A Plus Equine Bodywork

08/21/2026

When choosing a lesson barn, be sure to ask about the care each horse receives. Lesson horses have one of the hardest jobs out there, dealing with riders as they learn to ride. Balance, correct cues, etc are a work in progress and a good lesson horse takes that in stride and helps their rider learn.

Very honoured to be a part of the Valiant Equestrian care team!

🐴 Have you ever asked what happens to the school horses when they retire at your barn?

At Valiant Equestrian, retirement doesn’t mean being replaced, sold, or forgotten after their years of service. 🤎

Our school horses are family — and we believe the horses who teach our riders deserve to be cared for throughout every stage of their lives including the retirement stage.

Our school horses are either active show horses or lovingly semi-retired show horses. Every horse receives properly fitted tack and equipment, regular veterinary care by Bennett Equine Vet and farrier care by Kellie Vissor, blanketing, massage by Ashley - Equine Bodyworker and chiropractic support as needed, quality grain by Masterfeeds Horse Feeds , hay and supplements by Mad Barn , stalls with comfort mats, daily turnout, and a carefully managed workload for each individual horse.

And when a horse has given us all they can, they retire with us. They remain part of the Valiant family, because their value to us has never been measured by what they can do for us.

After all, they spent years teaching our riders.
The least we can do is give them a forever home. 🤎🐴

Developing Riders, Not Passengers™

08/20/2026

POOR HOOF HEALTH CONTRIBUTORS
Horses need important environmental support to have optimal hoof health!

Most hoof “issues” are a result of human misunderstanding.
When horses are given the proper environment, nutrition, freedom to move and competent hoof care professionals-their hooves hold up pretty dang well.

Some of the most common hoof dysfunctions or pathologies I see that contribute to body soreness are:

POOR BALANCE: this can present as pinched or collapsed heels, poor heel and frog development resulting in caudal heel failure, long toes and underrun heels and too long of trim cycles.

THRUSH: is a painful infection in the center sulcus of the heel. This presents as a deep crack between the heel bulbs-typically paired with one or more of the balance issues stated above. This can cause the horse to load more towards the front of the hoof to avoid the painful heel-creating an unbalanced load, impacting growth and balance in general.

INFLAMMATION: this presents as deep event lines in the hoof wall. This can happen for a long list of reasons-including but not limited to vaccinations, hormonal changes, digestive issues, iron overload and most commonly too much sugars in the diet from too much rich grass grazing and/or high sugar processed feeds.

ALL of these issues are greatly impacted by the horse's environment.

Hoof health is FED. Most horses are deficient in some form of the minerals needed to grow healthy hoof horn and sole thickness for comfort and structure integrity. Horses given free access to safe/limited grazing, appropriate forage for their needs, paired with supplemental mineral support are set up to grow an optimal hoof. A hoof that is fed properly can fight off infections and hold better balance.

A horse's day to day activities should provide the freedom to move in order to keep the optimal circulation to the hoof. Horses that spend too much time in confinement or only move over soft surfaces tend to have more issues than those that move a majority of the day. Things like stall waste or poor ground management will increase the risks of things like thrush and hoof wall integrity.
Creating an environment or providing a facility that can support a healthy hoof can make or break one of the most important factors in hoof health.

Ensuring a trim cycle that supports each horse's hoof care needs is a very important factor. We have normalized longer trim or reset cycles for affordability over function.
Shorter trim cycles will keep balance better. After roughly 4 weeks, the angles of a hoof will change in ways that greatly impact all of the structures above it and create compensatory patterns leading to body soreness.
I believe your hoof care professional is one of the most important parts of your wellness team.
A horse's body can only be as balanced as the foundation it stands on.
Having a HCP that is supportive of your hoof health goals is imperative.

Advocating for our horses starts with educating ourselves on what is and isn't “normal”, the way “things have always been done” has proven to not work for every horse.
If you suspect there are some changes that need to happen in regard to your horses' hoof health, ask questions and do your research! Knowledge is power!!

schaefferbodyworks.com

Learn more!
https://sbw-owners-massage.thinkific.com/courses/understanding-hoof-body

08/19/2026

Now proudly offering PEMF as an add on to trims and bodywork or as standalone sessions.

PEMF (Pulsed Electromagnetic Field) therapy uses gentle electromagnetic pulses to support the body’s natural processes, including circulation, relaxation, recovery, and healthy cellular function. When used alongside bodywork, PEMF can help prepare tissues for hands-on work and support relaxation and recovery afterward. During trims, it can also be used to help promote relaxation and comfort while supporting the body, especially for horses that struggle with standing for hoof care.

08/14/2026

I’m out of the office for the weekend taking a much needed mental health break. I will respond to messages and inquiries on Tuesday.

08/07/2026

08/07/2026

07/27/2026

I can’t believe I have to make this post, but after some “drama” on a recent post, here goes.

I do not follow a specific trim method.

In fact, I don’t believe there is any one trim method.

I believe in constant continuing education for the good of the horse - even if it challenges our ideas.

I believe in NOT sticking to an “ideal” - as this is often to the detriment of the horse.

I think forcing a specific trim based on our ideals or even “our training” oftentimes does a disservice to the horse.

I do not believe in any one “hoofcare guru” or a certain “Way” in hoofcare.

I am absolutely not against learning from an organization or going through a hoofcare school, of course! I am a member of, and mentor for, an international hoofcare organization (PHCP), and one of the most amazing things about it is there is no one trim style or method in the organization - which allows all of us to discuss and collaborate on difficult cases across the world, to find solutions for our clients that we may not have originally thought of. That’s why I decided on that program.

I see every single horse as an individual, and decide what I’m going to do in a trim based on many factors:

-How the horse walks up for the trim
-How the horse chooses to stand/their posture
-How the horse shifts its weight when I ask for a hoof to be lifted
-How a horse rests their legs or feet after a hoof is placed down
-The depth of the collateral grooves
-The health of the frog
-The appearance of the sole (waxy? Chalky? Almost translucent? “Orange” colored? Flexible?)
-The health and appearance of the white line
-The horse’s ability to stretch each limb - whether just holding up a foot, or when asked to maneuver it away from the body to assess the soft tissue mobility
-The thickness and health of the hoof wall
-The horse’s diet
-The horse’s metabolic status
-The horse’s living environment
-The horse’s job and workload
-The owner’s ability to implement changes in management if needed

Any and all of these can affect what I remove, what I leave, and overall my plan and goal for the horse.

And even with all this information, we can be wrong. The HORSE is the ultimate judge - not a textbook, not the radiographs, not the heel height, not some instructor who has an idea of how the trim should be.

The horse tells us if the trim is right…. by their movement, comfort, posture, and soundness.

Are there landmarks in the hoof we can look to? Sure. Are they never-changing constants that should always be trimmed to? Absolutely not.

The internal structures, pathology, and distortion/inflammation can affect the external structures and landmarks, and even where they exist on the hoof.

I will never tell you what you MUST do in a trim. I will never say there is only one correct way.

And yes, I admit, I will get grumpy if you try to tell me there is only one way to do things and it works for all horses. And it may come out as defensive, or annoyed, or angry.

Because if I leave this hoofcare industry having left behind one bullet point, it would be this:

Horses don’t read your textbooks, blog posts, webinars, or courses - and they are living creatures in front of you at the mercy of whatever you decide to put them through.

Please make dang sure that what you put them through has their interests at heart.

❤️Your Grumpy FB Page Admin

07/27/2026

✨ Want to learn how to support your horse's body between professional bodywork sessions? ✨

Your horse doesn't stop needing support when your bodyworker leaves the barn. There are simple, effective techniques you can learn to help your horse stay comfortable, relaxed, and moving well.

This fall and winter, I'm booking small, hands-on horse owner clinics where you'll learn practical skills you can confidently use on your own horse.

Clinic Topics:
• Equi-Bow
• Equine Craniosacral Therapy
• Equine Acupressure

These aren't just demonstrations. You'll get hands-on practice with plenty of individual guidance so you leave feeling confident applying what you've learned.

Because I want everyone to have lots of one-on-one instruction and the chance to ask questions, I keep my clinics intentionally small.

✔ Host a private clinic just for you and your horse.
✔ Gather a few friends for a small in-barn clinic and learn together.

Whether you're looking to help your horse recover better after work, support an aging partner, improve comfort and performance, or simply deepen your understanding of your horse's body, these clinics are a fun and empowering way to learn.

Fall and winter dates are now open for booking! If you've been thinking about hosting a clinic, now is the perfect time to reserve your spot before the calendar fills up.

📩 Send me a message to chat about available dates and find the clinic that's the best fit for you and your barn.

07/25/2026

The sun is shining. The course is set. Come out and watch the working trail show at Brightside Equestrian Centre! Horses, vendors, food truck. Bring a chair and make it an afternoon!