Ross's Blog - The COBIT is a simple tool

29 March 2022

Since I started to promote and sell the Center of Balance Indicating Tool I have been asked many questions about it. Sometimes folks are wondering if they have the skill or knowlege or believe that the COBIT is above their "level".

I want to talk about how the COBIT is a straight forward tool and guide. Through a little practise putting it on your horse's foot I believe anyone with an interest in learning and improving their skills can use it. I know that there are a lot of folks out there that through necessity had to learn how to trim or shoe their horse's feet. The COBIT will help take out some of the guess work you might encounter with trimming or shoeing your horse. I have over a number of prototypes made the COBIT a more simple tool than when I first started my journey. What you see now is the most simple and straightforward COBIT I have created.

When putting it on a horse's foot the screw must be to the outside, away from the horse's leg. This is a safety tip as the horse can hurt itself if the screw is on the wrong side and it jerks or moves its leg and gets a scrape. Place the leg gently on the ground and wait for the horse to adjust having it on its foot. Some horse do react, some don't. Once the horse's foot is balancing properly on the COBIT you have found the center of balance which in turn gives you the correct breakover and heel location. The proper balance and breakover is extremely beneficial to the horse. It will begin to feel the difference immediately especially if the horse is suffering from severe lameness. When you have a consistent and regular trim/shoeing schedule and use the COBIT each time you will notice that the horse moves better, feels better and is more willing to do what you ask of it. The long term benefits are the most important and even a few years later with the regular use of the COBIT your horse will continue to feel its best.

I have added many videos on my website of putting on the COBIT, in depth discussion of the COBIT and tips on how to use it. There are also two videos showing a shoeing and barefoot trim from the start with the COBIT to the finish product. They are also on our YouTube channel - Ross Smith Center of Balance Horseshoeing. I hope that these will help you on your journey with the COBIT and Ross Smith Center of Balance Horseshoeing. If you every have any questions about the COBIT, how to use it please send an email to rosssmithcobit@gmail.com or call 1-306-693-3939 and we will get back to you as soon as possible.