Motivity Equine Hoof Rehab DiStefano Whole Horse Hoof-Care

16/08/2024

Just some extra protection! The top one is heading to nationals to do a 50 mile on some really rocky terrain! 🥰

22/07/2024

Key is coming up on a year here next month. He use to be stalled everyday here he chooses when he goes in or out. He runs and plays, He is a kind gental soul. We just love this 25 year old!

19/07/2024

Sometimes the Big guys need some ptrotection too.

15/07/2024

15/07/2024

Michigan has had a lot of rain lately but I am so pleased to say that here at Motivity Equine with all of the drainage and material we are still dry! I love watching the changes! This girl struggled finding a place out of the mud before coming here in march.
I can't wait to see what the next 6 months will do!

13/07/2024

Stealing this from Cristina

When you know better, you do better!

11/07/2024

This made my day! Sat down with Sweet Opal and she collapsed/tossed her head into my lap! Her human momma has down a AWESOME job socializing her. She is the sweetest!

21/06/2024

This boy is gonna do big things and man he walked off even better than the start! video in comments ♥️ We removed his shoes and cant wait to watch his heel expand and frogs heal. I will share updates from his next appointment too.

18/06/2024

🥰

09/06/2024

Sharing again for those who were at the Hoof clinic again. https://thehoofco.com.au/blogs/hoofcareblogs/fungal-infections-of-the-coronet-band-and-hoof-wall-in-horses?fbclid=IwAR1PpVn_2lk_WWeUbyIg1tM9P7lUypu1qB1VFp1EAXPO5yDQtUW_Ezj3vDM

Updated: Sep 7, 2021 WHAT IS THAT? A

05/06/2024

Hey Everyone Friendly reminder it's FLY season! No one wants to get je**ed around and kicked at for the Flys, and horses do not want to be bit and unable to swat, stomp etc. Please have good fly spray ready and applied right before trims! From now on I will be adding a fee per horse if using mine. Thank you for understanding!

04/06/2024

Thank You Baker Property Inspections for taking these awesome shots!

01/06/2024

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!

01/06/2024

Crazy what almost 3 years can do!

30/05/2024

Okay Friends The time has come! https://www.motivityequine.com/
We offer just under a mile-long track system. We have one for the Grass sensitive and one with minimal Grass and Creates tons of Movement.

Motivity Equine Hoof Rehab and retirement is an extension of our busy Farrier business in Dowagiac, MIchigan. our new, developing facility allows us to focus on helping horses with hoof rehabilitation onsite and to provide retirement boarding services. Our team of professionals is known for providin...

30/05/2024

https://www.motivityequine.com/

15/05/2024

What does HEALING look like? Here are a few examples of a couple horses who are healing. One is just at the 6 month mark the other is at about 9 months who lived in shoes almost his whole first 2 years of life and was stalled 24/7. They are both now living their best life at their new owner! Heels widening and losing their contraction, developing Digital Cushion, Healing Thrush, Gaining Concavity, Tubules moving back and growing in straighter at the heel. Heeling isn't always easy or pretty. The boy out of shoes had a few abcesses and we thank God he is passed those!

14/05/2024

20 free choice minerals!

09/05/2024

🥰😍 We did two rounds of Versa glue ons when this girls feet started falling apart in the mud at her previous location. We are so lucky to have her be a part of our herd now(since The end of April) I can't wait to continue to watch her thrive!

29/04/2024

Did you know most horses chew and hold their jaw towards the side of their more sound front leg?

The right front heel here is lower and more sound. The left front heel is higher, more contracted and sore. Easy to see, right!?

Now, peek at the jaw position to the horse's right, with slight overgrowth of the horse's upper left and lower right incisors. This is super common, and should not be allowed to get worse! It will end up in a vicious downward spiral over time.

Second teeth picture is after adjustments = better jaw AND BODY balance.

It's always a work in progress getting feet and teeth better balanced--lots of bodywork helps, but providing for more movement is #1 in my book. There are some interesting exceptions to this pattern that I discuss in my book.

It's ALL connected. This page also has more on this...scroll back!

**www.insighttoequus.com** under construction 🤠

29/04/2024

Thank you everyone for all the hard work! Thank you Banic Enterprises For the excuvating and every single person who has helped in any way! Derek did an Amazing job and his customer service is amazing in making sure everything turned out right!

26/04/2024

Still one of my Favorties

16/04/2024

This is so true! Sometimes they are small improvements and sometimes it's small setbacks. Always aiming to move forward but Thank you Alicia for sharing this!

The Rehab Rollercoaster

There was a time when my emotions were directly tied to how sound or lame my horse was that day.

When I was struggling with Vinnie’s navicular diagnosis and soft tissue tears, I used to drive to the barn sick to my stomach of what I would find that day. Would he be dead lame? Would he look okay? What was I going to find walking to his paddock? It became such a huge part of my day to day life and honestly was exhausting. I am glad for the journey it sent me on- the hoofcare certifications, travel around the world, the friends I’ve made- and I don’t regret any of it.

But man, in the moment, it was hard.

I am happy to say that Vinnie is doing well living on a track system here at home with a herd of geldings, comfortable, playful, and content. I no longer hold my breath when I go to feed in the morning.

But I remember the “Rehab Rollercoaster” that can control your emotions all too well.

When going through rehab for soundness issues, it can be easy to hyperfocus on what’s wrong. The wrong step, the head bob, the ouchy turn, the less than fluid movement, the joint that just doesn’t have the range of motion you want it too. And that’s where we start to spiral. That’s where we spend all our time watching and waiting for it to turn.

Now, owning a hoof rehab facility, I have realized that with every case being so unique, I had to shift my focus and perspective on its head.

Instead of focusing on the large glaring issues in the beginning of rehab, or throughout the process even, in order to assess progress I had to find the little changes.

I started seeing the small improvements….

The quality and angle of the wall at the hairline.
The more balanced wear patterns of the hoof.
The depth of the collateral grooves.
The firmness of the frog.
The texture of the sole.
The width of the back half of the foot.
The angle of the hairline at the heel bulbs.
The feeling when palpating the frog and digital cushion.
The tightness of the white line connection.

And slowly, I can start to notice some slightly bigger things.

The more extended stride length.
The willingness to weight the back half of the foot in movement.
The comfort over harder surfaces or gravel.
The willingness to move farther to find the next hay station.
The personality and playfulness returning.
The change in tension lines throughout the body.
The more comfortable posture at rest.

Sometimes, we don’t see a sound horse for months or even years (!) as the body unravels years of compensation and damage while also working to strengthen areas to compensate for internal pathology or heal past injury.

Sometimes, like as a bit of a cruel joke, we see rehab horses fall into two categories:

With some horses, we see soundness return quickly.

With some, consistent comfort is a journey where we see all the smaller changes as the body relearns proper ways to move to prevent reinjury.

If you have a horse you are rehabbing that falls in the first category- give them a hug and thank them for showing you that it can be done.

If you are rehabbing a horse that falls in the second category- this month, try to find one improvement in their hoof or body to know you are headed in the right direction. If you can’t find one, have another set of eyes to see if they can find any changes. If there truly isn’t any positive change, you may need to redirect your approach, whether that be diet, environment, bloodwork, hoofcare approach, etc.

The small changes are what are going to allow the large changes (soundness!) to stick around for the long haul. We need to develop strong structures to develop a sound horse.

Sometimes the Rehab Rollercoaster is unkind.
Sometimes it gets stuck or gets derailed.
Sometimes there are sudden drops or sharp turns.
So many of us have been there.
You can do this. You’re doing great.

13/04/2024

5 weeks of Free choice hay, Mineral and MOVEMENT🤗😍 although she is much less white than she used to be.

23/03/2024

So This girl has the nicest hooves. I am blessed to have her with us for the winter while her owner travels south! She Has a wonderful home! We are so excited and blown away how much the track and movement has changed her posture, back and body condition! We do have her on Free choice 20 seperate minerals. She is thriving and thankfully when she goes home I still get to see her for trims🥰😍