April 2007

It has been a full year since I began offering clinics on a trial basis, and two years since I started helping a few clients learn to maintain their horses feet.

I've observed some very good work by most of these folks, but I've seen significant, potentially detrimental, imbalance develop in more than a few cases. I discussed learning trimming with these folks, and the conclusion is that learning to trim part time is much more difficult than any of us thought it would be. Everyone who got good did a lot of reading on the side because I only offered coaching, not a full clinic, but they felt that they would have needed to do the research to get to where they are anyway.

With that in mind, carefully consider taking responsibility for maintaining your horses feet. My clients have me to validate their work on a periodic basis... if you choose to trim your own horse, who will watch to ensure that your work isn't creating potentially damaging imbalance?

How Easy Is It To Become A Competent Owner Trimmer??

Trimming looks relatively easy when a professional does it! I have thousands of hours of practice and am deceptively strong, and I make it sound much easier than it is.

The truth is, trimming is extremely hard on us physically, even when we're in good shape. Some horses are easier than others, but even an easy trim is hard work.

Trimming your own horse is inconvenient. It takes most owner-trimmers 2 to 4 hours to do a complete trim for the first few months, and neglect keeps you from going riding and can render your horse unsound.

Becoming competent requires that you invest in costly training, spend hours researching, plus invest $400 or more in tools. It's seldom cheaper than hiring a professional trimmer.

If your only choice for barefoot hoof care is to do it yourself? Don't let me discourage you!

If you're desperate or really serious, forge ahead, but be aware of the fact that your horses comfort and soundness is at stake.

If you want to learn about trimming so that you can assess your horses soundness and hoof care plus be able to rasp a rough wall between trims? Most people can master the necessary skills with a good training program. If you are opting for the trim-it-yourself method to save money? There are many better ways to save money. Spare your horse and hire a trimmer!

Good trimmers have a passion for trimming and rehabilitation, a devotion and commitment for robust soundness that helps them persevere even when they feel like ignorant klutz's for the first few months. If you love physically hard and mentally challenging work, and don't mind doing a *lot* of reading and research? You may be one of the people who becomes a good trimmer. Pursue your dreams.

Trimming Clinics & Related Problems

I worry about owners unintentionally hurting their horses, so I'm offering "custom" clinics with post-training support on a limited basis to see how it goes.

Why the concerns? Many other clinicians teach owners to trim their own horses. From what I've seen, some horses do fine immediately after these owner trimming clinics, and some those same horses develop soundness problems (particularly tenderness and imbalance) as their owners attempt to trim unassisted. Your horses welfare and comfort is my chief priority; I hope its yours, too.

The story that comes to mind concerns a married couple that rides with a Search & Rescue group. Their horses are always tender footed, yet are never booted ; they say that "boots prevent their feet from getting tough". The couple is proud that they trim their own horses, yet are blind to the fact that their horses are consistently tender, that their horses feet are not balanced. And their colleagues are getting a very negative impression of what "barefoot" is all about.

For three years, these owners have declared that their horses are "even sounder this year", when they are, in reality, still way too tender to be un booted because of the invasive style of trim they use.

What's "not working" With Trimming Clinics?

Clinicians are usually good instructors who provide valuable information and advice; they have great intentions and fairly good trimming skills. What's not working?

I suspect that "what's not working" is that we clinicians have forgotten how hard we've worked and studied. We underestimate what it takes to turn an average owner into a qualified part time trimmer who can capably assess soundness and hoof balance. Trimming is difficult for people with natural aptitude for it, and a real struggle for ordinary horse owners lacking a background in anatomy, soundness assessment and science. Its easy to forget that!

A professional trim appears easy to do, and lasts 4 to 6 weeks. A professional trimmer struggles for two or three years to develop the skill to produce that ideal trim consistently on a variety of feet. Once a pro has the skill, it takes 15 to 30 minutes to execute a good trim if uninterrupted by questions. Competence requires a huge commitment, an investment of time, money and ego.

Some owner-trimmers become **very** competent trimmers, but it takes significant dedication. Developing competent takes an enormous amount of practice and time. Nobody should expect to be able to trim expertly or consistently after a 3 to10 day clinic, no matter how good the clinician is.

The real learning takes place at home, with a live horse on the business end of a rasp, nippers or hoof knife.

Is It Realistic for an Owner to Expect to Trim Their Own Horse?

Being a good trimmer is like being a good piano player... you may have desire, you may be able to hit all the right keys, you may even get them in the right sequence with a lot of practice, but there is a lot more to creating pleasant sounding music than pressing the right keys in the right sequence. Being good takes practice and study. Its okay to be an amateur, but because the comfort of your horse is at stake, I suggest that you have a professional trimming coach.

So what makes a person a good trimmer? Can you assess your aptitude? You can try. The people who are most likely to be good trimmers usually excel at other technically difficult tasks, or at challenging horse related activities. How do you know if you have what it takes? You have to invest time and energy into the learning process, and to be able to evaluate the results critically at the end. You may not become a good trimmer, but you will, at least, know a LOT more about feet and soundness, and should be capable of performing simple trim maintenance and minor wall repair. I know people who have tried diligently for more than a year to trim their 6 or 7 horses, and even with qualified help on a monthly basis, and they can't get it right. But they know more about feet and soundness than most vets. Their study isn't a wasted effort.

I know some people who watch a DVD or clinic on trimming, trim a dozen or so horses, declare themselves professional trimmers, and the horses they trim suffer the results. The lesson from that is to accept your limitations.

Other people attend one clinic,and are able to effectively use what they learn to trim their horse, continue to get coaching from a pro, and allow their skills to grow as their learning continues. Personal coaching can be expensive; most trimmers charge twice their trim charge for a lesson, but its money well spent if you're dedicated to learning. Don't sacrifice your horses soundness so that you can call yourself a trimmer, but recognize that you may be able to do a good job, if its important to you. Most trimmers will give you a honest assessment of your work.

What does it take to be a "good" trimmer? Serious competitors (dressage, reining, jumping, endurance) who make it through the novice ranks of their sport often have the tenacity and focus to become a good trimmer. Trimming is like completing a 50 mile endurance ride with great vet scores, or getting good scores on a level 1 dressage test. There's nothing casual or easy about learning to trim. It takes discipline and hard work to become competent.

You have to really want to trim, yet have to be humble enough to let someone else do it if that's what's best for your horse.

Challenges for Part-Time Trimmers

Part time trimming is a lot harder than full time for a variety of reasons:

• People gradually lose skills if they don't practice them on a frequent basis, and horses only need to be trimmed once every 4 to 6 weeks, which doesn't provide most owners much opportunity to practice
• Part time trimmers tend to make small trimming errors, and as time goes on, these small errors grow into significant imbalances in the hoof
• Part time trimmers don't have an opportunity to build the physical strength or tool dexterity that a professional has
• Very few horses that have been shod have easy-to-trim feet; their feet change rapidly, which means they can seem even harder to trim
• Very few of owners grew up looking at well balanced feet - imbalance looks normal to most horse owners. Professionals have a wide variety of feet to study and develop a keen eye for soundness, balance and hoof conformation.
• A healthy or transitioning hoof constantly adapts to changes in trim, conformation, health, exercise, diet, climate and environment, which can be very confusing for a non professional

That doesn't mean you can't become a good part time trimmer, but please be honest with yourself - how important it this trimming to you, and do you really want to do it? Are you willing to work closely with a professional to ensure that your horse stays balanced? Are you willing too risk your horses soundness for a week or two if you make a mistake?

Some part time trimmers set their standards too low or lack the experience to develop their standards; as a result, their horses have to live with incorrectly balanced trims and compromised soundness.

Physical Problems Seen in Owner/Part-Timer Trimmed Horses

Imbalance creates the same soundness problems in barefoot horses as it does in shod horses. Long toes and under run heels ultimately lead to navicular symptoms in barefoot horses, too. Improper beveling results in flat soles and chipped walls. Uncontrolled wall flare results in cracks. Heel imbalance forces a horses foot to toe in or out, or to take on a club-foot profile. Lateral wall imbalance can cause coffin bone degeneration and arthritic changes in joints over time.

Removing Metal Shoes is the Easy Part of the Transition to Barefoot

The challenge a ethical and effective trimmer faces is helping the hoof become optimally balanced, then keeping it balanced as it continues to change and adapt.

Some of the owner-trimmed horses I know are very successful, have great skills. These trimmers either have a professional trimming coach or have formed what I call "sole support groups", groups of owner-trimmers who are constantly discussing feet, attending clinics, questioning each others work and making suggestions for improvement.

Determined to Trim? Plan for Success!

The easiest way for people who want to trim their own horses to ensure that they don't run into problems is to take it very seriously. Barefoot hoof care is not easy, and its not cheap when its done incorrectly. Steps that help build you into a successful owner-trimmer:

• Educate yourself thoroughly; several courses on trimming are becoming available, there are a variety of clinics offered across the country and there is a wealth of information available online. Be prepared to invest several thousand dollars in training and tools.
• Consult with qualified professionals frequently (every 6 to 8 weeks) until they can't improve your trim. This is more expensive than a trim short term because of the training time involved. Its a good investment long term.
• Hire a professional on a quarterly or biannual basis to help you improve skills and to ensure that your trim is balanced. Having a qualified professional trim your horse periodically is a good way of ensuring that your horse stays balanced.
• "Mentor" (ride along on rounds) with a professional to expand your knowledge of hoof care. This usually costs $100 to $150 a day.
• Form or join a "Sole Support" group consisting of other owner-trimmers; meet to ride or trim on a regular basis
• Participate in online trimming or hoof care forums, or attend clinics to expand your horizons. Don't believe everything you read or hear! Be a critical thinker, for your horses sake.

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