How to take accurate hoof photos to track your horse’s hoof health
- Riikka Kemppainen
- Nov 3
- 7 min read
Updated: Nov 9
When you see and handle your horse every day, it’s easy to miss small changes in their hooves. Those subtle shifts can slowly turn into big differences - for better or worse. That’s why taking regular, accurate hoof photos is such a powerful way to track your horse’s hoof health over time.
Whether you trim your horse’s hooves yourself, or have a professional do it for you, consistent hoof photos (for example, every two to three months) let you clearly see what’s changing in your horse’s hooves. You’ll be able to tell if those changes are positive or negative, and make informed decisions about your horse’s care and management.
Why hoof photos matter for horse hoof health
Photos allow you to spot things that might otherwise go unnoticed. You can pick up on flares, medio-lateral imbalances (where one side of the hoof wall is higher than the other), stretched white line, and laminitis rings (aka event lines).
It may sound strange, but many of these things are much easier to spot in photos, rather than observing the real foot. Often, it’s easier to study a still image than a moving hoof. With a photo, you can take your time, zoom in, compare it to older pictures, and really learn what’s happening in the hooves.
Preparation is everything
Clean hooves
If you want your hoof photos to be accurate, preparation is key. The cleaner the hoof, the better the photo, and the more you’ll learn from it. So don't just pick out the biggest clumps of dirt; really scrub that hoof clean - a wire brush is great for this purpose! A stiff nylon brush can work well too. Take care with the frog, if there is thrush you don't want to poke the bristles in too hard.
Take photos on a hard, flat surface
Photos taken on grass or soft ground are useless for assessing balance, because the hoof sinks in. Always take photos on a solid, even surface, such as concrete or rubber matting. If you don’t have one available, place the hoof on a sturdy wooden board.
The whole hoof needs to be visible
Make sure the hoof wall, sole, frog, white line and collateral grooves are clean and visible. This really is a non-negotiable. Again, a wire brush is your best friend in getting the hoof totally clean.
If you need to wash the hooves to get them clean, dry them thoroughly before taking the photos. A wet hoof reflects light and usually results in inaccurate photos.
Keep your horse comfortable
The calmer your horse, the better your photos. Offer a hay net or stand them next to a buddy if it helps them stay relaxed. If they’re fidgety or stressed and you don't have the training skills to turn it around, stop and try again another day. Good photos require calm horses.
Consider investing in some professional help if you have an ongoing problem handling the hooves, it makes everyone's life much easier!
Pay attention to lighting
The best lighting is on a slightly overcast day, when there are no harsh shadows. On sunny days, take test shots from different directions to see where the light gives you the clearest details.
Here are some examples of less-than-ideal hoof photos. You can click on the photo to view a larger version.
Standing square
For accurate photos, make sure that your horse is standing square, and the leg that you're photographing is straight - not reaching forward, backwards or sideways, as that makes it impossible to assess the angles correctly.
The essential hoof photo angles
For accurate tracking of horse hoof health, consistency is key. Take photos from the same angles and distance every time, in the same order. This way, you can compare like-for-like and spot even the smallest changes.
We’ll walk you through the most useful photo angles and what you can learn from each one.
IMPORTANT! The most common mistake that people make with hoof photos, is that they have the camera too high off the ground when taking some of the photos. So when we say "camera at ground level", we really mean it - literally, have your camera touching the ground.
1. Side view photo (lateral photo)
How to take it:
Place your camera or phone on ground level, about one metre away from the hoof. Zoom in slightly, but make sure that you can still see the entire hoof and the lower part of the cannon bone.
Take the photo perpendicular to the hoof, so you can almost see the inside heel bulb, but not quite. (You'll find the right spot by moving the camera sideways so that the inner heel bulb comes to view and then just about disappears from view. That's where you want to take the photo.)
What it shows: You’ll see if the toe is flared, what the dorsal hoof wall angle looks like, the angle of the coronet band, and whether the heels are too high, or underrun.
2. Front view photo (dorsal photo)
How to take it:
Keep the camera on ground level, roughly one metre away. Zoom in slightly, but make sure that you can still see the entire hoof and the lower part of the cannon bone.
Take the photo straight towards the front middle of the hoof. Make sure that the camera lens is pointing at the middle of the hoof.
Only photograph one foot at a time
What it shows: This view helps you spot flares on the sides of the hoof, and check if the hoof is balanced side to side. The coronet band should be level. You can also see if the hoof is pigeon-toed or splay-footed.
3. Sole photo
How to take it:
Hold the hoof up and aim the camera directly at the sole- lens pointing to the middle of the foot.
Keep the camera at the same angle as the sole- parallel, not tilted. Otherwise you can make the toes look really short of really long accidentally!
Make sure your hand isn’t covering any part of the hoof.
What it shows: This angle tells you a huge amount about hoof health. You can assess the frog, white line, heel placement, and overall balance from front to back and side to side.
4. Sole oblique photo
How to take it:
Hold the hoof up and aim the camera from the side towards the sole at an angle.
You can rest the hoof on your thigh for stability and lean back to take the picture.
Make sure the whole sole is visible, and in focus.
What it shows: A great angle for checking sole concavity, frog and heel height and structure. You can see how healthy the frog is and get a sense of wall height and heel development. This is an underused view of the hoof but one of the most valuable ones to take! Take several slightly different versions and keep the one that shows concavity the best.
5. Heel photo
How to take it:
Hold the leg by the cannon bone and let it hang naturally, so that the toes point slightly downward.
Aim the camera towards the heels at an angle where you can still see a little of the toe and sole.
Keep the lens pointing into the middle of the heel bulbs so the hoof is centered in the image.
Take two or three shots from slightly different angles, lifting or lowering the leg upwards and downwards. Don't move or hold the hoof itself, because that can make a crooked foot seem straight!
What it shows: This view helps you check if both heels are level, you can also see the heel height, the health of the heel bulbs and frog, and whether there’s any imbalance in wall height. It’s not needed for hoof boot sizing, but it’s very useful for assessing long-term hoof health.
6. Caudal photo
Although not an essential photo, sometimes it's useful to take a photo of the back of the hoof when the foot is on the ground.
How to take it:
Keep the camera on ground level, roughly one metre away. Zoom in slightly.
Make sure that the camera lens points to the middle of the back of the foot, and you are taking the photo in a straight line, not at an angle. This can be a bit tricky, since you have to place the camera under the horse's body.
What it shows: This view gives you information about the heel bulb health and balance at the back of the foot. You can for example see if the heels are "sheared"- where one bulb is pushed up higher than the other.
How to keep your hoof photos organised
Once you’ve taken all the photos, it’s easy to forget which hoof is which. A simple trick is to photograph the entire leg first, then take all your detailed photos of that hoof, and then finish off with another photo of the entire leg, before moving on to the next foot. This way you can view your photo gallery and see straight away where each hoof photo set starts and finishes.
When you’re done, label each photo with the hoof and the date. That way you can easily track changes over time and see how your horse’s hooves are improving.
The correct way to label the photos is by using 'Near' for left, and 'Off' for right side, and 'Fore' for front feet, and 'Hind' for the hind feet, like this: NF = Near fore, OF = Off fore, NH = Near hind, OH = Off hind
Consistent hoof photos = clearer understanding
Taking regular, accurate hoof photos gives you a clear picture of your horse’s hoof health - something that can otherwise be hard to notice when you see them every day. It helps you make better trimming, management and diet decisions, and it’s one of the cheapest, simplest, most valuable habits you can develop as a horse owner.
So next time you clean your horse’s hooves, grab your phone and start documenting. In a few months, you’ll be amazed at how much you can learn from those photos.
Do you want to learn to read hooves, and assess their health accurately, simply by observing them visually? Join our Hoof Care Essentials course, where you learn this and so much more!
