Re: RC: Long toe, low heel

[RQuestarabians@aol.com]

I'm  sorry, but I am really confused about what you are talking about. I 
cannot figure  out exactly what you are trying to say. So please bear with 
me. 
I learned to shoe from Bergy, and from what I gather (???) you are trying to 
get your  horses to grow more heel?? This is far from Bergy's method. Bergy's 
method is based on the study of how wild horses feet are naturally in the 
wild (short toe/ low heel) .  High heels are a disaster for endurance horses. 
It's like you trying to run in high heels (not very comfortable). When the 
heels are shortened naturally, the coffin bone is positioned parallel to the 
ground, and the frog is able to make maximum contact with the ground. Sounds 
like your farrier is right,  let the feet wear naturally. Adding manmade 
gagets (wedge pads) are only adding unnecessary stress to the horses limbs. 
One thing that concerns me that you mentioned the horses have underrun heels. 
If Bergy's method is done "correctly" this should never happen. The idea is 
to shorten the heels to shift the buttress of the foot  beneath the bulb of 
the foot for correct front to back positioning of the foot. If your horses 
have underrun heels they definately have too much heel. I highly recommend 
buying Bergy's books if you don't already have them. They have several great 
pictures, they are easy to read, understand, and you can train your eye to 
identify exactly what the natural foot looks like. Good luck!!! 
His website is www. hooftalk.com
Robyn