Helios Equestrian Center

01/09/2024

Fascinating!!

Straight from the mouth of Dr. Robert Bowker: The vibration of the shoe is what is killing the back of the foot. Yes. The VIBRATION OF THE SHOE. Vibration destroys connective tissue. The fascia are damaged and other tissues must overload and then the foot deteriorates.

Find out MORE when Bowker talks about the unshod hoof! Don't miss his NEXT webinar coming up on Wednesday, January 10th. Sign up today:
Dr. Bowker on the Unshod Hoof, January 10, 2024 - 5:00 pm Mountain time zone
https://progressivehoofcare.org/2023/12/dr-bowker-on-the-unshod-hoof/

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Happy Hooves! - Yvonne Welz

01/08/2024

18hh warmblood
Jumper / Big Eq
Barefoot in Florida
On grass pasture 24/7
Gravel cruncher / rock crusher

Out of toe clip shoes January 2022 with major deficits. Exceptionally deep central sulcus infection, migrated hoof print, caudal failure.

Built, not carved.

01/05/2024

Can’t help but love these two friends

01/01/2024

**click image to see all 4 photos**
Florida Thoroughbred

Built, not carved.

Attention to the caudal foot
No flat trim
No toe dubbing
No top dressing

Grain free, mineral balanced diet
On grass pasture 24/7

12/22/2023

12/05/2023

Not all barefoot is created equal.

12/05/2023

We love keeping this special horse in tip top shape for when John comes to visit! A heart and gentleness to match his 18h body! This weekend was full of breakthroughs 💪🏼

12/04/2023

Great drawings! Yes!

11/24/2023

We’re a little obsessed with this Thoroughbred’s feet.

He came with:
High low syndrome
Caudal foot pain
Pr*****ed frog and atrophy
Shelly, broken hoof wall
Weak digital cushion
Little to no inner hoof wall
Thin soles
Migrated forward hoof print
Heel hooks and contraction

Now:
High low syndrome is barely noticeable
He’s much more comfortable
Frog and digital cushion have become much more robust
Hoof wall has more integrity
Inner hoof wall development
Increased sole depth
Concavity
Hoof print has come farther back underneath him
Heel and whole hoof expansion

Grain free diet, 24/7 turnout on grass pasture, in active work.

11/23/2023

Peace through movement.

Letting go of old ways, old braces, and turning loose to a new way of being.

10/26/2023

The external is merely a reflection of the internal. The external must be treated so as to restore health internally. Only addressing the hoof capsule ignores and violates the health of the foot.

The message in this blog post from the well-known R.F. (Ric) Redden, DVM is too "spot-on" not to share -- it's so well worth the read! The entire blog post is at: https://www.nanric.com/post/identifying-and-treating-the-negative-palmar-angle

10/22/2023

An interesting progression in which we can see how the foot changes over time. Time span: June 1 to Oct 20 (4.5 months).

A question to ponder: which internal structures changed and developed over time to produce these outward changes?

Notice the different in horn quality. We didn’t polish the last one!

10/21/2023

Does your horse struggle with flat front hooves and a chronic long toe/underrun heel appearance no matter how dialed in you have their diet? People tell you the horse must have chronic or subclinical laminitis...but your horse has no metabolic issues or the hay is low sugar, your minerals are balanced, and yet your horse still has thin soles, no concavity, and pulled forward toes/heels?

Does your horse have resistance to lifting front hooves, and when they pull or take them back immediately rest a hind leg? Do they lift their hinds but can only do so for a short time and then slam them down or step backwards or sideways and drop them suddenly and rest the opposite hind?

All of these CAN be symptoms of chronic or "subclinical" laminitis and should always be taken seriously. BUT what if there is no source of inflammation in the feet? What if the hoof walls are strong, the white lines show no signs of stretching or lamellar wedge, there are no lines or grooves in the outer wall to suggest any dietary issues or inflammation in the hoof capsule. Why are the hooves looking like this and why is the horse struggling?

Look to the hind legs.

Over the years I have come across many horses who can be described exactly as above. Fortunately many of them have had diagnostics run and in most of the cases, there is arthritis in the hocks. I think it's possible that issues higher or lower in the hind limb could also cause very similar symptoms, so if the hocks are clean, don't stop your investigation there, but there has been a very distinct correlation in my experience.

Horses are masters of compensation. Because a horse with hind end issues, like hock arthritis, has a few other legs to shift the weight onto, they will lean forward to offload those sore hinds. This creates an unnatural amount of weight into those fronts. The hooves, under this extra weight and often leaned forward posture, in which the horse may also look like the front legs are too far under the horse, or fetlocks are dropped lower than the hinds, deform under this prolonged stress. They will be leaning into their toes and that can cause the hoof to collapse over time. Hooves are a product of their environment and the forces surrounding them. They are amazing indicators of problems within the rest of the body.

In cases like this it can be very disheartening for the hoof care provider because try as they might to balance those feet, it is not a hoof care problem. Shoeing or trimming to grow more heel will just result in a longer more under run heel because the forces haven't changed. Pulling the toes way back will just dump the horse on their flat soles and cause soreness. And every time they come to trim again it will be deja vu trying to fix a problem and stay ahead of the deformation.

I have also witnessed horses who HAD all of these symptoms, but then the hocks fused and the pain subsided, "magically" start growing a more balanced hoof with more concavity! This can be remedied or managed! But first it needs to be identified!

So, if you are dealing with issues like this, I HIGHLY recommend that you start looking at those hind legs and get to the root of the issues. Depending on what those issues are, if ignored can contribute to other compensational injuries or unsoundness, and damage to the internal structures of those front hooves. PLEASE figure out how to help your horse, some horses are more stoic than others so even if the signs are subtle...they may be in more pain than they are letting on.

I am not a veterinarian and this is not based on peer reviewed research, simply on 20 years working as a hoof care provider and noticing patterns of behavior, diagnostics and hoof morphology. This post is only meant to help people help horses that may be struggling with some of these issues. Hopefully the dots I am connecting may also connect for your horse.

( all hooves in this photo are fronts belonging to horses with confirmed hock arthritis)

10/19/2023

Interesting!

DISC INJURIES & OSTEOPATHY

Disc injuries are not uncommon in horses, however horses suffer silently and rarely complain. Removing blockages in osteopathic treatments can help with existing nerval pain related to disc injuries and help prevent it.
General Osteopathic Treatments (GOT) are treatments that stimulate the lymphatic system, among other things. Muscle energy techniques (MET) can be used in addition. We treat the acutely affected segments of the spine very carefully and with little force. Osteopathic treatments also aim to eliminate the causes of the symptoms in order to avoid further herniated discs in the future. We use special techniques of the fascial distortion model to reduce tension, i.e. we massage the connective tissue in such a way that we relax the muscles and fascia - which, according to a study, can alleviate chronic back problems. The long-term goal of treatment should be to strengthen the muscles around the spine in such a way that they relieve the intervertebral discs.

10/10/2023

Which foot is more comfortable to move on and why?

What do you see?

10/10/2023

How your horse handles on the ground MATTERS. For their safety, your safety, the safety of your vet, farrier, and anyone handling your horse.

We invite you to come experience lightness and feel on one of our educated horses. See for yourself how a 1,200lb animal can be lighter than a feather.

We have a select few horses remaining for partial and full lease for motivated horsemen (and women!) who want to learn the art of groundwork and instilling a tremendous amount of rideability and gentleness in a horse. A lease could very well become a riding lease too, for the right individual.

The beauty of this foundational horsemanship is that it is not discipline specific, and yet amplifies every discipline.

Reach out to us to experience this kind of lightness for yourself as it is something you have to feel to believe.

10/09/2023

This horse came to us with a degree of high low syndrome. Previous hoof care tried to tighten up the low foot and allow the higher foot to flare in an attempt to make the feet look the same.

What was neglected is that these two feet have very different shaped coffin bones.

It’s easy to see how constricted the right front (top) was and how much it has expanded. Notice the expansion happened via the entire solar surface and thereby the footprint. This is a classic example of internal structures returning to health, growing in size, and the hoof capsule adapting to the new mass.

The Left front (bottom) is a little slower to expand but showing some fantastic changes already. Stronger digital cushion. Greater frog mass and smoother contours. Better symmetry. More adequate hoof wall.

Still a ways to go but horse is getting there quickly and comfortably. Horse is in full work and sound, booted for riding until adequate sole thickness is achieved.

10/09/2023

Another one of our recent hoof rehab cases. Out of shoes on April 10th 2023, two week diet transition completed by April 15th, 2023.

This is a 5 yo thoroughbred coming off a high grain diet, now maintaining weight easily on a forage first, grain free diet, living outside 24/7 in a herd on grass pasture, in work, sound and confident in his feet. Still a little bit of old hoof wall to grow out and we are looking forward to seeing that hit the ground!

Winter months in Florida mean healthier feet. Stay tuned!

10/08/2023

We are so thankful to have Jen working so closely with us on our horses’ wellbeing. It’s her impressive level of knowledge she has in all things health and wellness that have us constantly coming back for more. Not only has she treated issues, but her keen eye for prevention is what really gets us excited! Nutrition is key 🔑

Itchy horses everywhere….

More than anywhere else I ever lived, I see itchy horses in Florida, some with severe skin problems. Also more often than anywhere else I hear owners say “and I tried everything”. What do all of these owners have in common? They didn’t consider their horses’ metabolism and (no matter how often you tell them not to) feed industrial grain, sugar, oil, etc.

Let's take a closer look at the horse's metabolism: The horse - like any other mammal - disposes of waste materials via various excretory organs:
The intestines essentially excrete indigestible waste, but also waste that is disposed of by the liver. Gaseous waste, such as CO2, is excreted through breathing.
The kidney is responsible for excreting all water-soluble substances that are passed into the bloodstream by the liver, the detoxification organ. However, the kidney only has a limited disposal capacity and also has a whole range of other, more important tasks; it ensures that the acid-base balance, the mineral and water balance and also the blood pressure are kept constant.
If the kidneys are overloaded, the body is able to dispose of waste products through the skin if necessary. Studies have shown that the sweat glands function in a similar way to the renal tubules and use the same mechanism to transport waste to the outside with sweat.

This waste, some of which is very aggressive, ends up on the surface of the skin that is not designed to deal with toxins like these. Slight skin irritation occurs. These lead to inflammatory reactions of the immune system, which then concentrates in the skin to ward off bacteria, fungi and other pests that invade the inflamed skin. If the saliva of blood-sucking insects is added, the immune system overreacts and thus leads to allergic behavior. Scratching causes small injuries in the skin, through which more germs can pe*****te and stress the immune system. In addition, the skin will of course continue to be irritated by the waste that is excreted through the skin.

In some horses, the metabolism is so overloaded that the skin becomes the main excretory organ. These horses scratch their entire bodies and even itch in the winter. In addition, in many cases there is a chronically inflamed intestine. Its mucous membrane cells release large amounts of histamine, which increases susceptibility to allergies, especially in the skin. In affected horses, the acid-base balance in the connective tissue is often disturbed, the liver is overloaded by the many circulating waste products that cannot be excreted, and the body is only able to maintain metabolic processes with difficulty. What begins as a harmless tail rub can end dramatically and have a huge impact on your horse’s performance.

The problem with the underlying causes of sweet itch is that they cannot be seen in blood work. Values that indicate renal insufficiency, i.e. poor kidney performance, only become noticeable when 70% of the kidney has already been destroyed - far too late. The acidification of the tissue cannot be seen either because the body keeps the blood pH value strictly constant.
Only the values that indicate an allergic process are noticeable, as the allergic reaction of the overloaded immune system becomes visible in the skin. However, the allergy is not a cause, it’s just a symptom, an effect of the disturbed metabolism. Many horses with eczema develop additional symptoms such as chronic cough, f***l water, colic, poor hoof growth, poor shedding and even metabolic syndrome or Cushing's, plus they are often tired and weak.

Most eczema cases have a disturbed (large) intestine flora. Therefore, therapy should always begin with optimizing the feed and cleaning the digestive tract. The main focus here is to reduce sugar and acids. If possible, concentrated feed (that is any form of grain, balancers, beet pulp, treats etc) should be completely eliminated for six months and then switched to crushed barley or oats, depending on the horse.
Please also read the article on KPU and consider a kidney and liver cleanse for 6 weeks in the fall and spring when horses begin to shed.
I'm happy to give you more information during your next appointment.

09/21/2023

Horses deserve to live outside 24/7 with the company of other horses, have free access to all the safe grass hays they want, have free choice access to shelter to get out of wind, rain and/or snow and have access to dry ground. They deserve to have access to an environment and lifestyle that causes good health and vitality and keeps them free from the threat of laminitis. This is not a comprehensive list of all their needs but is the foundation from which to build. These are the principles behind a Paddock Paradise track system. 📷 by jillwillis2020

09/20/2023

Jen comes out for our horses and we are so impressed! Can’t recommend her enough. Big changes and she is so so knowledgeable!

Finally some gaps in the schedule... open spots after September 25.
Deep, long lasting effects that you really feel the next time you ride!

09/20/2023

Let him be a horse. Feed him and take care of him and love him but whether he’s the best horse in the world or a horse the world will never see, let him be a horse. Let him roll in the mud. Eat grass. Gallop in a field. See the inside of a stall as little as possible. Touch other horses. Heaven forbid, let him go out with other horses. So at the end of his life you don’t look back and see a life of solitude and bubble wrap. These are social, sentient beings. Not slaves for our enjoyment. That should be the direction dressage is going. - Liz Austin