Posted by Dave Purves CF on April 27, 2004 at 17:57:49:
In Reply to: Re: Trimming the bars posted by Phil Armitage on April 27, 2004 at 00:09:33:
: : : The longer that I have horses, the more confused I get.
: : : I was always under the impression that you never trimmed the bars and that you merely made sure they were level with the hoof wall and did not roll over onto the sole.
: : : My horses are barefoot.
: : : My new farrier trims out the bars and scoops them out to the level of the sole. He maintains that doing that prevents the heels from spreading. I have heard that approach WHEN the heels are spreading, but not as a preventative measure every time they are trimmed and not to be used on every horse.
: : : I didn't think it was controversial point, however, for every person I talk to that says don't pare out the bars, I find another one that says that you should.
: : : Can anyone comment? My horses range from 1/2 draft, full TB, and Paint. Not sure if hoof type and size makes a difference in the decision?
: : I trim out the bars similar to the frog. Get rid of the weak, dead, and ragged part and leave the sound and solid. Some horses have bars that look like hoof wall and go from the heel to the point of the frog. Others you can't really tell if the have them or not. I don't think you should remove a solid part of the foot that aids in the support and weight bearing.
: : JB
: Really knowing how to trim bars takes time, trimming alot of feet for many years. I like to blend the bars to the live sole plane, no deeper. I was taught that if the bars are above the sole they may fracture when stepping on rocks and become painfull. Bars can be left too long and need to be trimmed and farriers can get to carried away and remove to much, hard to say what yours is doing without seeing it. I think your Farrier meant leaving the bars will cause the feet to contract not spread. Usually leaving bars and heel too long causes contraction. When the bars extend around the tip of the frog this is mother natures way of growing an internal supportive structure to protect the foot from things like laminitis or other trauma to the feet. In these cases it is wise not to mess with them until the horse has healed. Not easy stuff to learn, it is all subjective and we are all still learning.
: Phil
I have one little rule that I try to live by when it comes to trimming bars and that is I will at the very least leave the area where the heels turn in and become the bars if it is only an 1/8 inch that I can leave or more if I'm shoeing the horse I like to think of it as a platform in which the heel of the shoe can rest on, obviously you must insure that you remove the seat of corn so you don't end up with bruises but barefoot of shod that is how I like my bars if that is all I can get. Some feet seem to not have any bars but if you trim the heels down enough you will find them and if you support this with shoes you will see a new foot evolve.
just my thoughts
Dave