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Just 6 days previous to these photos another farrier had fitted this
Warmblood mare with Natural Balance shoes. The inner edge of the
shoe is pressing on the sole just over the pedal bone.

The picture below shows the sole bruising caused by the shoe and how
low the sole was taken down in that area. The foot has no
concavity to it and is prolapsed toward the ground.

The picture below shows that after just two shoeing periods the sole
is further from the ground, and this mare is much more comfortable.

Below: It is unnecessary to remove any hoof wall from the toe.
The area just above the coronary band (see picture below) on this foot
was injured when this mare was young, and hoof growth has been
compromised by the resulting damage. The foot is floated over
two-part silicone impression material with a frog support pad which
redistributes the weight over the entire foot instead of the just on the
perimeter. This heavy horse is now so comfortable that she now
moves like she is "floating on air." I know--the toes are
unbecoming. But, she doesn't grow much toe, and tends to
delaminate in the front. The shoes need to be backed up without
overly thinning out the remaining hoof wall (and making it weak) in an
effort to make it more pleasing to the eye.
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