Hometown Hoofcare

09/08/2025

The Sheer Volume

What many horse owners don't understand - because how could they? It's our job, not theirs - is the sheer volume of horses that professionals have on their schedule.

Vets, farriers, trainers, bodyworkers.... anyone who makes their living in the horse industry has to have a larger volume of horses on their schedule than may be advisable in order to pay the bills. And yes, I mean pay the bills WELL, not struggle to make ends meet because you just love horses. Horses are the absolute best but no client is going to pay your hospital bill or for your retirement when this industry has wrung you out.

Burnout and compassion fatigue is common in the industry. I designed a whole webinar for PHCP on "Sustaining Your Hoofcare Business" and much of the content was about the grind of this work and how to hold up under that strain.

Everyone runs their business differently, which is one of the perks for working for yourself. But for me, I will have anywhere from 160-185 horses on my schedule at one time. That's at least 130+ human clients to communicate and schedule with.
I usually trim 10 horses every work day. I don't mind one horse stops and I love working with ponies, minis, and donkeys. So some days may mean 7-9 different appointments at different places. And unlike some of my counterparts, I don't have a wife who runs my business for me!

So I've put as many resources for myself in place in order to not become the grumpy farrier who gets mad at your horse and won't return texts. Because I see how easy that downward slide can be.

As a small animal owner (and former horse owner), I know what it is like to want a compassionate, available healthcare professional to work with my animals and treat them kindly, actually caring about them rather than seeing them as just another appointment in the day.

There also is the saying that you can look for fast, cheap, and good work but you'll never find someone who does all three!

Back to my volume point -

Yes, having so many horses on your schedule can lead to robotic days at work or failing to be able to muster the energy that every client and horse demand from you, over and over and over again.

But you also are regularly faced with the opportunity to make a different choice, to insist that your business is sustainable for you specifically. This is a harder path emotionally because you have to set boundaries, disappoint people, and truly act with integrity. I promise it's worth it.

So, to our horse owners and clients:
You deserve the best, most compassionate equine professionals.
You also deserve honesty and integrity.
I hope you have a great team to care for your horse.
And remember, we see A LOT. So we can give you some much needed perspective when looking at the bigger picture.

🩷 - Corrie

PS this is Faery, Goblin, and Bree - part of a large Welsh herd that I adore working with.

09/03/2025

Ran out of beige. Not that sorry about it.

Ranger's trot is pretty spectacular in this package.

He was a notorious shoe puller with nail-on shoes and has been growing out nicely in glue-ons (he literally pulled a brand new steel shoe as the farrier was driving away). I don't normally do this intentionally, but his last shoeing cycle was 8 weeks long and his composite shoes were still on perfectly. It was the longest he had ever kept shoes on.

EasyCare Inc. Protective Hoofwear Jimmy B Rollers and pretty wedge pads from 3D HoofCare

09/03/2025

“It is entirely possible for wise and educated people to disagree about points of fact.

But facts are stubborn things.

Whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter facts and evidence.

We must strip away the rest.”

Jeff Wheeler - The Void of Muirwood.

Www.holisticequine.co.uk - supporting and promoting compassionate equestrianism for the benefit of all 💚🙏🐴

09/02/2025

It's a Humble Hoof repost day, but it's too good not to share with my clients.

Some of you know that recently, I joined a great team of hoofcare pros and horse lovers over at Flex Hoof Boots, to help educate about hoof health and lameness rehab. We are now ready to start sharing some of what we have worked on the last few months!

I am SO EXCITED to be a part of this new online Hoof Care School! We have been working hard to get this up and running, with countless hours of writing articles, courses, taking photos, filming video, and editing together courses and content on all topics that pertain to hoof health and soundness.

In the Hoof Care School, we will soon have courses on everything from topics that pertain to your horse’s overall health, such as equine behavior, species-appropriate care, nutrition for hoof health, balancing hay tests, building track systems, picking your horse’s care team, communicating with your hoofcare professional, to more in-depth information about hoof anatomy and biomechanics, hoof issues and pathology, laminitis and navicular rehab, approaching various hoof issues with management and trim, and more.

Right now everything is free as we are just starting to add the content, but it will eventually be a subscription-based school where new content will be added regularly. As a member, you’ll also have access to private forums and special intermittent “behind the scenes” day-to-day of hoofcare provider life and candid content of running a hoof rehab facility.

I really am so excited to be a small part of this project!

For now, you can jump in early while it’s free and see what we are doing over at https://hoofcareschool.mvt.so/

09/02/2025

In the late summer and early fall, some horses seem to have hoof issues "out of nowhere." With no changes to their care, diet, or management, some seem to suddenly struggle with stone bruising and abscessing, hoof sensitivity, chronic thrush or white line disease, and even laminitic issues or founder.

Often, owners and even professionals can blame this on the season - dry weather leads to hard ground, and a breeding of flies that leads to fly stomping and sore feet. Makes sense, right?

But some horses are much more sore than your run-of-the-mill fly stomping pain. Some owners see their horses in pain and think they might even have to make a decision about letting their best friend go before winter hits.. and they just can't seem to figure out where things went wrong and why their careful management isn't working.

In this "mini episode," Alicia, host of The Humble Hoof podcast, talks about hoof issues going into fall, and one possible cause: undiagnosed or unregulated PPID (Cushing's). This episode dives into what PPID is, how to diagnosed and treat it, and how it can help your horse- especially this time of year.

You can hear the entire episode on any podcast app under "The Humble Hoof," or directly at this link: https://thehumblehoof.com/2025/08/22/late-summer-hoof-issues-ppid-mini-episode/

Edited to add: ECIR recently had a discussion about utilizing TRH stim tests year round. This study was referenced (not that it was done in Australia, hence why the results look swapped from the Northern Hemisphere). I am keeping an eye on this information for future testing!

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jvim.16017

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

08/17/2025

I always thought the work would speak for itself.

But clients can’t see the mechanics that contribute to long-term lameness.

And clients can’t see the insidious creeping of dysfunction into low-grade lameness, or that their flat-moving horse lacks suspension because of overtrimming.

Not unless we educate them.

If owners don’t know what good work looks like, they’re often led down the wrong paths by the loudest voices.

I don’t think the answer is to get louder than all the noise out there, each method clamoring over one another.

I think the answer is to educate owners.

Horse owners are vastly underestimated.

They can learn this stuff, and they don’t need sold a method, they need empowered with the knowledge to make their own informed choices.

08/17/2025

08/09/2025

This is exactly the reason why I do not personally own donkeys. I LOVE them, but I don't currently have a setup at home to feed a donkey herd/pair separately from my horses. A lot of folks get a donkey to be a horse's companion, but forget that they actually would prefer to be with their own species and have different dietary needs.

08/09/2025

Considerations for trimming hind hooves… we all know front and hind hooves are differently shaped, but have you also thought about their function?

The front limbs function like helicopters—they lift and land more vertically, with extension and reach. Their purpose is the hold the front end of the horse up and maintain balance and skeletal stability.

The hind limbs, thanks to the stifle and hock joints, move more like airplanes—taking off and landing at an angle, reaching under the body with more glide and less vertical motion. This is because they are the propulsion system, the driving force behind movement. This is also why they are shaped more oval, to dig into the ground and push…

This glide creates a very different arc of movement, and you can see it in the hoof wear patterns. Hind feet tend to wear their heels more due to this motion, and often are predisposed to NPA. This means they often require far less heel trimming. In many cases, all that’s really needed is to balance the hoof medio-laterally and adjust the toe to maintain proper breakover.

As trimmers, it is crucial to understand why we trim the way we do based on the horses movement and skeletal alignment, not just from a hoof mapping or visual appearance standpoint.

Trimming isn’t one size fits all. Each hoof should be approached based on how the limb moves, loads, and wears. Understanding conformation and movement leads to better trims and healthier horses.

08/05/2025

Top - last day of steel shoes for a 10 year old Arab. I outlined the hairline in red to show the soft tissue atrophy and hairline distortion/degenerative displacement.

Bottom - same foot after 18 months on a 3-4 week simulated wear trim schedule. I outlined the current hairline in red, showing the regenerative improvements in the shape and position of the hairline. The green line outlines the future hairline position that the foot is revealing.

The space between the red line and the green line will fill in with hair as the digital cushion gains more depth and the hoof capsule regenerates in a lower relationship to the coronary band and coffin bone.

08/04/2025