South Downs Equine Podiatry

01/04/2025

Super interesting post and a very obvious demonstration of how wrong it could go if you don’t know what you’re looking at!

Thanks to Alicia Harlov for allowing me permission to use her photographs. Also for the information I gained from Pete Ramey recently in a PHCP 2022 seminar.

Here is a very tall looking foot which looks like it needs quite a bit taken off the bottom on first glance. However, look at the radiograph. It’s pretty amazing!

The bones look like they are a “sinker”. Pete says that the bones are where they need to be but the coronet has moved up.
Gosh that’s a mind changing statement for me and I am struggling with it.

Note the super thin sole.
If anything was removed from the bottom of this foot then the horse would certainly be in trouble.

Pete Ramey said the heels are not that high in the radiograph but he would take them down a little. Plus improve breakover.

He also keeps every shred of sole, and retains any exfoliating sole. He does not agree with removing that at all. In this case I can see why the horse needed all its sole protection.

One of the oh my gosh moments for me is that the middle pastern bone is deep in the capsule. So any movement of that joint would surely press against the inner hoof capsule?

As I dive deeper into this I’ll share more highlights with you.

Hopefully Harlov will chip in to help us understand this foot better and what was done to help it.

Thanks my sponsors who are listed in the comments.

09/02/2025

A lovely improvement in heel structure over eight months 🐴

06/02/2025

30/01/2025

The new Scoot Boot TheraRide is landing! 🚀💥

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We are taking pre orders now ready for delivery 7th February, and again 21st February!

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29/01/2025

Some nice progress pictures on a laminitic pony after introducing some management changes. Laminitis is so much more than just the foot! 🐴

21/11/2024

27/10/2024

Beautiful Dream checking out the Hoof Stuff I was using to fill a seedy toe hole. I LOVE this product.

27/10/2024

A glorious end to a lovely flying visit for a day trimming on the island 🩷

27/10/2024

Nice improvements in this elderly laminitic pony July 2024/October 2024🐴

27/10/2024

Trimming in Jersey today and nice to see these improvements in this lovely pony in just a couple of months. April 2024/October 2024 🐴

21/10/2024

Gorgeous little toes 🐴

17/10/2024

A day of highs and lows. Trimming seven lovely shetlands and watching my son live his best life as my helper this morning, followed by a visit to see one of my first ever trims - a horse who was a case study while I was a first year student and who I have trimmed every six weeks for the last fourteen years, who very sadly is crossing the rainbow bridge tomorrow. Saying goodbye with a cuddle and an apple. She is a very special old lady 🐴

30/09/2024

Some lovely improvements in the hairline in two trims, small changes can make a huge difference 🐴

24/08/2024

Dropping The Knives

We are going to talk about this meme a bit, because I’ve seen it pop up a lot and it makes me a bit sad.

I’ve been spending a lot of time talking to hoofcare friends around the world lately, and we have all come to a similar conclusion:

This job can be really dang hard, my friends.

For those of us in hoofcare, summer starts “burn out season”- not only does it often feel like 800 degrees in our bodies as we are working to hold up a couple hundred pounds of horse limbs while they try to use us for balance while simultaneously stomping at a fly, but it’s also the season when owners are often riding more, doing more, and wanting more from their horses- and expecting that we will make all their riding dreams come true with our rasp and nippers.

We want that, too. We want to make your horses comfortable and sound. We want to do our best to advocate for your horses and set them up for success.

And I feel like every year, I still have to do a post about how it’s also not all up to us as the hoofcare provider to make that happen.

When it comes to soundness, yes- the trim and whatever we do to the foot as professionals is incredibly important. We can cripple the horse in a second, we can also bring relief. Of course, that’s not the only thing responsible for a horses’ soundness. Their diet, environment, turn out schedule, stress levels, gut health, biomechanics, saddle fit, dental status, metabolic status, and so much more all play a role in how comfortable they are before and after a hoofcare appointment.

I was chatting with some friends today and all of us had stories about how we often are expected to be “Mr. Fix It”- with the silver bullet, magic wand answer to get your horse back out showing tomorrow - and it can be an immense amount of pressure.

Add in the fact that often, if anything goes sideways soundness wise, we are the first to get the blame.. even if the owner hasn’t called us in 3 months, or the horse is fed a straight corn cob diet and kept on lush grass fields during the day with enough fat pads to become a literal couch. It can be hard to not just feel like everyone is throwing the hoofcare pro under the bus (hence the meme).

If we read the foot and do the same trim that kept them sound and comfortable 3+ years in a row, and that horse isn’t happy after we see them, my first thought is “what has changed in their diet? Their environment? Their health or stress or whatever else to cause inflammation in the hoof that hasn’t been there in the past?” But it can be easy to just blame the farrier.

Most of us spend a huge amount of our “free” time reading, talking to others, going to clinics and conferences, sitting in on webinars, documenting and learning to “read” the foot, talking to vets/bodyworkers/trainers/other farriers, and working hard to learn to do the best we can. This job takes a huge amount of critical thinking, decision making that we know can go either way in many cases, and none of us are right all of the time. None of us - hoofcare pro, owner, vet, bodyworker, … no one.

Are there times when our hoofcare decisions aren’t right for the horses? 10000%, absolutely you bet. And as many times as that is true, there are times when something else is causing an issue and we are only able to work with the feet we are presented with- we can’t work miracles.

To the clients who view us as team members collaborating to keep your horse in top shape- you’re the real MVPs. Thank you for trusting us, for working with us, for looking for ways you can improve your horse’s hoof health and soundness and make our job easier. If all of our books were filled with clients like you, our jobs would be a breeze.

I am so thankful to have so many amazing owners and professionals I work with, and working on horses with them makes the hard days worth it.

For others who have had difficult times with your horse and are working to get them sound, remember we are on your team. We want to see your horse comfortable. And we love when we are able to be a part of the collaboration to get that done ❤️

18/08/2024

Baby Jerry providing a complimentary back massage during his trim this morning 🩷🐴

13/08/2024

With crack repairs like these you’ve got to trust the process 🫶 four months on and we have lovely new growth with knitted together wall. Another six months and we will have crack free feet 🐴

09/08/2024

Yes yes yes!

Friday focus…long, stalky grass and short, stressed grass!

This is one I posted earlier this year and I am reposting it as I am being asked about this a lot lately!

There is always lots of debate over whether long stalky grass or short, or overgrazed grass is better or safer for good doing horses and ponies. Long stalky grass may have a lower calorie and sugar percentage per kg than short grass, but the bite depth is bigger on longer grass, so they will be consuming much more of it!

What is frequently overlooked is the total amount the horse can eat in a grazing period and how much digestible energy (calories) and sugar this supplies! They can consume much more longer grass, so the rate at which it can be eaten is much higher, so they will be getting far more calories, sugars and fructan per kg than with shorter grass. The focus seems to be on the length of the grass rather than how much can be eaten. If you are grazing your good doing horse or pony on longer grass, then the grass needs to be restricted so it does not oversupply calories.

Do not let anyone scare you about short grass, you are much better turning out on this to control calorie intake and to reduce sugar and fructan intake than you would be putting them out in a field full of longer grass! Please do not forget to put out some supplementary hay or haylage if the grass is very short so they have enough long stemmed forage going through their digestive systems.

Monitoring your horse or pony for unwanted weight gain or weight loss and adjusting the amount of grass / hay / haylage as needed, will help to keep them with a healthy condition score.

08/07/2024

🪰Flies - horses & farriers hate them!

It's unfair to ask a horse to stand still for shoeing as it's being eaten alive by flies. You can hardly blame them. The last thing we want is to turn shoeing into a negative & stressful experience.

For farriers, it's incredibly frustrating trying to do your best work on a half-ton moving target.
It can make it hard to pick up on any 'out of the ordinary' behaviours for your horse which are often early warning signs of pain.
A restless horse that snatches & jumps (not to mention the famous tail swish to the eye!) also HURTS.

Do:
✅ Apply fly repellent liberally! Pay extra attention to their legs.
✅ Use a well-fitting fly rug
✅ Acclimatise your horse to a portable fan (midges can't tolerate 7mph+ winds!)
✅ Use a cloth to apply or gels if your horse is afraid of sprays
✅ Manage the environment - set up fly traps and keep your shoeing area away from standing water & muck piles

Don't:
❌ Spray whilst your farrier is underneath the horse
❌ Leave fly masks on - often this can inhibit a horse’s visibility & increase chances of spooking
❌ Book an appointment at a peak pest times
❌ Dress your horse in dark colours or leave them sweaty as this attracts horse flies

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