The Healthy Happy Horse - our bitless, barefoot journey

05/12/2023

Milly debating whether Alex was allowed to release her serratus ventralis muscle which was identified as tight on this side. This is one of the thoracic sling muscles and it plays a role in the movement of the shoulder and also in supporting the neck.

She’s a demanding client and can be very protective and slow to release initially but perseverance usually pays off but you might have to dodge a few angry swipes.

It will be interesting to see if working on this area changes anything in the hoof on this side which Milly weights heavily on the medial side resulting in a tendency to sheared heels.

She was also reactive at the point of hip on this side. I don’t know her history but she has at some point in her past had a fall I think and landed on this side so these two points could be a legacy from that if the fibres have some scarring. Hopefully working on them will ensure that any tension and tightness is released.

05/12/2023

Sunrise

Milly in her winter fluff - not clipped yet this year and she’s out with no neck hence the floofy neck.

Not a patch on Matty and Opal who are teddy bears

Just over two weeks until the days start getting longer 😁

03/12/2023

Be careful with metabolic / laminitis prone types in this weather- winter grazing is not necessarily safer 🥺

Mine are off the grass eating hay on the track until the temperatures increase next week.

More info here https://www.thelaminitissite.org/articles/cold-weather

03/12/2023

Who has seen the film Entrapment? This is me in the role of Catherine Zeta Jones training for the diamond heist - if I can get through the electric tape without touching it I can get through the lasers protecting the vault in the Petronas Towers!

She didn’t have to do it carrying two hay nets though 😂🤣

Don’t worry there is a 10ft gate going there eventually!

26/11/2023

How Milly likes to end an arena session 😂

26/11/2023

Sunday, definitely not a day of rest for us today with another lesson.

I have made a few tweaks to the Wow saddle set up (changed back down to our old headplate size because we are less chunky than when I last sized her in the Spring, and re-did the air in the panels) which I feel has put me in a more balanced position.

We continued our work on straightness and controlling the shoulders and bend. Milly was a little naughty initially when asked to do the exercise in trot. When she finds something difficult her go to is to rush particularly if she gets unbalanced and if I don’t catch it quickly she will then just run!

However, when she tuned back in and actually listened to what I was asking for we eventually completed the exercise on both reins in a calm sitting trot with her bending nicely and stepping under and through. So she is very capable when she puts her mind to it. The good thing is she is very responsive to the seat so you can tweak her to rebalance very easily …. if she is paying attention and doesn’t have her fingers in her ears going “la la la la la” 😂

To be fair it has been a while since we were in the classroom so she’s having to concentrate much more than when we head out on a hack.

I also need to get some dressage letters for the arena so I have some markers to aim for in the vast space!

25/11/2023

Best day so far for some fabulous views from the new arena 😍

21/11/2023

Faced with “experts” who supposedly know what’s best for horses it can be very difficult to challenge vets or farriers who follow outdated methods - knowledge is power so learn all you can so that you can be an assertive advocate for your horse …

Laminitis. An equine epidemic - we know what the root cause is - and we know how to fix it. And it’s very simple.

Only a few who read this will properly digest it and start to get it… will you be one of those people? We hope so.🤞

If you have a laminitic equine, read and re-read this again and again, until you totally get it.

It’s just so shocking that the equine world is still losing its head over laminitis day-in and day-out.

Mother Nature must be shaking her head in utter frustration.

That same old outdated science that’s been around for years just keeps on being trotted out. And laminitis just keeps on coming back and back and back.

It never goes away does it? Yet it’s so simple to stop.

Let’s go through a few of the common misconceptions about the trim - every single one of them we have disproved over and over and over:

- raise the heels to ‘relieve the pull by the DDFT on P3’

The DDFT does not and never has ‘pulled’ P3. It’s seriously an outdated and old-fashioned belief. By raising the heels you force the hoof into an unnatural position.

Please don’t be the owner who believes this awful bit of bogus science because that’s truly a road you simply don’t want to go down with your equine. Next thing you know you’ll be allowing a tenotomy of the DDFT under this bogus belief… that’s right, cutting the DDFT in half. Don’t do it.

- chop off the toes to ‘improve breakover’

This one is so ridiculous - so this dreadfully poorly equine needs an improved breakover does it? For what reason exactly? So it can magically trot about suddenly?

Honestly over 98% of owners we speak to have no clue what breakover actually is… do you? Really?

It’s a made up nonsense talked about to death by the very people who actually lengthen the hoof capsule all the time. In all the 100s and 100s of shod feet we’ve ever measured, over 90% of them are unnaturally longer than the foot Mother Nature gave them. Explain that oxymoron if you can. 🤦‍♀️

- raise the heels to ‘give the horse more support’

This is equally as ridiculous. A raised heel is always an underrun heel. If the heels are higher than the hard sole plane, they are in fact underrun.

If you are allowing the heels above the hard sole plane you are a PPT person… a personal preference trimmer - how long do you want them? A couple of mm? 5mm? How long is long enough? Don’t guess. Just don’t.

Over 98% of owners we speak to cannot explain underrun heels correctly. Can you?

- chop off the toes to ‘stop lever forces tearing the laminae’

During laminitis the laminae are affected at the molecular level. They never have and never will be mechanically torn. The really sad thing about the equine world is that it is so stuck in its ways it is blinkered to those proving this theory is utterly bogus… over and over and over again, we and many others prove there is no mechanical tearing of the laminae - whatsoever. None.

The resulting toe chopping because of this bogus science, with or without heel raising, will always put pressure on the toe sole area just below the tip of P3. And that is painful folks… it hurts your equine. Don’t do it.

This causes unnatural pressure through the solar dermis, onto the distal circumflex artery surrounding the bottom of P3, and over time, when this is repeatedly done, it will inevitably result in remodeling or full on necrosis of P3.

When this happens everyone gasps and blames it on the bogus science that doesn’t exist… rather than realizing incorrect, unnatural trimming actually caused P3 damage. Don’t do it. Don’t continue to harm your equine.

Even more than that, the continual toe removal stops the farrier or trimmer being able to balance correctly, anterior to posterior, because you now have an arbitrary point to balance to, eg. the unnatural sole.

You’ve removed the toe wall so the sole area (which is now desperately callousing due to continual trauma) actually ends up just getting thinner and thinner over time and P3 just rotates more and more through unnaturally raising the heels… and the surface area the equine is standing on gets smaller and smaller. ☹️

That’s a tough one to understand and get your head around. We may do another post to explain this graphically.

Well, so far it’s not looking good is it for the poor equine with laminitis under the care of traditional practices?

Is there hope cries Mother Nature? Nope it just gets worse…

- trim to the HPA - hoof pastern axis

This ‘guide’ is used by farriers and trimmers who are trying to keep the hoof capsule in line with the pastern, known as the hoof pastern axis. But the hoof capsule is distorting due to the laminitis, so you absolutely cannot and should not ever use this as a guide. If you use the HPA as a guide and keep on raising those heels, this results in…

- P3 ‘rotation’

This is NOT caused by the laminitis. It is caused by inappropriate incorrect trimming techniques, namely, raising heels. Proven over and over and over… anyone listening yet? Keep on rotating and thinning that sole will result in…

- P3 pe*******on

Caused again by incorrect trimming techniques and NOT by laminitis. And if they can’t fix the P3 rotation and impending pe*******on then they’ll…

- resect the dorsal toe wall of the hoof capsule (if the animal hasn’t already been pts)

Resecting can be full or partial, either way the outer epidermis of the hoof is cut away up to the depth of the laminae. Do they damage vital tissues along the way? Yes they do but who cares right? P3 is bound to ping back into place. But it doesn’t though does it? You’ve just followed that bogus science again and harmed your equine unnecessarily.

- what about the ‘sinkers’, the ones that weirdly don’t rotate? 🥴

So the theory of the DDFT pulling P3 has now been completely trashed by the theory of the ‘sinker’.

Come on equine world make your mind up then… why are laminitics either ‘sinkers’ or ‘rotators’? Surely if laminitis causes P3 rotation why don’t they all rotate? 🤔

Or if laminitis causes sinking, why don’t they all sink? 😳

You mean you don’t know? Well no surprises there then. 😵‍💫

Because P3 ‘rotation’ and ‘sinking’ are again caused by inappropriate trimming, trying to tame the laminitic hoof capsule that is distorting.

Over thinning of the sole is your main culprit here, coupled with continual removal of the toe - and remedial shoeing plays its part too.

That’s the triple whammy for the poor laminitic equine:

- poor diet and management
- incorrect trimming
- shoeing

What is one of the biggest issues here? Vets who cannot trim, who’ve probably never trimmed, who don’t understand the natural hoof, telling farriers and trimmers how to trim or shoe, who also equally don’t understand the natural hoof.

As one humble equine vet said to us once, “it is like the blind leading the blind.” It’s a very, very, VERY big problem.

Mother Nature is now feeling a bit sick to her stomach.🤢

So many equines pts every day because of all the above bogus and incomplete science.

The death toll is in the millions and no-one is keeping a tally - and actually no-one seems to really care. They just keep rinsing and repeating and pts when it doesn’t work.

Another one bites the dust, so what’s the best course of action? Oh yes, just repeat, fail, repeat, fail, repeat, fail.

HM have a saying, “thank god people in the equine world don’t fly planes!”

Honestly equine hoof care is so confused, backed up by incomplete science with far too many variables to give consistent results or meaningful data. No control groups. Small cohorts. It’s a mess.

Lots of laminitis research is now ‘ethically’ based on cadaver hooves that aren’t even attached to a living body. So that is immediately flawed. Only because the world got wind of the number of horses unethically used in experiments and pts all in the name of research… and all those needless deaths still didn’t come up with the answers did they? No they lost their lives for not a great deal at all.

We didn’t need to kill a bunch of equines to work out how to stop laminitis. Mind you, we’re not asking for funding for our research. 🙄

Yep, a lot of healthy equines WERE harmed (pts) in the name of laminitis research. Those equines were pts so that they could continue to justify meddling with your horse’s hooves.

Mother Nature is now vomiting.🤮

If a plane falls out of the sky and kills just 1 person, there is a thorough investigation and NO cover up.

They get to the bottom of it and they learn from their failures and improve. They have to learn fast to stop more planes falling out of the sky. Flying is now one of the safest ways to travel (not economic but safest).

Do they get to the bottom of it in the equine world? Nope. Far too much money made out of pathology… or studying pathology.🫤

Laminitis is caused by one thing - equines being kept and fed unnaturally. But that right there doesn’t make the big pharma money from the drugs they push now does it?

So who is in control of the diet? The only person in control of that is the owner.

Trouble is most owners have absolutely no clue how to recognise laminitis or how to manage an equine full stop.

How do we know? Because that’s all we do each and every day. Teach owners to recognise dietary distress and how to manage their equines to future proof their soundness.

Here’s that figure again: over 98% of owners we teach DO NOT KNOW how to recognise the basic signs of chronic laminitis.

We teach 100s of people folks… are you one of the 2% or 98%?

If you came for an interview for the position of ‘laminitis co-ordinator’ and we put an equine in front of you, would you be able to pick up all the subtle signs and symptoms of laminitis? And then know what trim was the correct one?

We bet you wouldn’t. Don’t rely on the professionals because most of those don’t know either and most don’t agree anyway.

Laminitis is utterly preventable. Don’t be foolishly cushioned into thinking that laminitis is caused by so many other things out of your control… it isn’t. Those are simply triggers that pushed your poor equine over the edge:

- supporting limb laminitis (bogus science cannot repeat this one and leaves them scratching their heads)
- sepsis laminitis (a cover all excuse)
- endocrine laminitis (again a cover all excuse)

And the root cause of the above? D-I-E-T

Funny isn’t it, that only some equines in the categories above seem to get laminitis - not all. This is along the same lines as only some are ‘sinkers’ and some are ‘rotators’.

Ask any of the big names in the equine world why only some and not all… and they will not be able to give you a firm answer.

Because they don’t know and they are still confused.

We’re not.

The way you keep and manage your equine is always, always the root cause of laminitis.

Fix that and stop the abusive trims, and the endless drugs, and you have the easiest recipe on earth to stop laminitis in its tracks.

They recover fast when you finally realize that you caused it… and only you can fix it.

Then all you have to do is get a barefoot specialist who doesn’t abuse your horse’s hoof… and hey presto. No more running around like a headless chicken.

The result = laminitis over and out. Forever.

But let your equine dip in and out of laminitis repeatedly, abuse their hooves, their guts and their minds, then your equine will get weaker and weaker and it will become harder and harder to control.

You will get more and more confused and heartbroken until your equine is… pts.

For those owners who repeatedly believe that it’s not diet that starts the cascade of ill health in your horse, and that you are somehow ultimately not responsible, you will never, ever have fully sound barefoot laminitis free equines.

Not ever.

And for those owners that make excuses for their inappropriate diet and management, we bet you feed your equine grass, and bagged feeds and supplements. Is that you?

Again that figure: over 98% of horse owners we teach have no clue why and what they are feeding and the impact of that food additive on their equines fore and hind gut.

Do you REALLY know what you are doing when it comes to what you are allowing into your horse’s gut, or are you just guessing?

Most owners cannot:

- explain the difference between grass, hay, haylage and straw
- explain the effect of carbs, simple or complex
- identify the grasses in their forage
- explain what nutrients their equine needs from the bag, grass or dry forage they are feeding

Most owners have never:

- read a single science paper in their life or been able to properly explain it
- trimmed a hoof and fully understood it
- kept to one feedstuff constantly

Don’t be fooled by bogus science. Go through those ‘science’ papers like we have done and jot down:

- cohort size
- age and health variables
- dietary and management variables
- trimming and shoeing variables
- data set statistical probabilities and errors

Then see if the data is meaningful. It won’t be.

Our free laminitis webinar will be available again this week, we’ll put the link up in one of our next posts.

This week we’re labeling laminitis week, so keep an eye on our page for laminitis content every day.

We can and do teach OWNers how to recognise and prevent further laminitis every single day.

And the difference between us and the bogus science world? We have a repeatable, unchallenged success record. No-one even comes close.

Ask your vet how many equines they’ve put to sleep. If they admit it to you, you will be shocked.

When it comes to laminitis… don’t guess or be sucked into the world of don’t knows and maybes.

Laminitis is an OWNer problem. OWN it.

HM.

20/11/2023

4 track haunches in anyone?

Milly over delivering - she’s a super sensitive horse and back in the Wow saddle I clearly need to whisper with my seat otherwise she gives me too much.

Anyway that’s an easy fix. It is much easier to have a responsive and enthusiastic horse than a dull one.

19/11/2023

Back in the Wow saddle today which now has a new flat tree - early days but so far Milly seems much happier in it than with the previous semi curved tree.

The Wow is much better at communicating the tiniest ask from my seat than the Ghost which is great for hacking and all the hill work round here but for schooling we really need less in between us and more precision.

I now need to tone down my aids because Milly was over delivering - hopping into a giant haunches in from what I thought was a small ask!

She was quite enthusiastic today, offering nice shoulder in, turn on the haunches and turn on the forehand and we even gave a couple of walk pirouettes a go. She hasn’t forgotten a thing and is possibly more patient with me now than she was a couple of years ago 😁

17/11/2023

First proper lesson in an arena for 2.5 years!

A very foggy day here today so we look like we are in the clouds.

Just before the lesson started the youngers were running flat out up and down the adjoining field 😂 Fortunately they calmed down and let Milly and me concentrate on the lesson.

Alex Fox Mackinnon was gentle with us as this was only our second ride in the new arena and the builders were busy with diggers and dumper trucks in the background. So we spent time in walk revising our lateral work to get Milly lifting and stepping through. Really focusing on asking with the seat and legs and little to nothing with the reins.

Milly is very capable but is quite a demanding partner because you have to get things just right in order to get the outcome you want.

We’re a little rusty but will rekindle our dance steps and quickly get back to where we left things I am sure.

14/11/2023

So here’s the totally non horsey person getting hyper focus from three horses at the same time!

“Man with silly hat and mints” 🤣😂

12/11/2023

Woohoo

First ride in the new arena and I now have a real feeling for how vast it is! You can barely pick us up on camera unless you zoom in 😂

Milly was great and despite the photos from yesterday’s “hoolie” with all three suggesting she might be full of beans, she is always very respectful when ridden. We spent a lot of the time in walk just revising our lateral work with some trotting on a loose rein just to get us both relaxed in the new space and we practiced some transitions using just seat and voice. My main focus for today was to make sure we both had a calm and enjoyable first session.

Guy turned up at the end so I got some rare photos of me and Milly xx

11/11/2023

Photo dump of this afternoon’s shenanigans in the new arena.

Safe to say they like prancing on the fabulous surface - particularly Milly who launched into dressage diva mode as soon as her toes touched the sand 😂

Matty was exhausted by the end as he really isn’t very fit and did do full laps at speed.

Opal thundered around like a knight’s charger - she’s not quite so light on her feet as Milly at this point because she hasn’t really learned how to carry her giant frame.

It is going to be brilliant having this space now to be able to work with all three - the youngsters need to do some groundwork and Milly needs to get back to some proper schooling work.

Happy days

11/11/2023

Fun and frolics in the arena today

Milly demonstrating an ideal posture - open throatlatch, poll at the highest point, face in front of the vertical and lifting through the core.

Easy peasy…… without me lol

07/11/2023

At last they are happy with the levelling on the silica sand so we are onto adding in the fibre and then finally some rubber crumb gets mixed in at the end.

Wee Fergie has a new piece of kit - an arena grader. She’s an ideal tractor for the job as she is compact and with a nice tight turning circle.

07/11/2023

Well I am pretty sure it’s not 22 bales of kidney beans that are going on my arena.

The fibre is here yay!

06/11/2023

My neighbour loading sheep into a trailer was the focus of deep attention this afternoon.

The mares are always vigilant and the first to spot anything out of the ordinary and this was a tiny spec right down by the big barn at the bottom of the hill.

Nonetheless it had to be observed and assessed for threat level.

Nice opportunity for some wistful photos of them all looking reasonably intelligent though 😂🤣

Opal really is a beast of a horse now. She’s nearly getting proper horse proportions. She’s going to need all her own bridles when the time comes as her head is waaaay bigger than Milly’s 😬

05/11/2023

Well this made a pleasant change - out and about for the first time in a couple of weeks.

Milly good as gold as always and we had a lovely gentle ride in the sunshine ☀️

05/11/2023

Busted!

This lot managed to escape out of the woods into their winter grazing today - had a lovely time! Stuffed themselves silly then had to have a lie down!

02/11/2023

Milly is having a holiday at the moment - we haven’t ridden for a couple of weeks - can’t you tell 😂🤣

30/10/2023

Everyone has been enjoying a day not spent braced against the wind and the rain.

Opal is a funny one. She will nearly always stay behind if the other two head out to the field when I am around and she will follow me around as I do my chores or simply munch quietly at the hay while keeping a close eye on my activities. She is possibly enjoying having complete freedom to choose where she stands without Milly moving her off!

She’s very sweet but being a youngster is inclined to test the boundaries so I do need to always have my lead mare head on and think carefully about whether she is entering my personal space in a respectful way or not. She is though, completely fluent in the language of the herd so that is how I communicate with her. Just wish I could pin my ears because that works for Milly instantly 😂

30/10/2023

Getting closer - now just the Combi fibre advanced fibre and rubber crumb mix to add in.

We seem to have been building this arena through biblical levels of rain - the team doing it have been incredibly stoic working in the most awful conditions some days. Testament to their insistence on a huge amount of stone and drains this thing has not flinched even in the recent rain that has been continuous for days and days

With another storm this week it will probably not be finished until next week now but the wait is worth it 😍

22/10/2023

Kept it simple today, no boots no tack just out for a glorious sunny walk with some nice foraging interspersed with calorie burning hill work.

I love to do this still because it gives me a great opportunity to see how Milly is moving and for us to be very connected. In our early days together, when we were building the relationship, trust and confidence that would eventually lead to safe and happy bitless riding, we were in hand champions and would go out every day and cover miles together often well off the beaten track.

It is still such a lovely thing to do together and something we both enjoy. Too often I see riders who rush to ride everywhere on horses who are either not physically healthy enough or who are not mentally ready. They are missing out on a whole world of shared experiences that can be enjoyed from the ground not to mention also getting themselves fit to ride at the same time.

21/10/2023

It’s like coming out of a matinee at the cinema and your eyes have to adjust

Matty and Opal blinking in the sunshine

It feels so nice to have the sun back.

20/10/2023

Matty is getting bored with this bum to the wind for hours lark.

He has been hassling Opal to play the bitey face game with him!

Boys! 😂🤣

19/10/2023

It’s getting wilder out there I am not looking forward to hearing this howling away all night.

The horses had a brief half hour out in the field after I went down and fed them their tea and topped up the nets but they have clearly decided it’s no fun and have resumed their positions in the woods.

At least the cameras mean I can check on them

19/10/2023

Well can you tell what direction the wind is coming from!

Despite the noise of the wind in the trees the horses have elected to stay in the woods because outside them is dire with Storm Babet just kicking in properly here now.

Evergreen woods are brilliant because they are useable all year round. I have put hay strategically in places that allow them to stand with their backs to the wind to eat. There is an even drier spot just at the entrance so I have also put nets and hay there as I suspect they will go and stand there as time goes on.

In this weather they wont use the field shelter and particularly with this storm as the wind is from the East it is going straight in the door.

18/10/2023

Oh yes treats - new rasp and wire brush - if you know you know 😂

18/10/2023

Awww - spying on the ponies. They are all rugged up ready for Storm Babet which will bring Easterly winds which are a more difficult wind direction for the horses to find shelter here. They will probably go down to the bottom of the big field when it gets really bad but there they will be out in the rain hence the rugs. At the moment though they are still happy in the woods - each contentedly munching off their own net - they have access to the field but they do like their hay, particularly during the day when they often select hay over grass even when allowed free choice.

I have sent a sample of the hay away for nutritional analysis so it will be interesting to find out what the starch and sugar content is.

17/10/2023

Cowgirl mode today and Milly looking very fetching too 😀

Making the most of it before Storm Babet

Second and last test ride with the Western skirt before I hand it back.

They give a stiffer ride than the regular panels and widen the twist on the saddle slightly for me. Milly seems to like them and was happier on the downhill sections of today’s ride than I think she has been with other set ups perhaps because of the larger bearing surface spreading any pressure.

There certainly aren’t any real negatives which is good to know if I decide to add one to the Quevis.

16/10/2023

Glad rags on for a night out - frosty at night here now and this one has no fluffy undercoat so she gets a rug 👑

15/10/2023

Superb day for a huge ride to the tops.

Glorious views - a very enthusiastic Milly and Buddy who love going out together and warming sunshine - what more could you want.

The new Ghost saddle is now settling in nicely having done a few rides so it is moulding to both Milly and me. She was really swinging her back today and relaxing nicely in the spells of trotting we did on the road. 😀 The knee blocks on the Torino are just right for giving the support you need on downhill stretches but magically stay out of the way when not needed.

Must make the most of days like these xx

14/10/2023

Another session with Fiona Gillespie today with a little Masterton release and an assessment of posture and imbalances.

We are going to follow Fiona’s programme for postural performance and rehab and will be tracking the changes from the beginning to the end to record the effect the exercises have on posture, the thoracic sling and also how those changes influence the hooves. Recording the changes will help to separate those things that are postural from those that are conformational - not always obvious until you try and make changes.

Milly always enjoys some release work and was very obliging being taken into the half finished stone topped arena to do some groundwork !