Gem Thompson Equine Podiatry Student

24/08/2024

After an incredibly busy few months it’s time for some much needed R & R, so my two weeks holiday starts now 🤩

I really need to completely switch off, so don’t intend to read or reply to any messages in this time. My twitchy fingers can’t always help themselves though 🙈, so if you could avoid sending any until I’m back working (Monday 9th September), it would be hugely appreciated! 😘

I’ll also take this opportunity to say that my books are currently closed to new trim customers 🤯
I still have occasional space for boot fittings, but these are limited so please be prepared for the possibility of a long wait for an appointment, dependant on your location.

For anyone who has made an enquiry and not yet had a reply, I promise I’ve not forgotten you and am gradually working my way through the backlog. Thank you so much for your patience.

25/05/2024

I absolutely love seeing my customers out and about enjoying themselves 🤩
Here’s TB ex racer Otis and his fab owner Eliza making amazing memories at a recent pleasure ride and rocking his Equine Fusion Boots - think we can safely assume Otis is having the time of his life!
Then we have Arab Kareem and his equally fab owner Emily storming round a 64km endurance event 🙌🏼. He can turn his hoof to a spot of dressage too and as well as being very talented, is an absolute gentleman to trim 🥰

What brilliant photos - they have been purchased by the owners and I have permission to share, but will try and find the photographers to give credit where it’s due 📸

Feel free to to comment with pictures of your barefoot beasties out doing their stuff - I’d love to see them ☺️

18/03/2024

Ok everyone…well, Yorkshire folk in particular, I need your help 🙏🏼
I'm on the home stretch of my LANTRA Level 5 Diploma course, but I’m in need of 2 more Pathology Case Studies before I can even think about putting in for those dreaded final exams 🫣 and dare to dream of being able to call myself qualified 😬

To class as a suitable pathology case study I’m looking for a horse or pony with any of the following:
🐴 Current/ongoing undiagnosed or unresolved lameness
🐴 Laminitis
🐴 Navicular Disease/Syndrome
🐴 Significant Capsule Shift
🐴 Club Foot
🐴 Severe/Unstable Hoof Cracks
🐴 Significant Loss of Hoof Wall (maybe due to white line disease/seedy toe/abscess)

I also need owners that are willing to:

🙏🏼 Commit to a minimum of at least 6 months of regular trims (and hopefully ongoing thereafter)
🙏🏼 Be on board with a barefoot holistic approach, addressing the cause and not just the symptoms of the lameness/pathology
🙏🏼 Consider changes to diet, environment, workload or the use of hoof boots and pads, if needed to help progress the case

In return you can expect me to be:

✅ Closely supervised by an experienced and qualified EP acting as mentor, who will see the horse at the start and end of the process (and in between if necessary) and who is always available for any advice or support needed along the way
✅ Providing detailed visit reports after each visit with full sets of photos taken to monitor progress
✅ Willing to collaborate with the other equine professionals involved in your horses care to discuss the best way forward
✅ Punctual and Reliable
✅ Fully insured

🤞🏼If you have or know of a horse that may fit this criteria, based in the Yorkshire region, please get in touch or feel free to pass on my details.

Thank you ☺️

25/02/2024

After a lonely month for poor Chico following the loss of his companion to colic (RIP lovely Echo 😢), leaving him with no equine company, last Sunday he came to live with us. He belonged to my mother in law and has now been gifted to me 🥰
He’s nearly 12 but not done much other than a bit of groundwork and has lead a fairly sheltered existence on the side of the moor in Marsden 😬
Loading him was a challenge, but can’t blame him for being scared and reluctant - he went on after an hour of gentle persuasion and once moving, travelled well. Huge thanks to Whitakers Equine Transport for your patience and help 🙌🏼

He walked off nicely once home and has spent the last week getting accustomed to life on a yard with lots more activity than he’s used to 🤯
He’s also had to cope with being stabled which is another new experience (had access to a stable before but could come and go as he pleased which is ideal but unfortunately not possible on our yard).
We are taking introductions to Spencer and Digger very slowly as they can be mean bully boys with horses they don’t know well 😣🤦🏼‍♀️
My first loan pony was lost to a broken hock after rushed introductions with a newcomer so I’m majorly paranoid!

Chico is a superstar though - generally very sweet and well mannered, apart from when he thinks he’s being left alone (again, totally understandable).
He needs to lose weight 🙈, but will be gradually brought into work which will help and I’ll aim to back him over summer. A little on the short side for me at 14hh, but plenty chunky enough to hopefully carry me ok (I’ll be joining Chico on his weight loss mission 🤐)
I’ll feel happier once he’s properly settled with the bigger boys, but lots to look forward to ☺️🌞

04/02/2024

*update* knife sharpening skills not so shoddy after all 👌🏼 tried them out today on some pretty hefty frogs and bars and they felt like new! Particularly impressed with the loop knife that I’ve always struggled to get nicely sharp in the past 🙌🏼☺️

I’ve had a fun morning testing out my new bit of kit - a full tool maintenance system from Londonderry Forge Supplies Ltd 🤩

This job is soooo much easier (and safer!) with sharp tools, but especially where rasps are concerned, their ever increasing price makes it very tempting to keep using them past their best 💸…though my hands and wrists soon start to complain 😣
Regular sharpening should ensure optimal performance for a fair bit longer 🤞🏼

I’ll admit to being a bit clueless on how to go about the sharpening process, with various wheels and coloured compounds 🤷🏼‍♀️ but fortunately the kit comes with really comprehensive instructions as well as links to some great demonstration videos 🤓

I started off trying to breathe some new life into the collection of ‘spent’ rasps piling up in the garage then gave the hoof knives a go 😬
I feel the knives might take some practice so tomorrow will tell if I’ve made a hash of it 🙈…lovely new super sharp knife on standby just incase 🤭😉

19/01/2024

Do I miss my nice warm office 🤔 nah…especially not with views like the ones from earlier this week 🥶
Could have done without some of the white knuckle driving perhaps 🙈 and I can’t deny todays creature comforts were very welcome 🤗

06/01/2024

This is quite a timely post from Kelly as I’ve just recently had similar conversations with a few clients, though mostly on the aspect of charging more for heavies…which I don’t.
A well behaved heavy can be much quicker, easier and safer to trim than a nervous or snatchy small. It was after all a young pony who recently kicked my nippers out of my hand and into my face with a hind foot whilst I was still holding his front foot 😳🤷🏼‍♀️
We called it a day after only managing to nipper the fore’s, but having taken longer about it than a full trim on any of the much larger horses on the yard.
It’s the same flat rate for all, with the only exception being if I am travelling further afield for a single horse.

Occasionally I am asked if I charge the same for minis as for horses. I remember once being asked if I charge less because I wasn’t able to trim all four feet (because the horse was so scared and tried to take my head off). Once I was even asked if the first trim for a foal would be free as per “tradition”. And I did trim it for free as it happens, but I still put diesel in my car to get there. It climbed all over me because the owner had never lifted a foot before the appointment, and broke my finger in the process. But if your horse is super nervous, and i come out to give him a scratch, pick up the hooves and give you some pointers on how to help him be more comfortable with hoofcare, you’re paying for my time, not by the hoof and it frustrates me that the question would ever come up. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll gladly help people out - but that’s at my discretion. When it’s expected, because the horse is tiny or he was terrified/needed seds/doesn’t have much growth, please don’t assume that the appointment will be cheaper. My education/insurance/tools/fuel/time/risk/car maintenance etc are covered by a flat rate.

02/01/2024

Amy could be talking about me here! Will be forever grateful to all my lovely customers for trusting me with your horses hoof care. It’s so nice to wake up looking forward to work rather than dreading it 🐴🥰
For anyone stuck in a situation that makes you unhappy - do whatever you can to change it! Life is too short x

23/12/2023

Well that’s the last (and long overdue 🙈) job done before I down tools for a few days.
Wishing all my customers, colleagues, followers and friends a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 🎄🎉🥂
Huge thanks to everyone who has supported me and helped grow my business this year.
Looking forward to 2024 and helping more of your lovely equines have fabulous feet 🤩🐴

13/10/2023

Neither me nor my tools work our best if wet and muddy (not to mention it being dangerous if everything is slippery) so thought this worth a share ☔️

01/10/2023

What a crazy busy couple of months 🥵 lots of news so sorry if this post is rather long and self indulgent!

Wednesday was my last day working for West Yorkshire Police. I’ve been there 16 and a half years, the first 5 years in Comms (Contact Centre and Dispatch) with the last nearly 12 years in the Forensic Enhancement Lab 👩‍🔬
I thought I’d be really happy and excited on my last day, but I was actually just very sad and still am a bit 😢
Whilst I’ve fallen out of love with the job I used to think would see me through to retirement, there’s lots I’ll miss, not least the wonderful people I’ve built such close, strong working relationships with over the years 🥰
Anyway, lots of happy memories to look back on and things to be proud of, so I’ll stop moping now and focus my attentions on the next chapter.

In trying to cram in as much as possible whilst working my notice, I’ve fallen very behind with admin type stuff 🙈 Apologies to anyone waiting to hear back from me re an appointment or visit report. I’m hoping to catch up with myself soon!

From Tuesday I’ll be on holiday for a couple of weeks 😎🏝️ I’ll be having a complete break, so won’t be replying to any messages during that time. Hopefully this will give me chance to recuperate and recalibrate, ready to get properly established in a new routine once I’m back.

Alongside the trimming and boot fitting, I will have a new service to offer - Niagara Equissage Pulse Therapy 🙌🏼 as you can see being enjoyed by Digger in the pic.
This can be as an add on to complement a trim visit, or as a stand alone appointment. Exact details, prices etc yet to be decided but I’ll do another post regarding this in a few weeks.

With any spare time I’m looking forward to resuming my other business venture Gem Thompson Animal Art which has had to take a back seat for the last few years 🎨 (closed to new commissions until I clear my waiting list) as well as taking a bit of ‘me’ time to enjoy the other things I’ve just not had time for 🏇🏊‍♀️🧘🏼‍♀️📷

You never know, I might even manage more regular hoof related updates on here 😉🤞🏼

17/08/2023

Not the best end to my Thursday 🙈
Blow out on the M62 at rush hour so had to dodge the trucks to get to the hardshoulder then limped it to the next off slip. Tyre repair stuff doesn’t stand a chance (it’s goosed) and no spare, so awaiting mobile tyre replacement (or recovery) 😣

The irony is, I’m in a courtesy car as last month my van got smashed into by a taxi (that tried to overtake as I was making a right turn!) but my van has a spare 🤷🏼‍♀️

Ah well, it’s giving me time to catch up on some admin - apologies to those still waiting for me to come back to you with appointments/visit reports, its all a bit hectic at the moment 🤯 (more news on that to come!)

Hoping they can fit me a new tyre this evening and it won’t affect tomorrow’s appointments, but if I am visiting you tomorrow I’ll be in touch asap if I need to rearrange.

Thanks to my lovely hubby for rushing to my aid to attempt a repair, and for bringing me a BK for my tea when that failed 🥰🍔🍟🥤

12/07/2023

The profession of Equine Podiatry in the UK owes a massive debt of gratitude to the work of this wonderful lady. A provider of knowledge and support, she will be sorely missed. Rest easy Jayne 💔

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.

21/06/2023

Following a visit to the fantastic Meadow View Track a little while ago, I’ve been inspired to provide Spencer & Digger with a water buffet 💦
As I’ve mentioned before, they spend a lot of time in grazing muzzles over the summer, so this is perhaps the best way to provide enrichment and opportunity for self selection.

It’s mostly for fun, rather than relying on it to supplement their diet with anything essential (which is already provided in their bucket feed) but that said, I’m going to be trying things that are beneficial and am really interested to see what they go for.
I’m starting with things I have to hand, so for now (alongside fresh water of course) we have:

🍎 Apple Cider Vinegar
🌊 Sea Salt
🍵 Peppermint Tea
❓ To be decided*

*Clays such as French Green/Bentonite/Zeolite are often provided and seem popular with the horses. I’m a bit unsure just yet though as they help flush toxins and can interfere with medications, so I’d not want to risk it adversely effecting the efficacy of Spencer’s joint supplement/bute…more research needed before I decide whether to give it a go 🤓
I might try Sodium Bicarbonate, or maybe Magnesium Oxide 🤔
I’m also going to look at different herbs/teas 🪴🌿🌱🌼 with Meadowsweet probably being the next to try.

The salt water has already been sampled by both of them and Spencer was guzzling the ACV as soon as it went in the bucket 🤩

Has anyone done anything similar? Any other suggestions for my final bucket? 💡
I’d love to hear what your horses like most or any other enrichment ideas you’ve tried - especially if you are in a traditional livery yard situation where it can be more difficult to make such provisions 🐴

10/06/2023

The talented advanced medium dressage star Raine (also best mate and mentor to Oriana from my previous post) is my first pathology case study.
She’s had a lot going on in her fore feet, with problems in the navicular region including inflamed DDFT and collateral ligaments, as well as significant high/low syndrome, causing lameness.
The top left picture in the before set of photos just about shows the huge difference in her front feet, with the heel bulbs of the right fore being very low and under-run, in dramatic comparison to the very high left 😳
Remedial shoeing and hoof casts had been tried with limited success so the last ditch attempt to get her sound was to take everything off and see if a barefoot approach would help 🤞🏼
From the before photos you might be able to see that her high left foot had loads of retained sole, along with very contracted heels and deep central sulcus.

5 trims on and, whilst there’s still a little way to go, we now have front feet that are much more of a matching pair 🙌🏼 The retained sole finally shed out in great chunks (helped along only slightly by my hoof knife on visit 4) so she has defined bars, her heels are slowly widening out and we are getting on top of the DCS.
Best news of all, recent radiographs show a marked improvement in the angle of P3 and she has been passed as sound and able to start ridden rehab exercise 🎉🤩

05/06/2023

I try to steer away from politics as much as possible, but the recent article from Horse & Hound can’t be ignored.
I chose to train with EPT for a reason - so I will come away with a recognised, accredited qualification that allows me full entry to a professional organisation that insist upon its practitioners undertaking regular CPD and having adequate insurance. I am already a member of the EPA as a student.
I don’t disagree that more needs to be done to regulate the industry as a whole, but the H&H article is very misleading and disregards all the hard work put in by the EPA and EPT to counter this very argument.

04/06/2023

Next up and to complete my non-pathology case studies, we have the very gorgeous and wonderful, future dressage diva, Oriana.
As you’ll notice from the photos taken before her first trim, her feet were rather tall, with high, run forward heels and long toes. Her bars were also too long so had become overlaid.

I’ve worked to gradually get her feet back and underneath her, bringing the heel purchase to where it needs to be and shortening the toe to improve break-over. She’s just starting out in her ridden career and hopefully these adjustments, along with regular exercise over varied surfaces will encourage a heel first landing, strengthening the frog and digital cushion and helping to plump up and open out those heels a bit more.

31/05/2023

Due to (planned) surgery just over a week ago I’m currently confined to barracks and under strict orders to do no strenuous bending and lifting for a while, which is obviously a bit problematic in this line of work 🤦🏼‍♀️
But whilst I can’t pick up horsey feet, it doesn’t stop me being able to write about them, so is the perfect opportunity to give an update on my case studies ☺️

I’m awaiting official sign off, but over the last few weeks my last 2 non-path and first path case studies have been completed after 6-7 months of visits 🙌🏼
Once back in action I’ll be on the hunt for more pathological hooves, but that’s a post for another day.

Anyway, first off we have Rusty - nothing too tricky to tackle with him, but as the top pictures of his front feet, from before his first trim show, he was a bit overgrown and chipped, with slightly long toes.
A 6 week trim cycle, concentrating on bringing his toes gradually back, plus a few diet tweaks and we now have some lovely, neat, strong, functional feet 🤩💪🏼
He loads quite medially in front, resulting in lateral quarter flare, which I’ve addressed by applying a steeper bevel in that area, giving the slightly scooped effect you see in the bottom pics.
Good boy Rusty 🥰
(The colours are quite different between the before and after pics and he’s got a bit more leg floof, but I promise it’s the same pony 😉)

19/05/2023

The grass is so dangerous at the moment ⚠️ and laminitis is rife. Spencer’s pulses have been up slightly so it’s on with the grazing muzzle. Being on livery can often mean the solutions of strip grazing or creating a track or bare paddock just aren’t available, and stabling can bring its own problems - especially for an older horse like Spencer whose joints benefit from keeping moving, so we are left with a muzzle being the most viable option for restricting grass intake. Of all the muzzles I’ve tried over the years, the Thin-line is the one he hates least 🙈
Check those pulses daily and keep a close eye for any of the early warning signs outlined below - prevention is always better than cure!

07/05/2023

As Spencer’s field is rather lacking in diversity we like to go for regular in hand snack hacks so he can browse and forage the hedgerows and find himself lots of yummy and beneficial goodies. 🌾🌿🌼

He loves Cow Parsley, which is an amazingly functional food for horses, being antibacterial and offering support to the kidneys, digestive and respiratory system.

He also dives head first into any hawthorn bush within reach, which I actively encourage as it is packed full of antioxidants and phytonutrients to help with metabolism, inflammation and arthritis. Hopefully his creaky old joints will feel the benefit of his endeavours 🙏🏼

He’s not however fussed for cleavers or dandelions so must not feel he needs what they can offer at the moment ☺️

05/05/2023

A requirement of the EPT course is to spend time observing a qualified EP, so back over the Pennines today for a shadowing day with Cat Redwood Equine Podiatrist. Lovely bunch of horses and some interesting feet, making it a great learning experience - thanks Cat ☺️

24/04/2023

I’m currently down in Wiltshire for the last ‘in person’ part of my course 😳 how are we at that stage already?! 🤯
Day one was Farriery - now obviously I’m all about keeping the shoes off the feet where possible, but having a better appreciation of what can and can’t be achieved with either approach is essential.
There is no denying the incredible skill and craftsmanship that goes into creating a shoe from a plain, straight piece of steel 🔨🔥👌🏼
It was a really enjoyable day with lots of healthy discussion - big thanks to Chris Powell FWCF, his apprentice Cameron and not forgetting, Murphy 🐴 🥰

13/04/2023

Worth a share for anyone who might not have seen this and could be around/under/on top of a horse at the time 🙈🙉

Riders/Ride Organisers!!!

On Sunday 23rd April there will be a National test of the UK Emergency Alerts Service. Your phone will produce a siren-like noise and a message displayed that it is a test. If you are at a ride or out riding, please be aware as this is likely to be a loud noise and could startle your horse. Read more information here:

https://www.gov.uk/alerts/announcements

13/04/2023

Following on from the post I shared yesterday, Georgina addresses a couple of inaccuracies the article contained that, rather than being a positive for barefoot, could put owners off considering it 😣

12/04/2023

There are of course many advantages to keeping horses barefoot, but the fact it’s cheaper is definitely one of them 😉🙌🏼
Great to have someone as high profile as John flying the barefoot flag 🤩

11/04/2023

Have had a great day over the Pennines and whilst I’m not yet required to undertake CPD, it was a brilliant learning opportunity for me 🤓

26/03/2023

New horse for my new customer - a really lovely well mannered Arab stallion, but with rather neglected feet 😳
He moved surprisingly well pre-trim all things considered, but was much more comfortable post trim 👌🏼
His front feet were worse than his hinds, with loads of excess sole and bar laid down to try and compensate for the fact his flared overgrown walls couldn’t effectively load bear.
A definite work in progress, but we’re off to a good start!
His new owner hopes to use him for ‘Tent Pegging’ (yes I had to look it up too 😉) - I’d love to go watch them in action one day 🤩

22/03/2023