4 Hooves Hoof Care, LLC

10/12/2024

Hosting our first official event at the new farm, The Stables at Yellow Creek, with the amazing Ida Hammer and Mackinaw Dells 2 Whole Horse Hoof Care Classes and Consulting!

Day 1 brought a great crowd of horse and hoof obsessed people excited to learn more ways we can help our horses.

I’m thrilled to have everyone here for 3 more days of learning!
Special thanks to Alba Rachiele Rosado for the beautiful pictures of my place and ponies ❤️

08/20/2024

Very excited to see her progress in a few more months 😍
Hoof Rehab is best achieved with a mineral balanced diet & proper movement

08/07/2024

Just 6 weeks of growth on this guy!
We went a week longer than usual on all of my cycles the last month because I went out of town and it has been crazy to see what a difference just 1 extra week does for some horses.

07/19/2024

Took some updated pictures with my first real “client”!! 4 years together has brought us better angles, much stronger digital cushions, and a wild improvement in camera quality 📸

I love this job dearly and can’t believe how quickly time passes!

06/29/2024

A huge abscess that blew out the coronary band grew down far enough to finally break off. At first the hoof looked like it was going to be tough to salvage but cleaned up really nicely! Swipe for the finished look with some dental impression material for protection and a Versa Glue from

I hate abscesses but admittedly love watching how the hoof heals itself afterward!

06/17/2024

Another great weekend spent with fellow hoof nerds! This time focusing on dissections and distortions. I walk away from every class with more tools for the toolbox and reasons why we take a whole horse approach to trimming. Everything is connected!

A special thank you to the greatest host and mentor. Ida Hammer is a gift to horses and any opportunity to learn with her is priceless

06/15/2024

Pulled steel in February on this blue eyed boy and went straight into glue on shoes. I’m particularly proud of the balance we’ve achieved with this left front in such a short time! And as of this week he’s officially barefoot 🙌

05/21/2024

Seedy toe resection on a donka donk. Seeing a lot of this with the rainy weather and sugary grass! What’s your go-to for white line fungus and seedy toe?
I love white lightening soaks and Artimud from

05/09/2024

There’s a post/article that circulated recently about a pair of glue on shoes that the owner was able to reset 7 times. 😯But I feel compelled to stress how uncommon of an occurrence that truly is…

This is a side by side comparison of a brand new, unworn versa shoe next to a shoe I pulled today after ONLY 4 WEEKS! This horse was ridden no more than 1x per day during the cycle and competed twice.
The toe is worn clean through to the metal core and the entire shoe has even started to flex!

I could not ethically reset this pair of shoes even one time, let alone seven! It simply would not be a safe degree of traction for the horse or rider, nor would it be ethical to lock this horse into a very exaggerated wear pattern.
•••Why bother putting a balance trim on a hoof only to slap an unbalanced shoe back on it?•••

I am in favor of resetting glue ons in the rare occasion the horse hasn’t worn a wear a pattern into them.
But in my experience it is a very, very rare occassion.

05/07/2024

One of my newest rehabs! Handsome Bru with an owner that has put his comfort first! Excited to see his progress ❤️

We love how our boots can aid the rehabbing process.
"We are in the process of rehabbing Bru's feet. He is hopefully recovering from being badly shod for a long time. Chronic foot imbalance. Walking toe first on fronts and hinds. Negative angles behind. He has something quite unusual in his right front pedal bone. An Anurysmal Cyst. (Blood filled void) so we're barefoot. He gets turned out with boots on the fronts and he gets ridden with boots all round. Put the boots on and he immediately lands heel first. Thank heavens for Cavallo Sport boots and a great trimmer 4 Hooves Hoof Care, LLC " - Helen Taylor-Phelps

03/30/2024

Another baby horse transformation! 👶🏼
Set them up for success with early and regular trimming appointments. Sound babies make sound horses!

03/27/2024

When heels start opening and you realize just how badly contracted they were 😣🤯

5 weeks between pulling steel and going in glue on shoes.

03/27/2024

Rachel is intuitive with horses and exceptionally thoughtful about every trimming decision she makes! I’m so excited for her to finally take the leap into Hoofcare!
Follow her page and reach out to her for your ponies. **Athens & surrounding areas** this is your girl!

Rachel Thompson

Certified Whole Horse Hoof Care Practitioner

Equine Barefoot Trimming & Rehab

Athens to Augusta- NE GA

03/15/2024

Setting baby horse up for success! Swipe to see the changes in just 5 weeks & 2 trims 😍
Teach your babies to stand well for hoofcare as early as possible so we can help them build the most healthy hooves from day 1!

03/12/2024

6 months progress on a little QH Mare. Some changes in trim style & frequency and a recent increase in movement with 24/7 turnout have left us with a stronger digital cushion and a tighter connected white line 🙌

02/28/2024

Why flat trims *don’t* work! [Playing off of my last post]

Flares and separation are perpetuated with the leverage left behind by a flat trim. The overall hoof is simply “lowered”, not shortened.
Vs. a proper barefoot trim with a good roll bevels the flared walls off the ground and appropriately shortens breakover.

02/13/2024

Starting the year with a few exciting new rehabs.
A more balanced trim, caudal support, and adequate heel toe ratios will go a long way with this mare.