Nicole Jory - Hoof Care Practitioner

12/27/2024

Want to learn more about winter laminitis?

In cold weather, we can see a sudden increase in hoof pain in some horses with a past of laminitis even with no change in management. We've all had those cases: their hay is tested and balanced, their bloodwork is perfect, they have zero access to any grain or grass or treats or alfalfa, and their feet don't even seem warm, but they are walking on eggshells all of the sudden after a cold snap. Owners and professionals on the horse's care team are scrambling to get them more comfortable, but all the "normal" protocols that usually work don't seem to be helping at all! What could be going on?

Winter laminitis can occur in some metabolic or previously laminitic horses in cold weather due to damage to the circulatory system in the hoof, causing a lack of proper blood flow in the hoof capsule. This vasoconstriction can be incredibly painful for them, as painful as an active laminitic attack. So what we do do?

In this week's mini episode, we didn't record an interview due to the holidays, but Alicia discusses a bit about winter laminitis and some steps owners can take to treat it, and ideally prevent it in the future. You can hear the (short) synopsis on any podcast app under "The Humble Hoof," or directly at this link: https://thehumblehoof.com/2024/12/27/holiday-mini-episode-winter-laminitis-edition/

Thank you to our amazing sponsors:

Equithrive offers supplements for everything from metabolic health to joint support – get 20% off your first order at equithrive.com with code HUMBLEHOOF

Cavallo Hoof Boots is offering 15% off a pair of Trek hoof boots at cavallo-inc.com with code HRN

A special shout out to Grid as New, Mud Control Grids – they are a game changer for any mud issues, big or small! – mudcontrolgrids.com

Also be sure to check out HayBoss Feeders – haybossfeeders.com – for all your slow-feeding needs. I get my Hay Boss feeders from Mountain Lane Ag-Supply in NH!

12/24/2024

Another super cute foot of the miniature horse variety

12/24/2024

How lovely is this little foot? 💗

12/23/2024

As we head into winter I thought this might be a good repost. We have had a particularly mild year so far, so be aware if the temps start to drop below 0 and your horse has a history or laminitis, has EMS or PPID.

Frozen lumpy ground can make any horse look lame but if the horse has insulin resistance there may be more going on. Winter laminitis strikes with n0 change in diet or management. The horse does n…

12/19/2024

If you have thought about building a track system, or board out but would love some very helpful ideas on how to enhance their living environment, Alexa Linton has released a new online course to help you to do just that. It's especially focused on West Coast living ( wet and mild) but the information is still applicable to many other areas. Check it out, it contains multiple case studies for tons of ideas on how to create a more enriching life for our equine friends!

This comprehensive self-paced online course is designed to provide you with all the foundational information for safely updating your horse spaces in small or large ways, integrating horses into a herd setting, building your own track system, working with the land you live on, adding enrichment and....

12/16/2024

Hoof Doctor is on sale at Greenhawk right now if you are wanting to stock up! Thanks Lisa Pages Ten Have for the heads up!

12/14/2024

Supported internally vs supported externally.

It's definitely possible to create angles that we want to see for a horse artificially, but ideally we can help the horse develop the foot in a way that creates its own support with stronger, healthier internal structures and more optimal hoof mechanism.

12/13/2024

Continuing on the topic of gut health from my post yesterday, give this new podcast a listen. Gut health IS health.

If you follow this page, you probably have an interest in soundness, hoof rehab, and growing the healthiest hooves possible for an individual horse. We often talk about diet and nutrition as being a huge part of that. Something I've been exploring this year is the equine gut and microbiome and its role in allowing a horse to absorb and utilize the nutrients we are so diligently trying to feed them to grow healthier feet!

We all likely have clients or personal horses that are doing everything "right" - they are on a forage based, mineral balanced diet, moving as much as possible over varied terrain, living a species-appropriate life, who still may not have feet as good as we think they could have. For these horses, I have wondered if the gut is playing a role.

A few months ago I saw StableFeed post that they were studying the microbiome in some wild horses in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and I knew I wanted to reach out to them about equine gut health! While they haven't published their research yet, they are doing some really cool things looking at the bacteria in the equine gut, and company founder Mary Hartman and I dive into that in this week's podcast episode.

You can hear the entire conversation on any podcast app under "The Humble Hoof," or directly at this link: https://thehumblehoof.com/2024/12/13/exploring-the-equine-gut-microbiome/

Thank you to our amazing sponsors:

Equithrive offers supplements for everything from metabolic health to joint support – get 20% off your first order at equithrive.com with code HUMBLEHOOF

Cavallo Hoof Boots is offering 15% off a pair of Trek hoof boots at cavallo-inc.com with code HRN

A special shout out to Grid as New, Mud Control Grids – they are a game changer for any mud issues, big or small! – mudcontrolgrids.com

Also be sure to check out HayBoss Feeders – haybossfeeders.com – for all your slow-feeding needs. I get my Hay Boss feeders from Mountain Lane Ag-Supply in NH!

12/13/2024

Is your equine struggling to hold their hooves for cleaning or trimming?

Hoof handling difficulty can correlate with discomfort in the gut.

We often will equate struggling with lifting a hoof to hoof or body pain but it is not always considered a symptom of digestive health issues. Some of the most dangerous and unpredictable horses I have come across in the last 20 years have been horses with ulcers. Even without confirmed ulcers, you will often notice f***l water, diarrhea or loose manure, bloating, excessive gas, tail swishing, loud stomach/intestinal gurgling, goat on a rock posture or one hind leg stretched far under and the other far behind. These can be signs that not all is right in the gut, and equines with these symptoms are often be less cooperative with hoof care.

Can you blame them? Last time you had a rotten stomach, were you keen to have someone manipulate your body, making you balance awkwardly and engage your core, and ignore your gut? How defensive would you feel if you protested and that person threatened you or better yet, whacked you in your already sensitive gut with a tool?

If they have gut pain, quite often they will not want to lift hooves, or may not want to hold them up for very long. As the trim progresses, they may become more agitated, pulling away, dancing around, trying to walk away, refusing to pick the leg up again, or start to become grumpy and even defensive. With hind feet especially, I notice they may take the foot away before they pass uncomfortable gas, or be most reluctant to bring the hoof forward on to the stand as that puts more pressure on the gut.

I have experienced on many occasions, these "difficult" horses settle back to being easily trimmed after their gut health issues are resolved. I have also witnessed normally easy going and well trained horses become "difficult", but it always correlates to a handful of the symptoms I mentioned above, and once again, when resolved, they go back to being wonderful equine citizens.

If they are struggling, they are communicating an issue. Listen. Help Them. For their quality of life, but also, to keep your hoof care provider safe ❤️

12/09/2024

12/05/2024

Cute nose and cute toes

12/02/2024

Strong, Healthy Welsh pony hoof

12/01/2024

Fall hoof in the Pacific north wet

11/28/2024

The long-term soundness of the horse relies on the health and strength of the tissues of the back of the foot. The hoof cannot function optimally if those structures are weak, atrophied, or diseased.

In the first photo, the horses in this comparison were roughly the same age(mid 20s). The horse on the left had owners considering euthanasia because of his chronic lameness, body pain and overall demeanor which had greatly diminished. The horse on the right is sound and happy on all surfaces and a happy riding horse even with issues like arthritis and PPID.

The lifestyle and hoof care of the horse on the left had caused so much atrophy that the structures were prolapsing and the circulation was compromised. The back of the foot had completely collapsed which resulted in negative palmar angles. This was causing pain in the hooves but also strain and pain throughout the rest of the body.

The good news is, in photo 2 you can see the horse on the left did get the chance to develop a stronger caudal hoof and within a short time his pain disappeared, his zest for life returned and he went back to being a happy trail horse for a few years afterwards.

Weakness in the back of the hoof is an entirely preventable condition, and although it's absolutely possible to restore some strength to this area, it will never be as strong as if it had developed from a young age in the first place.

In my upcoming online course, "Equine Hoof Care Fundamentals ,will be discussing more about recognizing these issues, and more importantly, preventing them!
Stay Tuned!

11/23/2024

Heel scuffers!

Occasionally I work on horses that I call heel scuffers. Instead of a distinct heel first landing the slide the hoof along the ground which causes excessive wear if the horse spends a lot of time on abrasive surfaces like sand, gravel or pavement.

This excessive wear will shorten the heels and create a negative plantar angle. The crushing of the internal structures at the back of the hoof can cause issues with circulation to the tissues that can affect their growth and development. This perpetuates the problem of the heels remaining too short. It causes problems within the hoof but it also strains the soft tissue within the limb as well as interferes with the biomechanics of the rest of the body.

Unless you know the history of the horse it can be hard to know what came first? Conformation, tension, injury, arthritis etc can all contribute to how the horse moves the limbs. I see this type of movement often in horses with hock arthritis, but that isn't the only possible cause.

It is important to try to mitigate the excessive wear so the heels can recover some depth and relieve the strain this is causing. Usually I LOVE gravel as a footing and horses riding and living on abrasive surfaces because it aids in self trimming but in these cases living on a less abrasive footing, at least until the heels can recover, can be helpful. Utilizing hoof boots for exercise, or glue on shoes to prevent wear is also a solution.

In this horse's case, he is living on less abrasive footing now, and has been resting after an injury, which has given them the opportunity to redevelop after years of excessive wear. It will be interesting to see, as he gets back to working, if the change in the mechanics of the hoof will maintain his heel depth and the excessive wear will cease? Time will tell!

10/26/2024

Two of my favorite equine advocates and educational resources in one place! A must listen!

The more I learn about hoofcare, the more I think that the horse's daily management, training, and movement play a much larger role in their overall soundness than what I do with their feet every 4-6 weeks as a hoofcare provider.

Of course, what we do to a horse's feet DOES matter immensely, and can be a roadblock OR help nudge a horse in the right direction, but that won't overcome a poor saddle fit, or unbalanced riding, or a lack of turn out. There's so much more that goes into soundness than just their feet.

I chatted with Amy Skinner of Amy Skinner Horsemanship, a biomechanics-focused trainer, about what she sees playing a role in soundness and rehab, and things owners can focus on to train for soundness. We get into a bit of "pain memory" and rehab as well!

You can hear the entire conversation on any podcast app, or directly at this link: https://thehumblehoof.com/2024/10/25/training-for-soundness/

Thank you to our amazing sponsors:

Equithrive offers supplements for everything from metabolic health to joint support – get 20% off your first order at equithrive.com with code HUMBLEHOOF

Cavallo Hoof Boots is offering 20% off a pair of Trek hoof boots at cavallo-inc.com with code HRN

A special shout out to Grid as New, Mud Control Grids – they are a game changer for any mud issues, big or small! – mudcontrolgrids.com

Also be sure to check out HayBoss Feeders – haybossfeeders.com – for all your slow-feeding needs. I get my Hay Boss feeders from Mountain Lane Farm in NH!

09/06/2024

Adorable donkey appreciation post!

Seeing cute happy little donkeys and donkey hooves is part of what makes this job worth it.

First up is Izzy, she has always had lovely little hooves!

Second is Copper, I just met him this winter and we have been working on improving his overall health and it's really showing! He is a super cool roan that isn't common around here!

His roommate Poppy is the 3rd photo collage. When I first met her she was dealing with laminitis as you can see in the earlier photo but she is doing awesome now! They are lucky to have such dedicated caretakers who do everything they can to help these guys thrive in an environment that is not donkey friendly at all.

09/03/2024

Mini Donkey hind hooves -

The top photo is what it looks like when chronic laminitis was only dealt with by lowering the heels, leaving longer toes and not addressing the cause of the laminitis.

Bottom is after the diet was changed, a new better connected hoof capsule is grown and boney alignment is restored. He still needs a little more heel development but he's a happy, comfortable boy.