| Esco Buff's Professional Farrier Service, LLC |
| Retracted Soles |
I have talked about this issue since the early 1990's. I presented a Powerpoint lecture on Retracted
Soles at the 2012 International Hoofcare Summit in Cincinnati, Ohio. The article from that lecture was
published in the September/October 2012 issue of the American Farriers Journal.
Retracted soles are a condition that several equine professionals have seen, but has yet been defined or
described in any equine medical dictionary. There are only a few published or electronic references to
retracted soles that can be found and only one source for pictures and radiographs.
Medically, retraction or retracted is the act of drawing back, or a condition of being drawn back. The
soles of a horse with retracted soles are drawing back or rather up and away from the ground. The soles
appear to be being sucked up into the hoof. During this process the soles become overly thin causing
the horse to be very sensitive to the slightest sole pressure. Therefore, a good definition for retracted
soles may be soles that are thin and abnormally cupped. The appearance cannot be mistaken for any
other sole issue. Instead of having a nice sole concavity, the sole appears to drop off from the white
line. Retracted soles that go unnoticed by a farrier during the trimming process can result in overly
trimming the hoof wall thus causing the horse to become extremely painful due to sole pressure.
Please click on the pdf link to the article from the American Farriers Journal.
Retracted Soles Article
Soles at the 2012 International Hoofcare Summit in Cincinnati, Ohio. The article from that lecture was
published in the September/October 2012 issue of the American Farriers Journal.
Retracted soles are a condition that several equine professionals have seen, but has yet been defined or
described in any equine medical dictionary. There are only a few published or electronic references to
retracted soles that can be found and only one source for pictures and radiographs.
Medically, retraction or retracted is the act of drawing back, or a condition of being drawn back. The
soles of a horse with retracted soles are drawing back or rather up and away from the ground. The soles
appear to be being sucked up into the hoof. During this process the soles become overly thin causing
the horse to be very sensitive to the slightest sole pressure. Therefore, a good definition for retracted
soles may be soles that are thin and abnormally cupped. The appearance cannot be mistaken for any
other sole issue. Instead of having a nice sole concavity, the sole appears to drop off from the white
line. Retracted soles that go unnoticed by a farrier during the trimming process can result in overly
trimming the hoof wall thus causing the horse to become extremely painful due to sole pressure.
Please click on the pdf link to the article from the American Farriers Journal.
Retracted Soles Article
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Picture of a retracted sole.
Picture of a retracted sole.
Radiograph showing what a retracted sole
looks like and how overly thin the soles
can be.
looks like and how overly thin the soles
can be.
Picture of a retracted sole.