Trimming History

I began trimming in 2003 when my horse, Gavilan, staged a sit-down strike (literally) when we tried to shoe him after a 6 month vacation barefoot (read the story) . I was initially coached by a local barefoot trimmer, Leza Smith, and later by Martha Olivo (January to August 2004), and I ultimately received a United Horsemanship certification in August 2004.

I was trimming 40+ horses even though I wasn't able to devote myself to trimming because I was a tack store owner. I began studying Pete Ramey's trim in September, 2004, (www.hoofrehab.com ) and after an extended phone conversation with Pete, I began applying his techniques.

In 2006, I helped found the American Hoof Association along with Pete and Ivy Ramey and 12 other "darned good trimmers" , and was elected Vice President.

Business Focus

I focus on rehab and transitions in addition to preparing horses for optimum performance either barefoot or in hoof boots. I will work with colts & untrained horses using Natural Horsemanship techniques to teach horses to stand quietly for trimming, but charge an additional $30/hour training fee if the horse becomes a hazard.

I'm eager to help rehabilitate neglected, navicular and foundered horses, and over the past few years have worked with over 40 navicular horses and at lest as many laminitic horses. I successfully transition horses from shoes to barefoot soundness, and routinely resolve conditions like white line disease, contracted heels, under run heels and long toes. At this pont, I have taken the shoes off of more than 500 horses in my practice, as a consultant and in clinics. Almost all of them are still barefoot.

Trim Description

SETUP TRIM

The objective of my initial or Setup trim is to balance the hoof while improving the horses level of comfort and soundness. This first trim is strategic, because a newly re-balanced hoof will change as the horse uses it. Those changes can be dramatic in severely imbalanced hooves.

My standard setup trim process is:

scrape shedding sole with a hoof knife or nipper edge
remove any shedding frog, clean up frog flaps and open central sulcus
remove excess wall to 1/16 - 1/4 inch (a "rasps width") longer than the edge of sole
lower the heel to 1/16 - 1/4 inch (a "rasps width") longer than the sole or to the level of the frog
bevel the edge of the wall no higher up than 1/2 inch

What I DON'T do is often more important than what I do!

I don't trim into the live sole (there are very rare exceptions)
I don't "open up the heels" to decontract heels
I don't cut up the frog except for shedding frog removal, and trimming flaps, pockets and crevasses that attract thrush

MAINTENANCE TRIM

clean up the frog
scrape off actively shedding sole and bar with a hoof knife or nippers as required
remove excess wall to 1/16 - 1/4 inch (a "rasps width") above the live sole
lower the heels to 1/16 - 1/4 inch (a "rasps width") above the live sole
bevel the edge of the wall