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JB Hoof Care, Woodstock, IL (2024)

08/19/2024

Fun fact! Every shoe style I choose to offer my clients I personally have put to the test on my own horse or have a trusted client provide feedback. These are the Easy Shoe Speeds😃

08/17/2024

8 weeks difference and some excellent sole growth with 2 sets of Versa shoes!👌

08/09/2024

Be a lifelong learner my friends….

08/06/2024

Tried the new Easy Shoe Race glue ons out today for the first time 🔥👌

07/26/2024

"If you are fond of a horse and wish to do him a real favor - train him well. Teach him good manners and good habits, both in the stable and under saddle. You need never worry about the future of such a horse if for any reason you may have to part with him. You assure him of friends wherever he goes. Perhaps the greatest kindness you can do any horse is to educate him well."

- Tom Roberts

07/18/2024

Always. Advocate for them, you are their voice.

07/17/2024

Tuesday vibes 👌😄

07/14/2024

Spent the weekend doing some continuing education! Always a blast to catch up with friends from all over the U.S. and learn from each other!

07/11/2024

I saw this quote yesterday and realized how true it is for all things equine.

Often, the more we know, the more we realize we don't know. In the beginning of our learning, everything can seem straight forward and like it has a clear cut solution. It can be tempting to fall into the trap of thinking we have all the answers and that we know how to approach every situation.

But soon, we meet horses that don't fit the mold.

It's those cases that don't fit the mold that push us to grow and learn, and open our eyes to the fact that there is no foolproof method or approach that works for every single horse. It sure can keep us humble.

The horse is our ultimate teacher!

07/07/2024

“It’s not about making the leg straight it’s about taking away excess crookedness to relieve the joint,tendon,muscle, and ligament strain”

We can’t magically fix conformation flaws on a already developed horse but we can do our best to balance the foot to the horses needs.

06/21/2024

A huge THANK YOU to everyone for being so accommodating this week with the heat wave! 🔥🥵🔥🥵From starting extra early with me to having fans and waters on hand, I appreciate everyone so much! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful book of clients!

06/20/2024

back to the basics👌💥

06/17/2024

It’s not just…

It’s not just the toe.

It’s not just the heel.

It’s not just the sole plane.

It’s not just HPA.

It’s not just the environment.

It’s not just the diet.

It’s not just the radiograph.

It’s not just the posture.

It’s not just static assessment.

It’s not just dynamic assessment.

It’s not just the conformation.

It’s not just the hoof.

It IS a hoof attached to a horse. That horse IS a living sentient being.

The hoof is a result of ALL the pieces working together. When making hoof care decisions we must take into consideration as many factors as possible. The whole horse, especially.

06/11/2024

👌 Monday Motivation

06/09/2024

⚖️ 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗢𝗯𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆: 𝗔𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗪𝗘𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗼 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻

🐴 Contrary to popular belief, forcing an overweight horse to go prolonged periods of time (4-5+ hours) without forage does more harm than good. Forage is the 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩 thing we should restrict when trying to encourage weight loss or prevent weight gain in equines. Here is why...

🌱 Horses are physiologically designed to be ingesting and digesting roughage almost continuously. 𝘼𝙡𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 is the key word here, and it plays a huge part in managing the obese equine. An overweight horse does not need 𝙖𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙢 or 𝙪𝙣𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 access to roughage, but they need a controlled, trickle-fed amount relevant to their weight in order to keep their gastrointestinal tract operating as it should. Research suggests that horses going as little as 4-5 hours without intaking food are at significantly higher risk of developing gastric ulcers and colic.

🔧 Below is a simplified list of tools we can use to manage the weight of our curvy equine friends without unnecessarily increasing their risk of compromised digestive health:

1️⃣ Weigh the horse. This is the most important factor when managing calorie and nutrient intake. If we don't know how much they weigh, how could we possibly know how much to feed? If you do not have access to large animal scales, below is a handy calculator that will help you determine an approximate body weight for your horse based on a few simple measurements:

https://thehorse.com/tools/adult-horse-weight-calculator/

2️⃣ Weigh the feed. Guessing does not do us nor our horses any favours. A set of digital kitchen scales for weighing concentrate feeds and a set of luggage scales for weighing hay are invaluable tools that really don't cost that much to invest in.

3️⃣ For overweight horses, we need to feed 1.5% of their current body weight or 2% of their ideal body weight (whichever is more) in preferably tested low sugar and starch grass hay. Bonus points for lower calorie and protein hay too. If forage analysis is not practical or available and we suspect there may be more sugar than ideal in our hay, we can soak it for 30-60 minutes prior to feeding to remove some of the water-soluble carbohydrates (sugars).

4️⃣ If the horse is grazing on pasture 𝙖𝙣𝙙 receiving supplementary feeds of hay, we need to establish how much pasture they are intaking in order to calculate how much hay needs to be provided to achieve the 1.5-2% rule. Remember, actively growing, short, lush, or stressed grass is likely to be higher in sugar than maturer grasses, and this does not work in favour of our overweight equines. The catch 22 is that horses with access to longer pasture can generally eat more volume per day as they don’t have to work as hard for food as they do with shorter grasses. Grass sugars accumulate as the grass is exposed to sunlight during the day and then decrease again during the evening, so the 'safest' time to have a high-risk horse grazing on pasture is between around 3am and 10am, unless there has been a frost.

5️⃣ If the horse resembles a Dyson and makes grass and hay disappear in an instant, implement restrictive grazing tools such as grazing muzzles, strip-grazing, slow feeder hay nets, or if you have the luxury of feeding them several times daily, portion out their hay so they don't receive it all at once. They don't need continuous access, but they shouldn't go longer than 4-5 hours with an empty stomach either.

6️⃣ Stop feeding bulky hard feed meals out of guilt. Overweight horses do not need a premixed or pelleted feed with a daily feeding rate of anywhere from 500g - 3kg daily. If you are uncertain, have an Equine Nutritionist formulate a suitable diet based on a ration balancer or powdered supplement bound through a small portion of a carrier ingredient that includes everything the horse needs and nothing they don't. I promise, your wallet and their waistline will thank you for it.

7️⃣ Exercise the horse. We cannot expect a herd animal who evolved by grazing over vast landscapes to be locked in a small yard or paddock, with their food and water source in the one place, to maintain an ideal body condition score. Sometimes, genetics get lucky and prevent the horse from becoming overweight, but movement is so important for aspects other than weight control, such as blood circulation, hoof health, muscle conditioning, and mental stimulation. Track systems are excellent tools to implement in order to encourage foraging behaviours and movement.

🐎 If you enjoyed this article, please feel welcome to give it a share. If you’re struggling with managing the diet of an over or underweighted horse, an Equine Nutrition Consultation may put your mind at ease:

https://stableisedequine.com.au/products/remote-equine-nutrition-consultation

06/07/2024

Friday finish👌💥

06/05/2024

💥Summer is in full swing💥
A friendly reminder for clients!

Summer is schedule is BUSY

- If you last minute change/ reschedule/ forget your appointment it is likely you will have to wait a bit for a new appointment. I plan routes 4-6 weeks in advance and adding to an already full days is a challenge. Plan to wait 1-2 weeks more than likely.

- If you see your horses growing more and/or chipping with fly stomping keep in mind making an appointment sooner than 6 weeks is OK. Unfortunately often times I cannot accommodate adding to my routes. It’s easier for everyone to set something up in advance!

- Business hours are 💥Monday-Friday 💥8-5

calls and texts will not be answered on weekends/holidays or after business hours during the week.

06/04/2024

06/01/2024

It doesn't happen often, but once in a while I am questioned about my rates. Rarely out of curiosity, mostly out of shock. Here's some explanation:

Client: "Hi, while you're here trimming So&So's horses, do you have time to trim mine?"
Me: "Sure!"
*In the middle of trimming their pony*
Client: "Oh by the way, how much do you charge?"
Me: "It'll be $$"
Client: "Oh my goodness! Why do you charge SO much for ponies?!"

The tools I purchase are priced to get the job done I need to. The $$$$ worth of tools will dull, wear, or break all the same and won't change in value according the the size of hooves it's taking care of.

Possible client: "Hi I've got {a lot} of horses that need trims, what do you charge?"
Me: "Hi, I charge $$ per horse."
Them: "Do you do herd discounts?"
Me: "I don't, sorry."
Them: "REALLY? My last farrier only charged me $30 a horse."
Me: "Well, that's how they choose to run their business. That's not how I run mine."

Working on horses is a VERY physically demanding task. If I'm going to a clients place where they have a large number of horses I am taking more time and putting in a lot more energy in however many hours to get that job done, it doesn't make sense to me at all why I would charge any less. ADDITIONALLY, if you ask your veterinarian to come vaccinate, float teeth, geld, and take x-rays... and ask them for a multiple horse discount- they'd probably laugh.

*Client's horse is misbehaving*
Me: "So, there's going to be an additional charge of $50 if we continue"
Client: "Why!?!"
Me: "Your horse is misbehaving, you don't want me to lunge him and won't do it yourself, it's taking me almost a half hour longer to get anything done, it's harder on me physically and I'm at a higher risk of getting hurt. So we can continue, or I can leave with one hoof trimmed."

This one sounds a bit rude, but sometimes uncaring owners need to be "hit with reality", and sugar coating get farriers kicked. If it's taking me longer to get a horse finished because of behavior problems that go unaddressed, I'm either going to charge more, or walk and not accept this client again. One good kick could end my career or life, something $40-$75 isn't worth. Nowadays, I do end the session and request the horse be worked with a trainer.

Client: "hi I need to get my horses trimmed. How much do you charge?"
Me: "Hi, I charge $$."
Client: "would you do it for $10 less?"
Me: "No, I'm sorry but that doesn't work for me."
Client: "Let me know If you change your mind, I'm looking for a good quality farrier!"

Usually when I am contacted by a client, the first thing they mention is what matters to them most, the most common "how much do you charge?" This is usually a red flag to me that the owner is mostly concerned about me being cheap. Sometimes when I mention my rates I get a rare response of "Oh wow that's very affordable! When's you're next opening?" But usually it goes "Oh okay thanks anyway" and we part our merry ways. No, I'm not disappointed in losing these potential clients because they wouldn't see the value in my work, or straight up tell me my work is worth less to them. 🤷

SO! Why do I run my business this way? Why don't I just put up with these things and make the money?

I LOVE this career, I love my clients and their fur babies. I want to be doing this until I can retire. I want to retire at retirement age! If I accepted and put up with these issues I would become short tempered, lower patience, broken-bodied, unable to maintain good equipment, have nothing to retire with and ultimately become "the last farrier we had out hit her with the rasp". That is a person I couldn't be proud of and cannot allow myself to become.

05/29/2024

RESPECT THE FARRIER!

No, I’m not talking to your horse, I’m talking to YOU.

Recently, I’ve seen posts empathizing with horses who struggle with the farrier, and holding farriers accountable, but I didn’t see any empathizing with farriers, and holding us owners and trainers accountable, so here I am.

I also trimmed today, so I’m feelin’ it.

Sure, I’ve seen the typical posts that talk about disrespectful horses, but I think it’s high time to stop deflecting and blaming our horses for what is actually OUR disrespect and lack of responsibility.

We don’t just have a responsibility to our horses, but to our farriers.

I made a living trimming professionally for about a dozen years, I blew my shoulders out on it, got burned out on it, I know how demanding it is, so I’m a stickler for being appreciative of our farriers and setting them up for success.

If things don’t go well, we don’t get to blame our farrier for what is OUR lack of preparation.

Blaming our ‘disrespectful’ horses is pretty lame as well, no pun intended.

Trimming is physically hard work, it’s dangerous work, and it’s technical work.

First of all, we don’t get to complain about the quality of work if our horses can’t stand still.

Second, our farrier has every right to get firm or use restraints if they are concerned for their safety and we insist they continue.

If we aren’t comfortable with that, yes, we do have EVERY right to stop the session at ANY time and reschedule, but our farrier should be compensated for the missed appointment, and it will be our responsibility to prepare our horse for the next appointment, whether we do it ourselves, or pay a trainer, or plan on sedation, or schedule enough time for our farrier to give breaks or train, IF they agree to that and will be compensated for their time.

We should always compensate our farrier a training fee if they do agree to train on our horse, or reschedule if they don’t have the time or inclination to do so.

We should not complain that our farrier just didn’t have enough patience with poor Fluffy.

It is OUR responsibility to prepare Fluffy to be patient and comfortable with the poor farrier.

We should not blame farrier impatience for what is actually frustration when we expect our farrier to train on our horse without compensation, or without their agreement when they don’t have the time or inclination.

If our horse needs to put their foot down more often than normal for some reason, and doesn’t have good duration, it’s our responsibility to make sure that can happen without our farrier getting torqued on, and compensate monetarily for that extended time.

It’s amazing how patient a farrier can be when they aren’t getting tossed around, and are actually getting compensated for overtime like any other professional.

Our horse’s bad joints are not an excuse to contribute to the deterioration of our farrier’s joints.
If we have an arthritic horse, we should visit with our vet about using some pain relief before the appointment, for the sake of both horse and professional.
If the horse simply needs trimmed with the foot lower, we might consider giving a tip; the farrier will probably need a masseuse, unless they’re fortunate enough to be as short as me.

Farriers love their job, they love our horses, or they wouldn’t be doing what they’re doing, but it’s really difficult for them to love their job and love our horses if we aren’t pulling our weight.

That means doing what is necessary to get our horses comfortable physically, and having them used to getting their feet picked up, handled, tapped on, rasped on, held between legs, with the same duration that will be expected by our farrier, BEFORE our farrier shows up.

But it isn’t always about foot handling.

If our horse can’t confidently and patiently stand on their own for the same duration that it takes to get their feet worked on, adding a stranger who’s asking them to do it on three legs isn’t going to improve the situation.

Our horses should be comfortable standing, whether it’s tied or with us holding them, for the same duration it takes to get their feet done; we can use a hay net to facilitate some patience and peace of mind initially.

Finally, we should never, EVER expect our farrier to put up with herd bound issues. If our horse can’t stand still, we should bring in a buddy so our farrier can do their job.
Separation anxiety should be addressed on our own time, not our farrier’s.

Being respectful of the hard work that a professional puts in not only physically, but intellectually, and skill-wise, doesn’t mean we have to get harder on our horses, it means we have to get harder on ourselves, and show a little more appreciation.

“A person who feels appreciated will always do more than what is expected.”