Hoof, Body & Soul, Part III: Mission Impossible, unedited, by Gudrun Buchhofer. Blog 1, Introduction and case # 1

Author: Gudrun Buchhofer

Dedicated to all the horses suffering because of an unfinished foundation — their hooves.

Introduction

What did all my client horses over the last 20+ years have in common? They needed to heal from atrophy of the back of the foot as well as other atrophied hoof structures.

The main topic of my trilogy Hoof, Body & Soul is based on my ground-breaking observation that every foal is born with unfinished hooves. The long shanks in the back of every newborn hoof are in place to serve for a safe birthing but actually are false heels. I came to the conclusion that they need to be worn for the larger part right after birth. The rest needs to be released and replaced by true heels within the first few months of a foal’s life.

Pathology will develop if this projected process does not take place. The back of the hoof (frog, bulbs, internal structures) atrophies. The white line, bars and outer outside wall might atrophy as well. Eventually, the tips of the false heels will flare, pinch and grow into the internal structures (Hoof, Body & Soul, part I: My Search for the truth, 45-58). The foal is forced to deal with the discomfort. Here I find the foundation for mediolateral imbalance, pathological wear patterns, the horse not wanting to put weight on parts of the hoof capsule and sub-sequential damage.

I include the flared tips of false heels in my trim. The outcome of my work repeats itself. Hooves under my care grow true heels from further back, finalize the variant capsule angle-of-growth in the back, create a natural arch in the quarters, grow thick digital cushions, heal from mediolateral imbalance and pathology. Hoof horn shifts around the digit as part of 4th dimensional healing changes – horse after horse; donkey after donkey.

During a seminar over thirty years ago I learned that the hoof is built by five different coria. One for the wall, sole, bars, frog/bulbs and one for the heels. So there is a separate corium responsible to build the heels. I believe that the heel corium gets incomplete information when the hoof gets trimmed flat and the mustang roll is not done according to nature's example.

All hooves I trim answer the same way. The heels emerge from further back (in mediolateral imbalanced hooves it is mostly one of the heels); true heels bring the hoof more under the bone column of the leg; true heels will finally complete the variant capsule angle-of-growth in the back.

This brings us to the second topic of this book: the horses’ ability to heal from trauma and injury caused by the unreleased fetal hooves and ingrown tips of the false heels. Most horses under my hoof care wings were given the time to heal from such trauma and injury. They completed the variant capsule angle-of-growth in the back of the foot. The result around this complicated but natural process is directly connected to applying a genuine mustang roll all the way around as well as mimicking wear at the false heels with each trim.

I find that most upper body injuries (including ring-bone, side-bone and ossification of vertebrae) are directly connected to the unfinished foal hoof. The upcoming cases in this blog series (as a replacement for the unpublished part III: Mission Impossible of my trilogy Hoof, Body & Soul) will show how upper body problems resolve through working on the fundamental problem: the unfinished back of the hoof.

Rarely do my client horses get a massage or any body work done. Movement is one of the biggest supporters in the healing process. A natural environment (firm and abrasive grounds) is a big help. At some point along the path when true heels come through (and especially when ossification dissolves) slow motion backing-up-exercises help to familiarize the horse with the function of the fetlock joint in the hinds.

The divergent hoof – a journey

In part I: Freedom from Pain of Hoof, Body & Soul, 59-64, I talk about divergent hooves and the variant capsule angle-of-growth. Working with divergent hooves to complete the variant capsule angle-of-growth in the back of the foot was key for the healing in all of my cases.

During my foal studies I witnessed this scenario, the completion of the variant capsule angle-of-growth in the back of the foot, to happen when the true first foal hoof with true heels took over as a divergent hoof. The remainder of the newborn fetal hoof with false heels was then released. With lots of movement in an abrasive environment this “take-over- process” was not noticeable from a solar view but clearly visible on the outside of the hoof capsule.

Sadly, most all hooves in our unnatural horse world are in need to heal from damage caused in early childhood. Often drastic situations are revealed through a divergent hoof. Whenever genuine natural wear patterns are mimicked, a new and divergent hoof is guided by the intelligence (or the brain) of the hoof. A divergent hoof is always announced by the healing angle. Basically, the new hoof is growing inside of the previous hoof. The hoof has arrived at a fairly balanced stage when there is no new divergent hoof coming through. Yet, this is always subject to change for example due to a different diet, environment, trimmer or further healing.

In general, all horses under my care are going through a series of divergent hooves to:

rid the long toes and false heels (they were born with)
re-structure the back of the foot to provide support for the whole horse
heal damaged hoof horn and tissue including compromised corium and bruises
build healthy frogs, bulbs and thick digital cushions
balance their hooves by shifting horn around the coffin bone, increase hoof mass and bring the feet under the bone column of the legs (4th dimensional healing changes)
express their very own natural hoof size and proportions

One amazing thing I discovered during this journey is that the hoof shows exactly the moment in time when the new and divergent hoof is taking over. I also found this to be the line how far up cracks usually go during the healing or where hoof wall is breaking off. I actually allow chipping and breaking to happen. At that moment in time the faultiness and imbalance of the previous foot is released from the body. The hoof uses the provision of a predetermined breaking point. The German engineering term for this is “Sollbruchstelle”. A healthier, more balanced hoof with a steeper angle and a shorter toe is taking over.

In many cases I allow the originally long toe (from birth) to grow back after it was previously worn by the horse pathologically through tucking the front legs behind the vertical and wearing the toe short through a toe first landing. Cases with under-run (false) heels show that the long shanks from the false heels will come upright at some point. That is resetting the false heels to the moment of birth. (Remember: the fetal hoof is a diving device; it looks like a pop can and is not meant to be the final foot for the horse to live on.) From there I am able to reduce the entire hoof capsule and the horse can finalize the back of the foot. That is: growing true heels in order to complete and complement the variant capsule angle-of-growth.

The back of the coffin bone is open and provides room for internal structures. As part of the healing process internal structures will increase, strengthen and thicken. The coffin bone will be pushed up in to a healthier position as the internal structures get thicker. This will bring out steeper toe angles. The angles in the heels remain low due to the unique concept of the variant capsule angle-of-growth. That is a natural hoof.

As mentioned before, there is a separate corium responsible to produce the heels. Rasping a hoof flat and ignoring the sharp tips of the false heels is not enough. I don’t believe that false heels will fully exchange via divergent hooves when the heel corium lacks proper stimulation. After applying a genuine mustang roll all the way around, the inside, outside and rear of the heels need to be addressed with the fine side of the hoof rasp (or coarse sand paper) to mimic natural wear. This rasping also takes care of any sharp and flared tips of the false heels. I believe that this falls under the second guiding principle of the Natural Trim by Jaime Jackson (The Natural Trim 86,88): “to remove horn that which would naturally be worn away in the wild”. It leaves the heels rounded and smooth like nature’s example from the mustang hoof of the US Great Basin.

The reader will not find any photos from x-rays in this book. I never trim hooves to x-rays. I simply don’t work with x-rays. I use my eyes to see, my hands to feel and a camera to take pictures. As well I have a measuring device called the “Hoof Meter Reader” which was invented by Jaime Jackson. This device gives me instant information. I can read the hoof’s healing angle and healing toe length as well base angle and base toe length at any moment in time. It is my obligation towards the horse to acknowledge the healing angle of each hoof and bring it down to the ground via divergent hooves. I allow hooves to heal rather than fix them.

It was an amazing experience to see and touch life mustang hooves at one of the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) corrals in Nevada when I was out there. The same applies to learning from Jaime Jackson’s cadaver hooves from deceased wild free roaming horses of the US Great Basin. However, I don’t refer to cadaver hooves from domesticated horses for learning. Most likely I would be looking at pathology. Even if I had a cadaver hoof from a deceased foal or young horse that was born in a stall on bedding, a grass pasture or any other unnatural environment I would consider looking at pathology. A dead cadaver hoof also does not respond to the mimicking of natural wear patterns, does not produce divergent hooves and does not answer with the healing powers of nature. A cadaver hoof is certainly great for a beginner trimmer to safely learn the basics of trimming and tool handling.

Stay tuned for the upcoming cases (under my care for up to 20 years) in this blog series as a replacement for the unpublished part III: Mission Impossible of my trilogy Hoof, Body & Soul.

Part I and II of Hoof, Body & Soul are available worldwide over Amazon in English and German.

What did all my client horses over the last 20+ years have in common? They needed to heal from atrophy of the back of the foot as well as other atrophied hoof structures. And I am asking my question: Why do we need to change the upbringing of our baby horses and donkeys? A: To prevent senseless suffering.

Gudrun Buchhofer

Photo credit cover photo: Roman Buchhofer Photography

Gudrun BuchhoferMay 24, 2025horse, horses, natural hoof care, nhc, the natural trim, foal, foal hoof, hoof problems, barhuf, barhufpflege, Hufprobleme, natural horse care, donkeysComment

CHAPTER 1 Atrophy, the fundamental cause for most all hoof pathology and upper body injuries

Hoof contraction

Every foal hoof has long toes and high heels at birth (diving devices for a safe delivery). About half of the hoof capsule needs to be worn down after birth. This requires movement in a fairly natural environment beginning within the first hours after birth.

There is a lot out there in the trimmer world about fighting and treating thrush. But there is hardly any material there in the first place that could be eaten away by thrush. The back of the hoof is unfinished at birth. At the same time, as the hoof capsule needs to be worn down, proper stimulation of frogs, bulbs, walls, the white line, bars, internal structures need to happen. Otherwise structures will go in to atrophy. The activation of true heels also fails if those processes do not take place.

Atrophy of the frogs, bulbs and internal structures as well as lack of true heels are in direct relation to hoof contraction. Fixed metal shoes might contribute to further contraction but it is not the underlying cause. Over the years I dealt with many contracted hooves which never had any form of shoes attached to them. With or without shoes, the unreleased false heels can contract inwards in an atrophied foot. However, not every atrophied hoof contracts. It really depends on the enforced decision a foal makes very early on about how to compensate for the unfinished hoof.

Due to a failed reduction of the hoof capsule right after birth, combined with the unfinished back of the foot (true heels, bulbs, internal structures), a lot of foals tuck the front legs behind the vertical (enforced decision). The famous scenario of toe first landing is a result. Most horses have problems walking on their own bare feet in the front. Horses endure injuries from the unfinished back of the foot in the hinds as well but are able to compensate differently. Most horses toe out with the hinds (often turn out the entire hind leg) and use the medial half of the hoof capsule for weight loading. This is different from naturally asymmetric hind hooves. The front hooves usually need longer to heal than the hinds. The fundamental problem applies to fronts and hinds.

Case # 1 Ace

trimmed from July 2013 – December 2024

Quarter Horse Ace was born in June 2012 in western Canada. Ace was shipped across the country as a weanling. After his arrival on the east coast he was kept in a stall on wood shavings for quite a while. When I started trimming him in July of 2013 I found Ace stuck with his pasterns still stretched, weak fetlock joints, unfinished baby hooves with unreleased long shanks or false heels. (We can safely assume an unnatural environment at birth and lack of movement in the first months of his life.) There was complete atrophy of the frogs, bulbs, soles, bars and internal structures. The outside walls of the hoof capsules were severely bruised. Ace toed outwards with all four. His hooves were already deformed at such a young age. He further developed a broken back axis stance in the front and a crooked right hind pastern. He tent to lean on the side of the hoof capsules. Due to the lack of true heels, internal structures, frogs and bulbs the front hooves soon contracted. For quite some years, the soles and bars were protected by a hard (almost shell-like) layer of horn.

By 2020 Ace clearly entered an important phase of the healing journey. In April of 2021 the layer of shell-like horn turned into crumbly white sole horn which was then ready to be removed. Over the years Ace improved his stance and the bruising on the outer hoof walls as well as soft tissue bruising subsided. Compromised and compressed tissue was released through a few abscesses.

Ace is ridden barefoot since he was started under saddle. From 2021 onward this golden boy makes his young owner proud competing. In 2023 they took home a second place in barrel racing and a first place in pole bending. Photo credit: CKPhotography

Closing note: Ace lives in a herd in a large paddock without green grass pasture, over the summer months with 24/7 freedom to move and he is stalled overnight in the winter. Longer periods of standing (on wooden floor with shavings) caused set-backs in the healing. His hooves tend to re-contract and grow towards a wry-foot as Ace tends to lean on the side of his hoof capsules. In Ace's case hoof contraction was not caused by metal shoes as he never had any. Also it was not thrush eating away his frogs and bulbs as his hooves were in atrophy to begin with.

Image 1: Left front pre-trim July 2013

Image 2: Left front pre-trim July 2013

Image 3: Left front pre-trim December 2019 note the bruised soft tissue and the rubber like skin of the bulbs

Image 4: Left front pre-trim October 2024

Image 5: Left front lateral pre-trim July 2013

Image 6: Left front lateral post-trim November 2023 — he still shortens his feet via divergent hooves; healthier bulbs emerging from further back bringing the hooves more under the bone column.

Photos: Gudrun Buchhofer