CC’s Hoofcare

24/08/2024

Dropping The Knives

We are going to talk about this meme a bit, because I’ve seen it pop up a lot and it makes me a bit sad.

I’ve been spending a lot of time talking to hoofcare friends around the world lately, and we have all come to a similar conclusion:

This job can be really dang hard, my friends.

For those of us in hoofcare, summer starts “burn out season”- not only does it often feel like 800 degrees in our bodies as we are working to hold up a couple hundred pounds of horse limbs while they try to use us for balance while simultaneously stomping at a fly, but it’s also the season when owners are often riding more, doing more, and wanting more from their horses- and expecting that we will make all their riding dreams come true with our rasp and nippers.

We want that, too. We want to make your horses comfortable and sound. We want to do our best to advocate for your horses and set them up for success.

And I feel like every year, I still have to do a post about how it’s also not all up to us as the hoofcare provider to make that happen.

When it comes to soundness, yes- the trim and whatever we do to the foot as professionals is incredibly important. We can cripple the horse in a second, we can also bring relief. Of course, that’s not the only thing responsible for a horses’ soundness. Their diet, environment, turn out schedule, stress levels, gut health, biomechanics, saddle fit, dental status, metabolic status, and so much more all play a role in how comfortable they are before and after a hoofcare appointment.

I was chatting with some friends today and all of us had stories about how we often are expected to be “Mr. Fix It”- with the silver bullet, magic wand answer to get your horse back out showing tomorrow - and it can be an immense amount of pressure.

Add in the fact that often, if anything goes sideways soundness wise, we are the first to get the blame.. even if the owner hasn’t called us in 3 months, or the horse is fed a straight corn cob diet and kept on lush grass fields during the day with enough fat pads to become a literal couch. It can be hard to not just feel like everyone is throwing the hoofcare pro under the bus (hence the meme).

If we read the foot and do the same trim that kept them sound and comfortable 3+ years in a row, and that horse isn’t happy after we see them, my first thought is “what has changed in their diet? Their environment? Their health or stress or whatever else to cause inflammation in the hoof that hasn’t been there in the past?” But it can be easy to just blame the farrier.

Most of us spend a huge amount of our “free” time reading, talking to others, going to clinics and conferences, sitting in on webinars, documenting and learning to “read” the foot, talking to vets/bodyworkers/trainers/other farriers, and working hard to learn to do the best we can. This job takes a huge amount of critical thinking, decision making that we know can go either way in many cases, and none of us are right all of the time. None of us - hoofcare pro, owner, vet, bodyworker, … no one.

Are there times when our hoofcare decisions aren’t right for the horses? 10000%, absolutely you bet. And as many times as that is true, there are times when something else is causing an issue and we are only able to work with the feet we are presented with- we can’t work miracles.

To the clients who view us as team members collaborating to keep your horse in top shape- you’re the real MVPs. Thank you for trusting us, for working with us, for looking for ways you can improve your horse’s hoof health and soundness and make our job easier. If all of our books were filled with clients like you, our jobs would be a breeze.

I am so thankful to have so many amazing owners and professionals I work with, and working on horses with them makes the hard days worth it.

For others who have had difficult times with your horse and are working to get them sound, remember we are on your team. We want to see your horse comfortable. And we love when we are able to be a part of the collaboration to get that done ❤️

23/08/2024

22/08/2024

2 trimming spots available in Lismore today. Message me
23rd of August

20/08/2024

The boys checking out when their next appointment is 😂 all booked in.

19/08/2024

07/08/2024

After spending a week learning from Tami Elkayam Equine Bodywork and a week decompressing, I’ve finally gathered my thoughts enough to string some words together.

These are the 5 things that keep coming up for me when I’m talking to people.

1. Living has a price and that is expressed in the body. It is rare to see a horse who is conformationally perfect. A body at anytime is adapting to its internal and external environment. These can be seen as compensations. The more opportunity we give the body to compensate, the longer it can hold itself together. The body doesn’t need to be pretty, just functional.

2. Symmetry is bad. If a biological body was symmetrical it would break. Ambidexterity is the goal. If a body was perfectly symmetrical there would be no room for error. The bones and organs that make up a horse are not symmetrical so why would we expect the horse to be symmetrical.

3. Fascia is an indicator of the metabolic state of the horse. Stress internally and externally causes a pH change within the horse and has a massive impact on the health of the fascia. Ensuring we reduce stress in our horses lives wherever possible can have a large impact on the health of the tissues that make up their bodies.

4. The diaphragm is connected to the hind legs and therefore canter can be a really rehabilitative gait. The diaphragm is the biggest pump in the body. The contents of viscera (internal organs of the main cavity of the body) aids in exhalation and inhalation by creating a vacuum.

5. ‘You’re not lame in one foot, you’re lame in all four’. Everything is connected, you can’t look at things two dimensionally. We only notice s**t is really wrong when the front end of the horse fails. It is our job, as owners, to note when changes occur, before the whole horse is falling apart.

04/08/2024

Good morning 🫏🐎

I have a few available spots for trimming and shoeing, happy to take on clients in the following surrounding areas or on the way to Nimbin , Lismore ,Byron bay and Murwillumbah. 💥💥

30/07/2024

Thank goodness the school holidays is over said Basil 🌿 ❤️🤣

Just kidding I think he loved it hmm 🤔 maybe 🤣

26/07/2024

Last client for the week ❤️ beautiful set of Versa grip glues applied with dim. This will help this little fella grow some sole depth and stay comfortable.

23/07/2024

🤣🤣

22/07/2024

❄️ Winter Is Coming…

🐴 Your factual guide to managing your equine during winter.

🧥 Let’s rip this Band-Aid off and start with the most controversial topic of winter… Rugging.

Despite how cold you may feel, equines have a thermoneutral zone of approximately 5°C - 25°C. This means that most horses do not feel cold unless it is below 5°C, and do not feel hot unless temperatures exceed 25°C. Of course, we need to take into consideration factors such as clipping, wind, rain, and the fact that YOU know your horse best; however, it is vital that you don’t go reaching for the rugs unless temperatures are dropping to the lower range of a horse’s thermoneutral zone, or unless you know your individual horse does not cope without extra layers for any given reason (ie. age or body condition score).

🧬 The fact of the matter is, over-rugging is a huge contributor to metabolic disorders and obesity in equines.

Using rugs inappropriately means a horse is not capable of regulating their body temperature and metabolism how they are designed to do so. Not allowing your horse to lose some condition during winter may result in obesity, further metabolic issues, and laminitis as they enter spring ‘well-covered’ and proceed to inhale all of the lush, green, and sugary spring pasture.

🐎 I can hear everyone internally screaming. “My horse is SUPPOSED to lose weight during winter?”

Yes… it is how horses are physiologically designed to regulate their body condition. No one is saying your horse needs to become underweight or malnourished, but it is normal and actually healthy for a horse to lose some kilograms during winter to prevent spring-induced health implications which are far worse than a couple of ribs being visible.

🦴 A glimpse of ribs does not necessarily mean your horse is skinny, malnourished, or emaciated.

Society has conditioned us to accept overweight and obese horses as the normal and this is why we are seeing more and more Equine Metabolic Syndrome, Cushings, Insulin Resistance, and laminitis. Being able to feel/slightly see ribs is HEALTHY.

🌱 Winter can often be used as an advantage to owners who are struggling to keep weight off easy keepers.

If you’ve owned easy keepers for several seasons then you know how challenging spring pasture can be. Get ahead of spring and allow your easy keepers to drop some condition by not rugging them unless absolutely necessary, not over-feeding them good quality hay, and continuing to exercise them if and where possible. A fat, fluff-ball of a pony may look cute but it is a ticking time bomb if not managed carefully.

🌾 Harder keepers can be a little more difficult to manage during winter, but that is not to say they need to be over-rugged either. Over-rugging does not do their metabolism any favours and may further reduce their ability to regulate their body condition even once winter has passed.

This category of horses will often benefit from an increase in quality roughage ie. good quality grass hay fed ad libitum. Digestible fibre aids to keep a horse warm from the inside-out, as microbial fermentation in the hindgut produces heat as a result of the process. Additional warmth may be achieved by adding a legume hay to the diet such as lucerne hay which is an excellent source of quality protein that produces increased heat when fermented.

🥶 It is often hard to separate horse’s needs from the needs of humans; however, it is essential to remember that they are a completely different species who are biologically unlike us.

🍎 Please feel free to share. It’s really important that we get on top of metabolically-challenged &/or obese horses who are predisposed to life-long health implications that have been created by humans.

15/07/2024

Enroll today!! Firenza Park Equine Services with Kathryn Christieson has worked so hard to create something great!! Great for horse owners. 🐎🐎

Join hoof care practitioner Kathryn Christieson as she guides you through the essentials of equine hoof care. In this comprehensive course, you will learn to identify an ideal hoof and understand the various aspects of hoof care, all explained in simple, easy-to-understand language.

13/07/2024

Regular farrier appointments aren't a luxury, they are a necessity for your equine companion's lifelong welfare.

❔Did you know❔
Every extra 1cm of toe length results in -
🔹an extra 50KG of force acting on the tendons
🔹a -1° drop in sole angle where the DDFT inserts into the coffin bone can lead to a 4% increase in the pressure exerted by the DDFT on the navicular bone

(Credit Dr Renate Weller)

09/07/2024

Hey everyone, I’m back to work this week. Slowly getting back into it. Thank you for your patience. 🙏

30/06/2024

I’m on lots of different hoof care and farrier pages, on one of them a farrier asks a question each day for us to discuss. Today’s question was do we enjoy working on pathology and complex cases, or prefer sound straightforward horses?

A common misconception from horse owners is that hoof care providers make more money doing complicated cases. I get that - your bill is higher, so we must be making more money right?

In fact, the opposite is true. We make our living on the easy horses with good feet, these are the ones that pay our bills.

The complicated rehab cases are just plain expensive, they cost you more, and they cost us more too. They require a higher skill level, more equipment and materials, and a whole lot more time. They also require more commitment, thought, emotional energy and are much harder on us physically.

On the flip side, with rehab we get to exercise our problem solving skills, push outside the box and to grow ourselves as a professional. Seeing a horses soundness and quality of life improve is very rewarding, and that’s why we do this at the end of the day.

This means that if we suggest something extra for your horse, we are doing so for the good of your horse, not for the good of our pockets. We want them to be happier and sounder.

I enjoy a mix of cases. I want most of the horses on my books to be sound and straightforward and a few that keep me challenging myself and practicing different skills.

17/06/2024

It’s not just…

It’s not just the toe.

It’s not just the heel.

It’s not just the sole plane.

It’s not just HPA.

It’s not just the environment.

It’s not just the diet.

It’s not just the radiograph.

It’s not just the posture.

It’s not just static assessment.

It’s not just dynamic assessment.

It’s not just the conformation.

It’s not just the hoof.

It IS a hoof attached to a horse. That horse IS a living sentient being.

The hoof is a result of ALL the pieces working together. When making hoof care decisions we must take into consideration as many factors as possible. The whole horse, especially.

13/06/2024

Critical thinking and deductive reasoning...using logic and emotion in harmony to apply objective data to our approach to the horse's foot.

10/06/2024

Hello everyone 👋 I have sustained a head injury from a horse, I have a minor brain bleed and cannot work for at least one round of some of my clients horses. I need to rest and heal, I will contact everyone who is due and work out a plan.

Thanks for understanding and I will be back up and trimming in no time ❤️🌸

09/06/2024

⚖️ 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗢𝗯𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆: 𝗔𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗪𝗘𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗼 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻

🐴 Contrary to popular belief, forcing an overweight horse to go prolonged periods of time (4-5+ hours) without forage does more harm than good. Forage is the 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩 thing we should restrict when trying to encourage weight loss or prevent weight gain in equines. Here is why...

🌱 Horses are physiologically designed to be ingesting and digesting roughage almost continuously. 𝘼𝙡𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 is the key word here, and it plays a huge part in managing the obese equine. An overweight horse does not need 𝙖𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙢 or 𝙪𝙣𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 access to roughage, but they need a controlled, trickle-fed amount relevant to their weight in order to keep their gastrointestinal tract operating as it should. Research suggests that horses going as little as 4-5 hours without intaking food are at significantly higher risk of developing gastric ulcers and colic.

🔧 Below is a simplified list of tools we can use to manage the weight of our curvy equine friends without unnecessarily increasing their risk of compromised digestive health:

1️⃣ Weigh the horse. This is the most important factor when managing calorie and nutrient intake. If we don't know how much they weigh, how could we possibly know how much to feed? If you do not have access to large animal scales, below is a handy calculator that will help you determine an approximate body weight for your horse based on a few simple measurements:

https://thehorse.com/tools/adult-horse-weight-calculator/

2️⃣ Weigh the feed. Guessing does not do us nor our horses any favours. A set of digital kitchen scales for weighing concentrate feeds and a set of luggage scales for weighing hay are invaluable tools that really don't cost that much to invest in.

3️⃣ For overweight horses, we need to feed 1.5% of their current body weight or 2% of their ideal body weight (whichever is more) in preferably tested low sugar and starch grass hay. Bonus points for lower calorie and protein hay too. If forage analysis is not practical or available and we suspect there may be more sugar than ideal in our hay, we can soak it for 30-60 minutes prior to feeding to remove some of the water-soluble carbohydrates (sugars).

4️⃣ If the horse is grazing on pasture 𝙖𝙣𝙙 receiving supplementary feeds of hay, we need to establish how much pasture they are intaking in order to calculate how much hay needs to be provided to achieve the 1.5-2% rule. Remember, actively growing, short, lush, or stressed grass is likely to be higher in sugar than maturer grasses, and this does not work in favour of our overweight equines. The catch 22 is that horses with access to longer pasture can generally eat more volume per day as they don’t have to work as hard for food as they do with shorter grasses. Grass sugars accumulate as the grass is exposed to sunlight during the day and then decrease again during the evening, so the 'safest' time to have a high-risk horse grazing on pasture is between around 3am and 10am, unless there has been a frost.

5️⃣ If the horse resembles a Dyson and makes grass and hay disappear in an instant, implement restrictive grazing tools such as grazing muzzles, strip-grazing, slow feeder hay nets, or if you have the luxury of feeding them several times daily, portion out their hay so they don't receive it all at once. They don't need continuous access, but they shouldn't go longer than 4-5 hours with an empty stomach either.

6️⃣ Stop feeding bulky hard feed meals out of guilt. Overweight horses do not need a premixed or pelleted feed with a daily feeding rate of anywhere from 500g - 3kg daily. If you are uncertain, have an Equine Nutritionist formulate a suitable diet based on a ration balancer or powdered supplement bound through a small portion of a carrier ingredient that includes everything the horse needs and nothing they don't. I promise, your wallet and their waistline will thank you for it.

7️⃣ Exercise the horse. We cannot expect a herd animal who evolved by grazing over vast landscapes to be locked in a small yard or paddock, with their food and water source in the one place, to maintain an ideal body condition score. Sometimes, genetics get lucky and prevent the horse from becoming overweight, but movement is so important for aspects other than weight control, such as blood circulation, hoof health, muscle conditioning, and mental stimulation. Track systems are excellent tools to implement in order to encourage foraging behaviours and movement.

🐎 If you enjoyed this article, please feel welcome to give it a share. If you’re struggling with managing the diet of an over or underweighted horse, an Equine Nutrition Consultation may put your mind at ease:

https://stableisedequine.com.au/products/remote-equine-nutrition-consultation

08/06/2024

This is the same in Australia 🇦🇺

Discussions from under the horse…

I’ve had a few conversations with clients recently about qualifications and ongoing education, so I thought I would share.

Many people are unaware that in NZ, there are no regulations around qualifications for equine professionals (aside from vets). This means that anyone can buy the tools and call themselves a farrier, bodyworker, saddle fitter, trainer, etc.

I don’t necessarily see this as a bad thing - so long as horse owners are aware and ask the right questions before employing an equine professional.

Do they have a qualification?

What is their experience?

What did the qualification involve?

How long have they been doing the work?

What ongoing education do they engage in?

I know some amazing equine professionals who do not have an official qualification, but have years of experience and dedication to learning. I know some professionals who qualified 30 years ago and haven’t done any further education since. I know of people who have read a book or done a weekend workshop and then call themselves a professional. And I know many incredibly experienced and knowledgeable professionals with a list of qualifications who are continually educating themselves and others. All professionals need to start somewhere, just make sure you are getting the right person for your needs and expectations.

Qualifications and ongoing education cost, expect to pay for excellent professionals. Part of what you pay them goes into their education so that they can do better for you and your horses.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions of your current and prospective professionals. Raise the bar of our care, encourage and support others to go out and learn - it benefits us all.

03/06/2024

🐎 Helping this beautiful boy today.
Long road ahead but we are making each step more comfortable 🌸 🌷

P.s. He was the sweetest and most patient boy letting me shoe him while I over thought every shoe placement and breakover change 🤣

01/06/2024

It doesn't happen often, but once in a while I am questioned about my rates. Rarely out of curiosity, mostly out of shock. Here's some explanation:

Client: "Hi, while you're here trimming So&So's horses, do you have time to trim mine?"
Me: "Sure!"
*In the middle of trimming their pony*
Client: "Oh by the way, how much do you charge?"
Me: "It'll be $$"
Client: "Oh my goodness! Why do you charge SO much for ponies?!"

The tools I purchase are priced to get the job done I need to. The $$$$ worth of tools will dull, wear, or break all the same and won't change in value according the the size of hooves it's taking care of.

Possible client: "Hi I've got {a lot} of horses that need trims, what do you charge?"
Me: "Hi, I charge $$ per horse."
Them: "Do you do herd discounts?"
Me: "I don't, sorry."
Them: "REALLY? My last farrier only charged me $30 a horse."
Me: "Well, that's how they choose to run their business. That's not how I run mine."

Working on horses is a VERY physically demanding task. If I'm going to a clients place where they have a large number of horses I am taking more time and putting in a lot more energy in however many hours to get that job done, it doesn't make sense to me at all why I would charge any less. ADDITIONALLY, if you ask your veterinarian to come vaccinate, float teeth, geld, and take x-rays... and ask them for a multiple horse discount- they'd probably laugh.

*Client's horse is misbehaving*
Me: "So, there's going to be an additional charge of $50 if we continue"
Client: "Why!?!"
Me: "Your horse is misbehaving, you don't want me to lunge him and won't do it yourself, it's taking me almost a half hour longer to get anything done, it's harder on me physically and I'm at a higher risk of getting hurt. So we can continue, or I can leave with one hoof trimmed."

This one sounds a bit rude, but sometimes uncaring owners need to be "hit with reality", and sugar coating get farriers kicked. If it's taking me longer to get a horse finished because of behavior problems that go unaddressed, I'm either going to charge more, or walk and not accept this client again. One good kick could end my career or life, something $40-$75 isn't worth. Nowadays, I do end the session and request the horse be worked with a trainer.

Client: "hi I need to get my horses trimmed. How much do you charge?"
Me: "Hi, I charge $$."
Client: "would you do it for $10 less?"
Me: "No, I'm sorry but that doesn't work for me."
Client: "Let me know If you change your mind, I'm looking for a good quality farrier!"

Usually when I am contacted by a client, the first thing they mention is what matters to them most, the most common "how much do you charge?" This is usually a red flag to me that the owner is mostly concerned about me being cheap. Sometimes when I mention my rates I get a rare response of "Oh wow that's very affordable! When's you're next opening?" But usually it goes "Oh okay thanks anyway" and we part our merry ways. No, I'm not disappointed in losing these potential clients because they wouldn't see the value in my work, or straight up tell me my work is worth less to them. 🤷

SO! Why do I run my business this way? Why don't I just put up with these things and make the money?

I LOVE this career, I love my clients and their fur babies. I want to be doing this until I can retire. I want to retire at retirement age! If I accepted and put up with these issues I would become short tempered, lower patience, broken-bodied, unable to maintain good equipment, have nothing to retire with and ultimately become "the last farrier we had out hit her with the rasp". That is a person I couldn't be proud of and cannot allow myself to become.

28/05/2024

Happy Aussie, loving his glue package. Constantly abscessing and thin soles have caused Aussie to be very uncomfortable.

We are hoping for better days ahead. 🙌🐎

28/05/2024

Do you know how to do a body condition score?
Obesity and laminitis related to equine metabolic syndrome is one of the most common issues we see.
Familiarise yourself with an ideal body condition- it’s much slimmer than most people think!
We use the Henneke BCS scale- all horses should be around BCS 3-6, but the vast majority we see are 7-9.
It is far riskier to be slightly overweight than slightly thin.

This video gives more in depth information (with a slightly different scale used)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zih1jT_pUgQ

27/05/2024

Happy to trim horses on my clients driveway. Paddocks are still to muddy to work in. I appreciate everyone taking the time to make a dry space for me to trim! We know how important it is in this wet weather. 🌸♥️❣️🐎🍀