Wishing Welz Equine LLC

04/17/2025

Trimming an OTTB Mare with Thin Soles

Watch the full video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f2hAf4rJKw&t=345s

From James Welz:
Watch me trim all four hooves of an Off-The-Track Thoroughbred (OTTB) mare with thin soles and fragile walls in this detailed hoof care session. Using my proven barefoot trimming method, my method can address common hoof issues like thin soles, navicular syndrome, laminitis, founder, seedy toe, and under-run heels. This approach promotes natural hoof health and can benefit horses with a wide range of ailments. Perfect for horse owners, farriers, or anyone interested in equine wellness and rehabilitation!

I use power tools, specifically a Dewalt cordless angle grinder with a 24 Grit Zirconia Resin Fiber Sanding disk and a Ryobi Cordless Cut-Out Tool spinning a SF-5 NF Aluminum Cut Carbide Rotary Burr, but you can mimic this trim just as easily with a rasp and hoof knives.

Visit www.HoofHelpOnline.com for more hoof care tips and resources. Subscribe there and to this Youtube channel for upcoming videos on natural horse trimming and OTTB care. Have a question about your horse’s hooves? Join HoofHelpOnline.com and my wonderful wife and I will do what we can to help.

Proverbs 12:10 "Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel."

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The Horse's Hoof offers a FREE monthly barefoot horse care e-newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/thehorseshoof/50-giveaway

04/16/2025

These are the SIMPLE basic guidelines that we feel are necessary to ensure your success in obtaining healthier hooves on your horses, while utilizing the principles of high quality barefoot trimming. You don’t have to change everything, but you really need to consider:

💥 Trim Frequency: Trim about every 4 weeks, with consistency.
💥 Horse Care: Provide as much time living out (in a herd) as possible, and ample exercise.
💥 Hoof Care: Pick out and observe the hooves daily.
💥 Hoof Boots: Use hoof boots only when truly necessary, but don’t be afraid to use them.
💥 Nutrition: Feed a simple, sensible, natural diet.

The trim really matters: In the end, significant hoof improvement will depend mostly on the quality of your trimming. Better living conditions and exercise can make up for poor and insufficient trimming, but GOOD TRIMMING can help horses have healthier hooves no matter how or where they live. Your horse really can have mustang quality hooves without living like a wild mustang!

Check out Hoof Help Online 🐴 Exclusive content you won't find anywhere else, plus a barefoot trimming course, community access, 80 issues of The Horse's Hoof Magazine, 1000's of photos, 100's of articles, 70+ videos, FREE App and more! Learn more at: https://members.hoofhelponline.com/

The Horse's Hoof offers a FREE monthly barefoot horse care e-newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/thehorseshoof/50-giveaway

Happy Hooves! - Yvonne Welz

03/28/2025

After Joe Camp passed away one year ago, his website was removed. I was so sad, because it was such a great barefoot resource! I didn't notice until now, but it is back up again:

https://thesoulofahorse.com/

Photo: Joe Camp's amazing natural paddock on a hillside in California:

You can read our tribute to him in Barefoot News April 2024.
https://mailchi.mp/thehorseshoof/the-horses-hoof-barefoot-news-april-2024

03/17/2025

The Horse's Hoof Barefoot News March 2025 is released!
Sign up here: https://mailchi.mp/thehorseshoof/50-giveaway
What's in this issue? 🍀 Rehabbing Dropped Fetlocks and Negative Plantar Angles 🍀 Dental Work and Insulin Resistance 🍀 Trimming an OTTB Mare with Thin Soles 🍀 Semi-Feral versus Stabled Horses' Hoof Health 🍀 Mystery Celebrity in Need of Cavallo Hoof Boots 🍀 March Cavallo Boot Giveaway 🍀 That Spring Thing 🍀 And more!

03/14/2025

3 Steps to Optimal Hoof and Horse Health
👉From February 2025 Barefoot News. Sign up for The Horse's Hoof Barefoot News right here: https://mailchi.mp/thehorseshoof/50-giveaway-e

Do you think we're on the brink of something huge? A seismic shift in the public mindset; a greater awareness of how nutrition and environment directly impacts our human health - and thus, the health of our animals, too? I truly believe we are! And that means that the simple message of the barefoot horse movement might get through to MORE horseowners!

Sadly over the past couple decades, this message has often been blurred, overwritten with traditional horse care, and even forgotten. What is this magical message? The same simple one that we began broadcasting to our tiny audience back in 2000:

For optimal hoof and horse health, horses need:

1) LIFESTYLE: to live a physiologically-natural lifestyle, in a herd of other equines, with as much freedom of movement as is possible. In Nature, the horse is unrestricted and in virtually continuous motion. For correct horsekeeping, the horse is allowed constant natural movement with paddock or pasture access 24/7. The more restricted the living space (such as a tiny paddock or pen), the greater will be the owner's responsibility for providing the correct amount of daily movement (equivalent to 10-15 miles per day) through exercise.

2) NUTRITION: continuous uptake of forage and a large variety of plant species, as is possible. Rather than fed small daily "meals", horses should be fed free-choice grass hay/forage, using slow feed haynets if necessary, and utilizing constructive strategies for easy keepers. Balancing the forage with vitamins and minerals is crucial.

3) HOOVES: barefoot hooves; Immediate and direct ground contact of the hooves. In Nature, the horses have direct contact with the ground throughout their entire lives. It is crucial, for optimal health, to return the horse to its natural barefoot state. Hooves need to be kept in their short, physiologically-correct hoof form (after a transition period when previously deformed and in need of rehab, of course). For example, typically an easy improvement is to increase the frequency of the trimming intervals to every 3-4 weeks.

Whenever there is a PROBLEM (any problem) - return to these 3 elements: Lifestyle; Nutrition; Hooves. Which one is out of whack? Which needs to be improved? Typically, you will find that one (or all) of these foundation elements has fallen apart. When you have a hoof health or horse health problem, it CAN often be solved by improving the horse's lifestyle, upgrading the diet and nutrition, and/or directly improving the hoof care of the barefoot hooves.

❤️ Happy Hooves! - Yvonne Welz

Hoof Help Online - for Hoof Heretics!
More info at https://members.hoofhelponline.com/

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03/14/2025

March Cavallo Boot Giveaway for our Readers!
Free Trek Hoof Boots!
Sign up directly for The Horse's Hoof Barefoot News right here: https://mailchi.mp/thehorseshoof/50-giveaway-e

On March 31, 2025, we will draw a random winner from The Horse’s Hoof email list to win one FREE pair of Cavallo Trek Hoof Boots! (valid for USA & Canada mailing addresses only)

Great Prizes for Readers of Barefoot News! If you subscribe to Barefoot News, you are already entered! And we will have frequent contests - look for more giveaways coming! Make sure to stay on this list by opening all our emails, as winners will be periodically drawn from this list!

02/24/2025

The Horse's Hoof Barefoot News February 2025 is released!
Sign up here: https://mailchi.mp/thehorseshoof/50-giveaway
What's in this issue? ❤️ Nick Hill: Feral Horse Cadaver, Can we fix it? Should we fix it? ❤️ Take a Ride with Darolyn Butler! ❤️ Dr. Robert Cook critiques "Horses and the Science of Harmony" ❤️ Cavallo Sponsors 100 New PHCP Members! ❤️ Do Hay Nets Harm Your Horse’s Teeth? ❤️ 3 Steps to Optimal Hoof and Horse Health ❤️ And more!

01/28/2025

🤠 Dr. Robert Bowker on Bone Loss in the Equine Foot 🤠 British Showjumping has Banned Hoof Boots 🤠 Tips for Slow Hay Feeding 🤠 Hoof Boots Highlight Beyoncé Halftime Show for 27 million Netflix Viewers! 🤠 Barefoot "Black Stallion" Dream Horse 🤠 Power of the Pony Book for Young Horselovers 🤠 And more! The Horse's Hoof Barefoot News January 2025 is released! Sign up here: https://mailchi.mp/thehorseshoof/50-giveaway

01/01/2025

Happy New Year 2025!

12/25/2024

Photo taken on this beautiful, peaceful Christmas morning of my 4 merry mares! Wishing you a wonderful time with your friends, family, horses and animal friends.

12/12/2024

From my experience in managing horses naturally for 20+ years, and caring for horses generally for 35+ years: I honestly think that one of the biggest problems we horseowners face is our tendency to throw "treatments," "remedies," and products at a horse's hoof and/or health issue. Whether they are natural or traditional remedies/ supplements/therapies, it's really all the same - treating the symptoms. I don't mean there is not a place for these products - both natural and traditional medicines. Of course they need to be utilized! But natural horse care is about analyzing the root cause, and that cause is typically too simple for us to wrap our minds around.

For example, a lot of serious thrush is caused by horses' hooves being exposed daily to urine and f***s. Even horses kept out of stalls can still end up standing around in wet manure piles. In the photo example here, this was a Haflinger with lovely hooves, yet he developed bad thrush in his frogs due to poor living conditions. The owner remedied the inadequate environment, and the problem went away. No diet change nor topical chemicals were needed in this case.

Natural horsekeeping for our domestic horses is indeed a challenge! Most people can never do it perfectly, and that's okay. But when we have a health problem, the first thing we should do is analyze how far we have deviated from what is truly the BEST equine management: freedom of movement 24 hours per day in a herd on breed appropriate terrain, low sugar forage free fed as much as possible, regulated exercise as needed to provide enough daily miles, and hooves trimmed and maintained frequently to simulate natural wear and healthy equine hoof shape. Putting these elements firmly into practice can produce transformative results. We ALL come up short of doing it perfectly, but carry on!

Check out Hoof Help Online 🐴 Exclusive content you won't find anywhere else, plus a barefoot trimming course, community access, recorded livestream video events, 80 issues of The Horse's Hoof Magazine, 1000's of photos, 100's of articles, 70+ videos, FREE App and more! Learn more at: https://members.hoofhelponline.com/

The Horse's Hoof offers a FREE monthly barefoot horse care e-newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/thehorseshoof/50-giveaway

Happy Hooves! - Yvonne Welz

11/20/2024

The Horse's Hoof Barefoot News November 2024 is released!
Sign up here: https://mailchi.mp/thehorseshoof/50-giveaway
What's in this issue? 🦃 Give Thanks for the Wild Horses! 🦃 PHCP 2024 Conference Takeaways, Part 2 🦃 Comprehensive Equine Discomfort Ethogram 🦃 Dr. Sue Dyson on Horse Hoof Health 🦃 An Intelligent Hoof Boot?! 🦃 Hoof Help Online - for Hoof Heretics! 🦃 and more!

10/23/2024

The Horse's Hoof Barefoot News October 2024 is released!
Sign up here: https://mailchi.mp/thehorseshoof/50-giveaway
What's in this issue? 🎃 Pumpkin Spice Hooves 🎃 PHCP 2024 Conference Takeaways, Part 1 🎃 Barefoot Trimming for Donkeys 🎃 Scholarships Available for Hard Workers 🎃 Fast and Easy Hoof Trimming with a Grinder 🎃 Halloween Cavallo Boot Giveaway 🎃 A Lifetime of Soundness - for Horse and Human Alike 🎃 and more!

10/12/2024

A Lifetime of Soundness - for Horse and Human Alike?

25 years ago, I learned a different paradigm for healthcare, directly because of natural hoof care. Learning from Naturopathic Veterinarians, I found out that food and toxins were the major contributors to disease, along with living conditions that are extremely unnatural. The modern horse in the modern lifestyle - stabled 20+ hours per day in isolated stalls, fed "meals" 3 times per day, exercised in a 1 hour intense session, with metal nailed to its feet - was set up for hoof and health failure.

The myriad of problems in the HUMAN healthcare system is finally at the forefront of people's minds right now. Humans are equally set up for failure - it's like they ARE the horses locked into stalls, eating unnatural fake processed food, with almost no exercise all day long, surrounded by a stew of environmental toxins. No one can be healthy like that!

How about we all get healthy together - horses and humans? There is nothing better than fresh air, sunshine, clean food, and freedom for horse and for owner. We can get more exercise by walking and playing at liberty with horses, or enjoy long trail rides or other fun activities. Horses need to live outdoors in herds, and we humans need to spend as much time as possible outdoors with them!!!

Check out Hoof Help Online 🐴 Exclusive content you won't find anywhere else, plus a barefoot trimming course, community access, recorded livestream video events, 80 issues of The Horse's Hoof Magazine, 1000's of photos, 100's of articles, 70+ videos, FREE App and more! Learn more at: https://members.hoofhelponline.com/

The Horse's Hoof offers a FREE monthly barefoot horse care e-newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/thehorseshoof/50-giveaway

Happy Hooves! - Yvonne Welz

09/24/2024

The Horse's Hoof Barefoot News September 2024 is released!
Sign up here: https://mailchi.mp/thehorseshoof/50-giveaway
What's in this issue? 🐎 The Power of Frequent Trimming! 🐎 Wild Mustangs and Heel Height 🐎 Barefoot Quote of the Month: Dr. Robert Bowker 🐎 Do you have a Metabolic Horse? 🐎 2024 PHCP Conference Raffle Prizes 🐎 Hoof Boots versus Metal Shoes 🐎 Horse Photos for Research! 🐎 and more!

09/18/2024

This is a USA high desert Mustang hoof. I LOVE looking at feral horse hooves. It is important to realize that cadaver hooves will never appear the same as the living hoof (they shrink and change). Also, Mustangs will never be directly comparable to our domestic horses, due to their drastic lifestyle differences, for good and bad (not all wild horses have perfect lives). Nonetheless, feral equine hooves provide VALUABLE information that any student of the hoof should readily absorb.

Is the hoof form relevant to the trimming of domestic horses? There can be many arguments for and against. Keep in mind, the heels of an equine with a robust digital cushion can appear to be very low, and yet be incredibly strong. Most domestic horses have weak digital cushions and cannot have heels this low without discomfort. What is natural - low heels, mid range heels, or higher heels? That remains a subject of debate. Dr. Robert Bowker argues that all hooved mammals walk on the pads of their feet; why would the horse be any different?

Check out Hoof Help Online 🐴 Exclusive content you won't find anywhere else, plus a barefoot trimming course, community access, recorded livestream video events, 80 issues of The Horse's Hoof Magazine, 1000's of photos, 100's of articles, 70+ videos, FREE App and more! Learn more at: https://members.hoofhelponline.com/

The Horse's Hoof offers a FREE monthly barefoot horse care e-newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/thehorseshoof/50-giveaway

Happy Hooves! - Yvonne Welz

09/07/2024

Pre-Rehab facility?
There is great power in preventative hoofcare. Barefoot used not as rehab therapy, but as a way to ensure future long term health and soundness. A way to change the future of horsekeeping.

There is still a need for rehab facilities—but what about a PRE-rehab facility?! Can you imagine if there were well-respected equine centers across the country (or world) where horses were raised from birth in natural, ideal conditions and their hooves kept carefully shaped for perfect soundness? Centers could each cater to different disciplines, such as dressage, or western performance, or endurance, etc. Enlightened performance riders could visit these facilities to purchase horses with unbeatable hooves.

These centers could also focus on education, bringing in a steady stream of visitors and students to teach natural horse and hoof care, and the correct shape of a healthy hoof. These locations would be ideal for trimming certification courses, internships, and mentorships, while professionals could visit these centers for advanced studies. Such centers would be ideal locations for the study of horse behavior, as well as providing large numbers of easily accessible barefoot equines for new and better hoof studies. Right now, this is just a dream, but who knows what the future will bring?

Check out Hoof Help Online 🐴 A unique platform for learning: You receive exclusive content you won't find anywhere else, plus a barefoot trimming course, community access, recorded livestream video events, 80 issues of The Horse's Hoof Magazine, 1000's of photos, 100's of articles, 70+ videos, FREE App and more! Learn more at: https://members.hoofhelponline.com/

The Horse's Hoof offers a FREE monthly barefoot horse care e-newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/thehorseshoof/50-giveaway

Happy Hooves! - Yvonne Welz

02/02/2024