Equibalance Farrier Services

12/26/2025

Take a listen and see if you hear me talking about you 😂

I mentioned some good things clients do for me even if it’s just to say they understand how hard winter hoofcare is! 💜

This was a fun one!

Hooves in Winter

It's winter time here in Massachusetts, and the snow and ice have already hit full force! With it comes considerations of our horses' comfort, soundness, and safety during these coming months.

I chatted with Beth Lynn Lewis of New Hampshire and Maggie Lambert of Colorado about what precautions and hoofcare considerations they make during the winter months. We chat about everything from traction, to tool use, to winter laminitis, and more!

You can hear the entire conversation on any podcast app under "The Humble Hoof," or directly at this link: https://thehumblehoof.com/2025/12/26/hooves-in-winter/

Thank you to our amazing sponsors:

Cavallo Hoof Boots is offering 15% 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 Hay Boss Feeders – haybossfeeders.com – for all your slow-feeding needs. I get my Hay Boss feeders from Mountain Lane Farm in NH!

12/26/2025

Hey folks! I know everyone loves a deal! I have teamed up with to bring you a deal! I am now one of their affiliates so you can get a discount code!

Why do I recommend Madbarn products? I think they are one of the best companies around for good hoof nutrition!! Madbarn products are fed to my own herd and when I back a product know that I have used it personally. Their 3:1 Zinc Copper mix is simply one of the best and most affordable mineral products you can give for excellent hoof health. If you can only change one thing in your feed program, this is the big thing I would do. I look at so many forage tests and every single one of them is deficient in trace minerals, Zn and Cu being at the top. If you feed a forage based diet make sure these are covered as well. There are some great forage balancers on the market and that madbarn makes as well (that being said I’m a long time Vermont Blend guru! But my forage tests show I always need a little extra copper and zinc to get the ratio better!).

Message me, dm, text email for a personal code for all Madbarn products. I have individual codes to pass out per account but if you want to share a code I can send you extra!

If you also need a custom equine code I always have those as well!

So what do I feed my crew? Glad you asked!

Flax from turtle mountain
Vitamin E from Black horse or Emcelle
Loose livestock white salt (tractor supply)
Kelp (Amazon because my salt is not iodized)
Vermont blend custom equine
zn:cu madbarn
Timothy balancer cubes triple crown
Beet pulp (soaked) unbeetable
Sanfoin pellets
And free choice tested hay

Here is a study on how important zinc and copper is to hoof health:

https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jes/10/1/10_1_1/_pdf

12/25/2025

From my family to yours, happy holidays.

12/24/2025

* Winter Laminitis *
As winter weather sets in, closely monitor your horses with metabolic issues or a past history of laminitis or founder. They could develop winter laminitis, which can appear suddenly, without typical warning signs.

While spring and fall laminitis are typically linked to insulin dysregulation, winter laminitis has a different trigger: cold stress when temperatures drop, which leads to limited perfusion throughout the limb.

Arteriovenous (AV) shunts are special blood vessels in the horse’s hoof that act like shortcuts for blood flow. Instead of moving through tiny capillaries that feed the sensitive laminae, blood can be redirected straight from arteries to veins. In a healthy hoof, these shunts help control temperature by opening in cold weather to conserve heat, and closing in warm weather so blood flows through the capillaries to deliver oxygen and nutrients to the laminae.

During a laminitis or founder episode, inflammation within the laminar tissues weakens the cellular bonds between the epidermal and dermal laminae, causing the white line to stretch. Their blood flow is restricted, which can lead to permanent damage of the hoof lamellar connection - the laminae rarely returns to its original strength. In founder cases, the laminae failure allows the coffin bone to rotate, and/or distally descend in the hoof capsule, also known as sinking, and can sometimes lead to the coffin bone penetrating the sole.

Even well-managed horses with a history of laminitis may have thin soles, reduced shock absorption, weaker hoof-lamellar connections, and ongoing low-grade inflammation, making them less tolerant of trimming errors, long cycles, diet or environmental changes, and metabolic stress. A horse can appear sound yet still have permanently compromised laminae, which increases the risk of relapse and often requires lifelong management, especially when a metabolic disease is involved.

If your horse is actively experiencing winter laminitis:

* Contact and consult with your veterinarian immediately.

* Ensure proper pergolide dosing with your vet’s help (if PPID/Cushings).

*Prioritize warmth: use blankets, layering if necessary. Wool socks, shipping boots, or leg wraps can all help provide extra warmth and protection - just make sure they’re not fitted too tight! Make sure your horse has adequate shelter to support temperature regulation.

* Reduce mechanical leverage and stress on the hoof capsule by staying on a short, consistent cycle with your hoof care provider. Providing hoof support with boots and pads can help keep your horse comfortable.

* Monitor weight and watch for fat deposits (commonly seen around the neck, ribs, tailhead, above the eyes).

* Re-evaluate diet and aim for consistent tested hay year-round, feeding a truly low-NSC (non-structural carbohydrate) diet. Don’t rely solely on “low sugar” or “low starch” labels - use evidence-based resources like the ECIR Group or Mad Barn for guidance. Consider metabolic support supplements if appropriate.

Wishing everyone - and their equines - warmth and good health this winter!

12/21/2025

All of this

Winter Hoof Growth

Here in Massachusetts, winter came earlier than usual this year. Inevitably with it come the questions about winter hoofcare cycles -
“how long do you think they can go between trims now that their growth has slowed?”

“They don’t really need another trim in 5 weeks do they?”

Now I’ll try to make this short and sweet. As a hoofcare provider, I am fighting for my life to get horses’ hooves in a better spot all spring, summer, and fall- often fighting against metabolic concerns, grass intake, excessive growth, distortion even on a regular schedule, etc.

But for all the horsekeeping issues we deal with in winter, at least for many horses winter gives us a little reprieve in their excessive growth and potential distortion. This is the time we can get ahead of hoof issues- when we can address the flare before it starts, when we can work on correcting angles without doing too much all at once, when we can get heels to come back under the limb and get breakover in a good spot, and we can get the entire horse moving and feeling better.

Although it’s tempting to want to stretch out a horse‘s hoofcare cycle in winter, and while for some that may be an okay option, I am most excited when l can stick to the same cycle year round and make even better progress all winter and set the feet up to be healthier when the spring growth hits.

Our job as hoofcare providers isn’t just removing excess. It’s addressing hoof balance, supporting the feet for proper movement and comfort, and addressing issues before they become pathological or chronic.

If your hoofcare provider is asking to stay on the same cycle this winter, trust that they’re trying to make sure the feet don’t get into a spot you have to rehab from next summer.

12/20/2025

Have tools, will travel.

12/17/2025

https://www.empoweringequineeducation.com/e/BAh7BjoWZW1haWxfZGVsaXZlcnlfaWRsKwg%2F1UnVCAA%3D--af30c22c67be2975a50e3792348383600fd17c2c?skip_click_tracking=true

She'd done a quick check and spotted something lodged in the coronet band - a splinter, about the size of her fingernail.

12/16/2025

Equine Winter Laminitis
Brian S. Burks, DVM
Diplomate, ABVP
Board-Certified in Equine Practice

Acute laminitis is a severe condition of the horse’s hoof brought on by a complex, and often not completely known, series of events. Treatment must be swift, specific, and aggressive. The therapeutic goal in the acute phase is limiting the severity of the digital pathologies to limit the patient’s chances of suffering mechanical or structural failure of the foot. Although there are many different opinions concerning the treatment of acute laminitis there are basic principles on which most equine practitioners agree.

During cold weather, it is normal for horses to shunt blood via arteriovenous anastomoses which cools the feet but preserves core temperature. When oxygen tension becomes too low, the shunts open again to allow blood to enter the foot.

Some horses may have damaged vasculature or more constriction than is normal. Elevated insulin and cortisol levels make blood vessels more sensitive to vasoconstriction. Elevated insulin is associated with increased levels of endothelin 1, a potent vasoconstrictor. The stress of the cold may cause an increase in endogenous cortisol levels; increased cortisol causes vasoconstriction and reduced blood flow to the feet.

Horses with PPID, (equine Cushing’s Disease) or equine metabolic syndrome may have high insulin and cortisol levels make the vessels more sensitive to vasoconstrictors and more difficult to dilate. Their vessels are more constricted as a starting point. In normal horses, these AV shunts are expected to open to maintain circulation to the foot.

Insulin levels also increase in the winter and can become erratic, contributing to abnormal foot circulation, and predisposing the horse to laminitis.

Also affecting insulin is pasture grass. Stressed pasture grass stores high levels of sugars, leading to laminitis. Affected horses should not be allowed to graze until it has warmed up a bit and the grass has had time to respire and use some of the sugars stored overnight.

The reduced circulation causes pain, made worse by walking on frozen, bumpy ground. Pain and now the stress response, leads to an increased cortisol production, and this creates a vicious cycle.

Horses with PPID/EMS often lose their ability to thermoregulate, leading to stress and increases in endogenous cortisol production. Many horses also get less turn out time and exercise during very cold temperatures, which decreases insulin sensitivity.

Those horses that are prone to winter foot pain should be protected from the cold. They do not do well in the wind, rain, and snow. They may require blanketing and require distal limb protection via fleece lined boots or wraps.

Affected horses present much like any other horse with laminitis: sawhorse stance and a reluctance to move. There is usually no heat in the foot and there is often little sinking or rotation of the coffin bone.

Treatment of winter laminitis is like any other laminitis cause. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may not work as well as for other causes. The underlying endocrine disorders should be under control before winter, limiting sugars in the diet and administration of pergolide or other medication. Thyroid hormone is used to improve insulin sensitivity (not to treat hypothyroidism, which is nearly non-existent in adult horses). It can also be useful to lessen the impact of the cold, hard ground as it concusses the feet. If you cannot offer softer ground, hoof boots can help protect from concussive forces and help keep the feet warm.

What you can do:
- prevent or limit access to grass during and after sunny frosty weather until the weather changes to milder nights and overcast days, and feed analyzed hay with sugar and starch levels below 10% instead. It is not the frost itself that is the risk, it is the weather conditions that cause the frost, so do not allow horses to graze once the frost has melted with the sun - wait until the grass has been able to respire and use up some of its sugar.
- keep feet warm and protected - use leg wraps/bandages, pads and boots on feet, warm deep bedding. Thick wool hiking socks can be great for keeping pony feet and legs warm.
​- ensure feet are well trimmed/balanced - even the slightest tipping of the pedal bone onto the sole by high heels or pull on the laminae by long toes can exacerbate pain and discomfort when a horse is walking on hard rough ground.
- blanket well, provide good shelter out of the wind/weather - particularly for PPID/underweight horses. For overweight/EMS horses, cold weather can encourage weight loss so consider whether they really need a thick blanket.
- soak hay in cold water.
- cut back feed (calories, not fiber) if exercise/turnout is reduced.
- provide warm water for drinking to reduce the risk of impaction colic (not such a great risk when soaking hay) - particularly for older/PPID horses that might have tooth problems.

Fox Run Equine Center

www.foxrunequine.com

(724) 727-3481

12/14/2025

Giving another update here, cycling clients back in from over a week ago that I had to unexpectedly cancel on. I don’t have a work vehicle yet, I’m trying to get the “farm truck” set up with bare bones equipment (some graciously borrowed from others) but I won’t be able to hot shoe for the foreseeable future. I can do easy winter resets, but new shoes that require forge modifications are out, but we do have other wheels and help from Rachel (amazing she is able to tweak her schedule and give me more days with her help and her amazing trailer).

Looking at new vans, looking at new kits and set ups, the GFM 100% is going to be reinvested into an amazing future vehicle for the business. Thank you all who donated, thank you to a few companies who are coming up with some ideas for me, thank you to all the supply shops and manufacturers who got me price quotes, wrote me value statements and invoices from years past for the insurance battle.

One day at a time.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-beth-rebuild-after-losing-her-farrier-van?attribution_id=sl:68f141f1-6dd0-4a2d-bdaa-9597debbdbc8&lang=en_US&ts=1765020949&utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_content=amp17_td&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link

12/07/2025

Ok so here is the latest update, I’m without a farrier rig, scrambling to set up my plow truck to be able to so basic work out of.. couldn’t haven’t happened at a worse time and I got bullied in the best way possible for a GFM (editing to say the best peer pressure from my girlfriends). I’m just asking that you share it.. the crux of the issue is we are fighting their insurance company for the value of the equipment loss, the van isn’t worth much she was high miles and 8 years old I got her used during covid which was hard to find anything reasonably priced and I had a year worth of payments, after the insurance payout of the vans worth (which isn’t much) I’m not left with much to build a whole new rig for work, as you all know I have been traveling a ton the last few years already have future trips already booked and paid for for 2026 and didn’t expect to need the capital for a new buildout. My forge is damaged, my anvil went flying and ripped the mount it’s on, some tools were crushed which is all replaceable but their insurance is giving me the run around and I have not accepted their minimal payout yet, my insurance is starting the process to fight it but told me expect 3-5 months of negotiations on the damages outside of the van. I don’t care about the loss work, Rachel gave me an extra day Friday she is helping again Tuesday, I’ll go to the vineyard and trim, all my trims I can work out of anything, it’s the big shoe jobs which are a handful of horses who needed them yesterday. My plan was to run vanna white into the ground beyond her payoff and then save money for a new van with a fantastic custom kit which is not cheap, now all that has changed. I’m crushed, I’m tired, but thankfully me and my kiddo were so safe when we were hit. Best of all it was my neighbor who smoked us.. he feels terrible… calling everyday myself and most likely will need a lawyer to help fight this..

If you’re a hoofcare pro, you likely can think of another hoofcare provider who changed your life.

I am lucky to have had so many amazing hoofcare friends, mentors, and colleagues that have walked this hoofcare journey with me.

Beth Lynn Lewis of Equibalance Farrier Services was the very first of those.

Over a decade ago when I first bought my gelding Vinnie, I searched online forums for who to use to do his feet. I didn’t know much about hooves then except that they were important. I found Beth, and she was incredibly patient and kind with my nervous, green mustang (a hoofcare pro’s dream horse, right? 🙈). Over the years, she has let me ride along with her, shadow her work, taught me glue on tips, answered trimming questions, helped me on clients of mine, been on my podcast numerous times, and even helped me put on clinics and educational days at various farms - even my own.

A few days ago, her farrier rig was hit by a snow plow and totaled. The insurance she had on it is not what it seemed it would be now that all is said and done, and Beth is not only without the ability to work currently, but she will have to replace her rig and a lot of her tools from the crash.

If you have the ability this holiday season, please consider donating to her GoFundMe! She gives so much to the horse community and I hope we can give a little bit back!

https://gofund.me/4be5ee69b

12/05/2025