Natural Hoof Care Inc

01/07/2025

If your horse struggles with the farrier, please address the reason why. Behavior, lack of training, physical discomfort.
We can’t do our best work if our bodies are getting worn out from horses beating us up.
We can’t do our best work if your horse won’t stand still.
You owe it to your horse.

Hoofcare Manners

Some of my clients know that I’ve been having some trouble lately, especially with pain in my elbows and collarbone area. I always thought I was young and strong and able to do barn work and hoofcare without any issues; I guess it’s catching up to me!

Having pain when working has really pointed out to me things that occur that likely led to these issues. I look forward to the barns and horses where they allow me to hold up their feet, they stand quietly and let me work without too much trouble. On the flip side, having these aches and pains highlights the horses that fuss, yank, or struggle to hold up a foot while I work.

A small tug of a horse’s leg while I am working can contribute to whatever repetitive strain issues I have going on, and the more this happens, the more I worry I won’t be able to trim at this capacity long term. And I love this job, and want to be able to do it as long as possible.

Now I know in many of these cases, the horse’s pain is playing a role. If it hurts to hold up a hoof, they’re going to communicate in a way they know how to- by asking for their leg back with a shift in bodyweight or a pull. I understand that, and don’t blame them.
On behalf of all hoofcare pros out there- if you have a horse struggling with pain, making it hard for them to stand to get their feet done, ask your vet about options for pain management before the appointment. This will make it easier not only on us, but also on your horse.
Some horses also benefit from standing on gym mats, Sure Foot pads, or softer surfaces when working too.

While I truly believe that horses do not want to be difficult for no reason, and I always default to ruling out pain, there are other situations that can cause a horse to struggle with hoofcare appointments.

-Is it feeding time, and they see the hoofcare pro as an obstacle to their meals?
-Are their friends outside and they’re in alone, and they’re feeling unsafe or herdbound?
-Are they being worked on in an area they don’t usually go to, and they’re feeling insecure or uncertain?

Many of these things are preventable as well, with adjusting when the appointment is or when feeding time is, having an equine friend available to keep the horse company, or working to train your horse to feel comfortable where we need to work on them.

And side note- I do have a handful of clients who will feed hay or treats while I work. I say this is about 50/50 of how successful it is (and my owners and I work out which horses this helps). Some horses just see me as “in the way” of their treats and become more distressed or fussier if fed while I work. Some do great and stand quietly. I am not against food while working if the horse truly is happier and calmer with it.

As I’m taking stock of ways I can prolong my career and keep my body healthy, I notice that how horses stand truly is a HUGE part of that. I genuinely look forward to appointments where the horse is happy to allow me to work (within their comfortable range of motion and being considerate of how I am working, too). I also know that many of us will dread appointments where we feel we have to brace our bodies, tense our muscles, and feel like we are fighting to hold up the weight of a half ton animal.

If your hoofcare pro is mentioning that your horse has trouble standing to be worked on, consider investigating a bit to make the appointment easier not only for us, but for your horse as well. A happy hoofcare pro is a consistent and reliable and healthy hoofcare pro ☺️

Picture of sweet Gus, who used to plow through (literally) holding up a hoof and didn’t want his foot up for more than a few seconds at a time. Some patience and great care and work from the owner on being comfortable holding up his feet, and now he is quite the gentleman.

12/08/2024

Did you know that water directly affects the ability of your horses hooves to cope with the horses weight!?

It’s winter in the northern hemisphere, and in the UK that means rain, lots of rain and therefore wet muddy fields.

But do you realise how much hydration affects your horses hooves? How much affect it can have on hoof shape!?

Have a read at this link….

https://www.theequinedocumentalist.com/post/wet-dry-cycles-effect-on-the-hoof

11/29/2024

11/26/2024

11/20/2024

11/18/2024

Soaked hay is part of the Emergency Diet (soaking hay can reduce sugars an average of 30%). For a list of everything in the Emergency Diet and info on when you would implement it, go to https://ecirhorse.org/DDT+E-diet.php

10/07/2024

Please Join us on 10/19 and 10/20 for our annual fall clinic. THis year we have Shane Westman as our wonderful clinician! learn more about him below!

We have also gotten an offer for a 10% discount at the Microtel inn & suits Wyndham, Windham ME for any bookings associated with "The Maine Farrier Association" so if you're coming to our clinic and need a place to stay reach out to them and mention us for a discount!

There will also be a complimentary Lobster bake for dinner Saturday night after our clinic! if you're interested please rsvp so we have a headcount!

RSVPs and any other questions can be answered with an email to [email protected]

We hope to see you there!

10/01/2024

Is there movement within the hoof capsule? Watch this…

09/29/2024

Why do biomechanics matter?

No one uttered this term to me, in all my years of riding and lesson-taking, until I was well into my 20's. I heard lots of other words: contact, responsiveness, connection, rhythm, impulsion, suppleness. All of them felt like these ethereal concepts that had multiple meanings depending on who you talked to. They also had varying degrees of importance or ranking in terms of what you need first before the horse can offer the next thing, depending on who you talked to. I still see this all the time, and hear about how frustrating it is from other horsepeople trying to do the best they can.

Biomechanics are the physical relationships and structural laws that govern how living things move. Biomechanics are the HOW in all of those aforementioned ethereal terms. They are vital in understanding how to correctly develop a horse for riding. This is the first reason why biomechanics matter.

The second reason is because horses weren't designed to be ridden. I cannot overstate how important this is to understand if you want to ride horses and ride them well: horses were NEVER designed to be sat on. The horse is born with a specific set of biomechanical tools available to him, and they serve him very well...when they are needed.

The thing is, those tools were designed for maximum efficiency if the horse's life is in danger: used for brief moments, blips in between long stretches of calm. Those exact tools can cause injury, unsoundness, and degeneration if used every day, day in and day out, for years.
. . . . . . . .

I want you to look at these two photos.

The top horse is using what nature gave him (and what work with humans helped him turn into long-standing patterns in movement). The bottom horse has been given new tools and taught how to use them to move in ways that preserve soundness, not encourage degeneration.

The top horse is moving in a way that directly ties into the same sympathetic nervous system responses that kick in when a horse is in danger. The bottom horse is demonstrating all of the power potential the nervous system makes available when the horse is in danger, but accessing it through relaxation and completely different biomechanics.

The top horse is using the ground to support his weight in movement, putting a lot of pressure on his joints. The bottom horse is doing a lot of that supporting himself by virtue of his posture, putting significantly less strain on his joints.

You may have already figured out this is the same horse. These photos were taken approximately two years apart.

I guess what I'm getting at is this: the way to develop the bottom horse isn't to simply take the top horse and add contact, impulsion, responsiveness, ride circle after circle, do pole and hill work, etc. Whatever you apply to the ridden horse will only reinforce what is already in him.

You must teach him, literally from the ground up, a new way of moving, a different biomechanical perspective. Some horses will come by this easier than others, but not a one is born knowing how to put all of these things together on their own when the human asks it. Not a one.

We have to show them how.

PC: Mandy Helwege. Thank you for permitting me to share your lovely boy.

09/17/2024

This company stands behind its products 100%!

08/23/2024

How to trim a donkey hoof DIY Donkey Hoof Trimming Online Course for Donkey Owners

07/24/2024