The Naked Hoof - Cara Stephen, Equine Podiatrist

06/05/2024

Well worth a read - especially with grass growth how it is currently!

25/09/2023

Spaces available on a brilliant track system in a beautiful location!

12/07/2023

💔💔💔

Jayne Hunt

The members of the Equine Podiatry Association have been devastated by the sudden passing of our beloved Jayne Hunt in a riding accident on Sunday 9th July.

Jayne has been at the heart of our community since its inception. With her longstanding friend and colleague Richard Vialls, she established the Equine Podiatry training company delivering the Equine Podiatry diploma. In that role she shared her passion, wisdom and warmth with her students. So on Sunday afternoon, in the blink of an eye, our association not only lost our warmest, funniest and most generous member, we also lost our teacher, our mentor and our dear friend. Her favourite answers to our inevitable student questions were ‘it depends’ (to almost any Equine Podiatry question) and ‘it’ll be fine’ (to any set back or problem) and those refrains still echo with us now she’s gone.

We will be forever grateful for her life, and that she had the foresight and bravery to follow her passion for this profession. We’re thankful that she and Richard brought their dream of establishing a professional Equine Podiatry qualification to fruition, when two years ago the Equine Podiatry Training course was accredited by LANTRA as a Level 5 qualification. It is a comfort to us that she achieved this long held ambition before her untimely death.

Living her life as she did, Jayne influenced and changed so many lives for the better: from her clients, we podiatrists, and the horses that bring us all together. We are so thankful for the time we had with her and wish we had had much more, she will be profoundly missed by us all.

06/06/2023

Laminitis is rife this year! Well written post by Kelly Brown Equine Podiatrist on how to monitor your horse for signs of laminitis and ways to help reduce the risks

I think it’s past time we talk more about the current laminitis risks in the UK, so this post I’m going to talk a little bit about a couple of cases I’ve seen this week, and how you can help prevent the same thing from happening to your horse.

Starting with my own horse, Howie: I keep him, along with three small ponies on a pretty bald grass track. I move the fence to give them a tiny patch of long stemmy grass early in the morning, and its gone in around 10 minutes. A few days ago his crest hardened and his pulses were strong. I should have stopped moving the fence as soon as that happened. But I, in all my wisdom, thinking my laminitis prone minis are doing well, and my Howie-highland has never had laminitis, didn’t read the signs. He’s come in really sore tonight and his pulses are through the roof.

This morning I went out to a cob who has no signs of laminitis but has gained weight. Two other horses on the same yard currently have active laminitis, so the owner of the cob is bringing him in during the day with soaked hay to reduce grazing and see if we can get a little weight off him. Really wise decision 💪🏼

This afternoon I went out to a 4yr old arabian mare who came in a little footy on weds night, and was kept in until thursday night. Evening turnout thursday, and significantly more sore by morning. She’s not overweight, not metabolic, and not on lush grazing.

Yesterday I saw a little miniature horse for the first time, whose owner was not aware that he was high risk for laminitis, and turned him out on ex dairy grazing with her elderly horse. Soaked hay, boots with pads and medication from the vet has helped, but his future is touch and go.

Thursday was my day off, but I went out to a thoroughbred who had loose stools and was rocked back on his heels. He had just been turned out on the summer grazing which looks like standing hay, but is also full of clover.

Wednesday the only laminitis I saw was in a mare recovering from autumn ppid related laminitis. But you get the picture I hope. It is everywhere in all types of horses.

I have spent much of this week slotting sudden onset laminitics in, mostly wb, tb and arab types - so this year it seems, many cases are horses you might never expect to see with laminitis. The truth is, thoroughbreds and finer breeds seem just as vulnerable. The following list is not exhaustive, but these are a few things you might want to consider, as a preventative:

*monitor pulses and if they become strong, or stronger than normal, get the horse off the grass

*monitor weight, and restrict/cut out grazing if your horse is overweight, has fat pads or a cresty neck

*pay attention to how comfortable your horse is. Is he suddenly a bit pottery when turning a circle? Footy on surfaces he’d normally happily stride out on? Banging his heels down when walking? Short in trot? More sensitive to stones/grit?

*consider soaking hay. 30-45 minutes will reduce the potassium by half, and will also reduce sugar/starch.

*supplement your horse with magnesium and salt.

*Consider strip grazing, a grazing muzzle, or night time only turnout (grass stores energy through the day, being at its highest levels in the early evening. This energy is converted into new growth overnight, so the safest time to turnout is early morning hours).

*Use the laminitis risk app or the grasscheckgb website to help avoid periods where risk is elevated.

*consider setting up a temporary track

*find out what kind of grass species are in your field and your forage (rye and/or clover are higher risk than meadow grass species).

*Remind yourself every day that prevention is better than cure, and be as prepared as you can be. Know the signs, check for them daily and act when you see them.

*Do not be afraid to ask for help if you need it

19/05/2023

Great post from Kelly Brown Equine Podiatrist reminding us to be very cautious with horses access to grass at the moment. We should be keeping an extremely close eye on all types of horses and ponies with the current state of the grass ‼️

It’s that time again! Please be REALLY careful with the grass this week. I have been out to a couple of horses (not native fat ponies, but a shod thoroughbred and a very fit/lean warmblood) who both have raised pulses and sore feet after being turned out for one day on “better” grazing. I also received a phone call this afternoon about a 3yr old pony with no history of laminitis, who is rocked back off her toes. Finally, tonight I came home to find that my own highland has a rock hard neck and looks bloated, even on very restricted strip grazed track. The grass out there is frankly dangerous at the moment. Please, please be cautious! Call your vet if you see any/early signs, and TELL YOUR HOOFCARE PROVIDER. They might need a longer appointment slot than usual, or a shorter cycle, or to ask you to request markers on your xrays, or to bring extras like therapy boots/pads, a different type of shoe, or they might just have some nuggets of wisdom.

(EDITED TO ADD THAT I AM IN THE UK)

03/02/2023

An Arab hoof halfway through a trim cycle 😍

22/01/2023

Swipe for a glow up ✨ an overdue trim for Lily (8.5 weeks)

18/01/2023

Alfie had been struggling with a seedy toe infection accompanied by a central crack for around 6 months prior to the first photo.

At the first visit (top photos) the hole at the toe would take half of the point of my hoof pick. The hole was throughly cleaned out with the help of a sharp nail and then it was packed with Red Horse Hoof Stuff. This fibrous antimicrobial hoof packing was applied in small layers, rather than in one large lump, when it was packed into the hole. I find when using this method the packing tends to stay put very well.

Alfie was kept on a 4 week trim cycle and the Hoof Stuff was regularly reapplied. The toe area was given a strong bevel to reduce the leverage on this area during the breakover phase of his stride. Doing this also encouraged his heels to stand up and the whole foot to move back underneath him as shown in the 2 left hand side photos.

The comparison shows that after 4 months of this treatment plan you can only just see the very last external sign of where the seedy toe had once been (bottom photos) 🤩

11/01/2023

Welcome to my page!

I am a final year student training through Equine Podiatry Training Ltd, working towards a Level 5 Diploma in Equine Podiatry. I started training in September 2020. I am a student member of the Equine Podiatry Association and am fully insured. I will be covering a 30 mile radius of Louth, Lincolnshire. If you’re interested in transitioning your horse to barefoot, or if your horse already is, then please send me a message if you would like any more information.