I was trimming quarters way too short for years

An old timer in Boise watched me work last week and said 'You're leaving that horse with no wall to stand on.' I realized I'd been taking the hoof back to the white line on every trim, thinking it looked clean. How do you judge the right amount of sole to leave on a hard-working ranch horse?

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3 Comments

thomas.parker7mo ago

Honestly I've found a flatter trim works better for our rocky terrain.

4

diana207mo ago

Totally get that, I did the same thing for ages. My farrier finally showed me how to feel for the sole's natural concavity as a guide. It made a HUGE difference in how my mare moves on rough ground.

3

caleb_thomas857mo ago

That's a great point about using the sole as a guide. Read an article once that compared it to the arch in a human foot, saying if you trim the hoof wall too short and flatten that out, it's like losing your arch support. The horse ends up feeling every single rock and pebble. Makes total sense why your mare moves better now.

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