Soreness after trimming
As you are reading this the hooves of your horse are growing. And as they grow they grow out of balance. Each time your Farrier trims the hoof a certain pastern angle is achieved. This angle determines how the hoof hits the ground. If the angle is to low them the hoof will most likely hit heel first. If to high then probably toe first. Ideally the hoof should land flat so the forces coming down from above will be distributed as evenly as possible around the hoof wall.
Most hooves grow in the direction of the toe meaning that the toe becomes longer and the heels are being forced under the hoof giving the appearance of having no heels at all. The Deep Flexor Tendon is being stretched to its limits increasing the likelyhood of pulling the tendon. A pulled or bowed tendon is serious and will take your horse out of commission for a minimum of six months. So along comes your Farrier who hopefully trims the hoof back into balance [ altho on severly neglected hooves this isn't always possible] and now the tendon that is on the front side of the hoof is now being asked to share of the load. This will cause soreness for a day or two and is of no harm to the horse. If you wait till your Farrier must remove excessive amounts of hoof material to achieve balance then you have waited to long. This is your fault and not the Farriers. Hoofcare isn't about making the hoof look pretty, it's about maintaining a healthy hoof. Yes, a well maintained hoof is pretty to the eye, but on many severely neglected hooves the end result will not look so good until a correct state of balance has been achieved. "Food for thought".
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