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Re: [RC] rasping - heidiCandace, we've already agreed that "unnatural" things should be balanced. But once again, that isn't what th original poster was complaining about! She was complaining that the farrier ALWAYS took the protective coating off of the whole hoof, JUST TO TAKE IT OFF--nothing to do with balancing the foot! It is one thing to disturb it for the greater good of balancing the foot--but more often than not, it is NOT necessary to do that, or if it is, it is only necessary in a few areas. There is NO justification for removing it "just for the sake of taking it off"!! And once one HAS the foot balanced, it behooves one to leave it the heck alone, as much as possible! As another poster mentioned, it is common in show circles to sandpaper the outer coating off of the hoof, and replace it with polish or varnish, to get that "patent leather" sheen--another sacrifice of Mother Nature for the whims of "presentation." Shoot, I've got a colt here with a fractured leg that healed crooked, and we have to rasp his hoof wall about halfway up one side, every 4-5 weeks, to keep the thing as straight as we can. I'm not arguing about shaping feet here. That point is well taken. But I sure as heck am not going to go around with the rasp and deprive the areas of his hooves that DON'T need to be deprived of their natural coating! I don't think I ever said to rasp the entire hoof wall, IMO one should never rasp the periople. And, if there is flare at the bottom, the thickness of the hoof wall at that flare goes up the hoof. The wall needs to be thinned in that area (below the periople) so that it will grow in properly. Aha! That is the subject under discussion here, and is what I and others were saying not to do. That is what the farrier in question was doing. I don't think anyone was suggesting NOT to shape the foot if necessary. But the coating that grows down from the periople is there for a reason, and to the extent that one CAN preserve that coating, the healthier the hoof will be. "Additionally, SHOEING can frequently correct the growth pattern if done right--have done this more than once! One shoes with the heel of the shoe back where the heel of the hoof OUGHT to be, to give the foot proper support--and after a few shoeings, one finds that the foot is actually growing where it should be. This also involves not putting in the heel nail (unless the feet are quite large) so that there is adequate expansion and contraction of the foot when it is in motion. (We do this anyway--even if the feet ARE already well-balanced.)" And here I totally disagree with you. But this forum is not about shoes vs barefoot and I only spoke up because the question was about rasping. Anyone that would like to know about riding barefoot can contact me outside this forum and I will be happy to share my thought, results, etc. You can disagree--I can personally show you horses where it has worked. I am riding one now that has had his feet completely normalize after 18 months of shoeing him by leaving the shoe out where the hoof wall should have been. By placing a support there, the foot grew to that point. Previously, his heel was contracted on one side--and no amount of barefoot trimming would change it, because simply trimming did not put a support out where it was needed. It is not an uncommon thing, and can be done by any farrier that truly understands hoof balance. (And while the thread is about rasping, the forum deals with how best to handle our horses so that they have maximal soundness and health.) FWIW, the above horse now also continues to grow normally when barefoot--something he had never done before. (And he is in his teens...) As to barefoot--I'm a proponent of leaving horses barefoot as long as possible, and only shoeing when hoof wear exceeds hoof growth, on normal horses. That said, when one approaches either shoeing OR barefooting with the zeal of a religion, one often fails to see the benefits that can be provided by the other. If you are serious about hoof care, you are willing to consider both, and consider which is best for the given horse in the given circumstances. Don't knock success in getting horses "right" with shoes--sometimes that is the Interesting, though--even your source suggests doing this only as long as necessary--not forever. That this removes the periople, causing the hoof not only to dehydrate, but to weaken from the loss of horn...Again, evidence from our wild horses -- and, ever important, practical experience -- proves that neither concern is justified." Most wild horses I've examined (and it's been a pretty fair number) have the periople and the coating intact at least partway down the hoof. Which suggests to me that it was intended to be there... And "practical experience" would also certainly suggest otherwise--hooves deprived of all coating often require extensive care until the coating can grow at least partially back down. Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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