Can we talk about the way some folks set a shoe for a navicular horse?

I keep seeing people just drop the heel and call it good, but in my experience, that can make the breakover way too abrupt. A client's gelding went lame again last week because the last farrier just ground the toe and didn't roll the shoe enough. What's your method for getting that smooth rocker?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_ray2mo ago

Just dropping the heel seems like a band-aid fix, honestly. That abrupt breakover is probably what keeps hurting that gelding. How much rocker do you usually put in before you call it good?

lucas9722mo ago

Man, you're dead on about that breakover. I saw a horse with a similar issue totally change once we smoothed that transition out. It's more art than science, you just feel it in the rasp.

adams824d ago

Yeah but I think you can overdo the rocker too... I've seen guys go way too aggressive and it actually makes the horse land funny on the other side of the stride, kinda throws the whole rhythm off. For me it's more about blending the toe into the breakover point, not just hacking off a bunch of material. I'll usually start with a light roll and then check the hoof on the ground, watch how the horse moves for a few strides before I go further. Sometimes just a little bit of bevel in the right spot does more than a big dramatic rocker ever could.