The subject of just what constitutes normal hoof balance and function is charged with much debate and misunderstanding. These pages on balance are to serve as an overview into the current working paradigm I subscribe to. It is presented so that farriers and owners with whom I am consulting can reference the material in application to the particulars of their situation. The concepts are based on timeless principles, current science, and what seems to work in a clinical setting.

Hoof balance is analyzed in four dimensions. Three dimensions of space spread over the dimension of time. Because the hoof is a living dynamic structure it does not exist in static space. Hoof treatments may be just right at day 0, growing away from normal at day 21 and grossly abnormal at day 45. The entrenched dogma of the 6-8 week shoeing interval can not be applied across the board. Hooves grow at different rates dependent on an array of factors: shoe application, conformation, environment, season, concurrent disease, nutritional status, exercise patterns, degree of hoof imbalance, conformational faults, etc etc. etc...

From the horse‘s perspective, having balanced hooves more days of the year than not, is all that really matters. This can mean working some hooves every 2-3 weeks and others once or twice a year. The importance of understanding this variable dynamic can not be understated. Hoof growth underlies all discussion on hoof balance and failure to incorporate its influence into a farriery plan will meet with unsatisfactory results.

Failure to consider, as well as over consider a horses occupation is another pit fall on the road to balanced hooves. Baseball players, rock climbers and sprinters have different foot wear for good reason. The dressage horse who moves with a lot of lateral movement might not do as well in a squared toe easy break over shoe as would a pleasure horse. Horses that work at speed have different issues than those that work at collection. Mounted patrol horses and carriage horses face different challenges than horses that work in soft arenas. These subtleties deserve attention but are considered the finer points of balance and do not trump the laws of biomechanics.

The three dimensions of space to be considered are lateral-medial, posterior-anterior, and distal-proximal. Each plane will be considered individually and stripped down to what I believe to be its most basic elements. One could find fault in the following discussions for over simplification of a complex system. This may be true, however the parameters discussed in each of these planes have a high correlation with soundness, can be accurately measured, and most importantly can be manipulated to improve the individuals biomechanics.