No Foot No Horse Hoofcare

01/08/2023

TOP: Teen mare grazing on track, with free choice grass in hay nets.

BOTTOM: Teen gelding in stall with run, eating loose hay 2x/day.

If your veterinarian or equine dentist is not checking incisor length and angle, jaw mobility and occlusion, respectfully ask for their assessment.

01/08/2023

01/08/2023

12/30/2022

These pictures are painful, these hooves require months of rehab. Like the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure...

10/12/2022

If you can’t sit still for the same time you expect your horse to without any enrichment or entertainment, snacks, or anything to do, then your expectations for your horse are higher than the standards you hold yourself to.

Let’s see you stand in one spot, tethered to a post and do so for 20, 30, 45 minutes and not so much as pick your finger nails. No clicking pens. No checking your phone, just stand there and stare blankly, don’t even take a step.

I am guessing you would struggle to do so without getting distracted in one way or another and seeking external stimulation to make the standing around and waiting less boring.

When we’re stuck in “waiting mode” be it in traffic, or in line at the grocery store, we always seek something to keep us busy. We may tap our foot. We may sing. We may run our fingers through our hair. We may get frustrated and yell at cars on the road or food service employees because we let our impatience redirect into frustration.

We are not any more patient than we expect our horses to be. In fact, in most cases we are LESS patient.

So, let this be some food for thought next time anyone suggests you tie your horse to a post for an hour or two so they can “learn patience.”

Because, my guess is, YOU, the human, still have yet to learn the patience you’re demanding from a flight animal in setting those parameters. If we lack the patience to do things the right way, to empathize with the animal we are training, then we are in no position to be teaching what patience is because the lesson in “patience” will actually be a lesson in IMpatience.

Edit: If you took this post as “all tying is bad” then it’s really time to self reflect on why you can’t see any middle ground between developing more patience and not just leaving a horse to figure out something they’ve never been asked to do before or can’t do well yet.

You can teach patience and good tying habits without making it an incredibly unpleasant experience where your horse violently pulls back until they shut down or digs a hole for an hour until they finally give up

There truly is no shortage of better options and if you’re reading this post as an ultimatum against tying, it just speaks for the lack of tools in your tool box if you can’t understand that there’s better and more patient ways to go about teaching FLIGHT ANIMALS what is an unnatural behaviour for them.

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You can support my work for as little as $1 a month by subscribing to my Patreon. You can get free access to behind the scenes, early video uploads, training help, tutorials and more: http://Patreon.com/sdequus

You can also see my website for more about me, my horses & free learning resources: http://milestoneequestrian.ca

10/08/2022

A Major Cause of Lameness is Statements
Statements are affirmations. They are based on what we have been told and decide to believe. They are not necessarily updated or even accurate. Statements lock us into beliefs of the past and handicap the horse from the benefit of new knowledge. The evolution of knowledge is swift, and not all findings are correct. A statement made yesterday might be outdated or contradicted today. Often, studies are influenced by the investigative techniques' angle and the company's financial interest sponsoring the research. It is always necessary to read several studies on the same subject. If our mind is set on the statement, we will choose the findings of a study that fit our beliefs. In fact, we will interpret the result to fit our beliefs. Instead, if we are a critical thinker, we ask questions, and the horse or a truly experienced rider might direct our mind in a more efficient direction.
Experience is a major asset as long as we ask questions. If we ride submitting the horse to our beliefs, we are making statements and expect that the horse fit our statements. The horse will likely obey. He will execute the move with a dysfunctional physique, and the repetition of minor kinematics abnormalities will lead to lameness. Instead, if we have the intellectual modesty and curiosity to wonder what could lead the horse to such kinematics abnormality, we could identify and correct it.
"The significant problems we face today cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." (Albert Einstein) This is where the culture of statements is the leading cause of the horse's lameness. The level of thinking we are on when injury develops cannot rehabilitate the horse from the injury. The riding technique that did not identify the source of the kinematics abnormality causing pathological damages cannot correct the damages. Stall rest and walking the horse a progressive number of minutes is merely repeating the same thing and expecting a different result.
When a horse tells us, "I cannot do it as is, or executes the move poorly," it is not a statement' It is a question. I cannot do it as is? With a question mark is a demand for help. "as is" is the horse's actual body state that the horse instinctively protects. Our job is to analyze the horse's physique and identify the source of the problem. Our job is to elaborate a gymnastic program correcting the muscle imbalance or other issues. The function is motion and motion educate function. Proper functioning of the locomotor apparatus produces efficient and sound gaits and performances. Repeating the movement in the actual horse's dysfunction does not correct the dysfunction. There is no therapeutic benefit in the judging standards; they are just rules of presentation. The therapy understands the athletic demand of the move and develops and coordinates the horse's physique for the athletic demand. Of course, it differs from our ancestors' views. They did not have the benefit of actual knowledge. Of course, the practical application of new knowledge is immensely beneficial for the horse. Through proper motion, we create or recreate the appropriate function. Of course, the practical application of new knowledge triggers negative statements, but usually, those who feel empowered behind their keyboard can't ride.
Jean Luc Cornille

10/08/2022

Attending the PHCP Conference this weekend? Stop by our booth to get hands-on with new EasyCare products!

10/08/2022

I have an exciting year up ahead!
I’m pivoting away from taking training horses and moving toward specialized postural rehabs only. I’ll be traveling to more states to teach and will be continuing mentoring other trainers to do this important work.
I’m also very excited to be putting together a course for Equitopia Center and my own video library! Stay tuned for details, follow my website for clinic schedule and updates, and don’t forget to get on my email list to be the first in the know!

05/18/2022

This cannot be emphasized enough!

There are a million things I think about when considering a trim for a horse.

Their movement, diet, posture, environment, conformation, past injuries, internal pathology, metabolic issues, their comfort level, their job expectations, hoof wear patterns, what their hoof distortion/pathology is suggesting, etc.

My focus when assessing these becomes giving the horse the best trim possible based on all those factors. Sometimes that means putting the foot down for a second look mid-trim, seeing how they adjust their stance and weightbearing, letting the foot "settle' under weightbearing before making a small change, or watching them move again to see changes in biomechanics or loading, the list goes on.

I can't stress this enough: when horses stand well - meaning they willingly pick their feet up, and hold them up comfortably for extended periods of time - it makes my job exponentially easier.. but not only that, the horse receives a more considerate trim.

If we are spending most of the hoofcare appointment focusing on how the horse stands - or isn't standing - to have its feet done, our focus shifts away from the minute details of the hoof and body and movement that might affect our trim, and instead is centered on keeping ourselves safe and the horse comfortable enough just to finish the trim.

There is a marked difference between giving the best trim possible for that horse's situation, and "making sure we just finish the trim."

Sometimes, for a horse that is unable to stand well, all it takes to make hoofcare appointments easier is the owner working in between trims, picking up the feet and holding them up comfortably. Sometimes, professional training help may be needed. And of course, there's always the possibility of a pain factor that requires some veterinary diagnostics and intervention.

If you're wondering if your hoofcare provider is giving your horse the best trim possible, one question to add into the mix is - is your horse standing as comfortably and willingly as possible? If not, then some work on that might make a drastic difference in the trim outcome.

For those who might need more help with how their horses stand for the farrier, I have two podcast episodes on this topic:

Making Hoofcare Appointments a Positive Experience with Adele Shaw:
https://thehumblehoof.libsyn.com/making-hoofcare-a-positive-experience-with-adele-shaw

Farrier Friendly with Kristin Thornberry:
https://thehumblehoof.libsyn.com/farrier-friendly-how-to-support-your-horse-to-stand-well-for-the-farrier-with-kristin-thornberry

Pictured is a horse who stands immaculately for her trim 🥰

04/26/2022

🤔 Research PROVES keeping horses confined in stables is detrimental to their welfare.

A study by French researchers found that horses stalled with enrichments, such as forage, windows and toys etc, still exhibited signs of stress and depression associated with confinement.

Putting toys, mirrors, hanging balls and bells, windows, more feed, straw bedding in their stalls, DO NOT make horses ‘happier’.

Regardless of their ‘enrichment’, the longer they are kept isolated from other horses, boxed in individual stalls, the longer they are confined, the more extreme the behavioural signs of poor welfare were exhibited.

“There’s this idea that adding toys and brushes and windows and different bedding can make stalled horses’ life dramatically better, but that’s clearly a myth,” said Léa Lansade, PhD, of the French Horse and Riding Institute and the National Institute for Agricultural Research’s behavior science department, in Tours, France.

“This kind of ‘enrichment’ can’t replace what’s essential, which is to give horses the possibility to express the basic behaviors of their species: move freely, have social contacts, and access forage throughout the day,” she explained.

👉 The researchers looked for four distinct behavioral signs of poor welfare:

- Stereotypies - crib-biting, wind-sucking, and weaving

- Aggression toward humans - biting and threats

- Depressed state body posture - neck and back at about the same level, with low ears and poor response to any kind of stimulus

- Stress-related behaviors - such as “acting nervous” with a high neck and excessive alertness or frequent defecation

The team found that enrichment had little effect on signs of POOR WELFARE, said Lansade.

“Our results with these horses showed that these little ‘improvements’ we do in stalls just aren’t sufficient,” she said.

And even more disturbing is that the researchers found the horses’ welfare worsened over time.

“The horse, which has lived in open spaces for the last several millennia with unrestricted access to forage and especially while establishing strong and complex social relationships with other horses, just isn’t made for living alone, isolated in a box, regardless of how well-set-up it is”.

Those final words “strong and complex relationships” and “just isn’t made for living alone, isolated in a box” should make us all shudder :(

We advocate horses live in herds, even if that herd is a herd of two.

They must have consistent social interaction with others of their species if you want them to be mentally, physically and emotionally fit.

It isn’t good enough, is it, to say I have no choice but to box my horse…

… because he is overweight and I don’t want to give him too much grass

… because my livery yard or barn owner insists on me keeping my horse in 12 hours a day to preserve the paddocks

… because she is at full livery and that is just the way they do it

If we put our horse FIRST - then there are always ways around the above…

… because our horses’ welfare is THE most important thing.

We always put horse welfare at the top of our list.

If you are in the UK or Ireland, then come to one of our 3 day horse and hoof care workshops.

Learn why movement is essential for true health.

Learn what causes horses to go footsore when they come out of shoes.

Learn what effect the wrong or the right trim can do to your horse’s hooves.

And best of all… learn how to keep your horse successfully barefoot for the rest of his or her life.

👉 Colchester, Essex - April - FULL
👉 Carmarthen, South Wales - June - Few Spaces left
👉 Dunkeld, Scotland - June - FULL
👉 Crowhurst, Surrey - September - Few Spaces left
👉 Kings Lynn, Norfolk - October - Few Spaces left
👉 Co. Laois, Ireland - November - Spaces left

Go here to find out more about our 3 day horse and hoof care workshops👉 http://bit.ly/BHMWorkshop

And if you can’t get to one of our workshops then do one or more of the following:

✅ Read our 8 part series ‘HOW TO GO BAREFOOT SUCCESSFULLY’ from Issue 26 through to Issue 33

We cover every part of going barefoot - essential reading for starting your BAREFOOT JOURNEY!

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✅ Join our private members group BAREFOOT LIVE and watch live shows every week, plus catch up on hours and hours of shows all archived in the group, all about barefoot hoof care - UNMISSABLE for only £7.50 per month (or equivalent in your currency)

👉Go here to take out a membership 👉http://bit.ly/BFLiveMembership

✅ Go and watch our Editor’s free videos on YouTube on her new channel - great content - covering all aspects of horse and hoof care

👉 Go here to visit our Editor’s YT channel 👉 https://bit.ly/EditorsYTChannel

NOW THERE’S NO EXCUSE to go successfully barefoot with your horse whatever the SEASON!

We’ve got you 💪

The BHM Team ❤️

Read the research here: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/9/621

04/21/2022

Researchers, veterinarians, and farriers discuss the barefoot sport horse trend.

04/06/2022

If you've followed this page for any amount of time, you've seen me discuss nutrition and the hoof.

I see improvement time and again - a tighter laminae connection and healthier wall growing down the hoof capsule - after a change to a forage-based, mineral-balanced diet.

Occasionally, I have owners that worry about the foot that's hitting the ground. Sometimes we see the weaker hoof at ground level chipping or breaking off if we go just a few days past the horse's ideal cycle length (which sometimes takes time to parse out for the individual horse!). I have to remind owners that the wall hitting the ground is around 9 months old - so whatever the horse was eating/dealing with 9 months ago caused a weaker hoof wall. Once we see the tighter event line grow out, the wall often stops breaking and chipping - even if we go a bit too long in their cycle.

Instead of tracking the "old hoof" at ground level, pay attention to the better well-connected growth as it progresses down the wall. That is your marker for when you have a brand new, healthier hoof!

Thanks again to Custom Equine Nutrition, LLC for their sponsorship, and for making supplements that allow for the kind of positive change in growth seen in this picture 💪 about 5ish months on a new diet!

03/18/2022

Most of the horses Daisy works on return to work and stay sound for years. This horse in particular has been quite stable with much healthier feet for the last 6 years after an initial period of rehabilitation.

03/10/2022

We are hoofcare providers, not magicians.

I have thought about this a lot today. I so wish that I could just pick up an unhealthy foot and make it the ideal hoof in a 20 minute trim. I just can't. The horse has to grow a healthy foot from the inside out.

My nippers and rasp and hoof knife might nudge the foot in the right direction, but it won't change a horse's mineral deficiencies or high sugar/starch diet, and can't increase perfusion or frog stimulation for a horse that lives in a stall 22 hours a day.

I wish I was a magician, but I'm just a hoofcare provider. The daily grind of caring for the whole horse in a dozen other ways is what will grow a healthier foot. Consider those factors when you notice issues with the feet.

03/03/2022

Roadblocks to Soundness

So often my posts are sunshine and rainbows and optimism, but I want to share a bit of an unpopular opinion.

You know, I talk to a lot of owners with lame horses. They are frustrated with the soundness issues. They want to be able to ride consistently again. Some just want to be able to see their horse move without pain again, whether they ride or not.

The first thing I typically do when I come to a rehab case, before I even look at the feet, is look at the horse's diet, environment, movement, and management. Are there things we can change in order to make this rehab more successful? Is something in the diet possibly sabotaging the feet? Is the environment not conducive to a positive outcome- meaning, is the horse standing in slop all day, or standing in a stall 24/7? Is the current approach to hoofcare allowing short term comfort but hindering long term soundness?

A lot of owners dive right in and are ready to overhaul anything necessary in the hopes of seeing their horse become sound. Of course, it isn't a guarantee, but oftentimes they realize things can't get much worse, so what's the harm in trying?

But sometimes, when I suggest changes, I hear reasons why those changes can't be made. They won't consider a change that might allow more movement, or cleaner turn out, or a diet adjustment. Some owners want to keep riding, when the feet truly need rest from work and careful rehab. And I have to be honest and say that I don't think the rehab will be successful.

Sometimes, if we are honest with ourselves, we aren't ready to change things to get a different outcome. And that's okay to admit! We may not be ready to try to find a new barn, or take a break from riding, or overhaul the diet.

I just want to implore owners to examine if maybe, the roadblocks in the rehab to soundness might actually be our fear and hesitancy to change.

Yes- it can be scary. Yes- it can be HARD. Yes, it can mean a period of time that's inconvenient to us. Yes, often it's a rollercoaster of emotion and sometimes it doesn't have a perfect happy ending. But so many times, it means giving your horse a chance, and getting them back to soundness. So often, it's worth it. You can always go back to what you were doing before.. and what's that saying? 'If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten.' Maybe change isn't so bad.

03/01/2022

There often seems to be a bit of a harsh dynamic between the barefoot and shod community in hoofcare. Either side can vilify the work of the other, and it can get nasty. I tend to float somewhere in finding the common ground - what can we agree on, especially since both sides are so passionate about helping horses in their care. No one sets out to harm horses. Of course, both sides have their convictions and conclusions based on their experiences.

Most people that follow this page know that my practice focuses on barefoot, and utilizes booting and composite shoeing packages as needed. I've become friends with some wonderful practitioners who share similar values all over the world, including Mark Johnson in the UK. Mark started as a fully qualified farrier and shifted his focus to trimming and composite shoeing in the last few years. I wanted to chat with him about this change, and the catalyst that got him there. When I reached out to him, he connected me with Matthew Jackson and Robbie Richardson as well - two fully qualified farriers who made the shift to alternative approaches over their hoofcare career.

This conversation explores their journey into the farrier world, their decision to change their business, and some of their convictions that led them there. The conversation is very candid, and brings up some big topics of discussion.
You can hear the conversation on any podcast app under "The Humble Hoof," or directly at this link: https://thehumblehoof.libsyn.com/leaving-steel-behind-uk-farriers-gone-alternative

03/01/2022

02/09/2022

This is what happens on the inside of a foot without proper, regular trims and proper management.

Thin sole, long toe, minimal frog on sagittal section.

http://www.patreon.com/hoofstudies

Thanks for the sponsorship of my small business supporters. Please support them as they support me ❤️.

Melissa LaFlamme
Equine podiatrist and teacher
Quebec

Tiffani Radake
Owner at Hug Your Horse
US Hidalgo, Consultant
Illinois, US

02/07/2022

01/17/2022

Alignment versus Palmar/Plantar Angle

There has been a lot of recent awareness into negative palmar and plantar angles, as well as broken back HPA and phalangeal alignment. I think owner education into this is great, and more knowledge can help in identifying possible issues with our horses. That being said, some owners are getting the concepts a bit mixed up, so I wanted to clarify a few things.

I have had a handful of people (not clients) reach out to me and say their horse "is NPA," but once they send the rads along, I notice that the horse actually doesn't have negative palmar or plantar angles at all, but instead simply has a broken back phalangeal alignment.

So what is NPA?
A negative palmar (front feet) or plantar (hind feet) angle refers to the angle between the ground and the coffin bone. When drawing a horizontal line parallel to the ground plane, and another line parallel to the bottom of the coffin bone, these two lines will create an angle. If the back half of the coffin bone is closer to the ground than the front half, that angle is labeled negative. If the front half is closer to the ground, that angle is labeled positive. With a negative angle, a vet can diagnose NPA.

When it comes to phalangeal alignment, we name it based on the comparison to a straight alignment (although truly straight alignment is rarely found on radiographs). If you draw a line through the middle of the long pastern bone, or P1, parallel to the bone, a straight alignment would be if this line also was parallel through the short pastern bone (P2), and parallel to the dorsal aspect of the coffin bone (P3). A horse would have 'broken back phalangeal alignment' if P1/P2/P3 are not aligned within the limb/capsule, and to put it as simply as possible, the joints between them look as though someone has stood in front of the limb and pushed the joint back toward the tail. In more anatomical terms, P1 might have a more acute/upright angle than P2, and P2 would have a more acute/upright angle than P3.

I have attached 2 radiographs here to show these two issues.

In the radiograph on the left of a hind foot, this horse's coffin bone is tipped backwards in comparison to the ground plane, resulting in a -.21° angle, which can be diagnosed as NPA. You can see the back half of the coffin bone is closer to the ground then the front half. Note that this horse also has broken back alignment.

In the radiograph on the right of a front foot (different horse), we can see the palmar angle is 9.12°, showing a very clear positive palmar angle. That being said, P1/P2/P3 are out of alignment- if we started at the top crosshair and followed the green line to the ground, the bones do not continue parallel with that line and end up ahead of that line, at a shallower angle. This horse has a broken back alignment.

While some often address these two issues similarly, they aren't the same, and we should be careful with our comments and 'diagnoses' online and elsewhere- not all horses with broken back HPA or phalangeal alignment have NPA.

Radiograph mark ups are thanks to MetronHoof from EponaMind- Epona has done many studies with their radiograph database, and John Craig has some very interesting findings - you can hear more in the archives of talks on their website!

01/11/2022

For anyone who wants to learn - now from anywhere 🤩

Mackinaw Dells 2 Whole Horse Learning Center An interactive, fun, and progressive learning experience for equine professionals and horse owners alike!

12/16/2021

A very good discussion.

Stall and Stable Podcast EP 87: Hoof Health is a Reflection of Horsekeeping by Helena HarrisUpdated on December 15, 2021December 15, 2021Leave a Comment on EP 87: Hoof Health is a Reflection of Horsekeeping Is it time to finally pull those shoes? Can your horse handle it? Can you handle it? This epi...

12/15/2021

The ecirhorse.org website is complimentary to the Equine Cushing's and Insulin Resistance outreach group..

12/13/2021

On December 15th Wendy Murdoch and Ida Hammer will be discussing the best hoof protection for your horse, don't miss it!

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12/10/2021

This year has been interesting for the barefoot horse discussion - we have seen more and more performance riders explore barefoot as an option for their horses, including 2 of the gold medal showjumpers in the Olympics. Of course, none of this is stated without caveats, so I set out to chat with some of the people involved in this avenue of competition to see if I could learn more about the approach they take in keeping a performance horse successfully sound barefoot.

Through my exploration of the topic, I was fortunate to be able to spend some time with Dr. Stephen O'Grady at a clinic in August. He presented on the positive changes he saw when transitioning horses to barefoot, as well as hoof casting applications he utilized to help along the way. We were able to do some hands-on casting ourselves, and I liked the approach so much I've incorporated it into my hoofcare business.

I reached out to Dr. O'Grady after the clinic to see if he would chat with me about his casting method, and the horses he has helped transition to barefoot. You can hear the full conversation on any podcast app under "The Humble Hoof," or at directly at this link: https://thehumblehoof.libsyn.com/hoof-casting-and-barefoot-performance-with-dr-stephen-ogrady

Pictured below is an image of a horse competing barefoot that Dr. O'Grady helped to transition. If you have a picture of your barefoot horse competing, drop it in the comments!

12/09/2021

If you are keen to watch and listen to Professor Chris Pollitt as we dissect a foot together via zoom- this is your chance.

From. 1 Nov 2021 the tier has been reduced to $19.95 to enable people more opportunity to watch and learn with me.

There is currently 2 Prof Pollitt videos on there-
A chronic laminitic foot with a laminar wedge, the Sagittal section then the transverse section.

Plus my video of the same foot explained by me in my usual questioning style.

1st December I’ll post a very severe case of chronic laminitis where 1/3 of the distal phalanx is missing! and in January I have a video called “hoof anatomy” where Prof Pollitt and I look at 3 different “normal” feet.

Then we have the abscess? Foot A5 in February.

Then a supporting limb laminitis in March

For now the Patreon channel is great value as you get all my 3 years of videos and posts as well. I will be moving to a pay to view website later.

Patreon helps me fund my hoof studies. I’ve been able to drop down a day a week from paid work and it helps me fund my monthly bills all associated with my hoof studies - electricity, internet, zoom. Vimeo, insurances, scalpels, petrol, hooves, cleaning materials, purchase of freezers, lights, camera, tripods, microphones, studio set up, rubbish disposal…. It all comes with a cost. I can’t do my studies without my Patreon support.

http://www.patreon.com/hoofstudies

12/01/2021

I didn't have any plans to post anything insightful today, but some of you have seen a viral post that's making the rounds that says some rather scathing things about equine vets.

The post definitely raised my blood pressure a bit, mostly because my perspective can't be farther from what that person has posted.

Time and again I see vets work around the clock to do everything they can for horses in need, and even donating resources, services, and time away from their family when situations have been dire. Having ridden along with various vets locally, I am always amazed at how much people demand from them, and how patient and calm they remain in order to help a horse, despite how a client might be feeling or acting. Some drive thousands of miles a month, keep their trucks stocked with thousands of dollars in supplies, tens of thousands of dollars in diagnostic equipment, have hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans, have invaluable amounts of education, and have to constantly hear complaints about pricing and clients saying "they're only in it for the money."

I am impressed with vets who work around the clock, manage a dozen twirling plates at once, de-escalate difficult situations and spiraling clients, and still remain focused and able to save horses in need.

Feel free to drop a comment about a vet you're thankful for, or a situation where a vet saved your horse's life (or one who helped you compassionately decide if it was time to let them go). I would love to show them some appreciation for an (often thankless) job well done.