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How to Photograph Hooves
Taking Useful Pictures of Your Horse's Hooves for Documentation

Hoof photographs can sometimes be deceiving when they are not taken at the proper angles, or with proper lighting, etc. This page will help you to learn how to take the best possible photos of your horse's hooves. The better your photos are, the easier it will be for someone at our Study Groups or Workshops to help you recognize any imbalances or problems in the hooves.

To get started, you'll need a camera and good lighting. Sometimes the flash on cameras will "bleach out" the hoof because hoof pictures are taken close-up, so good lighting is very important. You'll first need to thoroughly clean your horse's hooves. Hosing them off will help tremendously, (we don't want to wonder if a dark spot on a hoof is an abscess or simply a piece of dirt on the hoof!) Ideally, your horse should be standing on a flat, firm surface such as a concrete aisle, driveway, or flat rubber stall mats.

At a minimum, four angles of each foot should be taken: front, side, sole and heel. Please view the instructions and photos below.

1. Front View

The front view can be taken of both front hooves at the same time, or of each hoof individually. The most important thing that should be done when taking front view pictures is to hold the camera nearly on the ground. You want the camera to be completely level with the hoof, no tilting! You may have to ask someone hold the horse while you get close to the ground. This will capture the true angles in the hoof walls.

Example:

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2. Side View

The side view should be taken in the same way as the front view... nearly on the ground. You want the camera as low to the ground as possible, and the camera should be level (not pointing down on the hoof from higher up, but rather pointing straight at it from ground-level). This will capture the true angles of the hoof walls.

Example:

3. Sole View

Pick up the hoof and take a picture of the sole. This picture should also be taken "straight-on", and not from an angle. Line up the middle of the frog with the middle of your lens or [X] in the middle of your eyepiece. The picture you get should be a flat view of the sole.

Example:

4. Heel View

There are two ways you can take a heel view picture. 1) While the hoof is not weighted and 2) While the hoof is weighted. I like the first option, because it can show more detail about the heels and back half of the foot in relation to the rest of the hoof, and it can uncover imbalances. However, the weighted picture can be useful as well.

To take a non-weighted heel picture, hold the hoof the same way you held it for the sole view picture, only this time, tilt the hoof downward and take a picture straight-on at the heels. It is helpful to get part of the toe in the picture to show heel-to-toe balance. Be careful not to twist or turn the hoof while taking the picture, just allow the hoof to relax and "flow" downward. If you try to position the hoof "straight" when it is not, we won't be able to determine if there are imbalances as easily.

This example is a non-weighted heel picture:

This example is a weighted heel picture:

Bring your hoof pictures to any of our Study Group Meetings or Workshops with any questions you may have about your horse's hooves and we'll be glad to give you our opinions. We also have a new feature on our website where you can send us your hoof pictures for critique. To do this, visit our Contact Us page for details.