Oasis Natural Hoof Care

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Oasis Natural Hoof Care

Jess McGinnis | Natural Hoof Care
LA | Barefoot Trimming | Hay Testing | LIMA approach

10/02/2024

A trim for Miss Luz 🧡

Let’s talk about sole! Should you trim it? It depends. If it doesn’t come off easily with a knife or hoof pick, and there’s no thrushy stuff underneath, I leave it!

I personally choose to allow horses to keep their hard-grown sole, especially if they live in rocky, dry areas such as LA. During the summer, I’ve found the hard sole to be vital to keeping a horse comfortable, and they will shed it on their own as long as their toes and heels are brought down to where they belong 😁🌼

There are of course exceptions to this, but my ideal approach is shorter trim cycles (2-3 weeks) to slowly rasp the heels down & toes back at a comfortable pace, and the sole will pop right off!

09/30/2024

A peaceful trim with Noya the mustang 🌼 Noya is trained with positive reinforcement/clicker training, which was such a treat to experience! I loved trimming a horse trained with cooperative care.

I love getting the chance to give horses a relaxing experience during a trim. Gaining a horse’s trust is so important to me, especially knowing that the trimmer is one of the team of professionals who sees your horse the most.

Sometimes a big goal with a trim is to work alongside the owner in giving the horse a confidence-boosting experience. Plenty of work can be done by the owner/trainer alone but it’s not easy to stand on 3 legs while a total stranger is messing with your feet!

I’m looking forward to continuing to trim this girl and make sure her hooves stay as strong as they were when she was roaming the wild 🐴

09/26/2024

A little montage of the PHCP clinic & mentorship days I took earlier this month 🌻

Being apart of the PHCP means I am always learning and staying up to date with the most recent natural hoof care practices & research! The hoof is an ever changing, live structure, and deserves an education that follows suit.

09/19/2024

What is the mustang roll?

The mustang roll is named after… you guessed it, mustangs! The barefoot trim is modeled after feral horses and supported by the studies done on how nature designed their feet.

The “mustang roll” is the toe roll often seen in barefoot trims. ☝️ This roll allows a shortened break over, keeps the toe tight to the hoof and not running forward, and ensures correct biomechanics of the foot as it leaves the ground. This is also why you often see barefoot trims really rasp the toe back. Long toes stretch the whole foot forward, which distorts the hoof and results in the heels creeping forward & becoming underrun. Keeping the toes BACK and rasping a nice mustang roll follows the natural hoof model and helps ensure a healthy foot.

09/18/2024

Trim on an overgrown Appy 🫶

Let’s discuss overgrown hooves!

Sometimes you find yourself with a horse with overgrown hooves. It happens. Unfortunately, the resulting distortions and pathologies are likely not fixable with one trim. The horse will become biomechanically used to their distorted way of moving, and an aggressive trim can completely throw off their tendons & soft tissues that had adjusted over time to support the overgrown foot. This is highly likely to result in soreness!

In many cases, I highly recommend less aggressive trims and shorter trim cycles (2-3 weeks) for overgrown hooves to rebalance. This is to slowly adjust the horse to their new feet, and also keep the hoof wall connection tight so that any flaring doesn’t continue to grow out. A more aggressive trim can be possible if the horse is casted or has boots to help them transition to their new feet!

09/18/2024

Trim on JJ the mini 🤍

09/07/2024

About Jess:
As your hoof care professional, I provide more than just a trim. With you, I will asses & discuss diet, movement, environment, lifestyle, and workload. I also offer honesty and patience with you & your equine. If a moment arises where I am unsure of something, I will consult with my colleagues and mentors to find a solution.

I prefer to take a LIMA approach: Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive. I like to keep the energy cool & relaxed, and prefer to use calming exercises to gain a horse’s trust.

I am a member & student of PHCP, an organization of hoof care practitioners, mentors & enthusiasts. As an active member, I am always furthering my education & skillset by attending clinics, travelling to learn from a variety of mentors, and regularly attending a library of educational webinars. This also means I have access to a community of professionals who share wisdom and advice.

Address

Los Angeles, CA

Website

https://forms.gle/USBrPD7u6NXTuiR26

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Videos

Medio-lateral balance is one of the key elements I investigate when I take videos during the evaluation! This tells me how the horse moves and gives me a clue of what I can expect when I trim. 🌻Horses all have their own way of moving and it can be affected by conformation, past injuries, saddle fit, compensation…you name it! It’s important for us trimmers to keep this into account when trimming. Miss Noya walks in a way that I commonly see. She lands her lateral side, and loads on her medial side. This led to a difference in height on her heels, making her crookedly stand even more so on her inner foot. You can also see the harsher waves on the coronary band on the medial side due to the pressure. My goal for her was to gently rebalance her foot so that she could comfortably stand balanced, and she is free to safely walk on her feet without the risk of further distortion☀️If her way of moving is natural to her, is likely she will end up having her heels rebalanced every trim. Luckily she is on a shorter trim cycle and will do just fine! 💛

PHCP Clinic

A little montage of the PHCP clinic & mentorship days I took earlier this month 🌻 Being apart of the PHCP means I am always learning and staying up to date with the most recent natural hoof care practices & research! The hoof is an ever changing, live structure, and deserves an education that follows suit.