stage' chronic laminitis.

There are quite a few books on the market now, covering "high performance barefoot horses".

Some websites covering the topic, are as follows:

http://www.tribeequus.com/

http://www.thehorseshoof.com/

http://members.screenz.com/gretchenfathauer/ - Treating Founder (Chronic Laminitis) without Horseshoes

http://annalar16.tripod.com/aboutbarefootedhorses/index.html

http://horse-canada.com/html/articles/HMneedshoes03.99.htm

http://www.naturalsolutions.org/hoofcare.html

http://www.thenaturalequine.com/the_natural_eq/Page_1x.html

http://www.oldmacs.com.au/ - "Hoof boots" an alternative to traditional shoes and used by some to aid in the transition of going from shoes to barefoot.

Horses haven't always worn shoes. It is believed iron horse shoes were first developed when the cavalry started using horses in war. Soldier's horses would often be tied up for hours on end in 'long row' stables. Standing in their own urine and manure for considerable amounts of time, these horses began to developed "hoof rot", hence the invention of the shoe.

Going "barefoot" is a very personal choice, one to be make on an individual basis. It's probably not for everyone and some consider it to be quite radical. Horses can become quite foot sore after the first or second trim, whilst this quickly disappears, there is a "conditioning" and "transition" period, so to speak.

Lastly, if you are considering going barefoot, I would strongly stuggest investing in a barefoot book or two (Strasser or Jackson) and an open and frank discussion about the pro's and con's of going barefoot with your farrier and/or vet - someone who knows and understand your unique situation and horse.

(On a quick personal note: All of my horses are "barefoot horses", living outside naturally 24/7 and all have been for some three years now. My horses part-take in regular road work, mountain treks etc., without any problems. In complete honesty, I am spending less money on trims every few weeks now, than I previously did on shoes every six. The best aspect of our change to "barefoot" being that my horses are noticeably happier, healthily, steadier on their feet, all having wonderful strong hooves, not a crack insight!)

Hope the above information is of some help.

Kind regards.
 
Sorry to go on, but I have a rising 3 yr old who has not and will not be shod, she lives out 24/7 and does on average 4-5 miles of road work every week in hand.
I have her trimmed by a regular farrier every 6-8 weeks who is correcting her twisted off hind hoof nice and slowly.
Her feet are rock hard, healthy and she shows no sign of soreness when out on the roads.
I'm afraid I'll be sticking to my opinion that a specialist trim every three weeks is a waste of money - how much does hoof horn grow in three weeks - a miniscule amount!
 
A few years ago when my mare was consistantly lame, I read about about the '4 point trim' which was discovered by studying the feet of wild horses. If I remember rightly, every wild horse had the same or very similar foot conformation, the pressure points were either side of the heel and either side of the toe. and the actual toe (front of the hoof) was quite worn.

The wild horse conformation of the foot encourages maximum circulation, allowing the horses natural shock absorbation and hoof elastistity to come into play wear and not inhibit its natural step/turn over.

My mares problems stemmed from very poor hoof care in her life before me and my friend which had left her toes to long, mixed with being very much on the forhand and a very high and exaggerated front leg action. She had a broken hoof/pastern angle which couldn't be corrected, the damage was done and we decided the kindest thing was to destroy her.

If this trim is the same as whats mentioned above, I would think the regular trim is aimed at keeping the toe short and the correct pressure points balanced, as wild horses move constantly over varying terrain, quite often very rough thier feet will be constantly worn down. Our domesticated horses spend much of thier lives in fields and soft ground, meaning the stress and wear on thier hooves is minimal compared to wild horses.

One thing I do wonder about though, is wild horses do not have the added weight of tack and rider, can a TB or Araby type go bare foot and be ridden 5 - 6 times a week on rough tracks and roads and remain sound?

Lesley
 
Do you know what kills 90% of wild horses?

Feet and teeth!

Their teeth are not seen to and their feet are not seen to either, therefore they cannot eat and get the most from their feed. Their feet grow all out of shape and make them lame. Man has increased the life of the horse by doing what nature cannot do. Keep a good balance on their feet and watch their teeth for problems.

I live in a place where horse's feet are not the priority, there are some 12 year old horses out there whose feet have been left since they were born and now at the age of 12 they have to be put down, (this is not widely the case, but it goes on)

I have a mare who has had the "strasser" mehtod done to her, I'm not impressed, she will need corrective shoeing. Don't know who did the trim, but it was not helpful to her!

We have domesticated the horse, somethings need to be kept as close to nature as possible, some things have to be controlled by man as the horse no longer travels over long distances over rocky and grassy terrain. Long distance on metalled roads are the norm.

If it ain't broke why mend it? Most unshod horses do fine with a grass trim. I rode a horse in endurance competition up to 50 miles per day unshod, I never used a fancy method of trim, just a good, open minded farrier.
 
Just wanted to say, that Ame's post gave a great explaination of both techniques. All hoof angles recommended are guidelines, and will vary a little. The optimum hairline angle for the Strasser technique is around 30 deg, with the angle of the front of the hooves being approx 45 -55 deg, depending on whether they are fronts or hinds. The base of the pedal bone should be ground parallel, to distribute weight evenly, and avoid pinching blood vessels within the foot.

Wallys mentions a mare she owns, who has had the Strasser trim applied to her, with a poor response. I know this was mentioned on a previous forum, and it did puzzle me a little. I hope you don't mind me responding to this Wally, but a horse should only be classed as "Strasser Trimmed" if the major trimming is performed by a Certified Strasser Hoof Care Specialist. There are currently only two of these in the UK, one in Warwickshire, and one in Derbyshire. There a further eight people undergoing training, some of whom will graduate in June 2002.

I believe that there are a handful of people in Scotland who have done a basic horse owners seminar. I have done this, plus a follow up course, and do maintenance trims on my own horses. I have regular check ups with a qualified specialist, and am very pleased with the results. I occasionally trim for a couple of friends, at no charge, but should not, and would not call this a Strasser trim. I do not have a recognised qualification for one thing, and have only been trimming horses hooves for two years.
I feel it would be unfair to dismiss this technique, based on one horse, who has probably been trimmed by someone who has attended a three day course. Also, if a horse has problem feet, such as contraction, or underun heels, it will often take up to two years, to resolve these problems. There are also environmental and management factors that affect the success of this method. It is in no way a quick fix! It can however, offer a life line to horses who have been written off as permanently lame, which is why I have emerged from lurkdom.

I am in contact with a big group of people, in England and Wales, who are following the Strasser technique to varying degrees, and so far, I am not aware of anyone who has not made significant progress with their horses feet. Many of these set out with lame horses that are now sound. We hope to get some figures to substantiate this within the near future.

Whilst I agree that a high proportion of wild horses are killed by feet and teeth, sadly, the same can be said for domestic horses.
A very low proportion of horses vetted at point of sale, pass as fully sound. The figure was mentioned on "Vets in Practice" a couple of weeks ago, and I believe it was put at 10%! Please correct me if this is wrong, as I heard this second hand.

Anyway, time to shut my mush, and let someone else get a word in :D :D. Yes I admit, I'm a hoof addict.
 
What I am saying is why do you feel a fancy trim is in order when 90% of horses (who have good enough feet) can go barefoot with a normal grass trim.
 
Hi Wally,

Thats a good question, and similar to one I asked when I was first looking into this technique. I was lucy enough to own a pony with "good feet" before I learnt about this type of trim, along with a TB horse with poor hooves, as in difficult to keep shoes on, and had a loan horse with appallingly shaped hooves and who originally had sheared heels.

I think the key to your question lies in the "(who have good enough feet)" part. Neither of the two horses mentioned above, would have been considered to have good enough feet. I talked it over with my blacksmith before I went ahead. He was supportive of going barefoot, as he believes it is good for horses to spend at least part of the year unshod. He did say " you won't be able to ride your TB on the road without shoes". He is an excellent blacksmith, is oversubscribed, and I respect his views, however he was not correct. Both horses coped well with regular roadwork, once better quality horn had grown from the coronary band, to the floor. This took around 10 months.

As for my pony, I could not detect any difference in the thickness of the horn, or the strength of the horn tubules, but the bonds between the tubules showed a definate improvement, as did the shape of the hoof. Her hooves no longer get frayed around the edges, even though her roadwork increased.

The problem with a lot of the pasture trims I am seeing in my area, is that they are no different to a trim in preparation for a shoe. The Strasser trim, and the Jackson trim are both geared towards high performance barefoot horses. You may also be using a trim adapted for barefooting, but this is the exception in the UK, rather than the rule.

An example of the highperformance work achieved with a Strasser trim would be Darolyn Butlar-Dial. This lady owns approx 50 horses, competes endurance internationally, and has competed 25 and 50 milers without shoes. She rarely puts shoes on any of her horses, and runs a yard where she trains others in endurance, hence the large number of horses! She posts her own, and her pupils results on a couple of the Yahoogroups mentioned in previous threads.
 
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