How To EASILY Identify A Healthy Horse Hoof And Trim

In this video I talk about what a healthy hoof looks like and why and also a comparison between a trimmed hoof and a not trimmed hoof.
Become a member for extra videos and information! It also really helps around here for the horses and helps me make more and better videos for this channel / @stablehorsetraining
We have an online courses site here: myhorsecoach.com where you can enroll to study about horses.
I'm constantly putting up new information as well over on Patreon / stablehorsetraining about horse training, horsemanship, horse husbandry and extra content.
We also have a store on our website: stablehorsetra...
If you're looking for specific answers to specific questions, try our second channel Stable Horse Training Academy: / @stablehorsetrainingac...
See Our Introduction Video For 360 Video Here:
• Introduction To Stable...
Like us on Facebook: / stablehorsetraining
Follow on Instagram: / stable.horse.training
Follow us on Twitter: / horse_stable
Join our discord group: / discord
Main site: www.stablehorse...
#horses #hooves #hooftrimming

[@michellel.s.9747]

Lena is a perfect hoof model. She stands patiently as you describe her hooves...

[@Beachy1955]

I will never be trimming a horses hoof but I still found this quite interesting. I adore Lena! She is such a beautiful gentle soul. I was hoping to see you actually doing at least one hoof. Thanks again for sharing.

[@MotorbreathChannel]

Aww! Isn't she the sweetest? Her human is crawling all over her front hooves right in her dead zone and she is totally chill. A courtesy to Graeme's taking care of her for years and years and building an incredibly solid and trusty relationship. When the camera went up, she was like: "So, are you done with Instagramming your work?"

[@lavenderwyvern]

Man, you rock Graeme! Thank you for this- I didn't know about the whole outer callus thing. It makes perfect sense, but in all of those farrier/hoof trimming videos it seems like they always sand/rasp the front/outside of the hoof. I hadn't really thought about it but it makes a lot of sense hearing from you, plus I trust your judgement! Not even owning a horse it's crazy just how many I have seen that have wonky hooves. The lesson horse (that was the trainer's barrel horse as well) I rode on for a little bit last year had the worst duckbill overgrown hooves- she said she couldn't find a farrier in the area so she just let them go for months until she found someone. That really stuck with me and scared me for a while, as I was afraid that would happen to me too in the future when I have my own horse. But you have given me the confidence that I can learn how to do it myself when the time comes so I never have to worry about not being able to find a farrier. It definitely makes perfect sense that if you can learn how to do your own horse's hoof maintenance, you can always keep up with it, take your time, and be able to observe the growth yourself.

[@StableHorseTraining]

Thank you! Yes, I'd say a good 75% of domesticated horses out there have "wonky" hooves, many of them will have shorter lives for it.

[@sandysefcik1614]

Thank you for a very informative video...such a good girl, Lena.

[@octoberjubilee9866]

Thank you, great education! I've been contemplating an online trimming class just in case, for whatever reason, I may have to trim my own horse. Lena's so sweet and patient🙂

[@StableHorseTraining]

I have a class too if you're interested. I trim three different horses and walk you through each one kind of thing.

[@octoberjubilee9866]

@@StableHorseTraining Do you have a link where I can get more info? Thanks🙂

[@StableHorseTraining]

Yes, here you go: myhorsecoach.com/courses/horse-hoof-trimming-101/

[@octoberjubilee9866]

@@StableHorseTraining TY

[@AL-lz1hb]

I love crawling around looking at this stuff, without the danger I'm gonna get trod on😉 of course. So interesting. And the line you are gonna trim flat again, can you feel it with your fingers? It looks raised. Lena is such a professional foot model. So patient. And pretty. And a credit to you standing happily, patiently good as gold. Don't forget you can sweep up hoof shavings to make your garden grow. We pay a fortune for hoof and horn fertilizer.

[@StableHorseTraining]

Yes you can feel it

[@AL-lz1hb]

@@StableHorseTraining so while you are trimming /filing you can sort of go by touch and then check after that it looks perfect. Reckon that is a handy tip for would be trimmers. Unless you wear gloves.

[@bendrui]

Took me a few minutes to ponder why keratin would be a good fertilizer. That's because it's a protein, rich in nitrogen.

[@StableHorseTraining]

@@AL-lz1hb there is a lot of understanding of the hoof through touch and feel. Angles and edges and temperature come to mind the most actually. Those ridges don't serve too much of a purpose for trimming but are a great visual landmark to document

[@patricianoya]

@@bendrui dogs like it too, they also want to eat it 🐕

[@mightycatdavid7143]

Thank you! So informative and Lena is so lovely

[@santiagoadamich8287]

great explanation!

[@StableHorseTraining]

Thank you, i'm glad you found it helpful!

[@joannekim5880]

Would be awesome to see you trimming up close and see the whole process :)

[@StableHorseTraining]

I've done quite a few videos on this channel and I have a whole course on the topic myhorsecoach.com/courses/horse-hoof-trimming-101/

[@no1youknow858]

Beautiful Lena....

[@ChrisS-fh7zt]

Love her forelocks always getting into her eyes

[@lauraalbertson7821]

As always you inspire me to pay attention to Bear’s feet . A farrier is coming tomorrow. I just want him to meet Bear and see how he handles him . It’s a meet and check out his hoofs appointment. Clean them and see how far he can go without Bear getting overwhelmed. He was really overwhelmed the first time. But the job got done . However, I’d pay more money to have a farrier come back if it starts to become too too much . Also , I do not want to tie Bear . Ever . No one agrees with me . Do You tie Horses to posts or trees or anything? Thank you 💜

[@StableHorseTraining]

I never tie my horses for trimming. If the trim is good and the person is kind, all horses will stand to be trimmed just fine.

[@birgit4314]

Good morning! Lena is a super Model, a beautiful horse, Well done 🐴🍏. You are a good teacher 🤠. Now the day can start 🙂

[@martineinfrance]

Lena is such a good girl, always👍 she has healthy hooves too.. Thank you Graeme for this hoof lesson..

[@rhondapopowich3904]

I have been watching your playlist this past week on hooves. Thanks for all the good info very informative. One week ago our ferrier(and friend) trimmed our horse’s and for the 2nd time my horse was sore. I commented on a previous video the vet took X-rays thinking it might have been laminitis (not the case, all was good) because my horse was so sore. He has been our ferrier for 8 years, same horse. Hard decisions to be made and even harder finding a barefoot trimmer in our area. I will not put my horse through this again! Just putting this out their for other folks that may find themselves in this position. I’m scared but feel we have to take things in our on hands until we find someone. Again thanks for all the great information! (I realize there is the correct sp lol)

[@deniseheon8842]

Lena is such a beautiful girl! She so so sweet !!❤️🐎❤️🐴

[@eileenshaw5960]

You had mentioned in the live chat the other day that Lena was on a diet and exercise program. Well she is already showing very noticeable results. Lena looks more slender in her belly already 😊. I bet she will be in tip top shape by the middle of summer.

[@MotorbreathChannel]

Just have to lay off of that grass... If only it was that easy, huh? :D Good thing that Graeme is a level eleven horse dietologist and exerciser.

[@StableHorseTraining]

Yes, she has lost a bit of weight. Looks so much better

[@barrybracegirdle2931]

Thank you. Good info. 👍

[@misschieflolz1301]

Such sturdy hooves. At the riding school I went to, naturaly a lot of the horses and ponies were shod, though they did tend to leave the UK native pony breeds unshod because their hooves were naturally strong. Only needed a very occasional trim. The other end of the spectrum, although this horse was part-native be had terrible feet. They never knew why and no matter what he was given his hooves were pretty soft. Couldn't have him barefoot because he would be sore if he wasn't in the arena (and he was a semi-novice ride) but even with a brand new shoeing, I've seen him chuck a fresh shoe the day after and they had to get the farrier out again. There, he still lived til 27 with no problems aside from that.

[@StableHorseTraining]

There are a lot of farriers at a lot of riding schools that will very happily convince people thoroughly that horses need shoes. Trimming them in a way that destroys their feet rather than builds them. Let alone the extremely negative effect that shoeing a horse has on the hoof. Poor horses.

[@misschieflolz1301]

@@StableHorseTraining In my later years, I did ride several regularly that were unshod, but at the same time I'll admit they were NOT on top of hoof care. One of my favourite horses ended up having to be PTS, he was a big boy at the 800 kilo mark and absolutely didn't do well without shoes. A lot of our trails here in the UK are full of stones and he wouldn't have the chance to adjust to being barefoot (owner overbooked everything!) I think it was a period over 3 weeks after I first looked and noticed his hooves were looking long and I told the paid staff he needed to be seen soon. I said at least 10 times after this because every time I rode him out, his shoes were becoming more and more loose. I go up there one weekend to find they hadn't called a farrier, the loose shoe had twisted and perferated the sole. They tried to treat it and took him to a specialised equine hospital, but the infection had crumbled his pedal bone. I'm still angry about that to this day, the owner put profit before welfare. I don't really care if a horse is shod or not, so long as it's comfortable and healthy.

[@StableHorseTraining]

You should very much care if a horse is shod. It's an indication of an unhealthy hoof that very likely will never get out of shoes because "it can't be barefoot".

[@StableHorseTraining]

Let me rewrite one of your sentences to make my point: One of my favourite horses ended up having to be PTS, he was a big boy at the 800 kilo mark and absolutely didn't do well without a good trim that allowed his foot to be stronger instead of unbalanced and improper angles and/or deviation of the walls to the pedal bone. So the choice was to use metal nailed to the living tissue of his foot to lift it off the ground just a little bit to reduce the concussive forces of hard ground and rocks as his soles couldn't handle it based on the trim he constantly received that weakened him. A lot of our trails here in the UK are full of stones and he wouldn't have the chance to adjust to being barefoot (owner overbooked everything!)

[@amandamason6699]

Thank you Lena for being a great model for this educational video 👍🏻💗 Do you use any type of oil on their hooves ?

[@StableHorseTraining]

Never ever.

[@amandamason6699]

@@StableHorseTraining thank you for replying 👍🏻

[@Bobo-gm9fd]

I have a question, what can you do to help their frog grow? With all the wet weather we are having my girls frog seems to high, like its not making contact with the ground, she is fine not lame at all but have just noticed it her last couple of trims. Thanks you

[@StableHorseTraining]

There is nothing to do to help the frog grow if you're sure the foot is being trimmed correctly. Otherwise, the only other thing that comes to mind is that the foot is not being trimmed correctly or the frog is unhealthy. A frog that is healthy will ALWAYS make contact with the ground. So... without seeing anything, based on your description, I'd expect there is a problem somewhere.

[@Bobo-gm9fd]

@@StableHorseTraining thank you

[@ireallyreallyhategoogle]

What happens or used to happen to horses in the wild with no humans to trim their hooves?

[@StableHorseTraining]

They wear them down naturally through miles and miles of travel every single day. Domesticated horses travel maybe 1/100th of that distance per day on terrain that is usually too soft to cause any wearing, as such they need to be maintained. Some horses in the wild have terrible hooves too, they're not all perfect.

[@ireallyreallyhategoogle]

@@StableHorseTraining In other words, humans have sedentarized horses.

[@StableHorseTraining]

sure

[@bendrui]

Very informative! Interesting how similar hooves are to human nails. They're both made of the same material- keratin. What is that growth on Lena's right upper leg? It's visible at 8:03

[@gretchenchristophel1169]

Hi! I think that's a "chestnut"...what's left of the "toes" when horses had toes. Some owners trim them off, for the aesthetics, I guess. It's a hard material like the hoof, and it doesn't hurt to cut them off. I found out about the "chestnuts" when watching a channel that showed the preparation of a horse for a show ring. Horses grow them on all 4 legs. Just looks really yucky, but does no harm.

[@StableHorseTraining]

Yup. Chestnut. Nothing to do, some horses will chew them off a bit but they usually just sorta break off on their own. If too long they can be trimmed.

[@marianstroup1]

I can really tell Lena's lost weight