[RC] shoeing/trimming philosphies - Mary Ann Spencer
Darolyn Butler has gone 'barefoot' almost
100%. I do not shoe but have not been riding rocky areas. I stayed
in NC for a yr and the horses just got tough hooves. Hoof needs to follow
the natural angle of the fetlock. There is a big website devoted to all
this. Someone in CO has been going barefoot for yrs with his packing team
for commercial packing into the mountains.
I rarely use nippers, mostly file. Keep a
good depth at the heel and keep the toes from being too long. I never cut
out the frog but trim any ragged edges. I have not had the time, etc to
know if I can do more than 3 fifty milers in a yr with my method as work and
other things keep interfering. You will get LOTS of different
philosophies. Get a book or two and search the net. I use www.dogpile.com to my search
engine. Good luck.
