February 1, l998. Hairlines straighter 6 weeks after the heels lowered. Heels still were not low enough, though . Another plus to lowering the heels is that it enables enough frog contact and pumping action to spread the heels. I do not agree with this idea.
Nails are a conduit for infection, and also chill the interior of the hoof in cold weather.
Nailing further back too often results in quicking. You cannot reset as often as you can trim a barefoot horse, so an optimum hoof shape cannot be constantly maintained. Steel shoes vibrate when they strike a hard surface. Long term, this can cause tissue damage. Steel shod hooves have less shock absorption than bare hooves having full hoof mechanism, or hooves shod with removable hoof boots.