Hoof, Body & Soul, Part III: Mission Impossible, unedited, by Gudrun Buchhofer. Blog 81, case # 81

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

Body & Soul

Case # 81

Creeker

trimmed from April 2013 until present 2026

"What a journey it has been! Gudrun came into our lives when we had run out of solutions. My horse suffered for years from thrush and what many call under-run heels. There were many attempts to fix the problem. One farrier even glued on shoes as a solution. Nothing helped.

I was skeptical of the barefoot trim. But the change I’ve seen in my horse is undeniable. Not only has his hoof structure improved — everything has changed for the better. That includes his body, health and happiness.

If people are looking for solutions like me they need only compare their horse’s hooves to mine. Seeing is believing. I feel so lucky to have worked with Gudrun over the years. She is ahead of her time. Creeker and I are truly blessed."

Erin C., July 2024

Creeker is under my hoof care wings for thirteen years now. I started the palomino Paint Horse in 2013 when he was seven years young. Besides that his hooves were a mess (lack of “true” heels; atrophy of the back of the foot; atrophy of the white line; deformed hooves; bruised outer outside walls; bruised sole coria), I found this horse dealing with many stressors — physically, mentally and emotionally. I advised my client to eliminate any stall confinement from Creeker's life and to provide 24/7 freedom in the company of other horses. I took my time with Creeker and he learned to trust me. I always trim him at liberty.

It was interesting to observe the healing of Creeker's hooves. They went through some craziness in order to heal from atrophy, to finalize the back of the feet, to bring them under the bone column, to shift hoof mass around the coffin bone, to release the long toes and to release bruising. As always, I trusted The Natural Trim and the healing powers of nature. Not once did I just back-up or roll his toes to make them look shorter. The healing toe length just did not allow to shorten the toes. I always let the water line to be the most distal part of the hoof capsule and considered the genuine mustang roll (as taught by Jaime Jackson) to be the corner stone for healing. I worked with divergent hooves. I always allowed the new and divergent hoof to show when it was time to take over and release the old. Often, the old hoof had just cracked away before I came out for trimming. The hooves took the turn between 2019 and 2020 — seven to eight years into the healing.

Creeker is trimmed on a regular six-week-schedule. His diet and environment has not changed in thirteen years. He has not been ridden and was allowed to heal.

Now, let’s roll back….

When I first met *Creeker...* notice: his left front was bruised (dark blue/grey); the bone column of both front legs was in a zig-zag; the joints were weak; there was extreme muscle tension in the upper legs and chest. Photo: Erin Campbell

September 2021 — remainders from the injuries to the toes from overloading because the back of the hoof was undeveloped and not available for weight bearing; note: the left front is no longer bruised (blue) since 2016

Right hind October 2017 — I discovered the scar above the medial heel bulb — note: In Part I: Freedom from Pain of my trilogy “Hoof, Body & Soul”, 45-58, I show several other examples and talk about the possibility for injuries from the ingrown, sharp and flared tips of the “false” heels.

Hinds post-trim July 2019 — both hinds were deformed and bruised up into the hairline; he is avoiding to put weight on the medial heel

Right hind pre-trim February 2016 — bulbs emerging from further back placing the foot more under the bone column of the leg

Right hind pre-trim October 2024 — the variant capsule angle-of-growth is finalizing in the back as well as the natural arch in the quarter is forming

Right hind post-trim March 2019 — still releasing lots of bruising; the white line is atrophied almost all the way around; bulbs and frog are atrophied

Right hind pre-trim December 2023 — he is filling out the medial bulb and the frog

Right hind pre-trim October 2024 — still a bit imbalanced medio-laterally

Left front pre-trim December 2016 — atrophied white line, frog and bulbs

Left front pre-trim March 2017 — true heels came through; frog and bulbs are filling out

Left front pre-trim October 2019 — heels are getting stronger; frog and bulbs are filling out more

Left front post-trim March 2016 — there are at least four divergent angles in one hoof at this moment in time (always coming in with a steeper angle and a shorter toe); with the new divergent hoof (closest to the hairline) the bulbs are emerging from further back thus this new divergent hoof is shifting the hoof capsule more under the bone column of the leg

Left front pre-trim January 2021 — a beautifully maintained mustang roll and natural arch

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 BuchhoferMarch 27, 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