Trimming hoof with founder

When confronted with a “neglected” chronic founder hoof, I really think the shoer needs to get aggressive and trim the hoof to look as normal as possible in size and shape. I think the “old school” technique is how the trim needs to be accomplished, but may need to be applied repeatedly during the trim session until the desired result is achieved. Basically, even though the toe, in severe cases, is up in the air the trim starts with trimming the heel. Because it is the heel that has typically grown long and drives under the horse, pushing the toe out and up. The frog may not have sloughed off so you will need to continue trimming the frog as well. Then trim the toe, which may require cutting or sawing the extra, out-of-proportion part off from the top. When I say get aggressive I mean, don’t think you have gone far enough and the hoof wall is still over, let’s say for safety reasons, 4 ½ inches long. Many people are worried about quicking the horse, but the quick doesn’t grow out with the sole, frog, wall, etc. (Like a dog’s toenail may) The blood capillaries stay close to the coffin bone, which doesn’t grow down either! It may rotate or drop, but it is still connected to the short pastern which is connected to the long pastern which is connected to the cannon bone, etc. I think if a person thinks of the whole anatomy and what a hoof should look like, they are more apt to get aggressive and trim the hoof enough to actually help the horse’s condition. The final part of the trim should be the removal of any toe flare.
Please see Feb 19th entry for review of terminology related to this topic.
Someday I would love to post some before and after pictures.