Matthew Haynes Hoof Care

20/12/2023

In this hot weather I appreciate all the help I can get .

29/11/2023

Laminitis is a serious disease of the equine foot that can lead to long term, crippling changes in the hoof. It is usually explained in scientific terms that can be difficult to understand.

In a healthy horse, the pedal bone inside the hoof is attached to the wall by laminae. These are like velcro. One part stuck to the bone and one part stuck to the hoof wall.

Laminitis, in very simple terms, is the breakdown of this ‘velcro’ (laminae). It results in the failure of the attachment between the bone and the hoof wall.
Your horse may already have mild laminitis without you knowing. Sometimes professionals call this “sub clinical laminitis” or “low grade laminitis”. Commonly, horses are in this stage for a long period of time, even years. Quite often, horses that are tender footed are simply in a state of constant low grade laminitis. Any horse with a dish in its hoof wall has some degree of laminitis.

In an acute case, the horse will experience unrelenting pain and lameness as the bone tears away from the hoof wall and is driven down inside the hoof capsule by the full weight of the horse. This is referred to as pedal bone rotation or founder.

27/11/2023

02/07/2023

15/05/2023

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08/05/2023

For those interested in barefoot hoof studies, really, there is barefoot research out there. Which tends to get ignored 🤣 Hopefully this brand new study will get noticed. We'll keep talking about it!!

26/04/2023

Flashback Friday!
These amazing hooves just completed 100 miles in 9 hours, 27 minutes - totally barefoot!

Issue 19 of The Horse's Hoof Magazine featured Darolyn Butler's champion horse, DJB Wersus “Zeus”, who traveled to Dubai, United Arab Emirates to compete with Japanese rider Kanako Hayashi at the World Endurance Championships on January 27, 2005. Darolyn wrote us a full report on the entire exciting event, and said, "The choice to ride “barefooted” at WEC was not made easily, and was a group decision based on the gut feelings of the rider (Kanako), the owner (myself), and the other grooms (who had also competed on the horse). Our biggest cheerleader was the UAE WEC official farrier who examined his hooves and felt it was a viable goal."

Darolyn continued, "Zeus finished brilliantly, with his best time on record, 9:23 minutes. His feet were examined and photographed by several ride vets at the end of the ride, as well. He did have several fans in the vet line-up that were quite anxious to see him complete “Barefooted,” as they had become very interested in the horse’s ability to finish this fairly challenging course “Barefooted.” One international rider immediately pulled her horse’s shoes after the ride, and asked me to do a “Barefoot Trim” on her, which I did."

Don't forget to sign up for The Horse's Hoof Barefoot News, a free monthly e-newsletter; link on our page under Intro. Happy Hooves! - Yvonne Welz

09/03/2023

I love working with young horses, today this young QH c**t was his first trim.

24/12/2022

Merry Christmas to all clients and family.
I hope everyone has a great and safe day.

16/11/2022

Such a sweet big boy 😍

21/10/2022

The long and short of my week in one photo.

18/10/2022

25/09/2022

One thing which has NOT changed in 437 years---- Farriers look grumpy because:

a. Their backs hurt.
b. Some idiot is telling them how to do their job.
c. The horse is screwing around.
d. They waited 7 months last time for the "cheque that was just mailed."
e.They've just learned there are "only" six more to do today", and,
f. The six are in the pasture, and, "You don't mind catching them and bringing them in, I'm sure."

22/09/2022

😂👍🏽

13/09/2022

Horses are my love and passion, I love to be able to help horses in need.

31/08/2022

Soil health is important for your horses health as well.

Whether you eat animals or not, animal agriculture is important for restoring environmental and soil health.

The soil on the left is the result of regenerative agricultural practices being implemented and holds significantly more organic and Carbon matter. Sheep and cattle were carefully managed and rotated on the land. They ate the grass, deposited their urine and dung and were then moved away to let the grass grow back quickly.

The cycle is then repeated at a later date depending on season variability and vegetation recovery. This allows the pulling of carbon into the soil. It is darker because carbon from the atmosphere is now in the soil making it more nutrient rich and dense.

The soil on the right is from a commercial farm that grows grain and uses no animals on the land.

The soil with more carbon holds a lot more water (roughly 150,000 liters of water per hectare for every 1% of carbon that’s added) and is full of microbes.

Animals play a crucial role in regenerating the land and getting carbon into the soil when properly managed.

These ‘regenerative’ practices also can be applied to crop management through the careful integration of livestock.

27/08/2022

27/08/2022

Christine Johnson, DVM, of Leclair Equine in Berthoud, Colorado, explains the process of using poultice and wrapping a horse's hoof.

13/08/2022

🤣🤣

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❤️ 🙋

17/07/2022

Just to think it over once again when you decide to put shoes and that it will help your horse “to fly”

To be honest even proper farrier agrees that shoeing should be done upon exact diagnosis (which diagnosis it’s a big discussion) upon certain circumstances

😝 “just in case” “to make it fly” is not valid argument
and that healthy hooves don’t require it..
❗️Unhealthy hooves also - should be repaired to become healthy, and proper barefoot approach can offer multiple solutions

07/07/2022

It’s always a great day when you make a beautiful mare more comfortable.
One pre pedicure and one post pedicure.

23/04/2022

A fantastic morning helping the Donkeys. 😍

03/04/2022

Not a joke...

Have you ever wondered why you can have a 15 acre field and part of it is chewed down to nubs and the other part has grass a hand high, But your horse is constantly grazing in the chewed down part?

Grass 6 inches and taller has less sugars than grass under 6 inches.

For every inch drop below 6 inches, the fructan (sugar) content rises.

Grass under 6 inches is stressed like it's a Monday morning with a project deadline. It uses sugar to repair itself.

Stop mowing your fields short.

Stop grazing your chubbys on chewed down grass. (this is why grazing muzzles are so touted...they keep the horse from being able to get much short grass)

(We aren't saying let your fields be 3 feet tall, by the way. The optimal thing to do is keep them 6-8 inches tall and graze them in small areas there)

16/03/2022

10/03/2022

Food for thought.

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.

02/03/2022

Horse virus alert

Japanese encephalitis is an acute mosquito-borne viral disease that occurs mostly in pigs and horses.

The virus has recently been confirmed in piggeries in NSW, QLD and Victoria.

In horses, the disease is usually mild but severe encephalitis can occur which may be fatal. Signs include fever, jaundice, lethargy and anorexia.

Neurological signs include incoordination, difficulty swallowing, impaired vision, and rarely a horse can become over excited.

Some horses can be infected with the disease but not show any signs.

This is a nationally notifiable disease so it must be reported to biosecurity authorities. If you see signs of Japanese encephalitis in horses or donkeys, immediately call the Emergency Animal Disease Watch hotline on 1800 675 888.

Horse owners can help their horses avoid mosquito bites. Put a light rug and fly mask on your horse and apply a safe insect repellent.

The virus does not present any food safety issues from eating pork meat or products.

https://fal.cn/3mAik

01/02/2022

Happy hump day.

08/12/2021

It's hot out there! Our practitioners are out there in all sorts of weather conditions, and summer can provide some extra challenges. There are some things clients can do to help, but we don't recommend anyone works in extreme heat. Stay safe everyone! ☀️