Evolution

Dr Vet Med Hiltrud Strasser, a Veterinary surgeon from Germany, who has made it her life's work to research the reasons for the huge amount of unexplained lameness' and ill health found in today's domesticated horses.

Realising over thirty years ago that these afflictions were not apparent in naturally living or feral horse populations, she began her research by attempting to replicate the environment in which the evolution of the horse has equipped it to thrive.

60 millions years of evolution has produced a plains dwelling prey animal, living in family herds, browsing varied vegetation and relying totally on flight as a means of evading predators. Of prime importance is its means of locomotion: a single digit suspended inside a capsule of hard horn. Continual movement over varied terrain, ensures the health of this hoof capsule and its suspended bone. Abrasion from the terrain balances the continual hoof growth, and the expansion and contraction of the hoof capsule with every footfall, ensures that blood is continually pumped in and out of the hoof, ensuring metabolism. Regular immersion in water as the horse drinks or has to pass over wet areas ensures that the hydration and flexibility of the hoof capsule are maintained.

Domestication: the use of the horse as a means of transportation and latterly in the pursuit of leisure, has lead to an almost total disregard of the biological requirements of the horse.
 Insufficient movement, the confining in a stall for many hours a day, Solitary confinement either in paddock or stable, denying the horse the social and emotional comfort of his own species in a family group. Highly unnatural nutrition, supplied at widely spaced intervals instead of the virtually constant supply of varied forage, self-selected by the horse over a wide area.

Dr Strasser acknowledges that as humanity spreads ever further over the earth's' surface, here in the west especially, vast tracts of land are no longer available to the horse. However she maintains that if we intend to keep horses in captivity, it is our moral duty to provide them with as rich and diverse environment as we can, and this includes trimming their feet in such a way as to replicate the way in which, allowed sufficient terrain over which to roam, they would naturally wear their own feet.

Never has the old saying "No foot no horse" been more relevant. Without healthy naturally worn/trimmed hooves the entire biological integrity of the horse is compromised. Lack of the pumping action of four hooves means that the comparatively undersized equine heart is continually over stressed. This leads to organ degeneration, and the premature breakdown of the horse.

Statistics show that the average life span of a domesticated horse in the west is approximately fifteen years. It is then commonly euthanased due to a myriad of incurable conditions. The average life span of a naturally living horse is 30-40 years.

Dr Strasser maintains that the only way to maintain the health and integrity of the equine hoof is to trim it to replicate the horses' own natural method of wear. The correct heel height is essential to allow the bone suspended inside the hoof to remain ground parallel and equalise the stresses of suspension on the soft tissues inside the hoof. Natural wear/trimming ensures a tough but flexible hoof capsule, capable of withstanding movement over any terrain that the horse is conditioned to. The hoof has the ability to rapidly adapt itself to changes in terrain. This includes rock, tarmac, bog, grassland etc.

Strasser Hoofcare Professionals, are highly committed individuals, trained by Dr Strasser in the anatomy, histology and pathology of the horse, in particular how the healthy physiology of the horses hooves contributes to the health of the entire body. They are highly skilled in the care and trimming of the healthy equine foot, and in the rehabilitation of unhealthy, contracted and deformed hooves.  These types of hooves are commonly shown in textbooks as healthy examples.

Dr Strassers' aim is to bring the concept of the correctly balanced hoof, to the owner of the horse. Whether you decide to use a farrier or any other type of barefoot trim for your horse, you should be able to recognize a healthy hoof, and recognize problems in your horses hooves. Most horse owners investigate other types of hoofcare when problems such as lameness, laminitis, navicular or stumbling have been going on for long periods of time, and their current equine professionals have not been able to effect any improvements. We suggest that your first response should be to educate yourself, then go back and discuss what you have learned with your current professionals.

Dr Strasser would like to make it clear, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS THE STRASSER TRIM.  She has merely copied the form of the healthy hoof, that all horses are born with.  She has learned how to replicate this on the domestic horse, that is not given the facilities to wear it’s hooves down naturally, itself.