Balancing and Shoeing Trotting and Pacing Horses

by William J. Moore

I. FOALS.

The feet of the suckling foal should be properly fixed every four or five weeks. After the foal is eight or nine weeks old his feet need fixing regularly. To fix the feet on the young foal shorten the toes as much as the foot will stand without making the foot tender, and then rasp the quarters down to a level with the frog, or a little lower than the top of the frog will be better, then round the sharp edges of foot off so as the foal will not cut his legs with the sharp edges and the job is completed. Do not cut out the bars, or the sole, or the frog. Now if you have noticed that a foal stands toeing out, leave the inside of the toe of that foot a little the longest from the coronet, an eighth or three-sixteenths of an inch will be a benefit to the foot, also to the line of action later on, and if the foal toes in, leave the outside of the toe the longest, as it will help to straighten matters in the line of action.

In fixing the foal’s feet it is very good to rasp the quarters and heels low enough so as to give a slight frog pressure when the foot comes in contact with the ground. Frog pressure assists expansion and prevents contraction; a short natural foot with a slight frog pressure during the first and second year is one of the surest ways to prevent a bad gait or a ruptured tendon, in later years. Young foals should have their feet picked out two or three times a week to ventilate around the frog, because the filth that usually gets lodged around there will be almost sure to cause heat, and in consequence a diseased frog, which perishes away and allows the heels to contract. A contracted foot is a very bad thing and causes trouble in more ways than one. If the feet on foals are left to grow too long, the inside heels will cave in or become contracted from the position they rest on them while grazing. To prevent this keep them cut down, if not you will have to use hoof expanders to get the foot back to its natural position.

One of the most important factors in keeping the feet on sucklings, weanlings and yearlings in proper condition as is specified in this article is to see that you are keeping the leg in the middle of the foot, otherwise many a good horse suffers, as the concussion and strain is not equally distributed on both sides of the foot when in action. If the feet on sucklings, weanlings, yearlings and two-year-olds are kept properly fixed, quarters and heels kept low enough so as to receive a slight frog pressure, this means at the proper angle, you will not have any elbow hitters and very few knee-knockers. If you have a yearling that hits his knees you have not kept his legs in the middle of his feet by keeping his heels and quarters rasped down, which will make it easier to prevent winging into his knees than if he had a contracted inside quarter, which is the case when neglected.

II. PREPARING THE FOOT FOR THE SHOE.

To fix feet is the most important part of shoeing the horse. In fixing the foot, the first thing to take into consideration is, what sort of work are you fixing the foot for, is it for a draft horse, a road horse, or a trotter or a pacer? Does the horse wing, paddle, speedy-cut or cross-fire, does he hit his ankles, shins, knees, arms, hocks, or elbows? Is his action too high or too low? Is he too long or too short gaited? Is he striding longer with one leg than another?

If you go to work and cut the feet down without taking some of these faulty things into consideration you are liable to get his feet just to the reverse way to what they should be, and place him in an uncomfortable position instead of a comfortable one. In preparing the bottom of a horse’s foot you must bear in mind that the foot can be fixed to straighten out different kinds of faulty action, and if you have not learned it by a close study of experimenting or by being taught by some one that knew all the different ways of balancing a foot on the leg to correct faulty action, then to learn this you will have to have it explained to you and you should see the job executed, see it done, and then go and see the results obtained, while the horse is in action. Then you will know that something is accomplished by scientifically fixing the feet to correct faulty action; you have to show people nowadays.

Why I say that fixing the feet is the most important part of shoeing, and the most difficult to get done, is because the farriers that can level and balance feet of rough gaited trotters and pacers to assist nature in correcting faulty action are very scarce, some of them cannot think long enough while cutting with the rasp and knife, and the first thing you know they have cut one side of the foot too low and are not able to cut the opposite side on a level to the side that was cut wrong.

Now to fix the feet of a horse whether front or hind, begin with the foot first that looks to be the highest at the heels, because if you should start to fix two feet and one foot is a good deal lower at the heels than the other you cannot cut the heels of the foot that are the highest low enough to place the foot at the same angle with its mate, if you had fixed the foot that had the lowest heels first.

A good rule in fixing feet, and you will find it true nine times out of ten, is, when fixing front feet, always cut the outside from toe to heel down first, unless you are shoeing a paddler, then cut the inside of the foot down to a level to correspond with the outside that was fixed first. The reason for fixing feet in this manner, is, if you should cut the inside down first chances are you would not be able to cut the outside to a level with the inside, for you will cut to the sensitive part, on the outside of a front foot, quicker than the inside, and it is just to the reverse with hind feet. The front feet should not be left high on the outside, unless the horse is a paddling gaited one, for it creates friction, or a strain on landing and leaving the ground, it also helps to create faulty action. Nearly all the hard shin, knee and arm hitters I have come in contact with, their front feet were highest on the outside, low on inside, or a contracted inside quarter, and sometimes a very badly contracted inside quarter at that. To fix front feet of trotters and pacers for different purposes or ways of going you can refer to the index on the different subjects in this book.