A chat with an old rancher changed how I see hoof balance

I was trimming a horse for a client near Bozeman last month, and her father, a guy who's been around horses for 60 years, was watching. He said, 'You know, you can get that foot level with a rasp, but true balance comes from the horse standing on it.' I've heard versions of that before, but the way he said it, pointing out how the horse shifted its weight on the gravel, really clicked. I spent the next 20 minutes just watching that horse stand and move before I picked up my nippers again. It made me slow down my whole process. Has anyone else had a simple piece of advice completely reframe a basic part of your work?

3 comments

3 Comments

charles7202d ago

That old rancher is right on the money. It's so easy to get caught up in the perfect shape on the stand and forget it's a living, moving part. The ground never lies. I've had to learn that lesson myself, more than once. You can make it look textbook, but if the horse isn't comfortable standing on it, you missed the point. That shift in weight tells you everything.

olivia_lopez982d ago

Okay but how much does that shift really matter? Seen plenty of horses with a weird stance that work just fine for years. Sometimes we overthink this stuff.

harris.andrew2d agoMost Upvoted

I mean, I've definitely made a foot look perfect while the horse was clearly planning its escape.