Carani Hoofcare & Horsemanship - Leanne Smith

02/12/2025

If you’re after a comfy saddle that sits you in balance with your horse then this is the saddle for you.

Most people (me included!) wait years for a Harold Pitchers saddle so if you’re in the market I’d jump on this one quick 🦘🏃‍♀️

https://www.facebook.com/share/17tAFmHZfg/?mibextid=wwXIfr

18/11/2025

Things have been a bit quiet here at Carani Hoofcare and Horsemanship. The last couple months have been very busy with hay season which hasn’t left much time for horses.

But I managed to sneak away for a few days of bliss at Horsemanship First for Lee Smith Horsemanship Clinics. Horses, cattle, good company and non-stop learning. What more could a gal want? Excited to share what I have learned over the past week

🙏🏼❤️🐴

05/10/2025

Well that was good timing! Following on from my post about capeweed, here is an information session on horse-appropriate pasture management strategies!

Belinda Taylor is a fellow trimmer and a great source of knowledge! Highly recommend for anyone interested 😊

03/10/2025

A really great summary on the ill effects of capeweed.

I know a lot of horses that suffer once those yellow flowers come out so it’s good to get an insight into why 🌼

💬 “I know I often go on about capeweed 🙄 … but a recent client’s senior horse really got me thinking.”

👉 This older horse has started coughing and struggling with exercise intolerance again — almost exactly the same time as last year.
👉 It made me wonder: could capeweed, now flowering and filling paddocks, be making things worse?

Most people think the risk is just about sugars (capeweed can hit over 30% WSC!) and laminitis.
👉 But that’s only half the story…

🌅 Morning risk – nitrates/nitrites
👉 Capeweed and flatweed accumulate nitrates overnight.
👉 In the hindgut, these convert to nitrites, which oxidise haemoglobin into methemoglobin — a form that can’t carry oxygen.
👉 Result: 🩸 less oxygen in the blood, 😮‍💨 breathing struggles, 💔 poor circulation, 🐴 biome stress.

☀️ Afternoon risk – sugars (WSC)
👉 Photosynthesis drives sugars up later in the day.
👉 Result: 📈 insulin spikes, 🐎 laminitis trigger.

🌼 Capeweed = triple hit
1️⃣ Nitrite burden in the morning (oxygen transport + biome disruption)
2️⃣ Sugar burden in the afternoon (insulin & laminitis risk)
3️⃣ Pollen allergen when flowering (airway inflammation, asthma flares)

💪 Muscle & Nerve Stress (Stringhalt link)
👉 Capeweed & Flatweed are linked to Australian Stringhalt.
👉 WA pastures are often low in magnesium (Mg) and sodium (Na) — both vital for nerve conduction and muscle relaxation.
👉 Low Mg/Na + nitrite stress = twitchiness, abnormal gait, poor stamina, and stringhalt‑like signs.
👉 Add this to asthma and circulation issues → seniors especially struggle with exercise intolerance and recovery.

⚡ The bigger picture:
👉 Capeweed and flatweed don’t just stress the lungs and hooves — they also stress the muscles and nerves.
👉 Seniors, with decades of exposure and reduced gut resilience, are hit hardest.

✨ Take‑home: With capeweed, it’s not just about sugars.
👉 Nitrates and nitrites from weeds like capeweed and flatweed can affect your horse’s blood oxygen, circulation, muscles, and gut biome — especially in seniors or horses with asthma and laminitis risk.

📚 References

Asmala, T. et al. (2019). Nitrate and nitrite in forage crops and risk of toxicity in herbivores. Grass Forage Sci, 74(4):511–523.

Arai, N. et al. (2011). Methemoglobinemia due to nitrite ingestion in horses. J Vet Med Sci, 73(10):1389–1391.

NRC (2007). Nutrient Requirements of Horses. National Academies Press.

Couëtil, L.L. et al. (2020). Equine Asthma: Current understanding and future directions. Front Vet Sci, 7:450.

Grace, N.D. et al. (2010). Mineral composition of pastures and implications for grazing animals. NZ Vet J, 58(3):118–123.

Waldridge, B. (2010). Nitrate and Nitrite Toxicity in Horses. Kentucky Equine Research.

Robertson, S.A. & Muir, W.W. (2013). Equine Anaesthesia. Saunders.

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21/09/2025

Raider headed home yesterday from his two week training visit.

His owner came and had a couple of lessons with him before he left so she could also learn some of the new tools I have been teaching him.

After she rode him she said she couldn’t believe the difference in her horse, that he had never been so relaxed under saddle. In her words, it normally felt like sitting on a tightly strung guitar string!

I didn’t do a lot of riding with him while he was here. I mostly focussed on getting his mind right on the ground, which then sorts out a lot of things under saddle.

This is a clip of me riding him late last week. While he was more than happy to move his hindquarters around, he had been showing reluctance to move his front end across. He also had a tendency to get frustrated when he didn’t understand something. Here you can see him working through that confusion and bring some softness into his movement.

Raider will be back after harvest to continue his training and I look forward to working with him some more.

16/09/2025

Stepping it up a notch with Raider 🙌

This video doesn’t go perfectly but that’s ok, it just shows me where there’s still work to do.

He still holds quite a bit of tension but he’s starting to tune into me and trust that he can find comfort with me.

Every now and then he takes a big breath and when he lets out you can just feel his whole body start to relax. That’s what I’m looking for 👌🏼

14/09/2025

Jaz has had a few pull back over the years (my fault, know better now) and as a result I no longer hard tie her.

Instead I just wrap the lead rope around whatever I’m “tying” her to and let her find her place of comfort. This was her place of comfort for the best part of an hour while I trimmed the other horses.

Bless her - as long as she knows she can leave if she needs to, she will choose to stay. It’s the feeling of being trapped and unable to leave that makes her panic.

Hmm, might even be a deeper life lesson hidden in there somewhere… 🤔❤️

13/09/2025

A little bit from the start and end of Raider’s session yesterday.

He has a very strong attachment to his paddock mate, so much so that I asked his owner to bring him over a few days ago as I was worried Raider wasn’t eating or drinking enough while he was here.

This is the first time they have been separated since being here and you can see just how upset he is.

It is my job to show Raider that he can find safety and comfort away from his paddock mate. It’s important to me that he doesn’t just “go through the motions” of what I’m asking physically, but emotionally lets down and finds relaxation as well.

13/09/2025

The annual transition from bay 🤎 to silver 🤍

Who else’s horses are shedding like crazy? 🪮🙈🤪

09/09/2025

Raider is here for a couple of weeks to work on relaxation on the ground and under saddle. Here’s a snippet from his first session.

21/08/2025

My little helper, always at the ready ❤️

18/08/2025

The fine weather on the weekend gave me an opportunity to do some more work with Sunny.

Here I am working on exposing her to a change in ground conditions (the rubber mat) and walking through a restricted space.

It is also one of the first times I’ve taken her out of the paddock without any other horses so she is coping with it all remarkably well 🩷