What is Laminitis? When we talk natural trimming we must cover alas briefly here about laminitis. Now lami-nitis is normally associated with ponies, or fat overweight horses - which is entirely true however no horse is safe from laminitis and you will be surprised at the number of horses that actually have or have had laminitic attacks of some degree or form. To understand what laminitis is requires some knowledge of the anatomy of the hoof. In a healthy hoof the pedal bone (also known as the coffin bone, distal phalanx, or P3) is at-tached to the hoof wall by the laminae. The dermal (or sensitive) laminae have a blood and nerve supply and grow outwards from the pedal bone and lateral cartilages (below left). The epidermal (or insensitive) laminae are made of horn and face inwards from the inside of the hoof wall (below middle). The two interlock forming a strong bond, not unlike ‘Velcro’ (below right). In the laminitic hoof this bond has weakened or failed. The laminae stretch or tear apart and the weight of the horse causes the hoof wall to move away from the pedal bone. Arteries and veins are torn or crushed, cutting off the blood supply.

What causes laminitis? Laminitis has a number of causes. By far the most common is a diet that is high in non-structural carbohydrates (NSC’s) – sugar and starch. These NSC’s are present in the horses diet in manufactured feeds that contain molasses and cereals/grains, and in grass. Other causes include high fever, blood poisoning (e.g.. from retained placenta), stress, cushings disease, mechanical and non-weighting bearing lameness in the other leg. Why does Laminitis effect the feet? Laminitis is most commonly caused by digestive upset from a diet that is high in sugar (NSC's). The following is a brief explanation of how excessive NSC's (non-structural carbo-hydrates) in the diet affects the feet. The horse is designed to eat a high fibre/low sugar diet. Its body does not produce enzymes that can break down fibre, so this is done for it by microbes that live in the large intestine. The microbes break down the fibre into a form that the horse can absorb and use. A small amount of sugar can be digested by enzymes in the small intestine, but if there is too much it passes through and enters the large intestine. As a result the intestines con-tents become more acidic. This damages the intestinal lining, making it leaky. Specific microbes that can digest sugar proliferate, fibre digesting microbes die off. Their decaying bodies release toxins that pass through the leaky intestinal wall and into the blood stream. It is believed that bacteria also pass through into the blood stream. In the laminae of the hooves are enzymes that detach then reattach the dermal laminae from the epidermal laminae in tiny amounts at a time. This allows the hoof wall to grow downwards whilst still staying firmly attached to the pedal bone. When the toxins and bac-teria reach the dermal laminae they cause the enzymes to detach the laminae faster than it can reattach. The connection between the hoof wall and pedal bone weakens. The shearing force of the horses’ weight causes the hoof wall to separate from the pedal bone, rotating away from it, and the pedal bone can sink down within the hoof capsule. This damages the blood vessels that supply the laminae resulting in the blood supply being cut off and starvation and death of the tissues.

When talking about laminitis the terms we use can cause confusion. The terms laminitis and founder tend to be used interchangeably. Laminitis is Latin and means inflammation of the laminae. The laminae can be mildly inflamed and the horse does not show lame-ness, but by definition it is suffering with laminitis. This low grade laminitis would go un-noticed in the shod horse (remember that shoeing decreases blood flow within the hoof, which causes loss of sensation). However, in the barefoot horse, with full sensation in its feet, you would notice sensitivity on stony ground. Many people do not acknowledge low grade laminitis, and would say this is a horse who “just needs shoes”. We tend to use the term laminitis to mean a far more serious situation where the hoof wall at the toe has disconnected from the pedal bone. This leads to:

CAPSULAR ROTATION The pedal bone stays correctly aligned to the bones of the pastern but the hoof capsule rotates out of position. Right: the yellow line shows the bones all correctly aligned, the toe wall should be parallel to the yellow line, it is not because the hoof capsule has rotated away from the pedal bone.

PEDAL BONE ROTATION The pedal bone rotates so that it is not aligned with the

bones of the pastern. Right: note that the yellow line is not straight. The term pedal bone rotation is used a lot when discuss-ing laminitis when what is actually meant is capsular rotation, which is far more common. The pedal bone does not tend to ro-tate because there are many strong ligaments holding it and pas-tern bone in alignment.

DISTAL DESCENT (or sinker/founder) Where the bone has descended within the hoof capsule. Right: the lower line marks the top of the extensor process of the pedal bone, the upper line marks the hairline. The two should be level or nearly so.

SIGNS THAT A HORSE IS OF INCREASED RISK OF LAMINITIS There are easily spotted signs that a horse has an increased risk of developing laminitis. Unfortunately there is no way of knowing how soon. Whilst some cases of laminitis are caused by unavoidable accidents: horse breaks into feed room, retained placenta etc., in most cases of laminitis the writing was on the wall months, even years before, and it could have been prevented, if only people knew how to recognize the warning signs and how to manage the horses diet and lifestyle correctly to prevent the laminitis from ever happening. Obesity Fatty Deposits Horizontal rings in hoof walls Flared Hoof Walls Flat or Bulging soles Raised Digital Pulses Has suffered from laminitis in the past

A healthy hoof has a hoof wall that grows parallel to the internal foundation of the hoof - the coffin bone. Any deviation from parallel weakens the bond (the laminar at-tachment) between the wall and the bone. The bigger the deviation, the more damage is inflicted on the lamina. Prolonged dam-age can lead to pedal osteitis (inflammation of the coffin bone) and eventual bone loss, so is to be avoided at all costs. The first photo is of the front left hoof of a horse that was diagnosed with pedal osteitis. The horse was very lame de-spite attempts at corrective shoeing.

The second photo shows the same hoof a year later after corrective hoof trimming. Notice how far back the toe has come. The biggest issue with the way the hoof was being trimmed in the first photo is that the breakover was not being properly addressed. This was causing the toe wall to be levered away from the coffin bone and created a huge toe flare. By properly ad-dressing the breakover, the horse was able to grow a tightly connected wall. This in turn reduced the pressure on the laminar connection and stopped the deterioration of the coffin bone and returned the horse to soundness.

Example Before & After Case Study

The healthy hoof is a cone shape, narrower at the top, wider at the bottom (see photo below left). Above is a well-trimmed, sound hoof, showing the direction of wall growth. The entire hoof wall grows from the coronet at the same slope as the coffin bone. Everything grows down-and-forward, including the heels. No part of the hoof grows vertical (unless it is trimmed "box foot" style with a long heel and short toe).

Healthy Hooves

Your Horse is what it eats An important aspect of natural or barefoot trimming is the lifestyle/environment and diet/nutrition of the horse. Horses evolved to eat small amounts of grasses, herbs and minerals almost constantly throughout the day. They covered many miles to reach wa-ter and lived in small herds of varied ages and sexes. Does this sound like the modern horse? Not really - their involvement with humans has necessitated their restriction and artificial feeding to easily use them as a working animal. Today the majority of horses are kept for pleasure and that pleasure need not be all ours. If we want a happy, healthy horse to provide many years of companionship then we can change our ways a little to suit their nature. Many new ideas are replacing traditional methods of horsemanship and health care with hoof care and feeding now the focus. Natural Hoof Care practitioners and forage re-searchers have discovered that horses cannot be fed like cows – on high sugar grasses that maximize beef and milk production. To do so, compromises the health of our horses by causing laminitis as horses become more carbohydrate intolerant – they are commonly called ‘good doers’. When horses eat high sugar grass it causes a toxic reaction in the hind gut which then affects the connection between hoof wall and laminae (sensitive internal structure). This causes common hoof ailments such as abscesses, seedy toe/white line disease and de-formed, shallow, sensitive hooves. With a little thought and planning, better management and feeding practices can change all of this. Here are some changes you can make with feeding to improve health: Ensure grass hay is fed as the main diet. Try to feed as far from the water as possible to encourage movement. Give your horse room to move by fencing an 8–20m wide track around your pasture

which makes a long, thin paddock and reduces grass intake. Restrict grass appropriately for each horse – most will need to be kept off the grass

during the day when the sugars in the plant are highest. Provide hay for them to eat instead.

Some ‘easy keepers’ will need to wear a grazing muzzle some of the time to remain with the herd. It’s not comfortable for them to wear a muzzle all the time and may even cause colic if left on 24/7.

Equines prone to laminitis will need to have their ‘sugar rich’ hay soaked for a few hours to lower the sugar content. Rich hay is usually cut from rye grass and clover pastures designed for cattle.

Avoid feeding grain unless your horse is receiving enough additional exercise to util-ize the energy such as racehorses, endurance and performance horses. Broodmares, foals and young horses may need some grains and legumes (lucerne/alfalfa) to pro-vide additional protein and calcium. All other horses will gain more weight on free choice hay.

If you do need to ‘hard’ feed then stick to natural unprocessed, high fibre feeds. An ideal mix is soaked easy beat, meadow chaff, balanced min-eral mix, a tablespoon of salt, a probiotic to restore hindgut health/flora and if you need that bit extra to keep weight on barley or copra.

Can you pick the healthy and unhealthy hooves?

In Summary - What can I expect of this Natural Hoof journey?

The main elements of natural hoof care are; Regular natural trims to replace natural wear in an abrasive envi-

ronment. Ride ‘em or Rasp ‘em! A natural diet; low in sugar and high in fibre. As much movement as possible. This means providing as close to

a natural environment and lifestyle as circumstances allow.

THE TRIM Enlist the help of an experienced trimmer, preferably before your horses' shoes are re-moved. It is essential to remove the shoes at the end of the shoeing cycle (i.e.. when the horse is due to be shod). This allows the sole that was trimmed prior to shoeing to grow back, ensuring maximum comfort at shoe removal. While you are waiting for the shoes to come off you can be making important changes to diet and lifestyle that will make transition to barefoot easier. The first trim is important and is best done by a specialist barefoot trimmer who will also be able to give advice on other management issues, and insure a trouble free transi-tion to barefoot. A standard farriers pasture trim is unlikely give the desired results, and farriers often habitually remove calloused sole, as they would to provide a flat surface for the shoe, this will make the horse footsore without shoes. The trim should be non-invasive and only remove excess growth. The horse should be as comfortable, or more comfortable after the trim than he was in shoes (when first out of shoes he may be sensitive on stones of course). If the trimmer tells you that lameness or bleeding is part of the healing process don’t allow them to trim your horse. Your horse will need frequent trims at 2-6 week intervals depending on the health of the hoof and the amount of exercise he gets. If the hoof gets overgrown it will begin to de-form. If you are used to calling the farrier when your horses’ feet look bad, then be pre-pared for more frequent visits and the extra cost this entails. DIET This is a crucial element of successful barefoot riding, and is the main reason for failure. Ideally make the necessary changes to the horses diet at least a month before shoe re-moval to reduce tenderness. The general rule is high fibre - low sugar. Some horses are more sensitive to sugar/carbohydrate than others. Some are not so sensitive and can work barefoot with-out major changes to their diet. Sensitive horses will always be sore over stones while their diet contains too much sugar, possibly needing their grazing restricted as they are sensitive to the sugars in grass. At the far end of the spectrum are horses that are so sen-sitive to the sugars in grass that they need to be kept off it all together in order to be completely sound on stony ground barefoot. Many people enjoy feeding their horses and find it hard to be objective about their weight. People often want to give feeds that they think look appetizing, regardless as to whether it is suitable for their horse.

It is easy to be influenced by the advertising of the big feed companies without consider-ing the suitability of the feed for the individual horse. Don't feed molasses (another form of sugar). It is surprising how many low calorie feeds contain it. Read the ingredients lists on feed bags to be sure what you are feeding. Horses should have ad-lib hay or haylage to provide enough roughage for a healthy diges-tive system. Horses that gain too much weight on ad-lib hay or haylage can have it soaked for a few hours before feeding. This has been shown to reduce the sugar and carbohydrate content by 18-30%, enabling you to control your horses weight without him having to go without food for long periods. Be prepared to make changes to your horses diet, this is likely to be necessary in order to achieve the level of barefoot performance that you desire. EXERCISE AND ENVIRONMENT Movement increases blood flow to the hoof, which increases healing and growth. 24/7 turnout is a must. However, you may need to restrict your horses grass intake so an area of hard core or similar is ideal for some of the day. Regular ridden exercise is important too (as much as possible) and can be achieved with the support and comfort of hoof boots. Wet conditions can allow fungus and bacteria to thrive, again a hardcore area will allow the feet to dry out. The movement the horse/hooves get the quicker the changes will be. Movement on firm terrain is a must in order to get the circulation going. TRANSITION Another reason for failure if you are not prepared. If your horse was sound in shoes, then he should be straight away barefoot on grass and arenas. He is likely to be sensitive on stony ground until his soles thicken and develop a tough callus. Hoof boots will allow you to continue riding on all surfaces during transition. Some horses always need boots on stony ground, especially if your circumstances don’t allow for optimum diet and environ-ment. If your horse was lame in shoes then he may need some time off when the shoes are re-moved. Hoof boots with pads will get you back in the saddle as soon as possible though. Be patient and considerate. It took time for those hooves to become sick and deformed – it takes time for them to become healthy again. People are sometimes unrealistic, even thoughtless when their horse first comes out of shoes, expecting the horse to cope imme-diately on long rides, then when the horse struggles the shoes go back on. The horse will not go sound-on-gravel (or other hard, uneven terrain) until the white line has healed and tightened up, and the coffin bone is held firmly up inside the hoof wall. This should generally happen within a year, with a consistently renewed mustang roll. Do not expect to ride your horse on gravel, rough pavement, frozen ground, or rocky trails without front hoof boots, during the first year after pulling the shoes. Some form of therapy is also ideal for transitioning horses, such as Bowen. When the hoof mechanism is restored and the blood is pumping in and out of the hoof as it should, there can be a toxic system overload effect, which as Bowen works on the lymphatic sys-tem is ideal for supporting a horse during this phase. Also horses who have adapted cer-tain postures (i.e.: standing camped under) can be more inclined to retain them due to ‘muscle memory’. Again therapy such as Bowen is fantastic for releas-ing and rebalancing the muscles so the horse can adapt posture which is true to its anatomical way of going. For horses with very adverse reactions - horses with particu-larly damaged feet consider homeopathic detox & pain support. Homeopathic have shown to be of benefit at this stage.

Useful Information and Links This booklet is a very basic 101 guide to natural trimming and I thank the below sites for the material used in this leaflet to provide to you. There is a huge amount of information available to utilize and I encourage you to do your homework and research. Below are some sites that I have found very useful during my 10 year journey of barefoot horses, which you may to. Barefoot Trimming / Natural Lifestyle www.all-natural-horse-care.com www.barefoothorse.com www.thenaturalhoof.co.uk www.hoofrehab.com www.naturalhorsetrim.com www.sucessful-natural-horsecare.com Diet/Nutrition www.horsemanshipnz.com www.calmhealthyhorses.co.nz Laminitic Dietary Information www.safergrass.org Trimming Gear & Equipment www.naturalhoof.co.nz Track Systems and Slow Feeding www.slowfeeding.com www.performancebarefoot.co.uk/makingapaddockparadise2.html Hoof Boots www.naturalhoof.co.nz www.ibem.co.nz www.hoofcare.co.nz Natural Horsemanship www.parelli.com www.horseharmony.co.nz

HORSE HARMONY Helping Horses Naturally Tina M Hardy - ESEBT, NZBTI Equine Bowen Therapy Natural Horsemanship Natural Hoof Trimming 021 126 3407 tina@horseharmony.co.nz www.horseharmony.co.nz