If you haven’t yet read the report by the 2007 Lameness Research Meeting and Panel, we’d suggest visiting the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Web site and downloading a copy. The report includes some food for thought for everyone in the hoof-care industry — not only in its recommendations but in how they were arrived at.

Farriers do a lot of things on the level. They shoe horses standing on mats. They evaluate a horse as it’s walked on level ground, toward and away from them. If they look at a radiograph, odds are every effort was made to make sure the horse’s foot was level when it was shot.

The information, ideas and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the United States Department of Agriculture.

Q: It appears that the trend for Rocky Mountain horses is to cut down the heels to achieve an angle of 48 degrees or less. We all know the type of ailments that long toe, low angles bring with them. What angle would you recommend?