Gabby Wilcox - Student Equine Podiatrist

08/08/2024

Interesting!

25/07/2024

The power of boots and pads!

14/07/2024

So missed 💔💔💔

07/07/2024

One of my path case studies - his shoes only came off in December! Joey is a star, and Emma has worked so hard with his feet.

30/06/2024

Shoes add structure to a hoof. They’re an external artificial support. I’m not debating whether or not you need that support here. What I’m saying is that a lameness is within the horse. Shoes are inert and external. Applying them to the hoof, might make a lame horse useable, but it doesn’t make him sound. It makes him a lame horse with shoes on.

Artificial support structures are amazing things. Have you ever broken a bone? The pain levels drop considerably once you have a cast put on. Not to mention how well you can use a broken limb when it’s inside a cast. The limb inside is still broken though. Healing – for sure, but broken and useable.

Now it takes 6 weeks to heal a broken bone (maybe a little longer for very complicated fractures). By sheer coincidence 6 weeks is also about the time a set of shoes lasts for. Has your horse’s lameness healed in the 6 weeks between shoeings or not? If not, you still have a lame horse with a shoe nailed to the bottom of it, and you still need a plan to fix that lameness.

If you’d like help knowing what to look for and how to monitor your horse more effectively, The Hoof Geek Health Checks are available in the Hoof Geek Academy FREE resources. Find out more, here https://hoofgeek.com/health-checks/

07/06/2024

HAY & HAYLAGE ARE DEFICIENT!

Hay and haylage do not supply enough vitamins or minerals for all horses and ponies.
Just in case you read somewhere that they do.

Remember that anyone can say anything they like and that doesn't mean it is true 😊

Feel free to share.. 🐴🍏

(Photo credit to Sally Brett)

07/06/2024

Please fill in this survey about hoof care in the UK

❓ Do you have five minutes to help The British Horse Society?

📝 We all know how vital regular hoof care is to our horses, ponies, donkeys and mules. To futureproof this care, The BHS needs your help to assess the availability of qualified farriers in the UK and the Republic of Ireland via this quick survey 🔗 forms.office.com/e/QjLDuMJqk3

🐴 If you’re over 18, they’d love to hear about your routine hoof care and your experiences when accessing farriery and hoof care provider services for the animals in your care.

🤝 Your insight will allow the BHS to work in partnership with other equine welfare charities, and the industry, to make access to the farriery profession easier so that, together, we can futureproof horse care in the UK.

26/05/2024

Every year, as we go through "mud season," I see thrush creep up on weaker feet especially. I felt it would be the perfect time to upload a previous podcast interview with Sam Austin of Red Horse Products, who discusses what thrush is, what causes it, and ways to treat it. Joe Sexton, a microbiologist with extensive experience in disinfectants, also weighs in on the discussion.

You can hear the entire conversation on any podcast app under "The Humble Hoof," or directly at this link:https://thehumblehoof.com/2024/05/24/throwback-episode-thrush/

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 Hay Boss Feeders – haybossfeeders.com – for all your slow-feeding needs. I get my Hay Boss feeders from Mountain Lane Farm in NH!

26/05/2024

A very interesting listen!

"Social Media part 2, The Rise of the Cult within barefoot hoof care"
BRAVO! This is BRILLIANT, and a must-listen podcast episode. Thanks to farriers Mark Johnson and Matthew Jackson for having the courage to speak honestly and openly, and call out those who are acting, frankly, like bullies. FEAR should NEVER by used as a sales gimmick. James & I, The Horse's Hoof, and Hoof Help Online have always worked against "cult" mentality and towards gracious discussion between those who have different ideas. We 100% support an open-minded attitude towards horse and hoof care. Link in comments.

14/05/2024

An update on the lovely Molly after a second trim of her fronts. Nine months worth of growth here but a pretty nice hoof emerging.
You can see on the second and third pictures how much has needed to be trimmed - the red line shows the same event line before and after trimming!
Thanks to Emma Baker; Equine Podiatry DEP MEPA! I could not have done it without you.

06/05/2024

A new case study, the lovely Molly!
Thanks to Emma Baker; Equine Podiatry DEP MEPA for the guidance and mentorship.

05/05/2024

This was a really interesting day - and I even got to sharpen my knife and rasps!
If hoof care professionals can work together, the sky is the limit!

24/04/2024

Lovely photos illustrating the wall and white line - what are your horse's like?

24/04/2024

Prevention (or early intervention) is better than cure!

Did you know - the best time to invest in bodywork for your horse is actually when they are showing no signs of pain, no unwanted behaviours, are performing beautifully, are happy in themselves and carrying themselves well.

Why?

Well because as we all know, prevention is better than cure - and by having regular bodywork (at least 5 times a year), we can stay on top of any problems that may be developing, we can tweak training programs and hoof balance, and help prevent any little issues from becoming real problems.

Horses are prey animals so they only start showing pain when it is already quite substantial!

17/04/2024

Great advice!

The party in the middle is usually the one who gets attacked the most 🤣 But we've been there for 2 decades, and I'm going to dig my heels in and keep stating our position. We encourage moderation and common sense. A middle ground.

Step back from the edge of extremism and listen to ALL sides. Don't throw babies out with the bathwater. There is a place in the middle where you can pull the useful techniques from everyone who has been developing barefoot trimming over the past 20-30 years. There is a time and place for nearly any technique to be used productively.

I honestly do not believe anyone is out there trying to hurt horses deliberately. Everyone is trying to help horses go barefoot successfully, in a quest to make their lives healthier, longer, and more productive. It is really that simple.

Different terrains and eductional programs introduce different focuses and techniques. That's where it gets complicated. Not everyone has the same goals; some focus only on immediate soundness; others are going for long term improvement over time.

Listen to the people who have been trimming productively, with long term clients going back a dozen or 2 dozen years. I'm sure they have valuable things to say. Appreciate them. This work is not easy, and often far from rewarding, except for the intrinsic rewards.

Check out Hoof Help Online, where we welcome free discussion of hoof ideas! 😁 A unique platform for learning: You receive exclusive content you won't find anywhere else, plus a barefoot trimming course, community access, recorded livestream video events, 80 issues of The Horse's Hoof Magazine, 1000's of photos, 100's of articles, 70+ videos, FREE App and more! Learn more at: https://members.hoofhelponline.com/

The Horse's Hoof offers a free monthly barefoot horse care e-newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/thehorseshoof/50-giveaway

Happy Hooves! - Yvonne Welz

03/04/2024

01/04/2024

A fascinating webinar, debunking a lot of myths about tendons and injury management.

Caring for tendons, or managing a horse with a tendon injury is probably every horse owner’s nightmare. A horse with a tendon injury used to mean months of box rest, which is stressful for all concerned, and with no real guarantee of a full return to fitness at the end of it. Thankfully, vets are ...

31/03/2024

Just a little reminder that hoof balance and health are a key factor to the biomechanical health of the body. If the hooves aren't right, you can't expect the body to be.

Also how perfect is this gorgeous Flash foot!

31/03/2024

04/03/2024

Dr Simon Curtis & Prof Christopher Pollitt will explore the causes/effects of laminitis and therapeutic techniques to treat laminitics.

04/03/2024

Good hoof hygiene doesn't have to be complicated!

31/01/2024

Researchers found a strong association between hind hoof balance and posture that could affect overall musculoskeletal health.

31/01/2024

What a great idea!

I have created a private group on Facebook tonight.

The study of the equine hoof- BASICS

Id be grateful if you can actually find it!

The purpose is to support and help educate people that have very little understanding on the anatomy and function of the horses hoof.

I don't know how this will go but I hope that it will be a small group of like minded members who just want to learn from first principles.

Its a group for those that are new to horses and have no idea on the anatomy inside the hoof or what everything does.

It is a very basic education and is not suitable for people that already know this.

It's not a place to argue or fight.

It will be a safe place to ask questions and not feel stupid or be spoken to like an idiot. It will be highly moderated so that it is fit for purpose.

This is my passion to teach and support people and there are so so many that need this basic education and if this resonates, then this is for you.

I will continue to introduce my sponsors on that group as they are very important to me.

The education that I will provide comes from 6 years intense study of the equine hoof. I also have a Equine Science degree from the Equine Science academy after a 2 year formal program and passed all exams.

I have a M.Sc and I am a Chartered Biologist. I am mentored by some of the most educated professionals in industry.

I have studied over 500 equine feet in great detail and am blessed with being able to explain things in a simple way.

I hope you will join me if you need basic information.

This will be a trial period. If it gets too big or sucks too much of my time then I will bail. Lets see if this will work for you.

I plan 1 post a week on anatomy.

It's not a place to ask for advice on your horses feet or vet advice. It it literally anatomy and function.

Lindsey.

28/01/2024

The prospectus for the September 2024 intake of the Level 5 Diploma in Equine Podiatry is now available here: https://www.eptrain.co.uk/prospectus/

08/01/2024

Another of my non pathological case studies is Prince. He is a semi retired child’s pony at my lovely yard Waun Fawr Farm Livery Yard and has been very patient as I get quicker at trimming 😅
He has had laminitis in the past and still has some issues with white line disease and seedy toe that have to be managed carefully. His hooves had some cracks and splits when I first met him so I’m keeping him to a strict 4 week trim cycle to help these grow out.
I’m looking forwards to see how his hooves change in the next few months!

27/12/2023

As my non pathological case studies are well underway, I thought it might be nice to share an update on them.
The first one is Rosie- she’s my horse and is VERY long suffering as my first guinea pig 😂. Her feet have been trimmed for many years by my mentor Emma Baker; Equine Podiatry DEP MEPA and are very strong and she grows a lot of hoof!
However she is not totally straightforward as she has EMS and hock arthritis (possibly contributed to by being shod as a yearling? - before I had her of course).
Priorities with her trim are making sure she has good hind heel height and keeping hind toes short to help her posture and reduce strain on her hocks.
As for the EMS, I have found that moving yards has really helped me to exercise her more to manage her weight which seems to doing the trick at the moment. She was on a track system with a great forage based diet and carefully managed strip grazing of very healthy grass, but she just stood around eating! It seems to me that in her case, exercise and movement is absolutely key to weight management and preventing laminitis so hopefully I can keep this going.
Look at those fabulous feet 🦶 🤩🤩🤩

21/12/2023

HAY AND HAYLAGE ARE DEFICIENT

Hay and haylage do not supply enough vitamins or minerals for all horses and ponies.

Just in case you read something saying they do.

Anyone can say or write anything they like; it doesn't mean it is true...

🐴🍏🟩🟨
(Thanks to Sally Brett for the photo)