Strasser Methods

[SmokinPRanch]

In doing my recent barefoot learning I come across mentions of the "Strasser Method". Seems to be a method that has some controversial history. Could you please give a basic account of the principles involved in this method? From what I've gotten so far it seems to be a more aggressive method (?)

[redcomet]

never read a good article on it yet! As far as i'm aware horses are left with severely short hooves at un unatural angle - v painful 4 them :mad:

[artemis]

People using this method have been prosecuted for cruelty & abuse.

I think that anyone who is thinking of using it should have their own nails cut below the quick, just to have some small idea of the pain they are about to inflict on their poor long suffering animals who cannot say no.

[MelanieD]

Heel height is determined by a measurement not by what the foot needs at that time, never mind if you have to cut into the sole to get there. Bars are cut out, which is Not Good. Sole can be concaved with a knife, and thinning sole is just fantastic because it helps hoof mechanism.. nevermind how sore the horse is. Seems abcessing is considered fantastic and part of healing.. erm.. No. Horses being really sore after trim is just fine :mad:

Basically forces the foot to their idea of the ideal foot straight away instead of working to gradually persuade the foot to grow into a healthy shape, thins the sole which is Not Good, and thinks its just fine for horses to be really really sore while 'transitioning'.

Non-strasser barefoot people achieve just as good results and generally better without causing the horse pain, in other methods any soreness is considered a Bad Thing and every effort made to keep the horse comfortable, so there's really no excuse for strasser hoof butchery IMO.

[chickyd444]

my friend has had her horse barefoot since day dot - no strasser method ivolved - he's now seven and his feet have naturally grown in to a wonderfull shape - he is NF and hi horn is extra dense and hardy - his feet look in better condion and neater that my ISH's feet and he wears shoes:rolleyes:

[SmokinPRanch]

Thank you all. It did seem that the method had a lot of bad points. That's why I never really took time to research it. I did want to get a general idea of what was involved in the method. Like most things, I think we have to know a little about the wrong ways to learn the right ways.

Although I don't believe in following any one expert in anything, most of my learning so far can be said to be the "Pete Ramey method". The principles make sense to me and I've had positive results in my limited experience using them with our horses.

[Yann]

I'm not sure how much credibility Strasser has in the UK or continental Europe now, but it may be different where you are. The problem with it is that a lot of the basic ideas are quite sound, it's the way that they have often been implemented that isn't. As has already been described it's all about returning maximum 'function' to the hoof, normally by removing structure, and pain, discomfort and abcessing are seen as a normal part of the process. Add in to the equation playing god with many sad cases it would have been kinder to put down in the name of rehabilitation. Horrible and immoral.

Ramey, KC LaPierre and many many others have proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that suffering should never be a part of rehabilitating or improving a horse's hooves.

[rebelcowgirl]

Well said Yann. I agree there should be no pain to the horse if a trim is done properly. That is of course unless there are some underlaying problems to begin with. Strasser method doesn't have a lot of credibility in Canada either. Nothing good that I have heard?

[Afellpony]

There was a large thread on this sometime last year, or earlier this year.:eek:

[Peter Laidely]

G’day All!!!

Currently Dr. Strasser still has a lot of influence in some areas of the world…

But not as much as a few years ago…

I have met this lady and I believe that she was honest and sincere about what she was doing to both horses and humans… She was also the first light that some people ever saw about challenging traditional hoofcare methods which are (IMHO) often just as destructive, or, in the long term much worse, than some of the things Dr. Strasser taught.

But I also believe that in many areas her work was based on error and that it is not just “too aggressive” it is actually WRONG.

Perhaps it was easier for me to see, as I had 35 years of hoofcare experience before I met the lady, but many others did not.

She certainly has been the worst public relations disaster natural hoofcare has ever had!!

However there are now a LOT of good hoofcarers in the world who started learning from Dr Strasser, or who managed to separate the good things she taught from the error

Most have had to hide the fact for fear of being lynched…

A small number are brave enough to admit their learning curve and demonstrate that they have “moved on” past their beginnings.

Some, unfortunately, have given up…

And some, even more unfortunately, carry on working with the errors…

Please do not just “write off” anyone who has been through the Strasser teaching, I have a lot of friends who are fine horse and hoof people who came that way, but did not stop there.

Peter Laidely

[SmokinPRanch]

Thank you Peter, that is basically why I had asked the question. I understand the Strasser methods were started with the best of intentions. It also seems they had failed to maintain a willingness to evaluate their work with a critical eye.

I've been around horses a long time myself. I have seen training and handling methods come and go. I can say we didn't do a lot of things right, but we never did anything "wrong". My idea of being wrong is anything that we felt was harmful to the horse or not being able to realize we weren't right.

As many horses as I've seen I have to admit my hoofcare knowledge has basically been limited to hoof picks and farrier's phone numbers. I don't feel guilty about that because I've always felt it was the best for my horses. But now I feel I can do better for them by learning more about this area.

I've read a lot of discussions about hoofcare lately. It seems to be a topic that really draws some strong opinions and emotions. What always bothers me is those who are obviously close minded to anything which does not fit into their methods. They are usually the ones who have no willingness to look at themselves critically.

From what I have experienced so far, this board has some very knowledgeable people with a sincere concern for the betterment of their horses.

[Jaimee]

Both of my horses are strasser trimmed. I can say that it has been fantastic for them. Noone wants to see horses suffer especially me or my trimmer. Strasser has had a lot of bad press because of a couple of court cases where some people having done weekend course mucked up some horses feet quite bad. That doesnt mean SHP's think this is right. This I believe resulted in laws against trimming your own horses feet in the UK. ( I am in New Zealand).

They do not carve out sole, but yes they do trim bar. This is the reasoning: Which equates to more suffering, a long slow transition over may years where it is hard to find the balance between progress and regression or just being 'stuck'. The horse being sound on some terrain but not on others, the immune system being depressed as well as the circulatory system....or
transition as fast as possible, possible meaning taking into acount movement, diet and trim. Get the horse to health doing the utmost to keep that horse comfortable in that time and as a result have a strong healthy sound horse, that moves over any terrain in far less time?

One of my horses is three, the other fourteen. The three year old has made changes in posture (her pasterns were too upright as per old farrier trim all her short life) her shoulder is much improved and consequently her movement. The fourteen year old still doesnt have beautiful feet but he is truely a different horse. He used to be slightly uneven moving in front. The vet said it was arthritis in the shoulder. Since going bf with this horse he is no longer reluctant to go out, he has stopped his head tossing, never stumbles anymore (that was a huge problem), he LOVES jumping now and that unlevelness is absolutely NEVER seen. It was clearly a problem within the foot. Both are so much freer moving and more comfortable t oride with correct heel first landings. Horses land heel first when thier feet are comfortable. This also make for a much smoother ride and no stumbling- ever!

There are a lot of rumours out there. Many people are propogating them without actually knowing first hand much about the Strasser technique at all. I used to stear people clear of it too because of what I had heard. I learned to bf trim my own horses a different way but then moved overseas for five months so had to find a trimmer. I was reserved to begin with but have been absolutely thrilled with the professionalism and expertise of my SHP. He is an incredible wealth of knowledge and got into bf trimming for the sake of horses.

Learn what you can and make up your own mind, be careful who you do listen to.

[MelanieD]

The prosecutions in the UK weren't people who had done weekend courses, they were experienced trimmers and strasser herself backed them up and showed up to court. I don't think the prosecutions for the trimming were successful though, IIRC the successful prosecutions were for not providing vet care and pain relief. There isn't a ban on trimming in the UK, anyone can trim, but the strasser lot over here have gone a bit quiet recently.

Some strasser trimmers do seem to have developed some sense and don't do the invasive stuff but there are articles by the german hoof butcher herself describing invasive trimming and abcessing being fantastic etc. And she was interviewed for a british horse magazine with the result being an article where all the horses at the clinic were lying down they were so sore and she was fine with it.. which i think did a very good job of putting most people off her methods.

Is your SHP claiming that trimming the bars speeds up transition and it'll take years without doing that? I rarely mess with bars unless they're overgrown and need trimming down a bit and then never taken below sole level and haven't seen it slow anything down, the slowest horse to get comfortable barefoot I've known was fatso, whose bars were attacked by a farrier in a way a certain german probably would have been rather proud of.

[Yann]

Which equates to more suffering, a long slow transition over may years where it is hard to find the balance between progress and regression or just being 'stuck'.

I have a real problem with that, why does a transition need to imply any suffering at all? And everything I've seen strongly suggests that the biggest most important factors in a successful transition are diet, environment and exercise in that order, the trim is way down the list.

the immune system being depressed as well as the circulatory system....

How? Why? Because the horse hasn't had a Strasser trim?

Strasser has had a lot of bad press because of a couple of court cases where some people having done weekend course mucked up some horses feet quite bad. That doesnt mean SHP's think this is right

Echo Melanie, the people who have been prosecuted were SHP's