I was taught that a horse needs at least a month barefoot per year. Growing up in Idaho, it wasn’t a problem since shoes came off for winter. Living in Texas now, it’s not so easy. My horses go barefoot now since they don’t work much, when they were, every year I was trying to figure out when would be a good time to pull shoes. A hoof usually does better without shoes, especially under light work. There are always the exceptions though. Great video, love the way you explained what is going on with this horse.

@olsenequinecjf

6 ай бұрын

Absolutely our thoughts as well! Sometimes the best way to solve a problem is just to let it heal naturally!

This was a great video. Well produced, excellent communication, great lighting. Loved seeing the work area too. Thanks for making this content.

@olsenequinecjf

6 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for the kind comment! We appreciate your support!

He is a hansdome horse for sure, I loved the process of working through the diagnosing and problem-solving steps 💖

You’ve hit the nail on the head with saying this horse needs time off from shoes. He’s only young and a year off grazing and light trail riding (in boots if needed) would do wonders for his recovery.

Refreshing seeing this old wisdom in 2024. Many New Farriers have never been taught some logical basics shared here. I see soooo many frog infections and deep splits and severe heel contractions in even barefoot and shod horses. I don’t know how people don’t see it. I guess it becomes a bad habit to not look at the whole hoof. Trim what’s needed often enough and keep it healthy and enough protection left on. Barefoot is best if possible. And it’s usually possible. Love that you mention the boots. In old days shoes were used only in the spring and summer really because the hooves didn’t get to build a sole callus yet when the horses had to go to work suddenly in spring. But by summer they were tough enough anyway to be sound if they lost a shoe. Now we have boots and or maybe more patience to build up a good sole year round on varied terrain. I feel bad for the damaged hooves in most young racehorses and performance horses shod poorly so young. I don’t know if my ottb will be ever have an upright heel. Frog pads may be a forever need for her sadly to be more than a barefoot pasture pet. Ligament damage and severely underrun contracted hooves with negative palmar angles have left a very messed up central hoof sole that builds up lumps beside the frog. You do not see these things in barefoot horses or horses allowed to develop properly and mature before being shod carefully with breaks and proper ground contact. They are training race horses barefoot now and using boots just for the walk to the track if it’s paved and then still needing grass tips on race day to follow the archaic rules. But these horses have a future after racing. It is worth it and it boosts their performance too. I gave this mare more good years but to think of so many others in pain and euthanized when it’s preventable is disheartening.

Excellent vid. Great advice!

Glad to see you treating this guy naturally without all the metal, glue, supports, etc. Anatomically correct trim and rehab seems to be the first answer. Incorrect shoe over and over and over again seems to be doing the wrong thing over and over and over then expecting a different outcome. GOOD JOB!

@olsenequinecjf

3 ай бұрын

Sometimes less is more! We have done cases where you need to add a lot, but sometimes the best solution is the easiest one!

Thanks so much! Great explanation! Merry Christmas 🎄

@olsenequinecjf

6 ай бұрын

Thank you! Have a great New Year!

I'm a rider and trainer, not a farrier, but I have had training in the basics and have been trimming my own horses for close to 25 years now.. In any case, I had a free lease horse once upon a time that the owner insisted had "navicular".. Everyone, owner, vet and farrier all insisted on very high heels as that was "The Treatment" for "navicular".. I took one look at his feet with overly tall heels and tiny contracted frog and knew this was basically years of bad trimming made worse by "The Treatment".. I went behind the owner's back and over the next few months gradually trimmed him back to a balanced low heel trim and he became totally sound.. The clueless owner, seeing how well he was going, took him back and wouldn't believe me that the trim was the issue and insisted on "growing out" the long heels again and bang, the "navicular" was back.. Poor horse.. I was just getting started in the equestrian world at the time and nobody cared what my opinion was, even when backed up by evidence, because everyone knew that the horse had "navicular".. These days, my opinion has a lot more weight, but there's still so much misunderstanding around "navicular" and hoof issues even at the professional level from vets and farriers alike...

@olsenequinecjf

6 ай бұрын

Sometimes you have to listen to your own intuition and trust your gut! If something feels wrong, it probably is

@user-zn3sh9lq3e

2 ай бұрын

People want to see a high heel and short toe Well that’s ok but pull off the shoes and let it go bare foot a few days or a couple weeks

Very interesting information on this ailment. Thank you for sharing. Wish you and your family a Happy Holiday Season.

@olsenequinecjf

6 ай бұрын

Thank you very much! We hope you have a blessed and safe holiday season full of fun and family!

You mention soaking the hooves, soaking with what?

Thank you. I have a young shier who trimmed too much toe back and left heels too tall. She became laminitis again. He won't listen to me. Trims like he's putting a shoe on.

Good looking sort and kind treatment that I'm getting used to from you. Ever see any rubber surgical temporary boots that can clip on without fixings?

Merry Christmass Mr. Olsen. I wish you and your family a safe Holiday Season!! Your friend, the Retired Paramedic and Horse Trainer in Ontario, Canada, Jenn 💖 🇨🇦

@olsenequinecjf

6 ай бұрын

Hi Jenn! Great to see your comments as always. I appreciate your input and continued support! Hope you guys have a fun and family filled holiday and Happy New Year!

@jenniferlehman326

6 ай бұрын

@olsenequinecjf Same to you Mr. Olsen. I'm on baby watch duty at the moment, I have 3 foals now. 1 filly and 2 colts. 1 colt born on Christmas Eve Morning, just like his full sister two years ago!! They are all doing great. Running around their mothers, I have 2 more mares left to foal, but it looks like they are waiting for 2024 for me to meet their babies!! LOL 🤣 Have a safe Happy New Year, Mr. Olsen!! Your friend, the Retired Paramedic and Horse Trainer in Ontario, Canada, Jenn 💖 🇨🇦

@olsenequinecjf

6 ай бұрын

Baby season is the best! We have 2 coming this year, but were not expecting for a couple more weeks!

@jenniferlehman326

6 ай бұрын

@@olsenequinecjf Wishing you lots of good luck then Mr. Olsen. I hope everything turns out just fine with the foaling of both your mares!!

Great video Lee. I think there are a lot of differing opinions in the hoofcare industry amongst farriers/trimmers/vets regarding trimming heels and the height/angle that is ideal. As a general rule, where do you like to trim your heels back to? And what determines if a heel is “stacked” in your opinion? Thanks, I enjoy learning from your videos.

Great video Lee. Do you think the sore heels is what is causing the lateral landing as well as the toe first landing? Thank you

@olsenequinecjf

6 ай бұрын

I think it is possible, I think it could also be the result of this horse being shod unbalanced and the horse compensating its movement in an effort to counteract its previous shoeing.

@jargibbs

6 ай бұрын

Do you think if she is balanced, will she continue to land laterally?

@olsenequinecjf

6 ай бұрын

By shoeing to address this issue, the goal is to get her landing flat and correctly through balanced trimming!

Do you ever make your way to Az?

My horse has been diagnosed with navicular disease. She is not doing well at all I’ve tried a lot of different things. Vet said to trip toes down?

I found this video super helpful. I have a reiner who has been dealing with heel pain and unfortunately I have not had great farriers at my resource. I'm hopefully on the right path now but I wanted to ask you about the horses frog in this video. My horse's frog grows up in between the heel bulbs like the horse in this video only much worse and this is also causing him discomfort. I know you said not to go crazy trimming the frog but how would you deal with something like this?

@olsenequinecjf

4 ай бұрын

We try not to take away too much supportive frog, but cleaning it up is also necessary! Its a good start to use hoof testers to see where your horse is uncomfortable at, and see if the frog truly is causing some pain! In that case, there is probably something internal that is irritating the foot, and xrays to diagnose issue would be a good next step!

I wanted to see the other foot trimmed...😢

When a horse piles the bedding of straw underneath his feet and stands on it all day. What is that indicative of??

@olsenequinecjf

5 ай бұрын

That is fairly normal for a horse who is stalled on bedding since there is not really enough motion for them to release it! Make sure youre keeping their feet dry if they are getting packed, though to avoid thrush getting in!

@judymiller5154

2 ай бұрын

is he standing flat, or with toes dug in? my navicular mare would dig holes and stand with about a 30° tip down at the toes, especially the right.. I wasn't happy with the vet/farrier solutions and started trimming her myself. She had barely 8° heel angles, now up over 28° and happily stands flat and square.

Why is one of your thumbnails purple?

@kayBTR

6 ай бұрын

It’s from Copper Sulfate, used to treat hoof rot.

@olsenequinecjf

6 ай бұрын

Well, when you work with a hammer, the odds of sometimes hitting yourself seem to be rather high.... hazard of the job I guess haha!

I've always called navicular, a diagnosis of heel pain.

@olsenequinecjf

6 ай бұрын

Thats a good thought! Its easy to forget navicular is a symptom of a problem, not the source itself!