When it comes to horses’ feet, we know that they are constantly growing forward. With that in mind, we need to have an idea of where we are going when we trim a foot. Everyone can visualize a foot in their head. What are you used to seeing? Is the foot symmetrical? Is it proportional?

When I started to practice drawing a non-distorted foot, I would still end up having a fair amount of distortion in my drawing. At first, I would begin drawing my feet at the toe. However, when starting my drawing at the dimple, which is the most caudal aspect to the central sulcus, this allowed me to begin from a known static reference.

While attending the International Lameness Prevention Conference, an event organized in Denver, Colo., by the Equine Lameness Prevention Organization, I explained the process of drawing a non-distorted hoof from the solar aspect using the ELPO Hoof Evaluation Protocol. It has continued to help train my eyes how to see and read the tissues of a horse’s foot. The hoof can become overgrown, stretched, curved, bent, folded, twisted and cracked through the normal process of growth, activity and weight bearing. Learning to see what non-distorted frog, heels, bars and toe are has helped me differentiate what a distorted and non-distorted foot look like.

The hoof drawing exercise is a tool that can help take the details of each structure off the foot. It then can be translated into a more tactile procedure in our…