The hoof sole covers most of the hoof’s surface area, surrounding the frog. With a view to reading your horse’s hooves, this is the best starting point for your trim.
Dead, flaky sole often appears where the hoof needs trimming. It’s these areas where the sole is getting no contact with the ground. Scrape this off using the dull side of your farrier knife.
Underneath, you’ll find the hoof’s live sole. This is smooth, shiny and mustn’t be trimmed. Here you’ll have a clear picture of the hoof’s concavity.
A sound wild horse will have a deep, concave sole. The underside of the hoof looks like a bowl, with the tip of the frog at its deepest point. This is the sign of a healthy hoof. A strong white line – remember? – keeps the coffin bone from pushing down on the sole. Understanding this is crucial to knowing the limits of your horse’s sole trim. You must look to the wild horse model as your goal, but never as your first step.
You cannot carve out a concave sole. Doing this would only set the process back further.
Concavity will build slowly as your horse moves. He won’t exfoliate sole as much as he would in shoes. Instead, sole material will harden, as it’s packed down from regular barefoot movement.
To help the hoof along…
Trim only the dead, exfoliating sole. The hard, live sole must be left. Behind this is sensitive, blood rich corium we have talked of. It’s also essential for developing hard, callused feet.
Clean out the build up of dead sole material around the frog/sole juncture. Do this lightly, from half way down the frog to its apex. By maintaining a definite line between the frog and the sole, you free the frog of pressure. Its ability to expand and contract would otherwise be restricted. The result is a bare hoof, functioning the same as it would shod.
Never trim the toe callus. This usually makes up the outer inch of the sole. The toe callus is the weight bearing point. It must be allowed to become thick and hard. During regular trimming, you’ll find you’re only trimming the sole that surrounds the frog.