Hoof, Body & Soul, Part III: Mission Impossible, unedited, by Gudrun Buchhofer. Blog 69, case # 69

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

Body & Soul

Case # 69

Quarter Horse filly

trimmed from February 2020 until March 2023

Her sad eyes caught my attention instantly when I first saw the yearling filly. The helpless expression literally broke my heart. A glance over her body and her hooves and I knew she was stuck with her hooves and the cause for a restriction in her physical development. The back of the hooves was undeveloped and atrophied. Those petite feet were not supporting the bone column of the legs. There was a huge burden on the joints. The fetlock joints appeared oversized or enlarged. The pasterns were still straight (like they are at birth) instead of having the natural bow spring. (Not only is the bow spring supposed to develop after birth through movement, the entire hoof capsule is meant to be reduced in overall length as well as the building of the back of the foot (true heels and internal structures) need to be activated through movement over firm and abrasive grounds. That is what nature does to the feet right after birth. That is where things go wrong in our world.)

Due to muscle tension the filly had difficulties to pick up her feet and hold them for the trim. I worked with time, patience and lots of treats to get the job done.

I trimmed the filly for three years. Her hooves went through a lot of repair work. I witnessed the miracle of 4th dimensional healing: hoof horn increased in mass; hoof horn shifted around the digit via divergent hooves; internal structures, bulbs and frogs increased. Basically, I guided the hooves back to the moment in time of birth. I was able to reduce the hoof capsule’s overall length, activate the back of the hooves as well as any atrophied structures. Divergent hooves emerged from further back and established the location of the hooves more under the bone column of the legs. All this restored the horse’s foundation and the body was able to catch up.

The fundamental mistake happened in the first hours and weeks after birth (way before my clients bought her as a weanling). Meanwhile, the mare is trained and ridden. She lives outside 24/7 in the company of other horses in a large natural paddock with lots of firm and abrasive grounds.

It makes me very happy that I was able to help this young horse to be home in her own body close to my retirement. Many thanks to the owners for trusting me with their young mare.

Pre-trim of my first visit — February 2020

Pre-trim July 2021 — clearly visible are the injured areas (abscesses = release of traumatized tissue) as well as the biggest stress areas (cracks) and the way she was leaning on the sides of the hoof capsules

Left front pre-trim first visit February 2020 — straight pastern, the back of the foot is not developed

Left front post-trim November 2020 — the pastern is no longer straight

Left front pre-trim July 2021 — abscesses released traumatized tissue and revealed the injuries from her leaning on the hoof capsules

Left front post-trim September 2022 — a new divergent hoof (with a steeper angle and a shorter toe length) has grown in about 2 inches = positioning the hoof further under the bone column

Left front pre-trim of my second trim April 2020 — a petite and atrophied foot

Left front post-trim November 2020 — the bulbs are “waking up” in the center

Left front post-trim May 2021 — revealing the injury to the lateral side from leaning

Left front pre-trim September 2022 — the bulbs are filling out further in the centre, the hoof capsule has increased in hoof mass in overall = 4th dimensional healing

Left hind pre-trim my first visit February 2020

Left hind pre-trim September 2022 — true heel has emerged from further back on the lateral side; the heel area on the medial side is repairing as well

Left hind pre-trim September 2022 — true heel has emerged from further back on the lateral side; the heel area on the medial side repairing as well

Right hind post-trim July 2022 — increase in hoof mass on the medial side with the divergent hoof next to the ground, the pastern is no longer straight

Right hind pre-trim of my second trim April 2020 — frog and bulbs have already responded to my first trim

Right hind pre-trim September 2022 — true heel has emerged from further back on the lateral side; bulbs have increased in mass

Right hind post-trim September 2022 — there is a divergent hoof halfway in with a shorter toe and a steeper toe angle; strong bulbs and internal structures are supporting the bone column of the leg

photos: Gudrun Buchhofer

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.

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.

Q: Why do we need to change the upbringing of our baby horses and donkeys? A: To prevent senseless suffering.

Gudrun Buchhofer

Gudrun BuchhoferJanuary 10, 2026Hufprobleme, horse, hoof problems, horses, the natural trim, nhc, natural horse care, natural hoof care, donkeys, donkey hoof, lessonsfromthewild, foal, foal hoof, Fohlenhuf, barhuf, barhufpflege

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