Pete Ramey and Natural Barefoot Trimming

I just got "Making Natural Hoof Care Work for You" by Pete Ramey from amazon.com. A must read for all horse owners. I am going to transition to barefoot. Last shoeing I removed Darlene and Fressia's shoes. So I have 3 barefoot horses, 2 in full shoes and 4 in front shoes. I had been really worried about Freesia's front hoof which was contracted with a tiny shrunken frog. In a few weeks it is amazing her hoof has widened behind and the frog has doubled in width. So I was doing some research about barefoot trimming, heard about the "Mustang roll" and came across Pete Ramey. http://www.hoofrehab.com/ I ordered his book. Then on Clinton Anderson's site I learned he transitioned to barefoot 2 years ago and his horses have been sound, their hoofs are great and he will not go back to shoes. He only shoes the rear of his reining horses so they slide. Clinton has 2 video's of Pete Ramey discussing and showing his trimming 2 of Clinton's horses.
I am ordering Pete Ramey's 10 disc DVD series "Under the Horse - Hoof Rehab".
In 85' I went to horseshoeing school in Oklahoma for 2 weeks. Time to brush off the tools and start doing this myself. I will just keep the feet touched up regularly. I am going to order some Easy boot epic's for the transition. Then I am going to loan my DVD series to all the horseshoer's on island that are interested and hope they watch it. Maybe I should have video nights for all interested horse owners too.

IMPORTANT POINTS: Steady maintenance is the heart and sole of Natural Hoof Care. Trim every 4 weeks. Touch up in between.

1) The sole is the primary guide to hoof trimming. The outer 1" band of the sole
is an area which should be almost never touched. After the 1st trim you almost
never trim the sole except for a 3/4" band around the frog forward of the bars.
2) Solar concavity is built, never cut. Leave the sole at the toe alone.
3) If you leave the calloused sole at the heel alone and lower any hoof wall
standing above the sole the heels will lower on their own. Never cut the heels
lower than the widest point of the frog. usually 1/4-1/2 inch heel above.
4) Never leave the quarters higher than than the heel or toe. In the Natural hoof
there will be a hollowing at the quarters so it doesn't touch the ground when on
a flat surface.
5) The entire hoof capsule is a blood pump, The frog is not!
6) Mustang roll is a bevel at approx 45 degrees along the wall outer wall. This
keeps the wall off the bearing surface. It helps prevent cracks and flares. It
starts the process of callusing.
7) Use boots to transition successfully from shod to barefoot,


Thrush treatment: New:http://www.hoofrehab.com/Thrush_treatment.htm
or
80% cider vinegar w/ 20% water. You can soak the foot for an hour in a soaker boot. Can spray this on hoof after cleaning if you see signs of thrush.