Trusted Hands Hoof Care

I posted a while back about the new Versa Glue Shoes that I was selected to trial @ EasyCare Inc. The Ultimate In Hoof Protection

I applied them to Brix an 11 year old Arabian that trains for and participates in 25 mile endurance races.

The hoof prep process is similar to the Easy Care Performance Shoes that I've put on Brix in the past. I found the glueing process was more simple due to the foot being on the ground while I pumped adhesive into the holes. I used a little more glue than normal but I think I'll get back to using less after a few more applications.

The cuffs being set more forward and being more rigid makes the Versa Glue shoe stay put. It also made it easy to adjust and stay in place when I got it where I wanted it.

I'm very excited to have the Versa Glue shoes available soon!

Brave as advertised!

Liam is a sweet as they come but has some issues with his trimming appointments due to bad experiences with previous farriers. Liam's mom has done everything she could do to help him get more comfortable with my stand and tools but Liam is still unsure of me.

Today Liam tried a Brave Horse CBD Kelso's Cube. This is the 1st trim he stood quietly without blowing and spooking at the sound of my tools. His over-all demeanor was calm for the whole trim. I was able to have my hoof stand next to me and pull his foot forward to finish them on the stand.

Thank you Brave Horse and Rebecca Hutson for trying something new to give Liam a great trimming experience (he was even Brave enough to touch my stand after his trim 🙌). 🤍❤🤍

https://www.bravehorsecbd.com/

Recently EasyCare Inc. The Ultimate in Hoof Protection posted that they were seeking hoof care professionals to test their new EasyShoe Versa Glue shoe. I submitted an application and was chosen! 🎉

I'm super excited to trial the pair of new EasyShoe Versa Glue shoes that they sent me. I have a few horses in mind that I would like to try these on but need to make sure the pair I received will fit properly. I'm looking forward to seeing how the application process goes and how these perform. 🐎

Stay tuned! 🙌

(Last photo courtesy of Easycare Inc. Not my work...YET! 😉).

Wishing all of my friends and clients a very Merry Christmas and wonderful New Year! All of your kindness and generosity this Christmas season and throughout the year has me feeling blessed that I get to do this amazing job. I'm beyond thankful for my extended family of people, horses (big, small and every size in-between), donkeys, goats, llamas, and cows!

Merry Christmas!🎄🕊✝️

This 👇is sssoooo true! There is no such thing as all of a sudden unless you have a serious injury (SLL) or a systemic response (SIRS).

Know the early warning signs (cresty neck, excess fat pads along the girth line, rib cage, hind quarters, around the tail and over the eyes, change in attitude/performance (lethargy) and swollen sheath or udder....PPID is already advanced when they have delayed shedding in the spring and an abnormally long winter coat). Tighten up their diets and get bloodwork done.

Often, people with a horse in laminitic crisis will desperately search for answers on how to get their horses more comfortable. The truth about laminitis is the pain will not stop until the trigger for the laminitis is found and removed, and once the trigger is removed, often comfort follows soon after.

When I get messages about what owners should do about their laminitis case, my first response is "change the diet immediately." The majority of laminitic cases, in fact 80-90% of laminitic cases, are caused by endocrinopathic issues. Other than checking ACTH levels for PPID, insulin issues are caused by diet and management. This means, that due to metabolic concerns, the horse shouldn't be consuming anything above 4% starch and 10% ESC+starch combined. This could mean soaking hay, removing the horse from ANY grass pasture - even if it's "overgrazed" or "just w**ds" - and removing possible triggers for laminitic pain such as grain, alfalfa, fat sources, excess calories etc. until the horse is comfortable. I have clients start the ECIR emergency diet which can be found online and is outlined clearly.

Sometimes, I get a short retort that "all my horse's bloodwork is normal" or "the horse isn't even overweight!"
Now, I am not a vet, and I am not refuting that the metabolic bloodwork might have come back in normal range. But, I have seen countless horses whose blood came back "perfect" who suddenly came up sound when their diet and management were controlled carefully, or pergolide was introduced for PPID cases. ECIR has followed this same approach for over 2 decades with great results, and has sifted through some difficult cases to find some sneaky underlying metabolic horses with good success.

This idea isn't far-fetched when we realize that only 15% of laminitis cases are triggered by the other two causes - supporting limb laminitis (perfusion issues due to overweighting one limb because of an injury to an opposing limb), and SIRS (systemic inflammatory response syndrome), which happens from triggers such as colitis, retained placenta, toxic w**d ingestion, grain room break in, infection/fever, etc.

Moral of the story? If your horse hasn't had a very serious injury causing them to completely offweight a limb, or hasn't had an infection or toxin ingestion (or other obvious cause of SIRS), treat them as metabolic. The worst that could happen is you're inconvenienced for a period of time in adjusting their diet. The best that could happen? It could be lifesaving for your horse.

Very generous of my friends client to donate her horses leg to further our education.

This! 👇

Why are the caudal hoof structures so important in whole horse health and performance?

The haemodynamic system is a miracle of evolutionary bio-engineering.
An animal that can experience 2.5 times its bodyweight crashing through a single limb, needs to have a pretty impressive shock absorption mechanism to not shatter bones!
Up to 75% of the shock of impact is absorbed before it reaches the fetlock.. How!?

Join me and The study of the equine hoof as we explore this miraculous anatomy.
I will be teaching the theories, explaining the anatomy and delving into the bio-mechanics and mechanisms, and also discussing the farriery implications. Also linking all of this to the risk of injury and connections to the entire musculoskeletal system! While Lindsey will be dissecting the cadavers and we will test the theories against real anatomy.

join us at this link.

https://fb.me/e/1fq8E03Af