Aimee Hocking - DEP

16/08/2024

Finer Forage Friday Facts:
Why we don't use Alfalfa at Finer Forage 🤓📖

🌱 Alfalfa is a legume, popularly fed as hay in the US, and as chop or pellets in the UK. It has low sugar and starch and high fibre content, so it looks like a good option on paper, until you dig a little deeper....

🌱 Alfalfa is high in nitrogen, or crude protein (not quality protein) which can be problematic, for the liver especially. Excess nitrogen can also cause issues with calcium and magnesium uptake, disrupt normal endocrine function, and lead to inflammation, particularly visible in the hooves.

🌱 Alfalfa is known to increase acidity in the hindgut, by propionate being the dominant VFA produced upon fermentation of alfala. Often, microbial disturbances might follow, as microbes that can't tolerate excessively acidic environments die off, and a cascade of resulting gastrointestinal disturbance and systemic inflammation ensues.

🌱 Alfalfa is an accumulator plant, in other words, it's one of those plants that uptakes toxins, so it can accumulate heavy metals if they're present in the soil where it is grown.

🌱 Alfalfa has the potential to upregulate the immune response - so it's a definite no-no for horses with sweet itch, allergies, or autoimmune issues.

🌱 Alfalfa has high phytoestrogen content, so it can disrupt normal endocrine function and responses.

🌱 Alfalfa has been shown to increase photosensitivity in humans, so it wouldn't be helpful to any pink noses in the summer!

🌱 Alfalfa has a very imbalanced calcium to phosphorus ratio, so should not be fed to youngsters, as it risks developmental orthopedic disease (incorrect bone formation in youngsters)

That's why we only use grass chop and nuts and never Alfalfa, at Finer Forage 🌱🌿🌻🌿🌷☘️🌼🌹

09/08/2024

Friday focus…long, stalky grass and short, stressed grass!

This is one I posted earlier this year and I am reposting it as I am being asked about this a lot lately!

There is always lots of debate over whether long stalky grass or short, or overgrazed grass is better or safer for good doing horses and ponies. Long stalky grass may have a lower calorie and sugar percentage per kg than short grass, but the bite depth is bigger on longer grass, so they will be consuming much more of it!

What is frequently overlooked is the total amount the horse can eat in a grazing period and how much digestible energy (calories) and sugar this supplies! They can consume much more longer grass, so the rate at which it can be eaten is much higher, so they will be getting far more calories, sugars and fructan per kg than with shorter grass. The focus seems to be on the length of the grass rather than how much can be eaten. If you are grazing your good doing horse or pony on longer grass, then the grass needs to be restricted so it does not oversupply calories.

Do not let anyone scare you about short grass, you are much better turning out on this to control calorie intake and to reduce sugar and fructan intake than you would be putting them out in a field full of longer grass! Please do not forget to put out some supplementary hay or haylage if the grass is very short so they have enough long stemmed forage going through their digestive systems.

Monitoring your horse or pony for unwanted weight gain or weight loss and adjusting the amount of grass / hay / haylage as needed, will help to keep them with a healthy condition score.

15/10/2023

Looking forward to seeing The Equine Podiatry Association at Focus this year.

22/09/2023

Friday focus….my obligatory post that I share every year about over rugging now the temperatures are starting to drop overnight!

Obesity is a huge welfare issue here in the U.K. and there are many contributing factors. Over feeding, lack of exercise and over rugging are considered to be the main causes. If you have a good doing or native type, then please, before you reach for your rugs, think whether they need them or not!

The colder autumn and winter months are fantastic for helping weight loss if you allow your horse or pony to use some of their energy to keep warm! I am not saying never use a rug and I am not saying that they should shiver their weight off either, that would be a welfare issue and that is definitely something I would never advocate.

I am however, saying that we generally over rug; we rug according to how cold we feel, not how they feel, and that a huge amount of our horses and ponies do not need the weight of rugs we put on them. I often see native types with 300g-400g rugs on and this is definitely not a needed for an animal that is very well equipped to deal with the worst of the U.K. weather!

Horses are really good at keeping warm without rugs, if they can escape from the elements and have enough forage to eat. The fermentation that occurs in the hind gut when they are eating forage, provides them with their very own central heating system! In addition, they can fluff up their coats better when they are not wearing a rug; this traps air inside the coat, trapping in heat. They are very well equipped to keep themselves warm! They are not however, as good at cooling themselves down. If they have plenty of forage to eat, they have shelter and can escape the elements, they can regulate their body temperatures very well on their own.

As part of weight loss programmes, I often recommend keeping rugs as light as possible in inclement weather and the response this gets from many others on the yards is astounding!!
Not rugging or lightly rugging an overweight, good doing or native type horse or pony is not cruel in any way shape or form! What is cruel is letting them stay overweight as this significantly compromises their overall health and well-being. Have you seen the harsh environments some of these types live in? Look at Shetlands and Highland ponies, their natural environments are extremely harsh and they survive perfectly well in them!

Then we take them, put them in nice cosy stables, rug them up, feed them huge bucket feeds and energy rich forages. This is why we have an obesity issue!! They are stood overly warm, not moving around much, with a plentiful supply of food, are turning them into couch potatoes!!

I am not saying rugs should never be used, but I am saying many do not need the weights of rugs we put on them. Many do perfectly well with just a rain sheet or lighter weight rug on. There are however many that do need to be rugged; finer skinned, the young, the elderly, those underweight, ill equines, those with muscular issues etc. They need to be kept warm, so they should be kept warm!

However, if you have a native or good doing type, you will make life much easier for you and your horse if you let them gradually lose their summer weight over the winter months. They will not lose weight if they are over rugged.

*Please read this post before commenting, I am not saying rugs are the root of all evil and that they should all be burned in some rug hating ritual!!! I am just saying that we should think about whether our horses really need rugs or if they need the weight of rugs we put on them!*

05/08/2023

Yaasss 💪 knew you’d smash it! 🎉

Congratulations to Ellen Curnow, our latest student to qualify with the Level 5 Diploma in Equine Podiatry.

20/07/2023

Some snapshots in time from Jan- Present day from student Emily’s final year case studies (Bare by Design - Emily Whelan - Student Equine Podiatrist).
This lovely OTTB is much looking happier in hoof, mind and body with thanks to his very dedicated owner at the helm 🥰 🐴

08/07/2023

22/05/2023

19/05/2023

Please be REALLY careful with the grass this week. I have been out to a couple of horses (not native fat ponies, but a shod thoroughbred and a very fit/lean warmblood) who both have raised pulses and sore feet after being turned out for one day on “better” grazing. I also received a phone call this afternoon about a 3yr old pony with no history of laminitis, who is rocked back off her toes. Finally, tonight I came home to find that my own highland has a rock hard neck and looks bloated, even on very restricted strip grazed track. The grass out there is frankly dangerous at the moment. Please, please be cautious!

(EDITED TO ADD THAT I AM IN THE UK)

31/03/2023

Word of warning ⚠️

⚠️ Laminitis Warning: ⚠️ Here’s little Wally, who joined my herd a few years ago following a serious bout of laminitis. He’s been carefully managed since, and a week ago he was hooning around the place without a care in the world. A few days of sunshine and rain, and he’s been lying down with raised pulses. Please don’t take your eye off the ball, especially this time of year. Wally is lucky that i spotted the signs and got him in on soaked hay. He’s back to being a clown already, but the new grass is clearly too much for him.

17/03/2023

Hoof soaking 🪣
Can be a daunting task when you have no assistance or if your horse is very sensitive. Here’s a couple of tips that might make it easier.

I prefer soaking boots to buckets as they aren’t as easy to kick over but some soaking boots are very tall and so may cause some horses to panic if they can’t get their leg out. This boot is a cleantrax hoof soak boot, you might be able to see I have folded it down to almost half the height for this horse. You can also get shorter ones.

Some times Hoof soaking can be a lengthy process. Try tying your horse up with a hay net to keep him distracted, if you’re worried hay won’t cut it for your horse, try stuffing treat’s down the hay net to keep your horse preoccupied for longer!

*edited you add!
Put your horses Hoof in the boot *before * you pour the liquid in! Warm water helps 😉

12/03/2023

08/03/2023

Accurate 😂

04/03/2023

I had a lovely evening last night giving a talk to the British Driving Society Devon Branch in Hatherleigh. Thanks to all who attended and a massive thanks to organiser Beth Mannings 😀.

This year I have lots of talks planned, starting with a new lunchtime lecture series at munchkins miniature Shetland rescue. This series will include talks on nutrition by Clare McCleod, massage by Sam Mannings, physio for busy people by Maisie Wake, and hoof talks by Naomi Garner and myself.

In early summer the Tea, Cake and Hooves talks are returning! They will be held at Lynn Staight's yard near Rackenford.

So, for dates and details of how to book watch this space!

26/02/2023

Quick Sunday afternoon job ✅

Sometimes hoof boots aren't a 100% perfect fit right off the shelf, and why would they be? All horses are unique right?
Luckily alot of hoof boot brands can be modified!
So here we have a pair of Scoot boots, the shell itself fits beautifully on the lovely it belongs to but the heel bar is too tight for her around the heel bulbs.
So what I've done, using a heat gun is stretch the heel bars just a few mm' to allow some room to prevent chaffing.

For reference, the photo is showing a stretched (left) and an un stretched (right) of the same size shell side by side to show the difference, it might seem minimal but it can make all the difference! 😊 👢 🐴 💜

20/02/2023

Great Post 👍

19/02/2023

Incase anyone knows of anyone looking, a livery space has become avaliable on a small track system in Stithians, ideal for grass sensitive or laminitis prone horses or ponies!

15/02/2023

Yes! 🙏 I'm always saying to people that our domestic foals just don't move enough! This should be well worth tuning into 😊

31/01/2023

Yeah, OK! I got my moneys worth out of my old knives!
😂

29/01/2023

15/01/2023

POORLY HOOVES WANTED, CORNWALL, UK.

Hello, I'm a final year Equine Podiatry student on the look out for a couple more pathology case studies to complete my LANTRA approved, Level 5 Diploma in Equine Podiatry.
These can be barefoot horses or those wishing to transition out of shoes.

I am fully Insured and a student member of the . All our case studies are overseen by our highly qualified mentors, who are full members of the Equine Podiatry Association UK.

If you have an Equine partner who's hoof health is compromised and want to find ways to help improve this, please feel free to get in touch.

I am particularly looking for the following pathologies, but all cases considered:

🔹️ NAVICULAR - Lameness involving pain in the Navicular area, Veterinary diagnosis preferred, not essential.

🔸️ NEGATIVE PALMAR ANGLE/ LAMENESS

🔹️ LAMINITIS - That has resulted in pedal bone rotation and or sinker.

🔸️ WHITE LINE DISEASE - That has resulted in a significant loss of hoof wall.

🔹️ SHEARED HEELS - and or deep Central Sulcus which has resulted in an instability in the back of the foot.

🔸️ WALL CRACKS - Non cosmetic wall cracks that are causing lameness and or instability to the foot.

🔹️ SIGNIFICANT MEDIO - LATERAL CAPSULE SHIFT - Very wonky feet.

🔸️ CLUB FOOT

🔹️ REPEATED ABSCESSING IN THE SAME FOOT

🔸️️ ALL OTHER HOOF PATHOLOGIES CONSIDERED

As an Equine Podiatrist we take the whole horse into consideration when it comes to optimising your horses hoof care and comfort.

CLIENTS MUST BE WILLING TO:

🔸️ Commit to regular trim cycles for up to 6 months (Minimum case study period).

🔹️ Be willing and prepared to implement, where possible, reasonable environmental, dietary and managerial changes that are key to helping improve your horses hoof health.

🔸️ Please note there will be a small treatment fee to help cover the cost of travel and equipment maintenance.

Please feel free to DM me or email me at:

[email protected]

Happy to supply testimonials from my clients and examples of my work can be found on my Facebook and Instagram.

22/12/2022

Thats me all done, ready for a few days off with family over Christmas. 🎄

Thankyou to all my clients old and new for a marvelous 2022.

Have a very Merry Christmas and heres to a wonderful 2023! 🥂

17/11/2022

Beautifully put as always Kelly Brown -
I couldn't agree more.

♥ 🐴 😇

Here is a photo of my horse, Ollie who was pts a few years ago. He was sunbathing when i took this photo, and he looks happy, maybe even smiling. Ollie had a number of degenerative and chronic conditions. He had navicular, liver failure, his pelvis was extremely weak. The list was pretty long. He had his better days and he had his not so great days. To a stranger, or a fellow livery he might have seemed perfectly healthy. Big, shiny, mobile, with a great appetite. He might be the last horse in the world you thought would be pts. But MY choice for him was to not wait until to the bitter end. His last summer was a reasonably comfortable one. He wasn’t thrashing in the mud, too weak to get up. He wasn’t on four bute a day. He wasn’t stiff as a board in the mornings or reluctant to eat. He had a peaceful and comfortable last day, with a belly full of carrots and apples at the end of summer.

So what am I getting at? Well - I would ask that if you know someone who chooses to let their horse go “too soon”, please respect their wishes. A decision such as this is incredibly hard and emotional for the owner, and i know because i’ve been there. I have several customers who in recent weeks have let their beloved horse go.

”He seems fine, you’re making the wrong decision”, or “I wouldn’t let my horse go until he told me it was time”, isn’t helpful or constructive. Please be kind to one another, and don’t make things harder than they need to be. Much love to anyone who ever lost a horse, and much respect to those who chose a day too soon over a day too late ♥️

You guys have my support, and i can only hope that others will follow your brave and selfless lead.

15/11/2022

A years progress for Trev the ex race horse.
You can see they're far from perfect but the sole depth and heel structures have improved 😊
This horse finished his first summer as an event horse competing competitively at BE Novice!

10/11/2022

27/10/2022

Yep, trimming tools are surprisingly expensive and rust astonishingly quickly once they've got wet! X

10/10/2022

😍

This last week has been very exciting, with both Star and Eric starting their ridden work.
Today Tonto accompanied Star on his hack in the sunshine, both wearing their that were kindly donated by 💟

05/10/2022

🙏

05/10/2022

I'm sure Facebook is listening, 😂 I was only talking about acorns with a client yesterday !