Posted by Ernie Haller, Cayuse Corral, McKinney, TX on October 15, 2000 at 13:07:34:
In Reply to: Re: Even heels? posted by Patty Stiller on June 02, 2000 at 22:37:13:
The ground rules is never to tamper with the natural conformation on a horse 4 yr and older unless there is medical reason and then only under vetrinary supervision - not farrier advise.
On a personal note, the hoof imprint should show a blotting pattern of heels and a half moon starting at the tip of the frog aroung the toe. However,the hight of the heels is critical since too much heel overloads the toe resulting in bruised toe condition with a lot of pink pressure indication. Therefore, heels should be low, max .30", just enough to unload the quarters (minimizes quarter cracks). Needless to say, all needs to be in a perfect plain, again, complementing the natural conformation of hoof. Hope this helps someone for use as a base line, Ernie