I used to roll my eyes at the idea of trimming for hoof balance instead of just shoeing

For years, I figured if a horse needed shoes, you put them on and balanced the shoe. The whole 'balance the hoof first' talk from some clinics sounded like extra work for no real gain. Then I had this big warmblood with persistent lameness, a real head-scratcher for months. His owner, a vet tech, kept asking about his medial-lateral balance. I finally took the time to map his hooves with a compass and a level, and his left front was a full 8 degrees off. I spent a whole session just trimming to correct that before even picking up a shoe. The change in his stride after two shoeing cycles was impossible to ignore. The owner filmed him, and seeing the difference side by side was the proof I needed. Now I check balance on every horse, not just the problem cases. Anyone else have a method they doubted that actually worked out?

2 comments

2 Comments

wyattbennett1mo ago

Yeah, I was the same way. Had a mare that kept losing shoes, and my old boss made me do a full balance trim first. Felt like a waste of time until she went a full cycle without throwing one.

ryan6531mo ago

Remember my buddy's horse that kept doing that, @wyattbennett?