Barefoot Trimming
The Magic of the Mustang Roll
Over the years, probably no other single trimming technique has become more synonymous with barefoot trimming than the "mustang roll." After all, only with a barefoot horse are we even concerned about finishing the edge of the hoof wall! Despite the widespread popularity and diversity of application of the mustang roll, it is still frequently overlooked as a sophisticated "tool" for reshaping the horse's hoof towards a healthier form.
History of the Mustang Roll
Jaime Jackson, the farrier/author who began the barefoot revolution in North America, must be given credit for inventing the term, "mustang roll." In his book, The Natural Horse, he describes the rolled edge of wild feet, which he called a wall bevel: "When I think of a bevel, what comes to mind is the beveled edge of a chisel, and that does not work for what I saw at Litchfield and in the outback. Rounded is a more fitting description, not necessarily the bevel shape that is apparent in a beveled-edge chisel."
Soft Ground and the Mustang Roll
Most American wild Mustangs live on relatively hard, dry, and abrasive ground. Most of the continental United States has climatic conditions that create relatively hard ground for at least a portion of the year. But what about soft terrain wild horses, do they still have mustang rolls? Or perhaps, even more importantly, would captive horses on soft terrain even benefit from the application of a mustang roll? An initial question may be, what exactly is the definition of soft ground? What is hard ground?
