Epona's Hoofcare Services by Natalie Herman

06/10/2025

Working in the equine industry is one of the best jobs out there (we reckon!), but it can be tricky sometimes with all the organisational and practical hurdles involved. There are lots of ways you as a client can make it easier on your equine professional whether it is your hoof trimmer, bodyworker, vet, saddle fitter, dentist etc. Here are just some things you can do to be a GREAT client! What else do you do to help your hard working equine professionals?

06/08/2025

05/27/2025

Track systems are great for limiting sugary grass intake AND providing more movement and stimulation (especially if you add things like varied surfaces, obstacles to cross, etc) than paddocks. And with electric fencing it’s easy, fast, and cheap to put up AND easy to modify, move, take down as horse numbers, weather, forage availability change.

🐴 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 — 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆? 🌱

In recent years, track systems, also commonly referred to as ‘Paddock Paradise’, have been popping up on more and more horse properties. These systems utilize a looping track or path, often around the perimeter of a field or property, instead of a traditional rectangular or square open paddock. Using 6’ to 20’ alleys, often with multiple feeding stations placed along the path, track systems are intentionally designed to keep horses moving and allow them to explore and interact with their surroundings in different ways.

But how do these setups actually stack up against the more familiar and traditional paddock system? Let’s explore what each setup brings to the table and what the evidence and experience are starting to tell us. 👇

⚖️ 𝐖𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭
Horses on a track system lost an average of 23.5 lbs (10.67 kg) between July and late September, while those in a traditional paddock gained an average of 15 lbs (6.8 kg). This suggests that the increased movement encouraged by the track design may help with managing body condition, an important consideration for good health, especially for horses with metabolic comditions.
📚Cameron et al., 2025

🧠 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐫
Horses on a track moved more, traveled further, and engaged in fewer overt agonistic behaviors when compared to a horses on a strip grazing system
📚 Kirton et al., 2025

Another study found that horses on a track system were more likely to graze in close proximity, mimicking the collective foraging behavior observed in feral horse populations. These subtle social and behavioral differences may have meaningful implications for welfare.
📚 Greening et al., 2017

🦶 𝐇𝐨𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡
When foot health, condition, and growth were assessed by a farrier, horses on the track system either maintained or improved hoof health, while those in the paddock system either maintained or showed a decline. However, the sample size was very small (six horses on the track and two in the paddock) so while these findings are interesting, they should be interpreted cautiously until more research evaluates this topic with a larger sample size.
📚 Cameron et al., 2025

🌍 𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬
Track systems have been shown to decrease soil quality due to the concentrated traffic patterns they create. These changes were mainly limited to the top 8 inches (0.2 m) of soil, and could be reduced, but not entirely prevented, by using paddock grids
📚 Hiltebrand et al., 2025

Another study found reduced vegetative biomass and greater sediment deposition from runoff, both related to increased erosion. However, these differences compared a track system to pasture and did not evaluate changes in a conventional paddock system, which likely has similar traffic as a track.
📚 Farmer et al., 2023

More research is needed to further explore the environmental implications of tracks and paddocks with heavy traffic, however, providing footing with exceptional drainage, such as gravel or high traffic pads, may help reduce the rate of erosion.

🔍 𝐒𝐨, 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲?
Track systems appear to offer clear benefits in terms of movement, weight management, and behavior, with promising signs for hoof health, but they also come with trade-offs, particularly when it comes to environmental impact and maintenance needs.

For horses that cannot graze freely, especially those with metabolic conditions, track systems can be a valuable management tool. By restricting access to lush pasture while still promoting movement and enrichment, they provide a way to support these horses' physical and mental health without compromising their dietary needs.

Whether a track system or a traditional paddock is the better choice depends on your horses, your land, and your goals. What matters most is that the turnout environment supports natural behaviors, social needs, and overall health, whatever form that takes on your property.

💬 𝑯𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎? 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒔? I’d love to hear your experiences below! 👇

📚 𝐀 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡
I was surprised by how limited the published research on track systems still is, especially given how widely they’re being adopted. I’ve recently been in discussions with a local barn about conducting a pilot study to evaluate track systems further, particularly their impact on movement and behavior. If you're passionate about evidence-based horse care, there will be opportunities to donate to support this research, follow this page to stay informed and updated as this project unfolds!

Cheers,
Dr. DeBoer

PC: I also have to thank my amazing horse friend, Terri Strandmo, for being willing to share beautiful pictures of her track system for me to use!

Cameron L, Challinor M, Armstrong S, Kennedy A, Hollister S, Fletcher K. Tracking the Track: The Impact of Different Grazing Strategies on Managing Equine Obesity. Animals. 2025 Mar 19;15(6):874.

Kirton R, Sandford I, Raffan E, Hallsworth S, Burman OH, Morgan R. The impact of restricted grazing systems on the behaviour and welfare of ponies. Equine Veterinary Journal. 2025 May;57(3):737-44.

Hiltebrand C, Keller T, Bachmann Rieder I, Doetterl S. Changes in soil quality on horse paddock trails and the influence of paddock grids. Soil Use and Management. 2025 Jan;41(1):e70028.

Greening L, Williams J, Mitson K. A preliminary investigation comparing the frequency of grazing and movement behaviour between a track paddock system and a conventional paddock system. In13th International Conference of the International Society of Equitation Science 2017 Nov.

Farmer J, Costin K, Duberstein J, Callaway T, Abrams A, Wassel B, Toal K, Duberstein K. Environmental Impacts and Daily Voluntary Movement of Horses Housed in Pasture Tracks as Compared to Conventional Pasture Housing. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science. 2023. 124:104400.

04/25/2025

Yup

This time of year, springtime in the northern hemisphere, if I see any “sudden” or new hoof problems, I assume it’s the grass.

Is your horse moving a little slower than previously? A little “lazier” all the sudden?

Is your horse suddenly less willing to canter or trot in turn out?

Is your horse now picking their path a bit more on the trail, and avoiding stones more than usual?

Do you have a resurgence of thrush, wall cracks or chips, white line disease, or hoof quality issues?

Is that old on again/off again lameness suddenly “on” again?

Does your horse turn a little slower than before, and you think it’s just their arthritis suddenly flaring up (even though the weather is warming up)?

It might be the grass.

If your horse has ANY access to grass this time of year, even if it’s just the grass edging in a “dry lot” paddock, and you see any change in hoof comfort, soundness, or hoof quality- it might be the grass.

I know your horses love it. I know you love to see them happy. I know for some “they never had issues with the grass before.”

Just trust me. Trial your horse off fresh spring grass and see if you notice any difference in comfort or new hoof growth at the hairline.

I’m telling you. It might be the grass.

Photo of one of my “grass free tracks” with a little bit of grass edging which could even be too much for a super sensitive horse.

04/15/2025

Ok y’all we have to discuss diet! This is going to be a long post albeit an important one. At the end of the day I am an advocate for the horse. So I will try to help them be happy and comfortable to the best of my ability. But I also try to walk a fine line between between “bossy know it all Hoof Care provider” and said advocate lol. Diet is extremely important! For horses to grow strong healthy feet they need movement, a good diet, and quality hoof care in that order of importance. So a good diet makes up at least 1/3 of that recipe for helping a horse have the best hooves possible. They say for humans abs are made in the kitchen. Well for horses hooves are made in the feed room lol.

Here are some things I have discovered through continuing education, personal research, and personal experimentation. I read recently the only short cuts to entrepreneurial success is to learn from other people’s failures and choose not to repeat them. So basically do what they succeeded with last instead of what they failed with first. I have failed a lot over the years so please take advantage of my experiences, take that short cut and jump ahead!

Throw stones at me now because I used to feed SafeChoice, sweet feed, calf manna, and even red cell 😱. But at the time before the age of the Internet and Google, I did what my friends and mentors recommended. I trusted their opinions and followed them. As a byproduct I ended up with a horse that needed 4 corrective steel shoes, was a hard keeper, and was so crazy I could barely handle or ride her. That horse was really the one that began my horsemanship journey. I failed her in almost every way possible. So from then on I started researching and learning a better way to do things. I researched training, hoof care, and all things related to diet. And now I feel the need to share some of the things I have learned.

First of all some great resources about how to safely feed your horse are the ECIR Group, Dr. Kellons Nutrition courses, the safergrass.org website, the Facebook group Hoof Care and Rehabilitation, the Facebook group Equine Nutrition. Loads of mind blowing information in all of those sources that will help you learn to understand what horses should eat, how they properly process those feeds, their daily dietary requirements, and what ingredients safely fulfill those needs.

The next few items of discussion may or may not be specific to where I live and trim in Northwest Arkansas. When in doubt research the things I have shared in this post:

In general we have high iron and manganese in this area. Both minerals compete for absorption with copper and zinc. Copper and zinc are minerals that are needed in high quantities for horses to grow healthy hooves. Throw out those red mineral blocks and Himalayan salt lick’s. Both are high in iron and will do more harm than good to your horses bodies and hooves.

Salt blocks need to be replaced with loose salt or used in addition to them. Any type of mineral or salt block was originally created for cattle because they have rough tongues and can usually lick enough off of a block to meet their daily dietary requirements. Horses have smooth tongues and cannot. When it’s hot and they are sweating all day they may need to consume up to 4-6 tablespoons of salt a day! There is no way they can get that much salt off of a block. So either add some loose salt to their feed or provide free access to it in their shelter or stall.

Commercial horse feeds were originally created to find a way to package and sell by-product ingredients that would normally just be thrown away. Instead they decided to package it as horse feed and make some money off of it. Since horses are not a species that are raised for human consumption in the US this industry is not heavily regulated. While things have improved over the years most commercial feeds are still sub par and some are just plain harmful. There are very few labeling regulations in place and many companies still find their way around those regulations. Do you know how protein is measured in horse feeds? They take a sample of the feed, burn it, then measure the amount of nitrogen in that sample. So when a feed label says 16% protein that doesn’t mean anything more than when they measured it contained 16% nitrogen. It does not mean that the feed contains a quality protein source that is an absorbable form for horses. It does not mean that the protein contains the 3 limiting amino acids, lysine, methionine, and threonine which are essential in the right ratios to build strong healthy hooves.

Horses have a very interesting and different digestive tract. They can’t throw up because the don’t have reverse peristaltic contractions. They are an herbivore with a digestive tract designed halfway between an omnivore like pigs and a ruminator like cows with the design flaws of both lol. If they eat something harmful they can not throw it up. It must pass all the way through their digestive tract before exiting their body. Since forage goes into their true stomach first they are more susceptible to stomach upset and ulcers. Their stomach is very small therefore they are designed to be constant grazers. If a horse goes longer than 4 hours without consuming forage they may start to have gut issues. They ferment their food at the very end of their digestive tract in the large intestine. Cows, sheep and goats do this first. Actually the micro biome in the hind gut is what breaks down the cellulose in forage into a form that is absorbable for the horse. If the microbes in that biome are killed off by inflammatory feeds the horses no longer has the ability to process forage properly greatly reducing the calories and nutrients they should get from their hay.

Forage should always be a horses 1st and main source of calories and nutrients with supplements a very far off 2nd. The majority of horses can actually live happy healthy lives on just quality forage and salt!

Like most commercial feeds sold at feed stores, Safe choice is not safe. They were all tested by the ECIR group and starch and sugar were on average around 20%. Horses without metabolic issues should consume feeds that are no higher than 15%. Metabolic horses no higher than 10%.

Sweet feed is absolute crap for horses. I don’t know of a more PC way to say it. It is highly inflammatory and contains very little nutritional value. It would be comparable to us eating cake and candy all day.

The only commercial complete feed I feel I can safely recommend for most horses is Triple Crown lite. Not the complete or the senior feed. The lite tested around 10% for starch and sugar and has an ok mineral profile.

A much better option is to order a quality vitamin/mineral supplement. The ones I am personally using and currently recommend for our area are KIS Trace low selenium or Vermont Blend no selenium. I recommend soaked timothy pellets as a carrier for the vitamins and minerals. In the winter I recommending adding 2,000 I U’s of natural vitamin E as well. I am not a nutritionist, I’m just sharing information about products I have seen improve my personal horses and my clients horses hooves.

The best vitamin/mineral supplement to feed your horses is one created by a nutritionist that is balanced to the hay you feed. You can test your forage through a company called equianalytical. I know this is not a feasible option for many horse owners but it’s still the best option regardless.

The safest forage with the healthiest nutrition profile in our area is usually Bermuda hay. In some cases, it may contain too much starch and sugar for horses with metabolic issues and will need to be soaked before feeding. The only way to know the starch and sugar content of the hay is to have it tested.

Prairie grass hay is also usually a safe healthy option.

I don’t know anything about brome hay yet.

Mixed grass hay is one of the least reliable types of hay for horses. If it contains large amounts of Rye grass or fescue it can easily become a dangerous recipe for laminitis.

Alfalfa is trickier. Some horses can do fine when a percentage of their diet consists of Alfalfa. On paper this hay looks relatively safe, but when it is further digested in the large intestine the microbes can convert it into much higher levels of starch and sugar. This can make it very unsafe for metabolic horses. But some horses, especially those in heavy work can do just fine on it. Also if Alfalfa does make up a significant percentage of a horses diet the offset ca:p ratio needs to be considered and balanced. Over time it can also be the underlying cause of enterolithes - gastro-intestinal stones that if large enough can be life threatening.

Old hay is not good hay. It will not help your horse lose weight. It just deprives them of nutrients they need to fulfill their daily dietary requirements. Over time the nutrients in hay degrade. Most hay over a year old is sub par And over supplementing to compensate for poor quality hay is not good for the overall health of your horse.

Managing horses that live on pasture can be tricky. Hoof care professional and mentor Ida Hammer says that when it comes to hooves nothing happens all of a sudden except for trauma. 90% of horses with laminitis are caused by metabolic issues, mechanical founder (supporting limb) and toxemia induced founder are much rarer comprising a mere 10% of laminitis cases. Metabolic horses usually start showing small signs of inflammation mostly in the spring and fall. Small signs of inflammation can include prominent growth rings on the hoof wall, bruising, stretched and discolored lamina, sore hooves on hard ground, and abscesses. If you horse is showing any of those physical symptoms they may need to have their grazing pasture time limited or removed all together. If limited horses should be turned out early morning and put up in a dry lot in the afternoon. The longer the sun is on the grass the more sugar it makes. The Sugar in the grass is at its highest levels right before the Sun goes down. So the worst time to turn out a horse that has suspected or known metabolic issues is at night.

Once again I am not an equine nutritionist. I am an avid learner and an advocate for the horse. I notice patterns. One pattern that I notice is the horses on better Nutrition have much better hooves. Laminitis is diet related, white line is diet related, abscesses are diet related, thrush is diet related, scratches/mud fever is diet related. Diet is very important!

Thanks for reading my book and happy horsing peeps 🤟.

(Photo shows new growth coming in on a clients horse after dietary changes were made.)

02/07/2025

01/28/2025

01/13/2025