One of my draft horses, after a couple days fieldwork, has a tendency to "chip off" the outer shell of his front hooves. This extends about an inch and a half either way from dead center of the toe and goes up the hoof wall about an inch. I have tried rounding the toe to prevent this, but it does not help as much as I would like.

The hoof looks balanced and there is no flare, but this seems to be a breakover problem. Should I shorten the toe and steepen the angle?

Thanks,

Greg Schneider

If you shorten the toe, you will place more weight on it. The shortest portion of the hoof will bear the most weight, since that portion of the foot will move closer to the center of the bony column from being short.
I would not worry about the hoof chipping off if the horse stays sound, but if it breaks up too far, you should have the horse shod. Bare feet being unable to deal with the amount of work is exactly why some horses need shod, despite the claims of the barefoot trimmers who state that no horse should ever be shod.

Thanks!