Merging Boundaries
Barefoot trimming is how people help horses in their care maintain foot balance and health. When horses live in a large enough area, with the kind of terrain they adapted for, they will self maintain. This means that as they move over the ground, the horn, which is always growing to a greater or lesser extent, is worn down.
Horses kept in domestic situations often do not have the opportunity to journey in this way. Their diet is often richer than the wild horse, so their feet grow faster than they are worn down. This is when they benefit from barefoot trimming.
There are many different theories and trimming techniques. Some follow the natural trim, that happens through daily wear in a healthy wild lifestyle, more closely than others. Barefoot trimming techniques influenced by shoeing practices tend to be less about function and more about form.
There are many different approaches to trimming a horse. The level of force used, the length of time and the flexibility in what is asked.
The holistic way is to perform as natural a barefoot trim as possible and to be as flexible as possible. Remembering that asking a horse to lift their legs for you is taking away their ability to flee from danger. Their acceptance will therefore be based on trust or on fear-based submission.
It becomes clearer and clearer to me how clinging on to attachments is a state of being. It is a fearful perception of the world which happens almost without being seen. Yet to discover even a moment of being attachment free is such a profound challenge. And the only way to experience what actually is there in each moment is to let go and let the current sweep us away.
Cheyenne and I were able to experience a perfect trim together when it was no longer my duty to get it done. She had taken responsibility for her own feet, when I realised I could give it to her, and what had previously been such a trial became easy.
Although practicing a liberty trim has to be a little more flexible than conventional practices, it can certainly bring out the best in a horse. Not only that, over time confidence levels are likely to continue to rise and each session will be quicker and easier.
It is only really possible to discover the difference between a shut down horse and a connected one when your own agenda can take a back seat. That will always be a work in progress for most of us, because it is normal to have an agenda, and it isn’t inappropriate to have one. The issues usually arise when the human agenda conflicts with the horse agenda, and that happens fairly regularly in a horse-human partnership. Even for those who prefer to avoid riding or training.