They are the hoofs nature intended for the horse to be able to
survive with. Remember they are animals of prey! The same hoofs
that walk, trot, canter, gallop over the terrain you saw on the home
page. Notice how rock solid they are. Take note of the short toes,
the low heels; look at the thickness of the hoof wall! Look at the
way nature actually gives the wall a "Mustang Roll" to ease the
break over. There are no stone bruises, cracks, white line
separation.
You really need to take a moment and marvel at the natural hoof.
It's contrary to what you see when your farrier is finished with
your horse. No offense to my "blacksmith" friends, but this can't
be right. Why are we trying to improve on nature?
Look at the complete difference here. This is MAJOR!
The natural hoof has a lower heel and shorter toe. The P3 (coffin
bone) needs to be roughly parallel to the ground. You can bet
there is some white line separation going on in the shod hoof( I not
only see this in horses I take shoes off of, but also improperly
trimmed horses too, and they say they have been barefoot for over
a year now!). Also the shod horse is probably landing toe first, or
flatfooted with an natural angle of the coffin bone. Try walking
toe first all the time, it's uncomfortable and unnatural, but we
force our horses to do that day in and day out. The natural hoof
has the same mechanics we do, and is meant to be used heel to toe.
Look at the photo of the natural hoof. The heel buttress is low to
the ground, the digital cushion inside the hoof is firm, ready to
absorb the impact. The heel buttress on the shod horse has to be
over an inch off the ground!
We unnecessarily worry about the pastern angle, hammering nails
into a perfectly good wall, throw a piece of metal on the bottom,
raise the heels, and lengthen the toes. We do this thinking we are
doing the best for our horse, but are actually causing them
unnecessary pain and discomfort. This is completely the opposite
of what nature has done for our wild horse counterparts.
Good news! Our knowledge is growing! There is a way to get your
horse the tough, perfect hoofs that nature intended. With the
proper technique, your horse will have the same "gravel crushing"
hoofs that it was meant to have! Don't be fooled by the skeptics.
Just because "that's the way it's always been done" - doesn't
mean it's the right way and it's definitely not the best way.
