Hoof Balance and Trim

04/05/2026

Red lines or tree rings I call them, they are more pronounced where I outlined in red. The yellow is periople... When you Google periople it says-The periople is a soft, waxy, varnish-like layer protecting the upper horse hoof wall, crucial for moisture regulation and protecting new horn. Located just below the coronary band (similar to a fingernail cuticle), it seals in moisture, prevents cracking, and can appear white or gummy in wet condition
The periople does change depending on the environment I've noticed.

04/05/2026

https://youtu.be/O37dmmofJiU?si=nP97d0Tu-C7I9v69
This video is very very interesting and illustrates the caudal structure in a loaded state. I had forgotten about these videos.
Thank you Betsy Gerlach Johnson for rediscovering them!

Hoof mechanism with and without frog pressure

04/03/2026

My posts are messy. It's me. I'm a human and I make mistakes in all aspects of my life. BUT when I know better I do better. I'm always striving to do my level best for each horse I see....be messy be real.💖

04/02/2026

This is a couple trims in and you can see the wall separating at the toe post trim, let's break the mechanics down a little. You can see the heels outlined in pink are well above the sole plane pre first trim, this sets the hoof capsule up for a failure. Creating pressure in the dorsal wall which really reveals the resulting inflammation from these forces.

04/01/2026

These blue marks are next to small defects in the wall, these marks puzzle owners. The best explanation I heard was from Pete Ramey and it was fungal that was residing in the coronet and it would move along the coronet so by the time it moved it would leave a mark and create this V shape or a slash or a W shape. They are never deep or cause any issues.

03/31/2026

You can jump barefoot... This guy is doing amazing!

03/30/2026

Lolol I just think this is sooooo cute, my client usually uses socks to pull the feathers out of the way but she forgot them so she rednecked it. Pigtails for the win!

03/30/2026

Ringbone, this sweet mare is pasture sound and as you can see she has a pretty significant flare on that lateral heel, high ringbone seems to be more manageable and I rarely see horses that don't seem to find a comfort zone and this mare is no exception. If you notice the divots on the toe I'll explain about those in another post.

03/26/2026

DSLD presents challenges when trimming. DSLD in horses, or Degenerative Suspensory Ligament Desmitis, is a progressive and painful systemic condition that affects the connective tissue, particularly in the lower limbs, leading to ligament degeneration and chronic lameness. The disease causes the suspensory ligaments to weaken, resulting in the gradual dropping of the fetlocks toward the ground.
Keeping the heel or preserving heel while balancing the palmer or toe and pillars can be difficult.

03/26/2026

Why was I able to improve this p3 position? And improve sole depth? Trims alone achieved this. If you notice p3 has demineralization ski tipping.... This ties into a question I got about the importance of heels and how it ties in.

03/24/2026

Look closely at the tip of p3. This is what happens when the heel becomes a force that causes pressure on a bone that's not designed for this.

03/24/2026

What do you think the coffin bone is doing? Compared to the opposing leg which I'll post a picture of later and x-ray.