Tab Pigg says a base-narrow Quarter Horse is a common sight in his area. The farrier from Azle, Texas, finds other shoers will often "go big or go home" when addressing this issue.

"They will over-correct and do more damage than what is fixed," he says. "I don’t like that. I think we’ll take something past a certain point and we do more damage than what we fix."

Beginning his approach, Pigg makes sure to remove all of the dead and crushed heel when trimming.

"That lateral heel is loaded, and the horse stands base-narrow. First, make sure you have good horn to work with. After trimming, you’ll still be off medially. You’ll notice that the bulbs are not level when measured parallel to the ground. However, that medial heel is the correct heel."

He thinks many farriers are consumed by taking that inside heel off to match the other. However, they will return 6 weeks later to find that the inside heel is back to where it was before the trim and they haven’t gained any ground.

Read more about Tab Pigg's advice and shoe application in the April 2011 issue of American Farriers Journal.