The hoof is an engineering feat (no pun intended). In the healthy, pain-free hoof, the horse lands heel-first. The collateral grooves (on each side of the frog) act as hinges, allowing the hoof capsule to expand. This rapid expansion at ground level creates a vacuum, which sucks a large amount of blood instantly into the hoof capsule. It is trapped in the hoof by a tightening force at the top of the capsule, as the hoof rocks forward, over the frog and descending sole, towards the break-over point. Think of the hoof capsule as a cone shape. As the sole descends and the walls expand outward at the bottom, they press inward at the top. This abundance of fluid in the hoof acts as a shock absorber to dissipate the weight of the horse, as it drives downward.

The hoof then breaks-over at the toe, coming off the ground. In this non-weight bearing stage, the hoof capsule retracts, as the sole ascends back to it’s original position. The spring like shape, created by the hoof wall and bars, assist in contracting the base of the capsule and therefore expanding the top of the capsule. This allows the blood to be pushed out of the hoof, creating a healthy vascular situation. With the next step, the process is repeated. This is probably one of the biggest benefits to keeping a horse barefoot. The hoof mechanism is allowed to function fully, in the manner that it was designed.

As you can see, a heel-first landing is vital for the hoof mechanism to function properly. Next month I will talk about some of the reasons your horse may not want to land heel-first. Again I would recommend reading “The Sound Hoof” by Lisa Simons Lancaster, available at http://amazon.com or http://www.star-ridge.com.