Shai - DAEP - Dragonfly Equine Podiatry and Classical Training

03/20/2025

Happy Gotcha Day Finny!! We love you!

03/16/2025

Changes over 1 year. I’m preparing a 30 minute presentation on the equine foot.
What does a “healthy” foot look like.

There is so much pathology and problems being called “normal” that people think it is ok for the hoof to look that way. Every change means something. I can’t share everything in 30 minutes, but I can give you what a healthy foot should look like. Along with, issues that you as an owner can work on, even though your Hoof Care Pro hasn’t mentioned it or maybe even called it “normal”.

03/16/2025

After application of perfect hoof wear. AQHA. Note the quarters are concave. This is due to lack of health and mass of the cartilages in the back of the foot. These used to be very flared at the bottom. After a proper balance that removed distortion, I used PHW to direct the forces and thus help create correct growth. Still a work on progress, but rehabilitation is happening.



The little black dots in the hoof wall are where the anchors for the perfect hoof wear were. No Glue!!!

Second picture is right after I pulled his shoes 1 year ago.

03/15/2025

03/15/2025

Quarter horse with a foot freshly out of wraps.

03/13/2025

Keeping the straightness in the hard direction. Fergus used to rotate his front clockwise and his hind counter clockwise and then bend his neck and put his tail left. Challenging to fix..

03/13/2025

Lateral work at canter

03/13/2025

Lateral work at all the gaits creates flexibility and mobility. Better balance. Progressively getting better

03/13/2025

Working on canter trot transitions..

03/09/2025

Using a precious bottle of Cleantrax to treat Diego’s front feet. He cracked his medial quarter from the heel forward horizontally… running around in my play zone. Will use some super glue and perfect hoof wear to stablize and support while it grows out. Which will probably take awhile being that it ends about 1/4 down from his periople and coronet band. See pictures in comments.

03/07/2025

Subject D starts his re-education under saddle.

03/01/2025

All the ponies came out to play in the sun yesterday

02/22/2025

New case study in progress. Low grade chronic laminitis, solar bruising..

02/16/2025

WHO is this??!! A new pony in has agreed to be a case study for me. Meet subject D

02/15/2025

My sweet mare Panda was ridden in draw reins by kids… on the flat and over fences. She came to me with neck arthritis 6 years ago. 😡

When a horse is forced into some shape, whether by strong hands, strong bits, leverage devices like draw reins and bitting rigs, side reins, anything too powerful for the horse to respond in any way but to submit, the head and neck position is only part of what is affected by the coercion.

The head and neck are attached to all the rest of the horse, and so every part of the horse moves in a more restricted way. But worse than the physical response to force is what happens mentally and emotionally to the horse, fear of pain, fear of restriction, the long lasting post traumatic stress disorder of anticipating pain even if the horse isn’t still being ridden incorrectly.

This is why it can be so hard to gain a horse’s trust after it has been lost. That anxiety lasts a long time, even with more kind and gentle handling.

The point here? Don’t use force. As in be a better trainer. It is not a hard concept to understand.

02/14/2025

Baucher has some very good writing. I feel like I am finally starting to feel some of his work in my riding with Fergus.

02/04/2025

A very large horse moving or holding themselves with dysfunction will be more challenging to bring that foot into balance. But it can be done with solemates and perfect hoof wear.