| Importance
of Balance
 Every
horse needs to be in balance, as far as his feet are concerned,
the feet are the foundation of the horse. Whether you have a working
horse or a pleasure horse, the feet must be balanced inorder for
that horse to give you 100%.
The divide is used to
measure toe length. This insures that all four of the feet are the
same length from the hairline to the tip of the toe. This will make
sure that all feet are equal. Break over the same distance and speed.
Equine
Lever is used to see the foot's medial /lateral or side
to side from the bottom of the hoof. Also, the heels and bulbs of
the foot are the same distance from the surface of the ground.
I know a lot of people
think that it can be "eye-balled". Let me ask you a question.
Would you let a carpenter build you a house without instruments?
I don't think you would. So now we come to the subject of instruments
to shoe the horse. How can a person shoe a horse without documentation
or instruments to record the angles, toe length and medial/lateral.
A level balanced hoof will allow the leg to be in good functional
alignment with body at the moment the hoof is about to leave the
ground. This is also the critical moment when the hoof and leg are
supporting their full load. At this moment, if the horse's foot
is not in balance, how is the full load going to to impact the the
leg and different ligaments, tendons and bony column. The hoof will
not hit the ground level. This will cause damage to the bony column
and will cause lameness sooner or later.
There is an epidemic of
lame horses in the United States and I believe it is due to an incorrect
balance of the horse's foot. If a horse is kept out of balance for
10 to 15 years, it will become lame. I believe that most horseshoers
are to blame. They cannot or will not use instruments or documentation
for their work. These instruments are not 100%, but it beats the
heck out of nothing. If instruments are not useful, then why do
we need them to tell us wheen our truck is close to needing fuel.
It's a long walk when the fuel gauge doesn't work.
Two years ago, I was giving
a seminar at the USTRC in Oklahoma City, OK, and was stressing the
importance of balance on the horse's foot. Afterwards, a horseshoer
came up to me and said that he could see if the foot was balanced
without instruments. I told him I thought that was great, but what
about the other million who can't see that good. What about them?
He said, "I never thought about that."
Some horseshoers say balancing
with instruments is not good, because the hoofs can have different
angles on the same horse. This is true, but if you don't have an
instrument to read, how would you know the amount of difference.
Tools are essential to
your horse's well being, and using the proper tools assures correct
shoeing of your horses' feet. Eighty percent of all lameness comes
from incorrect shoeing. It is important that you and your farrier
work together for the well being of your horse. Every horse owner
should own these tools and know how to use them -- Hoof
Gauge, Divider and Equine
Lever.
It is important that you
are able to check your horse's feet at any given time. This may
give you the edge that you need to win, and keep your horse sound.
The most Vital part of your horse is his feet. Remember: No Hoof
- No Horse. This is more important than the color, training and
saddle. There is an old saying, "In God We Trust, All Others
We Should Check."
"Balance as it applies
to horseshoeing can be defined as trimming and shoeing the foot
so as to apply the weight-bearing base of the foot as close as possible
to the center of gravity of the leg and foot. In general, we trim
the foot to align with the foot's center of gravity and apply a
shoe to align with or support the limb's center of gravity. The
object of foot balancing is to approach an equality of equilibrium
of forces in the foot and limb structures that will provide an optimum
performance that can be sustained over an extended period. Feet
that are kept balanced are seldom lame." - Doug Butler,
La Porte, CO: 1996
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