There are general guidelines I follow when making trim and shoeing decisions. They are evidence based and time tested through documentation. They take into account the hoof morphology, anatomy of the horse, physics, biomechanics.
I use those guidelines along with considering each horse as an individual. There is no metric for that. What one horse is comfortable with is not necessarily the same as the next. Each body and nervous system is entirely unique in how it processes information. Each environment, history, situation, and individual is completely different.
I know that taking up trimming is potentially a hard but necessary thing that many of you have decided to take on. You want a black and white guideline. You want a set of directions to follow. You want to help your horse and the thing I hear the most, is that you don’t want to hurt them. I completely understand and appreciate this.
However….
With that decision has to come the understanding that life is fluid. For us and the horses.
Trimming is ever changing, whether we want to admit that or not. From taking into account environment changes, work load changes, injury, rider, and competitions adjustments are made in each trim to try to take into account as many variables as humanly possible to help the horses stay comfortable, address morphology and continue to nudge the hoof in a positive direction. And let us not forget that we are human and while we strive to be consistent with our trims, it is not possible to be perfect 100% of the time.
We will misjudge something in our trim at some point, especially when we are just starting out. It hurts to say a mistake was made, I know. A little grace for our humanness, ask for help if necessary, and make a plan to help the horse recover in whatever way is needed. Store it away as information about how to do better for the next time. Mistakes are not a judgment, just information to help you become better informed about how your trim decisions impacted the horse. Grow from them.
To make a specific ‘how to trim the ….’ Fill in the blank for every horse feels rather generic. I also can’t give ‘how to’ trim advice from just one photo of the sole alone. So much more context is needed. I just can’t tell you that a specific angle, bevel, height, balance, etc. is the key to success in all situations. This would feel like a massive disservice to the horse.
I CAN give you a checklist of things to consider in making a trim decision.
I CAN give you situation specific guidance based on my professional experience.
I CAN give you “how to” information on how to hold and operate your tools safely and effectively. I CAN give you support to interpret hoof morphology, wear and load patterns to make trim decisions.
I CAN teach you to document and understand what the information means in a practical way.
I CAN give you guidance on posture and compensation patterns to inform your trim decisions.
I CAN give you tools to check in with yourself and your horse so you can create a safe and receptive space to trim in.
One must be willing to think critically, take into account as many factors as possible, trust your intuition, and ask for help when needed. A simple checklist of things to consider is possible with an openness to consider the horse.
I just can’t make a blanket ‘how to’ video because the horse must always come first.
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