Rebel horse care

30/10/2024

This is not a perfect hoof.
If such a thing as a perfect hoof even exists.
This is a healthy, well functioning hoof that serves its purpose for the horse it belongs to.

It is the left hind hoof of my 22 year old mare Enya, after a fresh trim.
Enya is sound on gravel and rocks.
She lives in a track system with resources spread out.
She needs to move around all day to get to hay, water, salt, shelter, shade.
There are many hills up and down in her living environment and she mainly walks in gravel and sand.

There are certain characteristics that we can look for in our horses hooves, which indicate whether or not the hooves are healthy.
One of these indicators off course is that the horse is sound and moving well in all gaits and on all or most surfaces.
Note though that a hoof can look fairly healthy on the outside, but still have issues on the inside.
If this is the case, the horse will most likely not be sound on abrasive surfaces.

I wanted to share these pictures of Enya’s not perfect hoof, to show that health and functionality does not always look exactly the same.
Even if your horse’s hooves do not have a huge frog or a massive digital cushion, they might still be healthy and serve your horse well.
We need to look at the whole picture.

24/10/2024

New dates for module 1 workshop in Denmark about natural horse and hoof care. 😊
For more info see my website, link below 👇

Nye datoer for modul 1 workshop i Danmark om naturligt hestehold og hovtrimning.
For mere info se mit website:
https://rebelhorsecare.eu/

06/10/2024

Another horse and hoof care workshop done, this time at my home on our farm in northern Catalonia.
Three wonderful women attended to deepen their knowledge about species appropriate horse care and basic hoof trimming skills.

Once again I’m left with a feeling of gratitude and purpose.
I feel blessed to be able to share my knowledge and experience with people who seek better welfare for their equine friends.
Little by little we are making changes, like ripples in the water.

Knowledge is power.

03/10/2024

Important message from Emotional Horsemanship by Lockie Phillips

Everyone meet Oki. Oki is an American Quarter Horse. He has some Poco and Docs bloodlines on both his sire and dams side. He is now 2.5 years old.

At 2.5 years old, nothing bad has ever happened to him. The most stressful part of his life was his relocation from his breeder on one side of Spain, to me on the other. To prepare him for that, I hired a fantastic trainer who spent 6 months, 2-4 days a week, who prepared him to load. And then I hired that same trainer to chaperone him across Spain, ensuring no whips or loud handling were used to load him on day 2 of the 2 day journey (Rebel horse care thank you!). It was stressful for him, but when he got here, he drank water, looked at my other horses, and ate hay. 3 months later, it is like Oki has lived here all his life. He gets along with everyone. He is funny and energetic and relaxed.

Despite being weaned slowly over a 12 month period, he is extremely independent and confident. He has no qualms about sleeping or eating on his own. Doesn't crowd me in a way I find irritating. And he has his own ideas, and is not afraid to push back on me. He knows when the electric fences are off, will look me squarely in the eye, and pluck the fence like a guitar string.

But at 2.5 years old, he looks physically somewhere between a Sea Monkey and a Shrimp. He has a lot of developing to do.

Out there in the world, other AQHA youngsters who were born in the April/May of 2022, are beginning their training under saddle. By age 3, many are already entering ridden competitions in performance categories.

That is not a blanket statement. Because not all AQHA horses are. But it is a common practice. So common, I recently received an email from a reader who was desperately anxious she was wasting time with her 3 year old. Asking me when do I recommend begin riding work.

Six. 6. S-I-X.

6.

That is when I recommend begin riding work.

I am firm on that. For that, I am seen as
1. Not a serious rider
2. Not a confident c**t starter
3. A snowflake/pansy/ insert-homophobic-slur-here
4. Molly coddling my c**t

And other such brutalities.

But I have seen the data. I have read studies. I have spoken with dissectionists, osteopaths, body workers, owners and I have seen the bones. Held and touched the bones.

Riding horses young predisposes them to damage. It just does.

It is not a guarantee that the horse WILL be damaged. But neither does cradling an infant with knifes guarantee you will slice them, good hands can balance the knifes edge.

But just because we can, doesn't mean we should.

One simple bit of anecdotal information that stands out in my mind is when I interviewed the incredible Becks Nairn for my podcast. Who has dissected many horses, mostly off the track gallopers and trotters, but not exclusively so. She explained that the pelvis of a 2-3 year old horse is not fused. That she, a human of standard body strength, can break apart a 2-3 year old horses pelvis like it was made of lego. Split it into pieces.

I am not interested in asking for engagement and impulsion from a liquid pelvis. Nor sitting on bones that are still part cartilage.

Years ago, before I knew better but was trying to do better, I was riding a 4 year old for an employer. This arabian was extremely wiggly. I asked them why.
"Young horses are just wiggly, like candy snakes. It is normal".

Now I look back and understand I was probably sensitively feeling the instability in their musculoskeletal system. The horse couldn't be straight and strong. Not yet. Not until they finish growing.

I have also had conversations with colleagues who are aware that horses don't finish growing their bones until they are about 6. But they believe they are good enough to ride sooner. Plus, it is easier to "imprint" into the horse that "riding is just something to accept", by way of taking advantage of their infantile nervous system that doesn't have a fully formed sense of itself yet. When I found myself breaking bread next to such a perspective, it made me shudder. Like I found out I was sitting with a wolf in sheeps clothing.

That's just me.

The fact that I want to WAIT until the skeleton has stopped growing AND I am willing to talk about it AND I am willing to call out the problematic principals that inform impatience, makes me a pariah.

But I will take it. I will take it any day.

Meanwhile, Oki is learning plenty. He is learning all the things he needs to learn so that when riding begins it is a simple and healthy formality. And has the potential to enjoy a career long into his 20's rather than being all used up by 15.

30/09/2024

This past weekend I had 8 super motivated and eager to learn students attending my module 1 workshop in Denmark.

They learned about species appropriate horse keeping and care and they practiced very basic hoof trimming techniques so they can maintain their own horses hooves.

A big part of the content in my workshops, is about horse care and how we can give our horses a life closer to the life they are designed to live, where they can perform natural behaviors and thrive and be happy and healthy.

We cannot learn about hoof care without learning about horse care because everything is connected.

The workshop was held at a farm owned by a friend of mine and she has recently created a track for her horses with several hay feeding stations, a wooden shed, a sand pit, a waterhole and lots of trees and bushes planted which will provide shade, shelter and leaves to snack on within a few years.

My friends two Oldenburg mares Fiona and Muffi, followed us around the whole track like curious, happy puppies as we walked it to show it to the students and to share, learn and spread knowledge to make the world a better place for horses and their humans.

24/09/2024

Thank you Toma for interviewing me for your podcast, we had a nice chat about horses and track systems 😀
You can listen to the episode here, and please follow the show, there are many excellent and interesting interviews.

Send us a textWelcome to episode #19 🎉This episode is another amazing interview! Louise from Rebel horse care is a natural hoof care practitioner certified by

23/09/2024

Today I trimmed a clients horse.
I’ve been trimming this gelding for a few years now.
He’s been going through some changes up and down hoof health wise.
The photos show his left front and hind before and after trim today.

I have had many talks with the sweet lady who owns this horse. She has a demanding job, she doesn’t have a very good salary and she’s struggling to make ends meet.
Even so this lady chooses to have me come and trim her horse’s hooves every 6-7 weeks, although she could easily find someone much cheaper than me to do it.

Following my continuous and repetitive advice, she has now got a donkey as a friend for her horse, who otherwise lived alone. She has added a vitamin/mineral supplement to his diet, he has 24/7 access to hay and limited access to grass.

I’m finally seeing improvements in his hooves, slowly but surely.
His laminitis is healing and he is sound.
Could his hooves be healthier? Absolutely. Would a shorter trim Interval be beneficial for him? 100 percent.
Would a track system, a herd of horses and lots of movement help him? Yes.

But sometimes reality is not how we would like it to be. Sometimes we have to do the best we can with what we have.

When I feel a client has the heart in the right place, that they truly love their animals and wants to do the best they can for them, I’m here to help.

I’m here to gently guide them and help them in a better direction, patiently waiting and understanding that changes take time.
Repeating my advice, being kind and helpful and celebrating the little changes and victories along the way with my client, who does the best she can.

07/09/2024

I recently attended a webinar about the placebo effect in animals.
This is actually a thing.

How is that possible you may ask, an animal does not understand that it is supposed to heal and feel better while receiving medication.

Well this may be true, but the owner of the animal DOES understand this and the interesting thing is that if the owner believes that the animal is receiving actual medicine and not just a sugar pill, the emotional energy, positive expectations and general good vibes from the owner, will affect the animal so much that the animal will respond well to the medication, even if it is not in fact actual medication.

How we feel and what we say around our horses matters.

If you call your horse negative things, call them stupid, lazy, naughty, bad, this will affect them and your work together much more than you think.

If you constantly apologize to your horse, telling them you know it’s hard what you’re asking of them, that you feel bad for asking this of them etc.
This too will affect your horse and your work together much more than you think.

If you find yourself caught in a negative loop like this. Stop what you are doing and take a step back.
Think about what you are asking of your horse and yourself.
Does it feel ok, does it feel ethically alright to you? Be honest.

If the answer is yes, then proceed and change your narrative, both internally and externally. Find positive words and encouraging feedback to both your horse and yourself.

If you practice this you will discover that it changes the emotional state of you both and creates a happier, lighter energy around the work you do together. Even the work that might be difficult for one or both of you.

Placebo in animals is a real thing.
Attitude, emotional state, feedback, vibrations and the belief that you can do amazing things together, matters.

04/09/2024

Come join me for my first ever natural horse and hoof care workshop held at home on our farm Masía Fogueres here in the mountains in the natural park: Les Guilleries between Vic and Girona.

We are very far out in the mountains and it’s possible to camp here from Saturday to Sunday.
If you’re interested, send me a message on WhatsApp or an email, conta info in the flyer. 👆👆👆
The workshop will be taught in English.

01/09/2024

Before and after photo of cadaver hoof trim. See description in the post below.👇👇👇👇

01/09/2024

What does it mean to “bring the hoof back under the horse”?

Every horse and every hoof is unique.
The size, the shape, the color, the toe and heel angle, the hoof wall and sole thickness the size of frog.
Every hoof has its own individual characteristics.

Hooves grow constantly and therefore also are in a constant state of change.
Yet every hoof has an ideal size, shape and angle, a state in which there is equilibrium between function, wear, growth health of internal and external structures.

When the hoof reaches this equilibrium it is giving the best possible support and balance to the horse’s body above.
When the hoof is in this state of perfect balance, it is short in heels and toe, it is as far back under the horse as possible.

Many things can push the hoof out of balance.
Inappropriate diet, lack of movement, lack of wear, mental stress, unnatural movement patterns from the horse, incorrect trimming, lack of trimming etc.

In this clip I’m trimming a massively overgrown cadaver hoof.
Notice how much further back the heels and toe have come after just a quick roughing out of the hoof wall, heels and wall.
I am helping the hoof come “back under the horse”.
(Photos of the hoove before and after complete trim in the post above.👆)

We help the hooves in the right direction with our tools.
But the real big work is done by the horse, through movement.
This is only possible if a species specific lifestyle is provided.

Want to learn more? Join or host a workshop with me, for more info see my website: https://rebelhorsecare.eu/

25/08/2024

Reflections in the airport after a working trip to Denmark that didn’t go quite as planned.

I had an accident with a clients horse.
I was standing in front of the horse when she decided to leave the situation.
She stepped on my foot and knocked me over, I fell on my back right in front of her and she planted a hind foot in my belly and pushed off.

She didn’t derliberately want to hurt me, she was agitated, she wanted to leave, it all happened in a split second.

I spent the night in the hospital.

I’m good and beat up, I’ve had to postpone a workshop and cancel appointments.
I won’t be trimming hooves for a few weeks but I will get over it.
I can’t help but wonder though what would have happened if I had been hit in the rib cage, in the sternum right above the heart or in the face?
What if I was not as strong as I am, if I had weaker back and abdominal muscles?

I’ve been working professionally as a hoof care provider for 16 years.
I have never had a serious accident with a horse before.
The biggest reason for this I believe is because I am careful.

I think about safety when I handle horses, I have developed a hyper sensitivity to the horses movements when I’m standing with a leg up.

I train horses and have been doing so for 40 years.
I am a calm person and horses generally feel comfortable around me.
And still this happened.

I guess my point with this post is to send out a gentle and loving reminder to all my fellow horse people out there.

Please always work towards creating a connection with your horse that makes you both feel comfortable, happy and safe around each other.
But please don’t ever let that feeling of comfort turn into a lack of respect for the size, strength and power of these animals.

This can happen to all of us, no matter the amount of experience with horses.

There are several things I could have done differently in the situation with this horse, and there are things for me to learn from this.

My message to everyone today is, love your horse and please be careful and stay humble.

16/08/2024

The body doesn’t lie.
If you have anything to do with horses, please watch this video.

05/08/2024

Whatever happened to that childhood dream?

When I was a little girl I dreamt about horses.
I loved animals, all animals. I drew them, I pretended to be them, I talked about them.
My parents allowed me to begin at a riding school when I was around 7 years old.
I wanted to ride horses because I loved animals.
I dreamt of having a magical connection and relationship with a horse, I dreamt of galloping without bridle or saddle with the wind in my hair. I dreamt of having my own horse someday.

At the riding school I learned to groom and saddle the horse I was going to ride. I was taught that it was normal that some horses would lay their ears back when saddled and mounted.
I was taught that it was normal that the horses were inside in their box stall all day.
I learned to kick hard if the horse didn’t want to walk.
I learned to pull hard on the reins if the horse didn’t want to walk where I wanted it to.
Horses had bits in their mouthes and iron shoes on their hooves.
I learned that hitting a horse with a whip was completely acceptable to make the horse comply.

I was 7 years old. I loved horses.

As the years went by I went to several different riding schools where the messages were basically the same.
I tried to fit into the way things were being taught. I believed it was the truth. Did as I was told.
I was a child.

My dream about connection and relationship with horses was still alive in my heart.
but a part of it had changed shape. It was fading, morphing into something different.
I thought I had to do the things I was taught.
Everyone I came across who were teachers or otherwise horse professionals, seemed to believe and teach the same things about how to be with horses.

I believed them. For a time.

My wonderful farther gave me my first horse when I was about 15 years old.
It was a childhood dream come true and I am forever grateful to my farther for giving me the most beautiful gift of all.

My riding teacher taught me to use drawreins, spurs and whips when I rode my horse.
I was dreaming about connection and relationship.

Years passed, my first horse was sold and I had a second horse who was also sold a few years later.
I worked at several big horse training stables in Denmark and I worked at a horse farm in America.

I dreamt about horses, I wanted to be with horses.
I searched everywhere for connection and relationship with horses. I didn’t find it.

Until in my early twenties something in me allowed me to look in new directions.
Strange horse trainers were popping up here and there, who did things differently and were searching for something else.
I began a new journey with horses.
One that would take me on a different path. One that would make me never go back.

In my past I did things to horses that I will regret forever.
I did them because teachers were telling me it was the right thing to do. I did them because I didn’t know better.

I have now chosen to spend my life trying to make it up to those horses from my past, by teaching, educating, advocating for better horse welfare.
I was lucky, intuitive, strong enough in my heart to keep the childhood dream alive.
To keep searching for connection and relationship with horses.

I have found it. I have come home.
I have doubts, I make mistakes, I ask questions and reflect about my horsemanship every day.
But I have chosen a path, a path of connection and relationship and I will never again steer away from that path.

What happens to little girls and boys who dream about connection and relationships with horses?
Has any child ever dreamt about double bits, blue tongues, drawreins, whips, spurs, dominance and rollkur?

If you search deep in your soul maybe you can still feel it, sense it, connect to it. The childhood dream.
Even if you came into the horse world as an adult.
Maybe you can find the child in you again, listen to it, let it guide you.
Help you choose a different path.

Whatever happened to that childhood dream?

16/07/2024

Horses on grass.
There is much to be said about this topic. So much that it is impossible to fit into a post like this.
Laminitis is a world wide problem for horses and a very painful and debilitating condition, so it matters how we manage our horse’s grazing.

If you have a horse who has been laminitic in the past, is currently laminitic or has the signs of being predisposed to become laminitic, please don’t let them graze, but feed them dry grass hay instead.

My horses live in a track system with hay in haynets spread around on the tracks. They are fed hay all year round and they get lots of movement. I view grass as a supplement and an enrichment for them, rather than part of a feeding plan.

I do not let my horses graze on short, bitten down, stressed grass with high sugar content.
( apart from what is there in the track system).
I have different places where my horses can graze and I wait until the grass is mature, long, stalky and has a high fiber, low sugar content.

My horses graze for a couple of hours every day over the summer.
If your horse is lean and healthy, I do think that being allowed some grazing can be beneficial to them.

-Eating a large variety of plants helps the micro biome in the gut and strengthens the immune system.
-Biting off the grass is good for the incisors (front teeth).
-grazing calmly with the herd is great for the horses mental health.

There are many different types of grass, some better for horses than others, and many factors influence the sugar content in grass, so please learn about these things if you want to let your horses graze, and you will know how to keep them safe and happy.

05/07/2024

Thank you to Lockie Phillips Emotional Horsemanship by Lockie Phillips for interviewing me for your podcast.
It has been a pleasure collaborating with you, I hope we’ll do so again in the future. I feel I have gained both a colleague and a friend.

To all you wonderful horse loving people out there, please follow and listen to this podcast show.
There are so many interesting conversations here, all in the name of better horse welfare.
Let’s keep expanding this community and help make the world a better place for horses and their humans. 💪🏼🐴❤️

https://podcasts.apple.com/dk/podcast/the-emotional-horsemanship-podcast-with-lockie-phillips/id1734206321?i=1000661183276

**tstarting

30/06/2024

Modul 1 workshop i Otterup på Fyn, d 24-25 august.
Kom og lær om hestens hove, anatomi, funktion og hvad vi kan gøre for at vores heste udvikler sunde, stærke hove. Lær om vandrefolde og kost og bevægelse.
Lær trimmeteknik og at aflæse hoven, så du kan trimme og vedligeholde din egen hests hove. 🐴🐴🐴😊😊😊

24/06/2024

In this video I’m answering a question from my friend Anna.
She asked me how I can see if this hoof is healthy. The hoof I’m trimming is the right hind hoof on my 29 year old gelding Junick.

If you want to determine if a hoof is healthy or not you need to look at the hoof from the outside as well, here I’m just talking about some of the characteristics of a healthy hoof, when looking at the bottom of it.

To help our horses develop healthy hooves, there are several factors we need to consider:

🔹environment
🔹diet
🔹movement
🔹herdlife
🔹hoof care
🔹 stress triggers

Hooves are constantly growing and changing, mirroring the condition of the horse and being shaped by the surrounding environment.
Health is not a constant, unless we make sure that the conditions are as optimal as possible.

03/06/2024

Here on the farm we try to take care of nature as well as our animals.
We have a track system for the horses running up and down over several terraces and through wooden areas.

The horses are hard on the ground where they walk. They wear off the plants and grasses and they stomp the ground rock hard so nothing can grow there.
This is good for the horses, we want tracks with little grass and gravely ground for the hooves.

But we need to allow other areas to become green and full of plant life. We need the trees and plants to give us oxygen, we need the pollinators and insects to keep the planet alive, we need to give wildlife places to hide and find forage.

We make sure to have green areas in between the tracks, places where the horses can never enter.
In here we plant trees and let wild plants and grasses grow as they wish.

It’s good for the planet, it’s beautiful to look at and it’s a joy to listen to the insects buzzing in these green areas in the summer. 💚

01/06/2024

New workshop dates in Denmark!!
24-25 of august. 😊

24/05/2024

Little Spietje is healing from laminitis.
My client moved her horses home in the fall and the paddock was very grassy. Little pony Spietje had a laminitic reaction. Not an acute one, but a slow, sneaky one as I see so often in my work.

His diet is now under control and he is happy in his little herd of 3 horses at home with his humans.
His hooves are healing nicely.
These pictures are of his left front 2 months apart.

Notice the difference in the lamellar wedge. It’s growing out and in a few months Spietje will have nice healthy white lines and normal looking hooves again.

At no point in this process have I trimmed the hoof wall away. I have stayed outside of the water line (inner hoof wall) at every trim.
Spietje is sound and comfortable throughout his healing process.
Remove the causes and the horse and hooves will heal, over time.

03/05/2024

I thought I would share some basic hoof anatomy as many people seem to be confused about the different parts at the bottom of the hoof.

The hoof wall has two parts, an outer and an inner part.

The outer hoof wall can be both dark and light.
The inner hoof wall is always white in color because it has no pigmentation.
The size and shape of the inner hoof wall varies, and sometimes it is so thin you can hardly see it, but it’s always there.
The inner hoof wall is also called the water line.

The white line is the connection between the hoof wall and the sole, it is yellowish or greyish in color.
In a healthy hoof it is only a few millimeters wide and has a rubbery texture. Higher up in the hoof the white line becomes the lamina.

The bars are a continuation of the hoof wall and has an outer and inner part as well. The white line also follows the shape around the inside of the heels and continues along the bars.

I hope this helps.

20/04/2024

There are still spaces left for my workshop in northern Iceland in June. If you live in Iceland it would be greatly appreciated if you would help me share this video. 😊

16/10/2023

Awareness

We talk a lot about positive and negative reinforcement and positive and negative punishment as learning tools in horse training.

It’s very important to know what these four ways of communication are, and when you use what and why, so you can make choices.

It is also very important to practice good technique and timing.
But sometimes we can get so focused on having good technique that we forget to see the whole picture.

Pressure and release and click and reward are means of communication and they are necessary but they hold no feel, no emotion, no energy in themselves.

Our body language, balance and posture, the way we present ourselves to the horse, matters.

Our ability to stay emotionally calm, centered and focused if our horse is nervous, frightened, aggressive or confused, matters.

Our ability to sometimes let go of control and just be playful and silly with our horse, matters.

Showing our impulsive joy and gratitude when our horse gets it just right, matters.

Showing our joy, love and gratitude just because our horse is part of our life, matters.

Communication and connection happens when we are present and aware.

Aware about how we act and feel, and aware about being living, breathing, sensing, feeling creatures wishing to connect with a different species of living, breathing, sensing, feeling creatures.

If we try to base the search for connection on technique alone, we will truly miss out on the magic.