Natural Balance NHC - Natural Hoof Care

19/02/2023

07/03/2021

Sleepy Spring vibes ☀️

01/03/2021

Woodland hacking 🌲

01/03/2021

Beautiful sounding hooves

13/02/2021

Hiding from the wind this afternoon!

We find that the horses prefer using a shelter with two open ends (walk through design). They most likely feel safer with more escape routes at hand (or hoof!) if something worries them.

13/02/2021

🐴👣

11/02/2021

Satisfyingly warm winter coats made by the horses during all this cold weather.

10/02/2021

This 👆

Yes, horses can live with good health and seemingly enjoy life with extreme cold temperatures such as -15 F (-26 C) without blankets or rugs as long as they have access to a constant supply of safe grass hays, a quality shelter and fresh water. (Of course, this is not the complete diet but is the foundation.)

This is Jill’s herd in Minnesota back in 2007 when they first started living on track! No risky “winter grazing” for them as horses can get laminitis or WHID (Whole Horse Inflammatory Disease no matter the season). And of course, they are all barefoot!

26/01/2021

Horses being herd animals means they need to be with other horses to make them feel safe and be stimulated by social interaction. Without 'friends' their mental well-being will suffer.

Keeping the herd together 24/7 is key!

13/01/2021

An ideal or optimal barefoot trim method by itself will not result in healthy hooves.

Do you know how to recognize characteristics of health in your horses’s hooves? Or characteristics of pathology? Or characteristics of a quality and humane trimming method?

The was created to teach students around the world how to trim horses using the Natural Trim, defined as a humane barefoot trim method that mimics the natural wear patterns of the (healthy and sound) wild and free-roaming horses living in the U.S. Great Basin and other similar adaptive biomes.

ISNHCP students learn how to manage horses using the four pillars of Natural Horse /Hoof Care which includes natural boarding (Paddock Paradise track system), a “reasonably natural” diet, natural horsemanship and the natural trim. More info at Isnhcp - Institute for the Study of Natural Horse Care Practices, the nonprofit or at www.jaimejackson.com.

pic of Jaime Jackson trimming by

12/01/2021

So true!

What would you think of parents who keep their children inside the house, away from other children, for their entire lives, in order to prevent them from getting their clothes dirty, or eliminate the risk of them getting hurt? Or to prevent them from getting their hair messed up or knees skinned? Most would think that this is cruel. We agree.

And to those who are afraid their horse will get dirty or have patches of missing hair or risk getting hurt if turned out with other horses, we encourage you to allow them the opportunity to have a happy, healthy life even if there are risks.

📷 by

08/01/2021

Some fun faces to look at during these tough times 🐴

04/01/2021

This horse's hoof approx 5 years ago compared to now.

A much healthier hoof after a track system and natural trim was applied, and diet addressed.

This horse is much happier in her body and mind.

27/12/2020

17/12/2020

Even video games are showing some nice bare feet 😁

08/12/2020

Wishing it was Summer again! Video from a couple of years ago!

03/12/2020

Horse hoof plastinate - Very interesting to see the internal structures of the hoof 🧐

03/12/2020

A great trim is not necessarily defined by how the hoof looks when the trimmer is finished but by the hoof that emerges over time as a result of the trim, the lifestyle/environment, the diet and, if applicable, the manner in which the horse is ridden.

The ISNHCP uses the wild, free-roaming horses in the U.S. Great Basin as its model. Jaime Jackson gathered on these healthy, sound, and fit horses over a four-year period in the early/mid-1980's. The natural trim emerged as a result of his research and, like all good science, can be replicated by all who learn it. The educated trimmer mimics the natural wear patterns of healthy horses living in this adaptive biome, which stimulates natural growth patterns. This same hoof could just as easily be thrown into chaos by the uneducated trimmer.

Photo by Dario Arcamone (of Florence/Firenze, Italia) at the ISNHCP/AANHCP headquarters in Lompoc, Ca.

08/11/2020

Characteristics of health show from the inside out in the hooves. Note the absence of horizontal rings (or lines) on the outer hoof wall and, instead, they are straight and free of bumps, waves and any deformity. Note also the absence of a stretched ‘white line’ surrounding the sole on the bottom of the foot.


And note ‘nature’s horseshoe’ on the bottom of the hoof! This is a term created by Jaime Jackson about the waterline - the most distal structure (when they are standing on a flat surface) in the healthy, sound, wild and free-roaming horses living naturally in the U.S. Great Basin. Thus, this is a ‘wear pattern’ or characteristic of naturally shaped hooves in domestic horses too!

While the hooves are in slight need of a trim, the image should help the reader easily see the waterline and mustang roll - from this angle -more easily than in an image of a freshly trimmed hoof.

07/11/2020

Applying the ‘Natural Trim’ to some Clydesdale hooves today 🐴

06/11/2020

Tess's hooves. Beautiful, naturally shaped hooves with all the characteristics of health we see in the wild horse model (wild and free-roaming horses living naturally in the U.S. Great Basin) that were researched by Jaime Jackson and written about in his many books, including this one.

Your horse can also be free of laminitis - or the risk of it - once and for all. And there is no 'snake oil' or 'magic potions' you must buy in order to help them achieve the same health and vitality that shows in these hooves. It all comes down to using the four foundational pillars of Natural Horse Care, which basically means managing them according to their species. And you do not have to reinvent the wheel yourself. (Hooves shown are trimmed for years by Jaime Jackson.)

06/11/2020

Yes, you can have a track in the snow. Just be sure to have good shelter options that the horses can freely go in and out of as they choose to escape freezing rain, wind, etc. In sub-zero temps - like that in Minnesota, Canada, etc. - you may want to provide water heated to luke-warm to make sure they are getting enough. And like any Paddock Paradise, unlimited free-choice safe grass hays!

Here the horses have just come in from the track and into a larger paddock / feeding area just ouside the run-in shelter area of the barn. ~ Jill

01/11/2020

Myth busters! 🥊🐴

Many people believe that white hooves are weaker than dark hooves.

This couldn’t be further from the truth!

The only difference between them is their pigmentation, this does not affect the quality of the horn.

31/10/2020

‘Appy Halloween from Whisper! 🎃