The Natural Trim: Principles and Practice

Jamie, explains in very simple terms the benefits if a natural hoof and how to best serve the horse. He demonstrates and explains why a horse will do better without shoes and why it is important to allow a horse to be a horse. Jamie gives the horse owner tools to maintain a happy and healthy horse. His insight and knowledge has become a part of my support team.

I have had my horses barefoot for years, and being a research nerd, book worm, and self-sufficient type, I have constantly looked to gain knowledge and know-how when it comes to caring for my horses' hooves. This book is informative, but like many stars in this realm, Mr. Jackson is particularly impressed with his genius. I don't care for the way he suggests that no one else could possibly understand the horse hoof and trim it well like he does. He did not invent the barefoot trim, but reading this book, you'd almost think he did. I'm glad I bought it and I did learn, so if you're thinking about it, read it. Just be ready to overlook the arrogance.

So informative it will make you ask..WHY the hell do we still shoe our horses?The Natural trim is more for student and professional trimmers. There is a great deal of 'assumed' knowledge in his latest book.(The Guide to natural hoof care is more user friendly and designed for the lay person.)If you Like Jackson you'll like , Welz, and Pete Ramey too.I own a crap ton of hoof care books. And it really comes down to doing what technique is best for that particular horse.A must have in the natural hoof care collection.

Excellent book. I have all this man's books. He is descriptive and detailed with hoof care.

Yeah. This book though. Its a great example of the problems inherent with assumptions instead of using science to guide your decisions. After frustrations with inherent problems associated with finding good farriers to trim in the country, I was ready to give barefoot shoeing a shot. But the things they advocate are intended to be "nature's way" are seriously flawed when you examine the logic behind them.Among the things that bothered me in his technique was the recommendation to trim the horse's hoof down to "hypersensitivity" and even bleeding. Soring your horse is never an acceptable way to trim him, and "quicking" him, i.e. causing him to bleed when you trim him, is a great way to introduce outside contaminants to the inner workings of the horse and cause abscess and disease from the inside out.But there are more issues in this book than that.For example - you are intended to perpetually keep your horse trimmed at the "hoof's state is is seen in nature" - which is by its very nature at its most worn down. So then how, you may ask, would this support a horse in work — much less heavy work? Well their answer is it doesn't. In fact, they advocate not having your horse in sporthorse work and they advocate not using barefoot boots. Which really invalidates the point of considering barefoot trimming for most of us, who didn't purchase the horse just to keep the lawn mowed.TL;DR Lets also, for one minute, discuss the premise the entire book is based on - that the way the wild horse's hooves are shaped is the ideal way your horse's hooves are shaped. Is the way a horse bears a foal in nature the ideal way, wherein about 50% of fetuses are borne successfully without death to mare or foal? Is an utter lack of forage during droughts or hard winters the ideal way? Is the footing in a drought or in a muddy winter the ideal way? Is constantly running from predators and being on edge the ideal way? Is an average lifespan half or less of the domesticated horse an ideal way? No? This is because the wild horse lives in a NATURAL manner, not an ideal one; in the modern world we seem to confuse these two a lot. Our horse's hooves have also changed a considerable amount with selective breeding to adapt them to different conditions and for different purposes. For thousands of years now, our horses have not been bred for survival in the wild - in fact, if we turned them all loose into the wild, I imagine the vast majority of them would not make it — just like your dog wouldn't if you did the same with him, and for that matter his toenails probably would not be ideally trimmed either! In much the same way, a mustang roll is not going to give your horse's hooves the grip he needs to move effectively in a sand arena when he's trying to clear a jump, or stay sound and not worn down with repeated movement on gritty footing in an arena.I'm not saying you should go back to your farrier and put all your horses in shoes; on the contrary, there is a massive difference between a great farrier putting great trims on your barefoot horses, and a decent farrier putting decent trims on your barefoot horses. Usually, its soundness. My point is - don't dismiss all trim methods or barefoot trims in general. There's still a right way to go about trimming a horse for regular barefoot work. But.. what this book contains is not it, so steer clear.

This book is the best resource for maintaining sound, healthy horse hooves holistically and how to trim them, with tons of photos.

I lost my barefoot trimmer and had another person trim my animals. he did a bad job. I was hoping to be able to help myself. I have had horses for 35 years, so not a newbie. this book didn't tell me enough. it had a lot of principal, which is ok, but not what I wanted. perhaps I just got the wrong book.

It is a wonderful book. If you are thinking about buying it, just do it you won't be disappointed. Buy it, buy it, buy it!

Great book and excellent value although maybe not ideal for a beginner, Jaime's other book is a little aesier to start with aor maybe Pete Ramey's. This book has a lot more info and best used in conjunction with his DVD's. Great buy at this price and worth putting back for reference whatever your level of experience

This book is full of lots of interesting and practical information. A good buy for anyone wanting to go the barefoot route

Clearly described and presented by a man passionate about his subject

Lots of good info.

Informative , clear and concise book by the master of barefoot trimming Jamie Jackson.