Learning to trim is very interesting and I really enjoy it. In this blog I like to share with you more from my journey, some useful sites, videos and photos of our learning progress.
First of all – a few fascinating facts about the hoof;
- The horses hoof wall grows an average of 2mm each week.
- The hooves have several essential functions;
Supporting your horses weight, absorbing shock, resisting wear, providing traction, pumping blood, conducting moisture. - The hoof wall is approximately 25% water, the sole 33% and the frog 50%.
- Oil or fat based hoof dressings cannot moisturise your horses hoof wall.
- The feet continue to grow in size until the horse is 6 years old, so if you put shoes on a young horse you suffocate the natural growth of the feet.
We started to trim the horses hooves because we were going to start riding. Working student Lisa and Riding Instructor Gabriel did a great job with the first trimmings along with online help from Ulrike. After a year break with no riding, Samantha has come to help me continue the riding program. Once again, before Samantha arrived, I looked at the hooves and they were not in shape for riding. This time I decided that my turn had come to learn to trim.
I took lots of photos, made a Facebook group, joined another, posted and posted and got in contact with my “old” trimmer from Denmark. Here I got lots of valuable information and courage to use the rasp. Ulrike once again helped me understand the hoof better and drew lines and sent useful links to further studies.
Then now in December, Petra from Austria came to study The Waterhole Rituals with me and she is a really good hoof trimmer. Nice! Petra helped me a lot to understand the bars, how to trim them and how to balance the hoof. I also got a special course in how to use the knives…. (scary…)
We had many interesting observations and discussions on coronet bands and how to bring Jack’s under run heels back.
Some photos and videos:
Elena – video after second trim;
Elena photo after third trim and help from Petra;
Magic – video after second trim;
Magic photos after third trim and help from Petra;
We are moving forward step by step and nice how always something new to learn from horses.. a new blog will come in January.
Magic who is the one of my four horses who has been soar walking is running again, by her self so that is a good sign we are on the right track.
Let me know if you have any questions of comments and I’ll do my best to answer.
Kind regards and much sunshine from the Caribbean
Stina
I found these sites very useful;
https://www.youtube.com/user/thehappyhoof
and the Facebook group Barefoot Trimmers Only, lots of good advices there.
Yurumein Horse School (St. Vincent) 