Savior’s Hands Whole Horse Care & Horsemanship

02/18/2025

✨Nutrition & Consistency = Results!! ✨

Thrush is always a topic I get questions on. There are a lot of factors that contribute to thrush and how it heals.

The biggest contributing factors to success in healing any foot comes back to how involved is the owner. A biomechanically correct trim is my responsibility, and that plays its own role in maintaining a healthy foot. However, when the foot is not comfortable or healthy enough to perform as it should because of other factors it is out of my power as a trimmer who influences once every few weeks.

Having a correct, consistent protocol for treatment is key; but an even bigger factor is nutrition. If the horses nutritional needs are not being met, their body is not supplied with what it needs to heal in a timely, efficient fashion!!

I always suggest forage based diet, with added trace minerals on top. For our area I suggest Custom Equine Nutrition and their products, Vermont blend, Vermont blend pro, added copper and since, and vitamin E. (If youre interested I have a link with a discout 😘) For horses that may be picky there are other options such as KIS trace, California Trace, and Mad barn. If your horse is on a balancer I suggest reaching out to the company and asking if their product will be okay to top dress with whatever balancer you are feeding.

Topical protocols can vary on the severity of the thrush, and what stage of healing you are in. Sometimes I will suggest soaking once or twice in clean tax or a product of similar composition. I most comonly suggest “today” or “tomorrow” cow mastitis treatment administered into the central sulcus. Pete’s goo! Which you can find a recipe for. Copper sulfate and desitine, Red Horse products like artimud and hoof stuff, no thrush powder, or if youd like to support another her small buisness Hot Dirty Barefoot Trimmer Hoofcare Products and Services makes an equivalent hoof clay thats amazing! 😍

Onto the story!!!

This is Rose 🌹
Rose is a 16 year old QH who has an extensive history in lameness. Her owner informed me that she has battled with lameness issues since Rose was 4 ultimately leading to the early end of her career in the reining world.

Her most recent battle in 2024 was with a broken coffin bone. She was under vet care for the majority of the year until she was cleared to have her shoes pulled. When I was called to pull her shoes what we found underneath was very disheartening.

The thrush in Roses central sulcus was so deep and so painful, I have not personally seen many cases as bad as hers. My worry was that the thrush had eaten through the frog spine. (internal structure of the frog) I made it known to the owner that this would be a long recovery and we have a lot of rehab ahead to get in front of the damages done from the previous shoe protocols.

However although the news wasn’t the best I encouraged Rose’s owner that this is 100% something we can help!!! I gave her suggestions on products I would use for daily treatment, and suggested reaching out to custom equine and inquiring about adding Vermont blend and the added copper and zinc into Roses diet with her balancer.

At our last appointment I was completely floored at the progress that had been made! Rose’s thrush treatment journey began in October of 2024. I knew that her progress would be slow, but she blew my expectations out of the water!! I give all credit for her progress exceeding my expectations to her owner taking every suggestion and treating it with 100% commitment. Diet was dialed in immediately, Protocol was in place and consistent, and trims were done on time.

I truly believe from experience that without the immediate diet intervention this case would still have thrush to the severity seen on day one. It is SO important, and I believe it’s a huge missing factor in a lot of treatment plans. Topicals can only get you so far if the body isn’t supplied with the right nutrients to heal.

Im glad to say Rose is so close to being thrush free, which will allow us to continue in her rehab to comfort ❤️❤️ I’m so proud of her owner!! Despite the setbacks and feeling overwhelmed, let down by previous professionals, like she’s missed opportunities, and questioning if she’s doing right by her animal she has persevered and is now really able to see the results of her hard work!!!

Well done Kristine and Rose!!! Thank you for entrusting me with Roses rehab 🤩🥰👏🏼

02/13/2025

I have so much information I want to share with everyone 😍 one of my clients has been pushing me that i need to share these progress stories… I know I know, lol I just get busy and forget. I also don’t know how to not write a book when explaining things 😂😂 but people must be informed!!!

Anyways I’m gonna try to get some things written and shared soon. If anyone has questions, or specific topics leave a comment!

06/20/2023

Hello fellow nerds. The next few posts I will really be pushing the importance of TOTAL balance. This being balanced feet, body, movement, systemic health, nutrition, and RIDER.

I’ll now introduce the star of todays show.

Hi Yo Silver 💙
Silver is 20 years old, has been owned by the same person for 7 years, and has actively been a Competitive Distance Horse and an Endurance horse the entire time. The first time I met Silver was for a body work session and we quickly learned he was a musculoskeletal mess. I gave his owner a few tips to have her farrier look into at the next trim to help him out and shortly after was called back to take over the hoofcare as well. The “way of going” his owner was describing to me just didn’t sound right so an evaluation was needed. Little did I know that this horse would turn into one of my most in depth and rewarding case study’s to date.

Silver is the perfect example of how everything we do with our horse and put in our horse affects every aspect of them.
He required an intensive balanced dietary overhaul, which altered his body's conformation(to a point).

He required special shoeing due to excess concussion and related adverse effects, such as stocking up and toe cracks, which altered his way of moving. Thus changing his topline, which changed his saddle fit.

A more correct trim and shoeing package was required (this is when I was called for a consultation) to help support him. As he was more comfortable and starting to move correctly his body continued to change.

These changes ultimately tipped him over the edge to building a strong balanced body and exposed rider imbalances.

✨We need to take credit and be aware of our imbalances and weaknesses as riders!!!!! It is a topic that is not discussed enough and is a crucial part of building and maintaining a sound horse✨

NOW, he moves straight, his wear patterns on his feet/shoes are even, and his entire musculoskeletal system is balanced and functioning as it should.

We all need to realize these types of magnificent changes will NOT happen overnight. It involves hard work, patience, and dedication from myself and the owner.

These are the horses I live for! Your horse will be so much more willing, happy, and more comfortable to ride. Please do not take any single part lightly! They are ALL connected and are all equally important to your horses well being and soundness long term.

I have included before and after progress photos. One of my absolute favorites being the shoe that is worn through to the metal plate. That shoe belonged on the left hind. And was worn through after 150-200 miles. The other composite shoe also belonged on the left hind. I pulled that shoe at his last trim on the 18th and it has 230 miles on it with near perfect wear. 230 miles of straight balanced movement over varying terrain with a straight balanced rider for support 😍😍😍 just how cool is that.

04/07/2022

I’m soooooo excited to be attending this clinic!!!! In just about 24 hours I will be headed to pick up a few colleagues that are flying in from the airport to have a fun filled geek out weekend 😍😍🥰🥰HURRAYYY

03/06/2022

I’d like to introduce a few of the horses that have been making absolutely amazing progress in their rehab. All of the horses I’m going to introduce have been mysteriously lame with all options exhausted on trying to diagnose what has been happening, or the cause is known and the owner has had no luck in finding the professional to help their horse in they way that they need.

Fist off we have R***r!!! He is 21 years old and his current owner had had him for 3 years. I was originally called out for body work to try and figure out why he was knee buckling lame when trying to back him just from the ground. I found some areas that needed to be addressed but the area that I was most concerned about was his front right leg and foot. I asked the history on this leg and his owner told me that there had been a staple put in just above his knee as a foal that have never been removed which in turn has created all kinds of funk compensations further down the leg and into his foot. Previous professionals had tried to help correct the foot but unfortunately had just created more discomfort for r***r.

We pulled the crazy shoe and wedge set up off and came up with a plan. I explained that I wasn’t sure how far the leg would let us go as far as “straightening” it’s appearance given the fact the bones themselves may not be straight. His owner was understanding and very eager to learn. He’s now 6 months into his rehab, and he is now the most sound he has ever been since his amazing owner purchased him 3 years ago!!! WOW!!!

Overall our goal for R***r is to restore soundness for light trail riding ❤️ I believe right now that goal is very much in reach

Rehab is not easy and often times takes a lot of reassurance as we can come up on set backs that are can prove to be very emotionally draining for my clients. However my goal as a hoof care provider, body worker, and horseman is that I can bring comfort and success to all the horses that I cross paths with and that means I also become very invested in my clients and their animals. Time is the most important factor in rehab. So if you have a horse that needs help, please be patient ❤️❤️❤️

05/13/2021

Journey of Five: Update

Uneventful introductions and first saddlings are what we like around here!!!!! She is a superstar 😇🥰

Videos are of the first time the ba****ck pad and cinch were done up, and first saddling.

05/02/2021

Everyone meet: Journey of Five ❤️ (I call her Lady)

She’s a 2 year old thoroughbred filly in for a 30 day start and arrived on Tuesday. Once her start is complete I’ll be transporting her to Finger Lakes for the start of her race training.

We did some off farm work before she made the trip home here to the farm as she was friendly but not handled on line much. She’s progressing extremely fast. A highly intelligent, curious, and brave little filly.

Check back occasionally for her progress updates! 😁

04/23/2021

WOW WOW WOW!!! What a great explanation on how imbalanced incisors (my previous post) affect the horses feet and body!!!!

I have heard about the connection between tooth wear and hoof wear patterns for a while. I have even peeked into my gelding's mouth and tried to see how his incisors are wearing and what issues he might have. But really, it wasn't until I got a copy of the book Insight to Equus by Dr. Tomas Teskey that the teeth/hoof connection really started to click.

I reached out to Dr. Teskey to see if he would chat with me about how dental issues affect the body and the hoof, and we talked about this and more in this week's podcast episode! You can find it on your favorite podcast app, or at this link: https://thehumblehoof.libsyn.com/the-connection-between-teeth-and-hooves-with-dr-tomas-teskey

To see more about Tomas Teskey and check out his book, go to insighttoequus.com.

04/13/2021

Hooks on Incisors:

When I do bodywork on a horse I evaluate them thoroughly and look for all Imbalances. This allows me to create a picture in my head and better understand where the pain is originating from.

If in my initial evaluation I find hooks on incisors I politely recommend the Owner hold off on an adjustment and call a natural balance dentist first.

The reasoning behind this is that when a hook of present it doesn’t allow the horses jaw to slide independently the way it is supposed to when he/she picks their head up. This ultimately locking the jaw and adding unnecessary pole tension.

**There are many other side effects to an unbalanced mouth and hooks but that’s for a different post 😉

If I was to go and release a horses pole with hooks on their teeth it may provide temporary relief for them but will go right back and create the same tension. In severe situations the pain associated with the built up tensions and pressure is to great and the horse becomes head shy making it nearly impossible for the horse to benefit from anything that I could potentially do for it.

It is more cost effective for the owner in the long run and less stressful on the horse to address contributing factors first.

Again coming back to the point of maintaining routine hoof care and balancing teeth, feet,
and body within a timely fashion to increase your horses overall comfort and performance as well as decrease maintenance costs.

Included are photos of teeth that need to be addressed and balanced teeth 😁😊

03/23/2021

WOW!!!! Shoes are in high demand, just got a fresh shipment of shoes size 1-5 a ton of glue, tips, Dim, and a free gun thrown in thanks to EDSS 😉

03/10/2021

Pal and I went out for a little stroll this evening before dinner. He’s becoming so much more confident, and even in circumstances where he isn’t as confident he is continuing to learn to listen to me, and that’s if he does everything will be okay ❤️❤️

03/04/2021

A lot of folks come to me with questions about liberty and wanting to just jump right in and expect their horses to know what they want right away. However the majority of liberty skills are first introduced and finessed on line to help limit confusion and frustration of both human and horse! 🥰

Here is Steele working on his sideways towards on a 12’ line with no signal aid from the carrot stick. Just me raising my arm. I still help him with the carrot stick when we are practicing this liberty trick on the 22 foot line or off line totally.

Something some very wise horseman told me that I hold dear to my heart.
“Your expectations of your horse
will never be to high, but you must accept
the small tries”

Meaning, you can shoot to the moon and expect the highest of quality from your horse in everything they do, but you must work up to it and accept the small steps to get to that level of perfection you wish to achieve.

01/23/2021

Chance got the full works at her last appointment. Freshly balanced feet and body will help keep her comfortable for longer.

If you have your body work done and not balance the feet they will throw off the fresh body and vice versa, so having your body work, feet and teeth all balanced in the same week or so will help keep your horse comfortable and not need quite so much work as often.

01/11/2021

Ringing in the new year with some awesome transformation photos and important information about long toes!! Please take a minute and use this information to help your horse.

🌸 Long Toes are far to common, and the majority of horses I encounter have toes that are to long. When a horses toes get to long it pulls all the other structures of the foot forward. The frog becomes elongated, the sole loses concavity and gets flat and thinned, heels get underrun, the white line gets stretched and prone to disease, the widest point of the foot is now distorted and the point of break over is much to far forward. In serious cases of neglected long toes even the coffin bone starts to remodel and elongate. Every 1cm of length adds 50 kgs or 110lbs of prying pressure to the hoof wall and it’s surrounding structures!!!

🌼These photos are of my personal performance horse who was being left in a horrifying state by the last hired farrier I had before I started my hoof rehab journey.

🌻The transformation photos show how the heels were so far forward that this horse was trying to support his weight with his heels that were far in front if his cannon bone. Ideally your heels should be pulled back and centered on the the leg in order to support your horse adequately. With toes so long it adds so much staring to his tendons and ligaments and you can see how his pastern angle has changed for the better.

🌟This horse also has what we call high-low hooves. His low foot for years was very prominent and “pancake” like. Now if you didn’t know he had a terrible low foot it is almost unrecognizable! 😁

Before photos June 20th 2019
After photos December 31st 2020

12/26/2020

Just taking a set of shoes off quick on Christmas Eve. 6 weeks and still holding strong!!! Some misconceptions about glue ons is that they don’t last.... it’s all in the prep 😉 proper prep work is key. They sure are capable of lasting just as long as a traditional shoe.

12/16/2020

Mr. Winkerbean is one of my current rehab cases. He is 25 and has PPID (Cushings) and seasonal allergies. He foundered and rotated his coffin bones substantially. He has only been with me a short time but we have made huge progress. While working to bring his heels down and de-rotate his coffin bone he was in a custom soft clog. Today he came out of his clogs got new radiographs to see his degree of rotation has come down, got a fresh trim, and trotted out of the barn barefoot just as sound as could be 😁 a wonderful heel first landing. These are the moments that I live for. Happy owners and happy horses. Merry Christmas 🎁🎄

12/01/2020

Feel free to message me with any questions you may have!! I’m also an Easy Care/East Boot dealer!!

11/29/2020

Pal on a confidence boosting TRAIL DRIVE. Pal does trail ride solo!!!! This is a super confidence booster for him when exposing him to new things. ❤️