For years we have focused our attention on appliances (shoes, pads, etc.) to such an extent that we have, in many cases, forgotten that our real task is the balance of the equine digit, orthopedics if you like. The unbalanced foot, with the best appliance man can attach to it, is still an unbalanced foot and will lead to poor performance and even lameness. The object of farriery then is trimming and shoeing to achieve proper loading and weight bearing through the structural members of the horse. Balance therefore must be when weight is transferred evenly through the center of the bones, joints and hoof capsule.

What is weight? According to Webster, it is "the force with which a body is attracted toward the earth by gravitation." Physics then is that thing we all have to deal with when we work to balance a foot in preparation for shoeing If we overlook the laws of nature (physics and gravity), we are doomed to failure.

A hoof capsule is out of balance when the gravitational forces or weight is not centered within the hoof capsule. Sometimes the forces of weight may not even be located in the hoof capsule (photo 1 & 1A). You will note that this horse suffers from caudal rotation as well as a badly misaligned coffin joint axis. Weight bearing in this case is falling out the back of the hoof capsule. As you can imagine, this former World Champion Mare is extremely lame and will have a hard time staying sound enough to bear the weight of a foal.

Where should we begin? I believe that the heel can only be defined by vertical depth, i.e. the distance from the distal border of the coronary band to the proximal border of the hoof wall (Savoldi, Cal Poly, Pomona). This, in combination with what has become known as the bridge (Buzzwords & Brainstorms to Decode Duckett's Dot, Hoofcare & Lameness), helps establish the proper heel length (see 1A). The bridge is a point about 1/2- 3/4 inches behind the apex of a trimmed frog. It does not matter how badly the hoof capsule is deformed, the bridge will always maintain its relationship to the coffin joint. Using these concepts and reference points I attempt to trim the foot to an even depth of sole with a uniform thickness from front to back (A/P) and from side to side (M/L). I remove all the flares and as much of the hoof wall distortion as possible (photo 2). In the case of this mare, radiographs indicated that her coffin joint axis was still out of alignment (broken forward) so I used a wedge pad to align the coffin joint (photo 3). Once I am able to establish more normal hoof growth I will remove the wedges. Using the "bridge" as a mark for centering the shoe, I nailed up an eggbar shoe for caudal support (photo 4). She was now sound enough to go to the breeding shed.

It is my feeling that a farrier who works with the foundation (orthopedics) of the horse in mind, instead of merely the capsule, will enjoy far more success than the farrier who simply relies on appliances installed around a perimeter fit. If you work with the orthopedics of the horse you will develop a better understanding of how to build the optimum appliance for the job at hand. While farriers debate and argue ideas of practitioners like Duckett, Redden and Ovnicek, a closer look tells us that we are all trying to achieve the same thing; the centering of the four points of the "square in the circle."

 (Russell, Scientific Horseshoeing, written over eighty years ago.)

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