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I think when some people mention paring sole they envision
a farrier digging it away until it leaves a nice cupped shape...actually have
had people ask us to do this. They think that is how a horse's foot should
be. Of course, we don't. Just as horses' hooves come in different
shapes and sizes, their soles are different, too. Some horses have very
tough, thick soles while some are very thin. Some have a nice, "cuppy"
shape and some are flat footed as they come.
One thing Nelson always checks esp. with a new horse that
he is not familiar with is the quality of the sole...I'm not even sure if it's
something he "consciously" does...I have watched him do thousands of horses over
the last several years and he does do it. He obviously cleans the feet
first and if he is at all unsure about the sole, he starts poking it gently with
his knife and often with his fingers...some horses have such thin soles
that you can push it in and have it spring right back...spongy almost.
Those are few and far between however. Generally, Nelson will take one
thin swipe with his knife over the bottom of the sole (not always) and it gives
him a wonderful bird's eye view of what's going on there...bruising will often
show up, esp. in a dark hoof when an owner doesn't even realize it's
happening. He can see abcess tracks or possible old injuries even.
Puncture wounds, etc. A white hoof will often show bruising on the outside
of the hoof wall but not so with dark hooves. That little bit of paring
sometimes tells him tons! Sometimes, Nelson has to pare a LOT and here is
an example (also rare)...he was asked to shoe a horse who had been shod "long"
(like a Morgan or Saddlebred might be for show). The horse was moving like
crap. This friend of the client brought the horse to their farm for Nelson
to shoe (not for show!)...what had happened was that over time, the sole had
built up to the point it had created what Nelson calls a "false" sole. It
was dead tissue but had stayed in there because of the shoeing method. He
was able to shorten the foot up some (can't make too big of a change all at once
as a horse left long will need time for the "life" to be driven back up (sort of
like the quick in a dog's nail if they are left too long, you can't cut them too
short at first). He had to dig that sole right out, in fact it mostly fell
out almost in one whole piece. It was quite interesting. The first
time I saw this happen (back when I was just the chauffer and appt scheduler), I
thought the horse's foot was falling apart and about had a stroke.
:) Underneath was a nice new sole. Just as when the frog falls off
(this freaks people out, too) and underneath is a nice new one. :)
There are times and reasons to pare and some paring won't hurt. Excessive
paring over time will damage the sole and create severe bruising which can lead
to abcesses, persistent lamenesses, you name it.
Hope this helps.
Maggie
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