by Kelly Case

Words that we hear applied to almost every aspect of our day to day living. For instance when you go to the Doctor he will tell you that you need to eat a balanced diet, after you leave the Doctors office and head over to your Therapists office he will tell you that you need to have a focus and that focus should be centered on your happiness. There are politicians that are left of center, right of center some in the center, but they will all tell you that they are trying to achieve a balance. (In many cases they seem to be trying to balance a budget while centering on the working mans pocket ………but that’s another story for another time)

I can’t answer nor will I try to answer the great mysteries of life (or politics) when it comes to this center and balance that we all seem to be trying to achieve. However after having about eight solid hours of windshield time last week and contemplating the aforementioned mysteries I always come back to the horse.

Now as a horse owner, trainer, Farrier and as of the last 9 yrs an instructor at ShurShod Horseshoeing School I have seen heard and read a lot about balance and level. The other day while driving I seriously got to thinking about balance and level when it comes to the horses foot.

Level is pretty easy to explain and pretty easy for even the untrained eye to see, we all know that if you trim a horse stand him on a relatively level surface, square the horse up step back and look at the coronary band that the coronary band should be parallel to the level surface the horse is standing on. I.E. the ground or that nice level dry well lit area you specifically made for your farrier to work in when you set up your barn.

So with level out of the way we tackle balance. I got too thinking what is balance and how can something be balanced if it’s not centered?

First it defies the immutable laws of physics to have balance but not center or vice versa, so what does this have to do with our horse and our farrier you ask? Well let me tell you.

When we trim a horses feet we trim for level and balance but to achieve this balance we need to take off more toe and leave a little more heel or in some instances we need to take off some heel and leave a little more toe in other words we need to trim and shoe that horse to what his body is telling us too. We need to move the foot back under the horse so that the horse has his bearing weight centered and balanced to support the bony structure, now I’m not just talking about supporting the leg remember those legs support the horse’s complete skeletal system.

All too many times horse owners and some farriers as well get hung up on angles. They read somewhere that a horse’s foot needs to be trimmed at a specific angle. Usually the numbers I hear from customers are 52degrees at the front and 54 degrees at the hind, I’m glad that horse owners know that those are the average angles for all equines and I’m talking every equine from Arabians to Zebra’s on this one.

Those figures while accurate are the AVERAGE angle that the coffin bone sits at inside the hoof capsule of the Equine with IDEAL conformation.

Bear in mind no horse has absolute perfect conformation, so when we throw out those figures what are we basing them on? Are we going by a fresh set of X-rays that show the exact angle of the coffin bone? Of course not, lets be realistic here no one is going to get a set of x rays shot every 6 to 8 weeks so they can have there horse trimmed and shod to the perfect angle of the coffin bone.

However we can through a few simple tests that any Farrier or horse owner can perform find the ideal angle to trim and shoe our horses at so that the horse has Centered Balance.

Looking at the illustration titled Centered Balance Fig 1 we can see that the line through the center of the scapula runs parallel to the line drawn through the center of the pastern. We also see that the boney column of the leg is moved under the horse and is providing the support needed to support the entire skeletal system of the horse. This is what we need to trim our horses at to provide maximum support for our horses. Keeping not only the joints of the horse’s leg in alignment but also keeping the entire skeletal system in alignment as well. This will provide our horse with his best possible gait, the best possible movement and will help to alleviate stresses and strains on our horse’s entire body as he moves.

For the horse owner or farrier the easiest way to tell if the horse is in balance is to follow this simple procedure as illustrated in Centered Balance Fig 2.

If you look at the line drawn from the center of the scapula to the ground you will see that the line passes through the center of the joints in the bony column of the leg, ending at the back of the heel bulbs.

This is perfect alignment and support for the horse’s entire body. This method will allow you to determine if the hoof has been trimmed at the proper angle for your horse’s conformation.

To check your horse and shoot this angle is quite simple. You will need a relatively level surface, your horse and a stiff straight edge. I like to use a piece of ¾ inch rigid PVC pipe of the kind commonly found at your local building supply store.

Get your horse standing square on the level surface place your straight edge on the center of the shoulder and shoot a line with the straight edge from the center of the shoulder to the ground.

                                  Centered Balance Fig1             Centered Balance Fig 2

If your horse is in balance the horse’s heel bulbs should just touch the leading edge of your straight edge.

Now that you have checked the Centered Balance of the front feet lets take a look at the hind feet. The procedure for checking the hind feet is practically the same you will once again need your horse your rigid straight edge and a level spot. As illustrated in Fig3 if our horses feet are Centered and Balanced we should be able to shoot a straight line from the end of the pelvic bone that touches the back of the hock and the back of the fetlock. The simplest way to find Centered Balance on the hind feet is to simply shoot a line of the pastern and trim the hoof to the horses pastern angle . That is and will be the most optimum angle for your horse. It’s just that simple! Centering and balancing your horse using this method to set the angle of the hoof will give you the best performance from your horse. It will also provide your horse with the best support and most comfort for his entire body. This method will also be more accurate than any hoof gauge money can buy. After explaining Centered Balance to horse owners and Farriers alike I am usually asked what are the benefits of trimming my horse to the Centered Balance protocol.

The first benefit will be your horses overall health and well being, by putting your horses foot back to where his body says it belongs. Your horse will have the optimum support for his entire skeletal system this will not only help to alleviate problems normally associated with impact injuries such as sore legs inflamed joints, back pain and chronic heel pain. This is really nothing more than an inflamed bursas and the fore runner of navicular syndrome.

Supporting and balancing the entire skeletal structure will also help to reduce the soreness and muscle fatigue many horses get when being ridden or worked hard, and once again this is not just in the feet and legs we are talking the entire horses body.

By providing the needed support with Centered Balance this in turn gives you the rider a better smoother, safer ride and helps to stop common gait faults such as over reaching, scalping forging, tripping or stumbling that have become commonly associated with many of the “all natural” and “Natural Balance” protocols that now seem to be a fad among many horse enthusiasts and self proclaimed “Certified Lameness Experts.”

For the horse owner and rider this translates into fewer vet bills, less down time for your horse and more saddle time for you.

Another thing I hear from horse owners is “ I ride a gaited horse and he wont gait properly if I use Centered Balance protocols”

Well I hate to tell you folks that’s just a plain old wives tale. I live deep in Fox Trotter country and I have found that gaited horses are still horses; they still have the same exact bone structure as any other equine.

If they are leveled and balanced to what there body says they should be, they will gait and you will find they will gait better when the whole body (including the rider) is properly Centered and Balanced.

Think of it like this whether you drive a Corvette or a 1 ton pickup you still have the front end aligned and the tires balanced when you have the vehicle serviced right? When you have a wreck and the frame of your vehicle gets bent you can pretty much figure that the vehicle once again whether it’s a Corvette or a truck is ruined.

That vehicle then heads for the bone yard right? Well when your horse becomes unsupported and out of balance and his frame (skeletal system) gets crooked what happens to your horse? Just like a vehicle you spend a ton of money. You try different things go to different vets, Farriers, equine chiropractors, try feed supplements etc. Only to find that you have wasted money and time. But unlike a vehicle you put your horse through a lot of unnecessary pain when you could have Centered and Balanced that horse from the get go and avoided the lost time, pain and cost. While you and your horse could have had a lot more pleasurable saddle time.

Another thing I hear frequently is “I shoe my horse so this won’t work” or the other end of the spectrum “I never put shoes on my horse so this won’t work”

Once again I am going to play myth busters here.

First the most important part of hoof care is the trim. With out a Level Centered Balance trim it doesn’t matter what you do with that horse he still needs to be Leveled and Balanced and that Balance needs to be Centered.

The trim is what brings that horse into Center and Balance if you choose to run barefoot that’s up too you. The shoe is put on to help maintain and protect what was done in the trimming process that brings your horse into Center and Balance.

So this protocol works whether you run barefoot or whether you prefer to put shoes on your horse. This is a scientifically proven fact! Ill even go one step further and say that Centered Balance is the only proven method to date that actually works on the horse long term.

Many people will read this and say I am talking through my hat some of these same folks will say “I prefer the all natural methods.” Just remember arsenic and cyanide are all found in nature but we don’t feed them to our horses do we?

Some folks will say (and I've actually had people ask me to do this to there horse) “I want the Mustang Roll” on my horse, when I ask why they would do that too there horse they respond “Because you never see lame horses in the wild.” Well that’s called survival of the fittest. You never see a lame horse in the wild because if they can’t keep up with the herd they become supper for the wolves.

So let’s keep the wolves at bay and start trimming and shoeing our horses in a correct scientifically proven manner. One that not only helps the horse but helps the rider as well.

Centered Balance trimming and shoeing that horse the way he was built.

Centered Balance is a registered trademark of the

MidAmerica Equine Research Center and ShurShod Horseshoeing School

Copyright 1-30-2010

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