Here comes the tea...
PS: If you are more of a visual person, check out our vlog on this topic HERE.
This is a blog that has been brewing for me for some time, but I always hesitate to post it because I am not a "professional" farrier, and this is something a lot of farriers do.
Just because it’s something a lot of people do it must be the right way, right? Wrong. Even though I don’t look at the underside of a horse all day every day, I do consider myself a hoof expert, and over the last few months I have seen a resounding number of progressive hoof care professionals begin educate on this same topic.
Time and again I continue to see the dorsal wall being rasped away in an effort to fix a flare, only to have the flare come back time and again between each trim. This is because you cannot rasp flare away, you must provide an environment for the hoof to grow in tighter to the laminae in order to grow out a flare from the coronet band.
Rasping flare from the top thins and weakens the hoof wall in a place that actually promotes more flare. We need to look at the reason the flare occurred in the first place, and that it is due to excessive leverage, causing the wall to bow out to relieve pressure. The ground can only give so much, so if the hoof needs somewhere to go, it will take the path of least resistance.
Rasping from the top thins and weakens the hoof wall, but doesn’t change the leverage point (a too long hoof wall). So the hoof may look nice for a week or so, and then the flare will start to creep back in, or the quarters will crack away. It becomes a revolving door of bandaiding appearance versus taking the time to instill function.
If you If you want to learn more about this topic, as well as how to have a productive conversation with your trimmer about it, be sure to check out our 2 hour virtual masterclass on Hoof Care For Horse Owners - Access it Now!
Happy Hoofing It!
Addy
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