All About Barefoot Hoof Trimming

A lot of people would have their horses shoed, but do you know why I'd prefer barefoot? Here are my five reasons why I think barefoot is much better than shoed: 

#1. Shoes are not natural for horses. In the wild, horses are not shoed and they cope fine. 

#2. Shoes can be slippery for the horse when the horse walks on concrete, and that can be very dangerous if your leading the horse and he/she slips.

#3. It's much cheaper to go barefoot! 

#4. The metal shoes actually prevent the hoof from expanding, and growing the way it should be. 

#5. There is a risk that a farrier could make a mistake and injure a horse's hoof when shoeing.

Another quick reason, shoes aren't necessarily comfortable for horses to wear, some horses hate shoes! If a horse is barefoot, the sole and hoof wall is able to expand and grow normally; as it should be. Also for your horse to be barefoot, he/she must be on a good healthy diet, have daily light exercise (at the minimum) and the hooves must be picked (cleaned out) at least once a day for hooves to be healthy and strong. 

Okay so now that I've discussed why I prefer barefoot over shoed, I also think that trimming your horse's hooves yourself is better than getting a farrier to come out and do it for you:

#1. Your horse would be more comfortable with you trimming his/her hooves, rather than the farrier, because your horse knows you better than the farrier, right? Some horses start to get really nervous and anxious and start shaking as soon as they see the farrier walking towards them with the trimming tools. And that can lead to stress. 

#2. It's cheaper to trim your horse's hooves yourself, rather than paying a farrier to come out and do exactly what you could be doing, but without paying the farrier money. 

So let's talk about the hoof's anatomy: 

Horse hooves are primarily made of keratin- keratin is a rigid, fibrous structural protein that makes up finger/toe nails, skin, hair, feathers, and hooves. The hoof wall is all made up of keratin. The hoof wall bears most of the horse's weight and protects the inside of the hoof. It is the portion of the hoof you see; the top connects to the coronary band, and looking from the bottom on the hoof, it encircles the white wall. The front of the hoof is called the "toe," and is thickest in horses' front hooves. However, the toes of the rear (back) hooves are almost the same thickness around one hoof. The rear (back) of the hoof is the heel:

A typical horse hoof grows 3/8th of an inch every thirty days. At this rate of growth, a horse has an entirely new hoof every year! And so that means you need to trim a horse's hooves (if they are barefoot) around every 3 to 5 (max is 5) weeks. 

Now to get into actually trimming your horse's hooves! (Barefoot)

Two key points to always remember: #1. After you've trimmed your horse's hooves, go around and inspect each hoof carefully, making sure that both sides of the heel on each hoof are the same height. (E.g. not one side of the heel taller or shorter than the other.) 

#2. You don't want the hoof wall sticking up above the sole. 

Okay so materials you will need when doing a barefoot hoof trim are: A steel rasp, knife (a special one for trimming only, you can buy them online. They are called, Hoof Trimming Knife.) and horse hoof trimming clippers. Rasps sell for anywhere between $30-60 each. The knife about $60, and the clippers around $200. 

To see how to do a barefoot trim, this video explains how to. (Without using clippers.) 

I hope this video helped you, and good luck with trimming your own horse's hooves! I hope all goes well.  :) 

If your horse is suspected with a health issue, consult your vet straight away.