Коне без подкови България / Barefoot in Bulgaria

01/09/2024

Прекомерно израстнало копито - едно подрязване

28/08/2024

18/08/2024

17/07/2024

BONES and JOINTS.

Most people think of bones as once grown and formed they stay the same for life.
But they are living parts that are constantly evolving and changing trying to compensate for everything else going on in the body, they strengthen via calcification and sometimes get eaten away by conditions such as laminitis via demineralisation etc..
Constantly trying to strengthen and maintain carriage.
If the bones and joints get too much repetitive strain then the tissues around them will also harden and calcify and become less moveable, which is the start of bigger problems.
So everything you do at the hoof will have a huge consequence for the life balance of the bones and joints overall.
Every bit of repetitive exercise will also influence how the bony skeleton responds and tries to compensate to protect itself, which can lead to pathology.
So biodynamic balance is so important for an animal that is meant to move constantly.
The more static, the higher the risk of the joints becoming less flexible.

12/07/2024

In part 1 of this two-part webinar series, Nick Hill will discuss how we can use hoof wear patterns to validate how trimming affects the way horses move. He will introduce a protocol that can be us…

11/07/2024

There’s going to be some really good clinics coming up soon 😊

U.K. - Portugal this year!
Details will be released soon 😊

And in July there are going to be 2 webinars;

https://progressivehoofcare.org/2024/05/wear-patterns-what-they-really-mean/

01/07/2024

What do high heels do?
Is this normal?
Or is it a path to pathology?
Negative palmar angles are not great and usually a sign that hooves have been over trimmed at the back of the hoof.
But a strong sound hoof varies in heel height but is not often high, but extremely well formed and extremely durable unlike most domesticated equines that have weak frogs and poor strength.
So to change this get your horse moving and stimulate those hooves with as many different movements and terrain as possible, if this is limited then scrub the hooves twice daily with a hard wire brush and cider vinegar and get your hoofcare professional out more often.

29/06/2024

Неотдавна ми казаха да замълча, защото не знам какво говоря. Давам мнение за нещо, което не разбирам. Поне според някои. Защото според мен, като ветеринарен лекар, имам познанията да говоря за благополучието на конете, за това, кое им причинява болка и как да го избегнем. Но не замълчах. Отдавна не бера грижа какво мислят за мнението ми хора, които не държат благополучието на конете на същото ниво на приоритети като мен. Годините опит не значат нищо, ако за това време не си научил нищичко за работата в екип и това да те е грижа за другия, бил той и животно. Не, няма да замълча, защото нещо трябва да се промени. Конете заслужават повече от това, да ги използваме като опора на своето его.

22/05/2024

Trying to fix hooves generally ends in failure.
When there is disregard for comfort, the need for movement, ignorance for healing processes lack of appropriate diet.

10/05/2024

When you trim anything off the bottom of the hooves,be aware of any longstanding pathology that might be there and may affect how the horse responds.
This is why you should look for incremental changes,which then allows the horse time to settle and adjust.
When you utilise the wear pattern protocol it shows you exactly what is needed.

30/04/2024

The hoof assists blood flow when the horse is moving, but the rest of the body tissues help even more than the hoof when there is movement.
Movement means that the heart is under less pressure and stress.
If you want to make the circulatory system work harder then stop the horse moving and apply metal shoes to restrict the hoof functionality.

24/04/2024

So becoming a professional hoofcare provider is something that takes time and dedication.
You might climb the first flight of steps and think that you have arrived at the top, but generally speaking you will find another flight of steps, which you have to climb😊
Horses are great levellers, if you understand what their wear patterns are showing you, they will help lead you forward and show you through the healing and development processes.
The hooves are always in a stage of development and they respond to everything around them and every type of movement, achieving consistency and maintaining balanced wear patterns should be the goal as this means you maintain balanced movement throughout the body.
There are always challenges in domestication as it’s very hard to maintain consistency in the environment and movement, but it is achievable.
Hoofcare training can start with lots of different beginnings and theories that people will try out and soon enough the horses will agree or disagree with those theories.
So what makes a good professional hoofcare provider?

22/04/2024

Heat in hooves!

Feeling with your hands - possible, but not accurate.

Pour water over the hooves and wait and see which hoof dries quickest and where.

Buy a laser heat detecter - gives you accurate temperatures of the outer wall and skin.

Buy a thermal imaging gadget - this can give you a pictorial view plus temperature of the outer hoof and skin.

08/04/2024

The best form of trimming is performed by the horse itself,given that it lives in a species specific environment.
But in domestic environments we may have to help the natural process by trimming.
If our aim is to get the hoof to as close to the optimum shape for smooth,flowing,efficient movement as possible, then we can only move at the pace of the individual horse and presented strength.
If we trim to strongly force a particular shape we run the possibility of creating sensitivity and possible damage.
Good nutrition is of course important, but stimulation and movement are so important for all aspects,including digestion.
If the hoof is weak,trim conservatively, get the horse moving(use boots if necessary)24/7 add extra stimulation via daily scrubbing with cider vinegar and a hard wire brush,walking,trotting in hand,(think of this as cheaper than going to the gym😉)
The hooves will slowly change shape and strength,some once hard built up areas will soften and become powdery.
As the hooves change and strengthen then you will see these wear patterns becoming your trimming guides.
Soon enough the strength and shape will stabilise giving biodynamic balance and the flow will come back to the horse.
Just think of movement as a necessity to good health for mind and body.
Stagnation is the quickest way to pathology.

30/03/2024

The change in seasons brings with it challenges to the equine system.
Coat changes - bring the need for more nutrients.
Changes in the flora - bring new balances/imbalances of nutrients.
Dry to wet and back - bring about the need to shed and grow new material in the hooves(frogs and soles)as well as the usual growth.
Hormones change - a new type of excitement arrives, changes movement and social patterns.
Daylight hours open up and the humans want to do more with their equines, are they fully ready for the extra workload?
Worms, bacteria, viruses also start awakening, looking for new hosts.
Spring and Autumn bring small windows of opportunity for the immune systems to be weakened while the equines navigate the environmental changes.
So be more aware and alert for signs of changes in your equine

26/02/2024

We often hear that removing equines from grass is unnatural, but the problem is that unlike the meadow pictured here, which is full of a huge variety of grasses and other plants/ vegetation, most pastures/ meadows are very monocultured or at best containing just five modern species of grasses, all of which have been cultivated for the use of putting on weight or milk production, the incidence of laminitis and foot rot in modern farming livestock is appalling and it is absolutely rife now in the equine industry.
With meadows that are full of variety of flora you have a huge range of root systems that go to different levels in the substrates and give a wider variety of bit/ minerals.
So if you want grazing for your equine then make sure that you are not subjecting them to modern limited species grazing which will make them ill.
If you have no choice then you have to make sure that they move enough, which means generally far more movement than you think, so that they use up the excess energy gained from the grazing they are exposed to.

25/02/2024

The hoof capsule is basically a living box.
It has a list of jobs including - protecting, containing, compensating and maintaining balance for the rest of the body.
It relies on the environment it’s placed in, diet the rest of the body supplies to it, amounts of various movements it is subjected to (or trimming) for maintaining balance and equilibrium.
It develops an extremely tight seal we call the white line and is bonded to the rest of the body which is where the nerve signals stem from.
If it finds itself in less than optimal environments or lacks good nutrition it starts to break down and fail.
A bit like a wet cardboard box would.
It can cope with all weathers if healthy.
(The picture was taken by Louise Bach-Holler at a clinic in Denmark 😊)