Balanced Barefoot

27/08/2023

Useful Links / Products

Must have items for good horse care:-

Silver Salve – For use on moderate mud fever or wounds.

27/08/2023

Useful Links / Products

Must have items for good horse care:-

Mother Bee
https://motherbeeonline.co.uk/

Mud Relief – For minor mud fever treatment.

27/08/2023

Useful Links / Products

Must have items for good horse care:-

Mother Bee
https://motherbeeonline.co.uk/

Sweet Relief – For use on skin irritations and as a fly protection.

27/08/2023

Useful Links / Products

Must have items for good horse care:-

Mother Bee
https://motherbeeonline.co.uk/

Soothe & Protect – Use for wound treatment or skin irritations.

27/08/2023

Useful Links / Products

Equine podiatry Supplies
https://www.equinepodiatrysupplies.co.uk/

Must have items for good hoof care:-

EPS – Pads – Boot pads 4lb, 7lb or 9lb
https://www.equinepodiatrysupplies.co.uk/product/pair-eps-pads/

27/08/2023

Useful Links / Products

Equine podiatry Supplies
https://www.equinepodiatrysupplies.co.uk/

Must have items for good hoof care:-

CleanTrax –use for a deep penetrating hoof for the toughest infections such as white line disease or for abscess tracks once they have burst.

27/08/2023

Useful Links / Products

Must have items for good hoof care:-

30ml to 5 litres of water or a sq**rt in a full spray bottle. A stronger cleaning product for moderate Thrush. Can be used for soaking feet for major thrush or cleaning hole in the white line.

27/08/2023

Useful Links / Products

Equine podiatry Supplies
https://www.equinepodiatrysupplies.co.uk/

Must have items for good hoof care:-
Redhorse products

Sole Cleanse – A mild natural sole treatment for mild Thrush.

27/08/2023

Useful Links / Products

Equine podiatry Supplies
https://www.equinepodiatrysupplies.co.uk/

Must have items for good hoof care:-
Redhorse products

Hydrohoof – For treating dry hoofs surface cracks and soles.

27/08/2023

Useful Links / Products

Equine podiatry Supplies
https://www.equinepodiatrysupplies.co.uk/

Must have items for good hoof care:-
Redhorse products

Artimud – For packing collateral groves (Thrush treatment) and packing minor holes in the white line.

27/08/2023

Useful Links / Products

Equine podiatry Supplies
https://www.equinepodiatrysupplies.co.uk/

Must have items for good hoof care:-
Redhorse products

Hoof Stuff – For packing moderate holes in the sole or white line.

15/07/2023

Hello

As you will have seen from my post feed about Lucky the Clydesdale, I take care of the horses feet for this very worth while animal sanctuary. If you can help no matter how small please donate and help keep these animals safe.

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-harmony-fields-hang-on?fbclid=IwAR1I6CcLt5ZKKpv8HC6t3WkWmi4hENViEBdXxcKUtEAFqUvfhUniwfgDRKg_aem_ARYvmEJwdsqodk92xT9JcFVWKQinYSJ4yHZCutfz-4wh7omsuSb0CIrmiC2275gagCA

Thank you for reading

Steven

This is a very difficult post for me to write, and it's very long. You have been warned!! 🙈💞

I'm sorry its been quiet on here. I'm sorry for not responding to messages and emails. I'm sorry for the lack of communication and posts. The truth is, I'm sinking. Mentally, emotionally, financially, I'm just not coping very well at the moment, and in all honesty I'm hiding. In typical introvert style, I'm withdrawing, retreating, pushing people away. Things are tough just now, tougher than they've ever been, and for the first time in the 7 years since we started this wonderful, crazy life that is Harmony Fields, I'm terrified we're not going to survive. I'm struggling to communicate, to face people, even my closest friends, and I feel so guilty, I know we're all struggling and I don't feel I have the right to complain when so many families are in crisis, I have it good really, surrounded by our precious babies on a daily basis, I should be happy!! But. BUT. Its been almost a year now since we had to close to dismantle and rip apart our first beloved home. Almost a year since we had any meaningful income generation. Almost a year since I could sleep without worry. Almost a year of saying "it'll be fine, not much longer now...". Yet here we are, a year later, and we are STILL closed. I just can't believe it. Its been 9 months since we moved to our forever home with the initial plan that access would be sorted by Christmas, then by spring, then soon, soon, soon....every time we believed it, every time we told ourselves just hang on another few weeks, another couple of months tops, another little bit, it'll be fine, just hang on....and we have. We've hung. We've waited. We've begged and borrowed and maxed out everything we can to keep going, just a little bit longer. And we're still waiting. It's in no way the fault of our wonderful neighbours at Rachel's Farm, they are the loveliest family, trying so hard to do a truly wonderful thing with their wellbeing retreat and rewilding projects, but they are struggling too with the massive challenges brought by any large development...the delays, the complaints, the red tape, its all so much harder than any of us could ever have imagined...they have been incredibly supportive and are doing everything they can to help us, but they are struggling too and neither of us can do anything about the unprecedented delays. Quite simply, we're closed, we have no option, we have no access, no parking, no help. Our staff have long gone, we can't get new volunteers onto site and I couldn't handle talking to or training them even if we could. My lovely Ronnie is taking shifts wherever and whenever he can to keep a roof over our family's heads, and I'm on my own on a daily basis trying to keep our furry gang fed, clean, cared for and loved, but they miss our team, they miss you guys, there's only so many hours in a day and I'm struggling. Deep down, bone tired, mentally drained, emotional wreck struggling. As well as petrified we won't be able to hang on long enough to come out the other side of this. Its terrifying. The only thing I can do is ask for your help to see us through and keep us going just a little bit longer. Again. There is at long last some amazing progress on the road, but there's still a way to go and we are out of time. Literally. We've almost lost the summer season , which is the best time for bringing in money, and winter will be here before we know it, I just don't know how we can get through it again. I'm so sorry, you've all been incredible over the last year, and I am mortified that I have to do this again, but our animals need me to be brave, to be strong, to own up to needing help. Again. You all know how I hate to put myself out there like this in any situation at all, let alone on the dreaded social media (!) but I felt i owed you an explanation. Sometimes you have to be vulnerable, however much it hurts. I hope and pray you will stick with us and still be here when we can eventually reopen. I'm sorry we've been rubbish recently. Please, please bear with us.

Normal service WILL be resumed!!! Eventually!! IT WILL!! 🙏🙏🙏💜💞💜

Thank you all, much love, Cath x

(Link in comments with more details and how u can help 🙏)

05/07/2023

Meet Dude and he is!

This poor lad has had a history of foot issues and at the moment he has two sore front feet with crumbly walls and white line disease.

I was asked to remove a loose shoe as his other one had already fallen off. When I removed the shoe and started to clean up his feet it was clear he was in a lot of discomfort.

We agreed a plan of action. His mum was amazing and overnighted all the items need to make him comfortable.

The next day his feet were cleaned, soaked in Milton’s solution for 15 minutes, dried, white line holes packed with Red Horse Products - hoof stuff & Artimud and wrapped in a disposable nappies.

The feet were covered in poultice wraps/ boots with 4lb boot pads in them bottom (see photo 4). The white gaffer tape was added to the bottom of the poultice wraps by me to offer extra wear protection.

He walked off like he had soft fluffy slippers on and you could see he was visibly more comfortable giving Dude time to allow his feet to grow and recover without pain.

Poltice wraps and disposable nappies make keeping his feet clean and dry a much less labour intensive job.

Dude will be monitored daily and have his feet bathed, cleaned and re-packed weekly until he has recovered. He has been placed on a high concentration Biotin supplement (Biotex 80) to encourage sting healthly hoof growth.

05/07/2023

I am working with three lovely Donkeys at a small holding. (Post to follow on a set of amazing feet and their care).

Please meet some of the other residents on the farm. Just thought you would like to see the new arrivals!

16/06/2023

Meet Roo and Pizzaz. First time trims for me with these two beautiful babies. After some initial impatience from them, they both stood fantastically well for me. I gave them time and worked at their pace.

Little did they know that they can stand on three legs without falling over. Working with youngsters is so rewarding!

07/06/2023

Exciting new day for me, fresh new graphics.....

The dogs approve of their newly branded view from their 'doggie-double-decker'!

02/04/2023

This is Guto trying out his new Tubbease Hoof Sock to allow me to soak his feet. Guto was not a fan of standing in a bucket - busy feet!

Tubbease are a great alternative for horses that won’t stand still and are very easy to use.

See link below.

https://youtu.be/Kl16xhQ41h0

18/02/2023

Important that your horse can stand whilst having all four feet soaked. It takes time - better to put in the time now practising, before it’s needed for real.

18/02/2023

Milton soaking of horse’s foot in warm water (30ml:5Ltrs). Can be used to treat moderate to severe thrush and clean out white line holes, helping prevent infections.

05/02/2023

Working with a beautiful Clydesdale today, I found that due to the wet weather we have been experiencing this winter, this mare had developed deep thrush pockets in her central sulcus.

The horse had been stood in deep mud which made it difficult to detect and the thrush had travelled through the frog, and out from the central sulcus creating flaps at the back of the frog by each collateral grove.

Once I had removed the frog flaps and thoroughly cleaned the feet (I recommend using a very dilute Milton solution for this - 30ml:5litre) I then applied Red Horse Products Artimud along each collateral groove and within the central sulcus. Using this product weekly will make it easier for my client to keep on top of the thrush issue with the challenging field conditions that we all face at this time of year.

Following the trim, the client was straight out for a hack, happily stomping along type 2 forestry tracks with no boots! No issues reported.

31/01/2023

As part of my Equine Podiatry course, I shadow a qualified EP. Last weekend, I got to head out with Sydne Pruonto, based in West Lothian, who took me out on her round.
Had a amazing day watching a qualified EP at work - learnt a lot, as always. Thank you Sydne for sharing your knowledge.

23/01/2023

I will be attending this talk tonight, delivered by Loch Leven Equine Practice. Another one of their great, free talks!

📆𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀?
💌Join us on Monday 23rd January (7pm), at Huntingtower, Perth for a free talk on 'Prevention is better than cure'.

ℹAs we come out of winter join Hugh and Jenny as they share their tips on recognising, preventing and managing common ailments that affect a large percentage of our patients.

💕At LLEP we are passionate about prevention and this often starts by helping horse owners know what to look out for. The talk will cover a variety of subjects including laminitis, ulcers, teeth, and lameness. Open to all horse owners we’d love it if you can join us for an informative and fun evening of learning.

💌This talk is free to all with pastries, teas and coffees and a chance to meet some of the LLEP team - we can’t wait to see you there.

To book your free space email us on [email protected] or call the office.

21/01/2023

Looking forward to learning more about horse relationships tomorrow. Still time to register - Emily Kieson is well worth a listen.

09/01/2023

Yesterday I had the privilege of working with 2 Clydesdales at Harmony Fields Animal Rescue.

Lovely Lucky who was receiving his 2nd trim from me, and Bruce who unfortunately had a sore leg.

With Lucky, I could only trim 3 out of 4 feet as 1 was sore with no heat or pulses, and he was saying 'no'. Better to give the horse a good experience and trim the 4th foot another day, than to wrestle with the horse and leave a bad memory. A happy horse = a happy trimmer!

Bruce showed lameness in his front left leg, suspected to be connected to a previous injury. So all I could do to make Bruce more comfortable as he couldn't bear weight on it, was to trim back the toe of his sore leg giving him an easier breakover. When Bruce is feeling better I will be able to go back and give him a proper trim all round - Get well soon Bruce!

21/12/2022

19/12/2022