Anatomy of a Trim

Why do we ask farriers to take knives and nippers (and sometimes a whole lot more) to our horses’ feet every six weeks? For many of us, it has always been just one of those things you knew you had to do if you had horses.

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Why do we ask farriers to take knives and nippers (and sometimes a whole lot more) to our horses' feet every six weeks? For many of us, it has always been just one of those things you knew you had to do if you had horses. And we might have also wondered how to evaluate the trim when it was done.

To trim or not to trim, and how to trim correctly, are strong bones of contention in some circles. However, there are a few basic concepts that most accept as foundations of proper hoof care. We'll discuss these with experienced farriers in the following article to get at the meat of why and how to trim horses' hooves. Some of these concepts include trimming the sole, establishing proper hoof balance and angles, and dealing with conformational challenges.

As with anything, the more you know about what, why, and how, the better you can care for your horse–in this case, care for his feet and everything they affect.

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Written by:

Christy West has a BS in Equine Science from the University of Kentucky, and an MS in Agricultural Journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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