27/02/2024
MY STORY
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My interest in natural hoof care & trimming was a very unexpected venture! My passion for learning how to trim horse’s hooves was actually because of the little horse pictured below.
Pictured is “Shiloh” - a small pony that I was able to give a home to in 2014. He suffered bad treatment at the hands of people, and as a result he was extremely fearful, traumatised and completely untouchable. Many horses like him, in these circumstances, often don’t have a good outcome. Thankfully, I was able to bring Shiloh into my care with the hope of rehabilitating him.
Over the past 10 years of working with him, I’ve slowly been developing his trust in me, despite it being a very difficult - and what felt like almost impossible - pursuit during the early stages. It wasn’t until the first four years of working with him, that he accepted being touched. Then another year followed until I could successfully place a halter and lead on him. From there, I began working through his intense fears and gentling him to being safely handled by myself. Patience & consistency was the key!
However, whilst I’ve rehabilitated him through a lot of his fears and traumas, he has a very difficult time trusting other people and accepting handling from any one other than the people he knows. Hence, trimming his hooves/dental care/vet treatment would require sedation for the safety of himself & all people involved.
Sedating him for trimming every 6 weeks isn’t what I believe to be a healthy long-term option. So, my next best solution was to learn how I could trim hooves, so I could safely attend to his hooves myself.
With this, I went on to learn how to trim at a two-day workshop with Australian Hoof Trimmers ACEHP (Australian Certified Equine Hoof Practitioners) trainers. After an extremely insightful two days of learning, I found an interest and appreciation for good hoof care & its importance to the health of the horse.
It wasn’t long until I was then applying to train under ACEHP to become a barefoot trimmer. Now, I’m able to attend to Shiloh’s hooves myself, bringing them back to good health, as well as pursue this new hoof care journey! 🤎 ✨
Photo credit: .grip photography 📸
