Kas Edney Hoof-Care Practitioner

05/11/2025

🦷🐴 Keeping those pearly whites in check!

Dr Elliot and our newest team member - vet nurse queen Rory 👑 - have been getting around the countryside with some routine dental care.

All part of keeping your horse in top shape 💪🏽

For Dental care or any of our Equine Care Bundles get in touch 📞0429 239 436

29/10/2025

My experience with flat soled horses is that there aren't very many "truly" flat soled horses. Not that I don't see very many to begin with, but after making the necessary changes...the concavity of almost every hoof can be improved.

Concavity=sole thickness, in most cases. Concavity must be built or developed over time, not carved out. There is a big difference between exfoliating dead sole material and removing valuable live sole. When you create the proper conditions the sole of the hoof thickens. I picture it raising the coffin bone off of the ground like the rim of a wheel when you pump up a tire. When you get the diet right...get the horse moving (especially on a clean 3-4" deep footing like sand, chat, or pea gravel) ..and keep the outer wall from making contact with the ground you will see the improvements almost immediately (sometimes literally overnight).

The horses coffin bone is naturally concave and the hoof capsule is produced from this bone. The sole is a reflection of the bottom of the bone. The problem is that the growth continues whether it's getting worn or trimmed away. The direction of growth is predominately forward so the hoof capsule will usually slough forward like a sock that's lost its elasticity and ends up bunched around your toes. Careful management can prevent, or correct, this situation so that hoof capsule is aligned with the coffin bone.

The tragedy is when this overgrown situation ensues for a long period of time... this changes the stride of the horse as well as the contact points of the hoof that were specifically designed for proper weight bearing. This breaks a horse down over time causing damage to the inner structures of the hoof as well as all the structures above the hair line. The upside is that the hoof is continually growing and you can use this constant supply of new material to fix the situation. Once you get the hoof wall perfectly aligned with the coffin bone you will see the concavity of the sole mimicking the concavity of the solar surface of the coffin bone. The only exception that I've seen to this is when the solar corium has been crushed for too long on a poorly conformed coffin bone and the bone has become flat or even convex. Even in some of these cases I've seen the horse restored to some level of comfort.

My goal is to educate horse owners to be able to detect hoof capsule deformation before it gets to the point of lameness and to take advantage of the healing abilities intrinsic to the hoof... to develop the best foot possible for the individual horse. “Bad” footed horses can improve and even good footed horses can be better.

(David Landreville, 2014)

29/10/2025

04/10/2025

School Holidays & on the tools 🫶🏽

04/10/2025

School holidays & on the tools 🫶🏽

30/09/2025

23/09/2025

23/09/2025

21/09/2025

Love the Hawkesdale Crew 🌼

14/09/2025

Beautiful read.

Horsemanship, a Balancing Act between Physical and Emotional Conduct

How a horse responds to us is in many ways the result of our physical and emotional conduct. It is clear that not everyone is in agreement on how the interaction with these animals should take place, but on that I believe we can agree.

The human ego is often mentioned as a culprit for mistakes. The more we want, the less we take into account what the horse would need to feel physically and emotionally secured.

On the opposite end of this spectrum we may find anthropomorphic beliefs and the idea that we are – or should be – equals to the horse and as such interact with one another in perfect harmony.

Anthropomorphism of course is a major pitfall, but when viewing the horse through the science of biology, so is the concept of equality.

I guess we’ve all made our share of mistakes, poor judgement calls, and fumbled as we go along trying to wrap our heads around right and wrong.

What’s never wrong though, is your horse. Regardless of your level, expertise or equestrian pursuit, the horse is either with you, or not.
It either connects, or doesn’t.
It stays or flees, smiles or looks downright depressed.

The difficulty is that space in between where… yes… we have control and no… we don’t have connection. That’s where tension lives, and that’s where most mistakes happen.

It is very easy to misstep, and unless you are capable of keeping a leveled head at all times when with your horse, you will inevitably fail from time to time.

Your energy, however, will always be the determining factor. Energy channeled through your thoughts, your emotional well-being, and your physicality.

If you take good care of yourself, it will be easier to both control the mind and the body – yours and that of the horse. But… this too applies in the opposite direction.

If you believe horsemanship is a stand-alone piece of the puzzle… think again.

This is why we love the Paddock Paradise track system. The simple concept of being able to move, eat, and interact with other horses 24/7 is without question the most powerful healer and stabilizer one could wish for a horse.

Creating boarding and dietary conditions that favor the species and stimulate natural behavior is simply the natural thing to do. Not only will your horse feel better, it will also support whatever equestrian pursuits you have together.

Please understand that all is connected. Evolution paved the way, and the time has come for us to play by its rules and truly facilitate equine biology.