There are 8 lessons on hoof trimming, called "JOIN-UP with the Farrier".

There has also been a lengthy discussion on this topic on forum in the past. Check via the search button or scan through forum topics.

Thanks Camilla. I have watched the "join-up with the farrier" which is quite different to barefoot trimming. MaggieF I took your advice and searched for previous discussions on the forum. Found a couple of good threads. As stated before (and I think the interest on here supports) having a lesson or two on the online Uni about barefoot trimming etc. Australian brumbies (and no doubt wild horses is most countries) have toughened feet and a natural rounding of the front of the hoof wall which enables to travel at speed over rugged terrain. Of course to achieve the same in the domestic horse takes much dedication by the owner and conditioning of the hooves. Thanks for your feedback ladies!

Hello Donna,
I didn't watch all of the "Join-Up With the Farrier" yet, and I've realized that it is somewhat different to barefoot trimming. We have two mustangs (both born in the wild). They have real tough hooves, and don't need a lot of work.

Yes, it's a very good idea as a barefoot owner myself, i've had to do loads of research online to improve my trimming; both of mine are laminitics & Libby works very well barefoot, Ebony, has too much damage to be ridden & it's taken me a lot longer to get her trimming really good as she throws a lot of extra toe due to the laminitis.
It does take a huge amount of owner dedication to keep your horses barefoot, it's not just a matter of taking off shoes!
Trimming for performance isn't the same as a pasture trim.

Hi Donna - I guess I missed that you were asking for a lesson or two on bare foot trimming previously. I must have been rushing that day. Yes I totally agree it would be great to have some lessons from Monty on barefoot trimming.

Hi all,
There is some very good info on barefoottrimming in Joe Camp's "the soul of a horse",
it's not his own method, but he describes it very well.
Miriam

Join up with the farrier lessons are brilliant, you read a lot about getting the heels down on laminititcs, BUT if you do just that, you cripple them!!!
Ada Gates shows exactly why the toe being kept short is the most important thing & as Pete Ramey says, if you keep the toe back, it'a amazing how the heels will come down by themselves!
Horses need to land heel first, but if you take the heels down too low, you will make them very sore so they won't be able to land on the heels, which will be the exact opposite of what you're trying to achieve.
Each foot is different & Ada's lessons show how to get the best balance possible.
Her lessons made so much sense to me & have certainly improved my ability to trim my girls feet to get them spot on; the measure is very good (i made one myself).
I think the most important part i would say is that the thickness of the wall should be the same all round the entire foot, or the balance will be wrong ie, if the toe wall is too wide compared with the wall at the sides & you use the measure to mark where the heels should be, then you will cut the heels too low; If you make sure the toe wall is correct as stated in the lessons, then the heels measurement will be correct.
I just felt it was useful to share that with you.

A great comment, Beryl , thanks for the info

there is a law in the UK that we have to use a qualified farrier, finding one that your horse likes it a challenge.

You must use a Qualified Farrier for anything that is applied to the hoof ie shoes, i did read that someone had got in trouble for applying a "Hoof Cast", which is a form of bandage that sets to the shape of the foot, i think a bit like a plaster cast, but don't hold me to that!
It is NOT ILLEGAL to trim the hoof or for Equine Podiatrists to trim feet.
I think it may be illegal to trim other peoples horses for money though, but i'm not sure on that.
I have been trimming my own for 20 years starting with my old ponies companion & i learnt under the watchful eye of my farrier as rocky was still shod. If her feet had got a bit long in the winter for me to cope with by rasping, i'd get my farrier to do it for me, he was very good to help me & gave my old pony a lot of care as he found it more difficult to hold his feet up as he got older. If you have a good farrier, treat him with respect!!!
I always ask my vet's opinion on my trimming too & he's always happy with it.
It is NOT something to be undertaken lightly as you can cause enormous damage if you get it wrong!!!!!

Hi Donna, I live in Australia and attended a barefoot trimming workshop which was very useful since we could bring our own horses. It didn't make me an expert of course but now I trim my horses once or twice a month and get a professional trim from the barefoot farrier every few months. I have to say the results are great and my horses all got beautiful and healthy hooves. I've kind of become a hoof fanatic :) I'm sure similar workshops would be run in other countries as well. If you can't find anything, the Australian "barefoot blacksmith" sells trimming DVDS, maybe they post to the USA. Good luck and a merry Christmas, Andrea

Check out bob bowker. If you want to learn about barefoot and trimming follow his advise. He is an expert vet in analyzing the horse's hoof under a microscope and under the horse itself. I have been reading bob bowker for years now and my horses have been barefoot for more than ten years now. I follow and do as he says and my horses hooves are as hard as cement and healthy. I ride over all sorts of terrain, rocky hard, sandy, down wet streets, up streets, jump etc..... Not a problem, and i trim them myself¡ couldnt be better....

Mel: Beryl is right, it is not a legal requirement in the UK that a farrier is employed to trim horses for barefoot but it is illegal to prepare for and apply shoes. http://www.farrier-reg.gov.uk/horse-owners/horse-owners-faqs/who-can-carry-out-barefoot-trimming/ Link that might be useful. Unfortunately there are some shocking barefoot trimmers around but there are also some shocking farriers around who will not countenance barefoot and have a very bad attitude towards horses (and their owners!) So if you find a good one hang onto him/her, worth his/her weight in gold :-)

I have reviewed the farrier lessons as I was getting a bit confused in this thread. The trim that Ada does in the lesson is a barefoot trim. She says in the 2nd video (trimming the toe) "if the horse was being shod she would take a bit more off but as he is not she wants to leave a capsule for the horse to stand on". My understanding is that the measurements and principles that she talks about apply equally whether barefoot or shod. Am I being a bit thick and missing something?

no Vicci, you are not being thick, you are correct, the measurements are the same barefoot or shod, it's just the length of wall she's referring to. Also, to stop the hoof cracking & splitting when barefoot, you put on the mustang roll, meaning you round off the edges of the walls, in doing so, the wall isn't then putting pressure on the laminae, which is essential for laminitics so as not to tear them apart even further.

if a barefoot hoof wall is splitting & chipping off, it's too long!

Thanks Beryl, what a relief, not lost the plot just yet then ;-)

Hi Vicci and Beryl, thanks for that guys. It was during my BHS Horse Ownership course and the Farrier I had to watch that said it's illegal to even trim in the UK. Personally when I've watched our farrier trim he generally just follows the shape of the hoof. He wasn't interested in watching the farrier lesson . Barnabay's feet were in bad shape when we first got him and he needed rasping Inbetween trims. I told the farrier I was going to do it and got told off! He didn't charge for just rasping.
Hope you guys managed to keep safe with the storm. we had 5 shelters blown down near us, but ours was ok.

So pleased you were OK I that storm Mel. It sounded horrific right on Christmas too. Do hope everyone else in UK survived Ok too. Thinking of you all.

in that storm! My iPad has a mind of its own,

Had some boundary trees go down in the storm with one of the elec fence posts on the inside standing up at my hip height on top of the root ball that went with the tree! Other than that, we got off lightly. Luckily, my shelter is ok, but my friend not so lucky, she lost a lot of slates off her stable roof.

pleased it wasn't too bad for you too Beryl. Hope you were O K too Vicci.

Thanks Maggie, all ok here, ponies up to their knees in mud though so they are in for now :-) But all is well, thanks

So pleased you are all OK, Vicci. I guess will stay pretty muddy now for the rest of winter -not much fun for you or the ponies.