It's definitely a climate thing. Here in the last six weeks, it's really gotten bad. That's how my knife skipped off and ended up in my arm yesterday. I need to make a sole knife tomorrow.
Yes, Travis, you do need to make one if you are dealing with soles like these. The soles in the pictures were cleaned in 5-6 minutes with a toeing knife. It would be very hard if not impossible with a hoof knife. You don't need to be very skilled or very accurate with it when using it just to clean the mess. Just stick the tip of it under the retained stuff with light taps and pop them out, it goes very fast and easy.
No Rick the sacred sole callous is a band aid produced by the horse to counter the dreadful effects of shoeing. Once the shoe has been taken off forever the sacred sole callous will form and exfoliate as the horse rises into a higher state of soundness and improved performance. And if that doesnt work you are feeding it wrong.
I've seen "BUA" around on some posts. . .what the heck does it stand for?.?. Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
Had a conversation with Matt Taimuty, CJF about this last week. His variation on the theme is "Barefoot at All Costs."
I'll admit this summer when I read this I couldn't really absorb the info. Life has settled down with it my mind has settled and now it makes quite a bit of sense. I will often selectively not trim sole or bar on one heel if it tends to have a weaker wall on one side.(usually one heel) I explain it to clients when they ask that the less tidied heel needs more structure vs and upright or contracted area that needs to have less structure and more flex. It never really crossed my mind that the sole could jam though. Could you expand on how you see it effecting the hoof in most cases?
I see the same thing Alicia. If a hoof has a broken or weak heel, for example, the bar and sole on that side grows faster to compensate, I think - natures band-aid. I also tend to leave the extra there to help support the weaker area, on a bare foot especially , and it usually hepls. I explain it to clients as " the hoof acts like a fort under attack. If the barbarians are attacking the north wall, the general sends more troops to defend it". A more appropriate explanation would be Wolff's Law, but most people understand the fort idea better. I always try to keep the sole fairly smooth and even otherwise, but because I think high spots cause pressure. I noticed that "sole jams" are reflected elsewhere in the hoof, but I'm certainly going to start paying more attention to the possibility. I'm sure I'll get a tirade of WTF's from this post, but I can already guess from whom, and it doesn't bother me in the least. Regards
I didn't say it...but I didn't think it needed pointing out. I think the heel bulbs being uneven are not the problem but the symptom. So would you now explain to me what you are implying by pointing out they are not even?
