KH Barefoot Trimming

KH Barefoot Trimming Barefoot trimming since 2017 going through PHCP for certification. Servicing the Denver area
(18)

Still accepting new clients 🙂Will travel within 45 minutes of Northglenn.Experienced with laminitis, weak/low heels, nav...
05/20/2024

Still accepting new clients 🙂
Will travel within 45 minutes of Northglenn.
Experienced with laminitis, weak/low heels, navicular syndrome/disease, and transitioning from shod to barefoot.

Trims: $75 standard horses, $65 minis, $150 gentle drafts.
Glue-on shoes: $250 fronts (including trim)

Anyone else watch this exciting race yesterday???
05/05/2024

Anyone else watch this exciting race yesterday???

Buck let me come up to him while he was laying down, Moses gets jealous and has to be involved lol
04/23/2024

Buck let me come up to him while he was laying down, Moses gets jealous and has to be involved lol

I’m super happy with the progress gained in these hooves in just 6 weeks.Toes are getting shorter, heels are getting str...
04/23/2024

I’m super happy with the progress gained in these hooves in just 6 weeks.
Toes are getting shorter, heels are getting stronger, and the toe/heel balance around the center of rotation is getting closer to 50/50. We did a pair of blue Versa Grips this time. I’m hoping that by next time the toes will be short enough that I can use Floating Boot glue ons to get more flexibility in the heels of the shoes.

04/11/2024

When it comes to thoroughbreds, I don't think there's anyone who hasn't heard the stereotype about "bad thoroughbred feet." I've heard all the excuses.. that TBs weren't bred for good feet, that their genetics are just awful, that they will always have thin soles and thin walls, that abscessing "just happens" with them, that they'll be crippled when losing a shoe, and more.

While I'm sure ALL of us have met OTTBs that have had hoof issues at one point or another, many of us have those that have great feet as well, or start out having junk feet off the track and we rehab them to stronger feet and sound gaits. So what's the story - are thoroughbred feet genetically awful, is it environmental/care, or somewhere in between?

Kate Anderson, founder of the Center for Racehorse Retraining, has noticed some pretty amazing changes in the thoroughbreds under her care once they adapt to their facility - including massive changes in the hooves. Kate chats with me about what they do there to get these OTTBs to become sound, barefoot, easy keepers.

You can hear the entire conversation on any podcast app under "The Humble Hoof," or directly at this link: https://thehumblehoof.com/2024/03/22/ottb-feet-genetics-or-environment/

Thank you to our amazing sponsors:

Equithrive offers supplements for everything from metabolic health to joint support – get 20% off your first order at equithrive.com with code HUMBLEHOOF

Cavallo Hoof Boots is offering 20% off a pair of Trek hoof boots at cavallo-inc.com with code HRN

A special shout out to Grid as New, Mud Control Grids– they are a game changer for any mud issues, big or small! – mudcontrolgrids.com

Also be sure to check out HayBoss Feeders – haybossfeeders.com – for all your slow-feeding needs. I get my Hay Boss feeders from Mountain Lane Farm in NH!

Angular limb deformation Disclaimer: this horse is an adult, his growth plates are fused, his legs will never be straigh...
04/11/2024

Angular limb deformation

Disclaimer: this horse is an adult, his growth plates are fused, his legs will never be straight. The opportunity to correct limb deformities is the first 2 weeks after birth, after that there’s a very fast closing window of opportunity to make any minor changes until the horse is 2-5 years old.

I wanted to wait until I had gotten the X-rays before making a post about this case. This horse is varus (toed in) in both fronts but his front right is the most dramatic. Because of the way his joints bend I knew the x-rays were going to be interesting, and they show me mainly what I CAN’T do to this hoof. They also show demineralization of the perimeter of the coffin bone, likely from not being trimmed for 1 year prior to his first trim with me and his new owner. He is on anti inflammatory meds to help prevent further demineralization.

See caption on each photo to get details.

This was quite a fun transformation in just one trim. I did glue-ons with Easyshoe versa Grip. I’m hoping to see the fro...
03/06/2024

This was quite a fun transformation in just one trim. I did glue-ons with Easyshoe versa Grip. I’m hoping to see the frog widen up, the central sulcus open, and the heels stand back up.

There was a good amount of shedding sole and was able to trim about 1 1/2” of toe down, while maintaining the great concavity this horse had developed. Being able to take the toes down will help the heels stand up more.

Pre-trim, the balance at the center of rotation in both fronts was 71/29-75/25 which puts way too much leverage on the leg and pulls the heels forward. Post-trim the balance improved to 60/40 on both.

On horses with long toes/ low heels it’s very important to set the shoes further back under the center of rotation. These shoes are set with 1/2” of the toe in front of the shoes, and 1/2” extending back under the weak heels. With the shoes, balance is at 51/49 and 49/51.

03/03/2024

Those of you that have followed this page for any amount of time know that I have a little bit of an obsession with navicular rehab.

I have spent the last 10 years traveling the world talking to anyone I can about hoof health and soundness, especially in regards to “caudal hoof pain.” It led me to change my entire career and become a full time hoofcare provider with a hoof rehab facility focusing primarily on navicular rehab cases.

One of the most common requests I get is “what do you do for your navicular cases?” Often, these cases come to me after the traditional corrective shoeing, bisphosphonates, NSAIDs, etc don’t seem to work.

The last decade I feel like I’ve been sharing the same information over and over, and a friend mentioned to me, “Why don’t you write it all down in a booklet so you can have it all handy in one spot?”

So that’s what I did. A compilation of information from mentors smarter than I am around the world, all about navicular rehabilitation.
A year and a half of typing, re-typing, working with an illustrator (the wonderful Allyssa Stratton), an editor (the super patient Alex Warden), and countless friends who have read and re-read page after page so I can present you with this -

Navigating Navicular Disease: An Optimistic Guide for a Pessimistic Diagnosis.

This guide is NOT a replacement for vet care and a fantastic in-person hoofcare provider. Instead, alongside a great professional team, it walks you through the basics of what navicular disease is, what structures can be affected, how it is diagnosed, various approaches, and a step-by-step of the approach of what the owner can do to grow the healthiest hoof possible for their horse, and how we can troubleshoot getting these horses comfortable and ideally back in work without injections, NSAIDs, or other palliative methods.

It includes case studies of horses rehabbed back to full soundness with no continued pain relief or corrective shoeing, as well as detailed navicular dissection images from Lindsey Field of The Study of The Equine Hoof.

This is in ebook format right now, and available on my website here: https://thehumblehoof.com/product/navigating-navicular-disease-an-optimistic-guide-for-a-pessimistic-diagnosis-ebook/

Hoofcare providers, this guide was written with your navicular horse owner clients in mind. Feel free to share with them!

All profit made from this ebook goes directly to the navicular rehab cases on the farm here in MA, as well as towards providing free resources like The Humble Hoof podcast❤️

Phenomenal progress in these hooves in just 6 weeks! Photos on top are from January after pulling shoes, bottom are from...
02/18/2024

Phenomenal progress in these hooves in just 6 weeks! Photos on top are from January after pulling shoes, bottom are from Friday. This is a 22 year old Hanoverian who had been shod for 10 years.

The biggest differences I noted:
He stood perfect for this last appointment, our first one he was VERY antsy.
The hind hooves had a convex appearance, “bullnosing”, which has pretty much disappeared.
The heels on all hooves are beefing up and getting a bit more height.
The base of support under the center of rotation has improved to perfect 50/50 on the hinds, still improving in the fronts.
The frogs are widening and plumping up.
The owner states he is no longer buckling over on his right pastern.

Only a handful of people know, but I actually attended the University of Utah to study drawing and painting.(Dropped out...
02/05/2024

Only a handful of people know, but I actually attended the University of Utah to study drawing and painting.

(Dropped out though 😉)

The supervisor is being so unprofessional 🙄🐱
01/27/2024

The supervisor is being so unprofessional 🙄🐱

I want to brag about Mandy and her horse Gus!Gus would not have made the improvement he has without Mandy’s due diligenc...
01/21/2024

I want to brag about Mandy and her horse Gus!

Gus would not have made the improvement he has without Mandy’s due diligence on educating herself and seeking out a different solution for her horse. Unfortunately she has contracted my disease “Hoof Obsesseditis” 😂😂 and has fallen down the rabbit hole that is nutrition for the horse and hoof. I can say for 100% certain we would not have seen these positive results in his movement and hoof structure without Mandy eliminating detrimental ingredients from his diet and adding bulk minerals and vitamin E.

Pulling his shoes and working on this rehab together has been amazing

Big ‘ol Belgian hooves!
01/21/2024

Big ‘ol Belgian hooves!

I have added SUREFOOT equine pads to my toolbox! Really excited to see how horses respond to them!
01/11/2024

I have added SUREFOOT equine pads to my toolbox! Really excited to see how horses respond to them!

Jinny has hooves that always clean up real nice! ❤️❤️❤️
01/02/2024

Jinny has hooves that always clean up real nice! ❤️❤️❤️

Nice strong half draft hooves
12/22/2023

Nice strong half draft hooves

I really like the app, HoofmApp.This shows me a bit more detail about the improvements I make over each trim.
12/12/2023

I really like the app, HoofmApp.
This shows me a bit more detail about the improvements I make over each trim.

12/07/2023

This is an incredibly helpful visual reference when it comes to addressing angular deformations, and a massive reason why I never say I’m a “corrective” trimmer.
Once a horse’s growth plates are fused- that’s what you’ve got to work with! I never force a toed in/toed out hoof to be perfectly straight. If it looks better after a regular trim-great! But that’s never my goal with angular deformations.

12/07/2023

This is an incredibly helpful visual reference when it comes to addressing angular deformations, and a massive reason why I never say I’m a “corrective” trimmer

Blue Versa Grip Glues for Buck today
10/02/2023

Blue Versa Grip Glues for Buck today

09/30/2023

A pair of glittery shoes for Bosley
✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

My first encounter with severe club foot. Club foot is usually caused by tendon contraction or upper body discomfort, an...
08/24/2023

My first encounter with severe club foot.
Club foot is usually caused by tendon contraction or upper body discomfort, and some times improper trimming of the heels by leaving them too high. Given that the other 3 hooves did not have high heels, I’d safely guess this wasn’t from poor trimming. So my next assessment is forward stretching of the leg, if the horse is unable to extend the leg out then it is likely tendon contraction. This horse was able to extend her leg, and her pastern was able to straighten, however she was a bit resistant with her shoulder. Owner reports the horse has a harder time turning right, so I do suspect this is an upper body issue and have directed the owner to a chiropractor.

Why not chop the heel down?
When I stretch a leg forward on hooves that are high heeled, this tells me if I can safely lower the heels to where they need to be without causing further tension on the deep digital flexor tendon and making matters worse. Since this horse was a bit resistant in the shoulder, I only lowered the heels about 1/2”, just enough that they are floating 1/2cm off the ground. This will encourage the tendon to relax a little, and also give the heel room to come down after the chiropractic session. It is very likely that after the chiropractor is out, I’ll need to lower the heels another 1/2” to support the adjustment.

Will this hoof ever look “perfect” again? No. There is remodeling of the coffin bone with some ski tipping, this causes the sensitive laminae to extend forward around the ski tipping, thus the hoofwall will always want to grow in a curved slope.

X rays from 2 weeks pre-trim.

08/12/2023

The association of metabolic syndrome and iron overload, indicated by high serum ferritin concentration in humans, is well-known (Stechemesser, Eder et al. 2017). In other mammals, like captive black rhinos and its most closely related species, the horse, iron overload is primarily dietary in origin. Due to the similarity between these two species, horses were used as an alternative model by researchers studying the relationship between metabolic disease and iron overload in captive black rhinos (Nielsen, Vick et al. 2012).

Because black rhinos are critically endangered, and captive animals have diseases induced or exacerbated by iron overload, treatment and prevention is paramount to improve their health and longevity. Therefore, feeding protocols that limit dietary iron intake were utilized in captive rhinos. This resulted in the successful reduction of hyperferritinemia, an approach that should improve the health and longevity for this endangered species (Sullivan, Mylniczenko et al. 2020).

Excessive iron is stored in body tissues, spleen, liver, small intestine, and lung. In all species studied, elevated body iron storage is both a risk factor and a consequence of insulin resistance, while reducing body iron reduces risk and improves insulin sensitivity. Drs. Eleanor Kellon and Kathleen Gustafson described the association of hyperferritinemia and hyperinsulinemia (high serum ferritin and insulin) in horses (Kellon and Gustafson 2020). While emphasizing that high dietary iron is an unlikely independent causal factor in the development of equine metabolic syndrome (EMS), they stressed that the association between iron overload and EMS in horses is worthy of research, as it has been in other species. Their publication was recognized by other researchers studying human Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Human type II diabetes (T2DM) with abnormal insulin signaling has been linked to Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Researchers studied the brains of aged donkeys and found lesions similar to those found in humans with AD (Malbon, Lorena et al. 2022). They say, “The finding of shared neuropathological changes with humans opens the door to perhaps the most intriguing aspect; their (donkey and human) shared susceptibility to metabolic dysfunctions. The triad of T2DM, obesity, and AD are intricately linked in humans with insulin dysregulation one of the main common factors. Equids, in particular donkeys, are known to be prone to their own version of insulin resistance, in the form of equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). An additional area of interest for further investigation is the link between iron levels, metabolic syndrome, and neurodegeneration. Ferritin levels have been linked to hyperinsulinemia in horses (Kellon and Gustafson 2020), whilst in humans altered iron homeostasis is known to occur in numerous forms of neurodegeneration.”

The ECIR Group Inc. encourages and supports further research aimed at increasing knowledge of the complex association and mechanisms surrounding EMS, PPID (Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction), iron overload, and neurodegeneration (McFarlane, Dybdal et al. 2005, McFarlane 2007). This is the time for research directed towards equines with EMS and/or PPID as a primary research model, instead of a secondary stand-in for other species.

REFERENCES
Kellon, E. M. and K. M. Gustafson (2020). "Possible dysmetabolic hyperferritinemia in hyperinsulinemic horses." Open Vet J 9(4): 287-293.

Malbon, A. J., S. Lorena, W. L. A., G.-M. Danielle, P. Georgios, M. Neil, S. Tobias, M. Bruce and H. Caroline (2022). "Alzheimer-like pathology in the parietal cortex and hippocampus of aged donkeys." Neurobiology of Aging 113: 7-14.

McFarlane, D. (2007). "Advantages and limitations of the equine disease, pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction as a model of spontaneous dopaminergic neurodegenerative disease." Ageing Research Reviews Ageing Research Reviews 6(1): 54-63.

McFarlane, D., N. Dybdal, M. T. Donaldson, L. Miller and A. E. Cribb (2005). "Nitration and increased alpha-synuclein expression associated with dopaminergic neurodegeneration in equine pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction." J Neuroendocrinol 17(2): 73-80.

Nielsen, B. D., M. M. Vick and P. M. Dennis (2012). "A potential link between insulin resistance and iron overload disorder in browsing rhinoceroses investigated through the use of an equine model." J Zoo Wildl Med 43(3 Suppl): S61-65.

Stechemesser, L., S. K. Eder, A. Wagner, W. Patsch, A. Feldman, M. Strasser, S. Auer, D. Niederseer, U. Huber-Schonauer, B. Paulweber, S. Zandanell, S. Ruhaltinger, D. Weghuber, E. Haschke-Becher, C. Grabmer, E. Rohde, C. Datz, T. K. Felder and E. Aigner (2017). "Metabolomic profiling identifies potential pathways involved in the interaction of iron homeostasis with glucose metabolism." Mol Metab 6(1): 38-47.

Sullivan, K. E., N. D. Mylniczenko, S. E. Nelson, Jr., B. Coffin and S. R. Lavin (2020). "Practical Management of Iron Overload Disorder (IOD) in Black Rhinoceros (BR; Diceros bicornis)." Animals (Basel) 10(11).

07/31/2023

Update on this fella. He’s not yet 100% sound, but significantly better than when we started. His hooves are rebuilding his heel structure nicely

Barefoot trimming since 2017 going through PHCP for certification. Servicing the Denver area

Easy shoe glue onsGlue ons $250 for frontsRegular trims $75
07/14/2023

Easy shoe glue ons

Glue ons $250 for fronts
Regular trims $75

Any horse can develop insulin resistance, but quarter horses, Arabs, Morgans, mustangs and ponies are more prone to it.
06/21/2023

Any horse can develop insulin resistance, but quarter horses, Arabs, Morgans, mustangs and ponies are more prone to it.

Laminitis risk is directly linked to insulin level, which is not tied to weight. To learn more facts about managing metabolic horses, ponies, donkeys, and mules, visit https://bit.ly/3fZPbKm

Pretty happy how this glue on job turned out.Usually I don’t do wedges, however based on x rays, and the fact the horse ...
05/15/2023

Pretty happy how this glue on job turned out.

Usually I don’t do wedges, however based on x rays, and the fact the horse was sore, and there wasn’t any toe to take vertically or horizontally besides a bevel, leaving the heels so low would increase risk of injury to the suspensory tendons and navicular bone, so adding material to the hoof was the best option.

So this is the floating boot shell, that I added SuperFast glue to the shell to create a roughly 10° wedge. When it’s time to re-do, I’ll likely not need this much wedge and could reduce it.

You’re probably wondering “but I’ve heard wedges are bad??”
They CAN be, just like any tool- they can be extremely helpful in achieving goals of comfort and rehab *when done properly*.
Good rehab wedges: offer 100% support of the bottom of the hoof/sole/frog, have anti microbial treatment underneath the package to prevent thrush, have sole support such as pour-in pads or dental impression material, and allow flexibility of the hoof.

Will travel within 45 minutes of Northglenn.
03/15/2023

Will travel within 45 minutes of Northglenn.

Address

Northglenn, CO

Opening Hours

Monday 7am - 3pm
Tuesday 7am - 3pm
Wednesday 7am - 3pm
Thursday 7am - 3pm
Friday 7am - 3pm
Saturday 7am - 3pm

Telephone

+18018955388

Website

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