The principles of Natural Balance are an accumulation of common sense ideas about hoof care that have been supported anecdotally and by scientific scrutiny. The study and observation of self-maintaining equine feet (both wild and domestic) are the basis from which scientific research has been directed. Our traditional theories and ideas on hoof care and lameness treatment are constantly being challenged in an effort to further our knowledge, improve our ability to maintain normal feet, treat lameness and most importantly prevent lameness. Our objective is to inform the hoof care community about some of our new findings so that hopefully better choices can be made in general foot maintenance and the treatment of certain lameness problems.

Traditional Thoughts about the Foot

• If the pastern is in line with the dorsal hoof wall, then the phalanges would be in line as well.
• Medial/Lateral (M/L) balance is attained by using the cannon bone, pastern and heels bulbs as a guide.
• Dirt should be cleaned regularly from the foot to prevent thrush and stone bruises.
• The hoof wall is designed to bear the weight of the animal.
• Horse's feet should land flat from both a M/L and A/P plane.

Most of the past research has been directed with these concepts in mind. However, recent research information has forced us to rethink many of these traditional concepts. Common sense questions often inspire common sense answers. For example, the questions posed on the first page regarding hoof wall flares, broken-out quarters, calloused parts of the frog, etc. can largely be addressed once we understand the inner workings of the hoof and the natural life cycle of the foot. The wild (feral) horses have been a vehicle to help start this learning process. Many will say that the wild horses can't teach us anything because their feet are not the product of a domestic environment and are never subjected to the stresses of carrying a rider. However, every horse is born with exactly the same basic structures of the foot. What happens after they hit the ground can depend on the environment and the things we do to them. Because wild horses don't have the hoof problems that our domestic friends do, it seems a reasonable place to possibly find some answers to our current soundness (or lameness) situation. As you may have gathered if you have looked over the "Wild Horse Study" section of the website, some very basic patterns were found in every foot studied. Below is a summary of those findings:

The purpose of our wild horse study was to see if there were hoof wear patterns that were consistent, unlike many domestic horses that have a wide range of hoof shapes and wear patterns. Arrangements were made with the BLM to examine wild horse feet once these horses were in lateral recumbency. We found each foot packed with dirt in the caudal region of the foot, around the frog and bars. The distance from the frog apex to the wall at the toe was always shorter than what we commonly see with domestic feet that are shod. It is common for domestic hooves to have a wide range of distances from the frog apex to the edge of the wall at the toe. The frog of domestic horses often becomes distorted and stretched forward as well. The bars on wild horse feet all terminated about Ύ” caudal to the frog apex. The heels were worn back to the frog buttress in one group of horses that lived in a shale, granite and sandstone environment. Others who lived in softer, less abrasive terrain had longer heels that would press into the sand instead of being worn away, very much like domestic horses in similar environments. All horses had a small enlargement of frog at the buttress and apex that was calloused, showing signs of weight bearing, again very much like what we see on domestic horses. When the dirt was removed, a flat board was freshly spray painted and rubbed over the bottom of the foot. The high points on the groundside of the foot received the fresh paint. There were 4 primary contact points seen on every foot, two at the medial/lateral toe quarters and one on each heel. A line was drawn across the foot at the cranial edge of the black marks at the toe quarters. Lines were also drawn from the toe quarter marks to the diagonal heel marks. (Above Figure) The purpose for the line across the toe was to identify where breakover occurred. Measurements were taken from the apex of the frog to that line. A distance of 1” to 1 ½” was recorded from the smallest to the largest feet (sizes ranging from ‘00’ to ‘2’). A closer look at the photographs and slides revealed that the line across the foot at the toe passed through the back edge of the sole ridge or callus. The lines drawn diagonally across the foot from toe mark to heel mark intersected just behind the frog apex from Ύ” to 1”(small to large feet respectively). A closer review of photographs and slides also clearly showed this intersection marked the widest part of the foot. Traditionally many authors agree that the widest part of the foot always maintains its relationship with the distal phalanx, even when the sole at the toe migrates forward, and the heels become under run and change their relationship to the widest part of the foot. This static feature of the foot helps us to see the distal phalanx (P-3) more clearly and enables us to see hoof deformities long before they become a problem. The self-maintaining feet of horses in the wild as well as domestic self-maintaining feet, all have the same basic surface pattern when viewed from the bottom of their foot. To establish a guideline for measuring, a line is drawn across the foot at the widest part. Another line is drawn across the toe at the leading edge of the imprint marks. A final line is drawn to identify the most caudal part of the frog. This line will fall just behind the bulbs of the frog at the caudal aspect of the central sulcus. All self-maintaining horse’s feet measure a greater distance behind the centerline at the widest part of the foot to the caudal frog, than forward to the point of breakover. Ground surface mass is described as the area of the foot that is on the ground, behind the line identifying the breakover point and ahead of the line identifying full caudal support of the foot. Routinely, in wild horse feet the ratio was 1/3 foot mass cranial to the widest part of the foot, and 2/3 caudal to the widest part of the foot. (Above Figure) The dorsal hoof wall had no deviation from the hairline to the ground, unlike many domestic feet. In domestic horses, the dorsal hoof wall at the hairline is often more upright or vertical than the lower half, which is an early sign of hoof deformity.

Data from the wild horse studies opened the door to many questions about our traditional thoughts on hoof anatomy and function, not to mention nutrition, lifestyle and genetics. One of the tools we gained from the wild horse research was the ability to more easily recognize hoof deformity. By simply evaluating the foot from the bottom using a line drawn across the foot at its widest point (approximately Ύ” to 1” behind the frog apex, where the bars terminate) allows us to see if there is more ground surface mass ahead of or behind the centerline. (Figure 2) This is covered in more depth in the next section.

Figure 2-A	Figure 2-B
Figure 2-C	Figure 2-D

As a rule, horses that stumble, forge, interfere and land toe first will have more ground surface mass ahead of the widest part of the foot. From the self-maintaining hoof patterns, we have been able to put together some basic guidelines (or goals) to help us better service our domestic horses. However, what many people fail to see is that the wild horses gave us more than just a hoof pattern. They gave us a direction in which to look for more answers to the mysteries of the foot, and subsequently opened the door to understanding the needs that are not being met.

Over the next few sections of this series you will find that Natural Balance is not so much a single technique of trimming or shoeing, but a combination of simple guidelines that address the basic needs of the equine foot (wild or domestic, shod or barefoot) as determined from scientific research, common sense biomechanics and practical experience.