Gem Thompson Equine Podiatry Student

01/02/2025

17/12/2024

What a great prize to get your horse’s hoof care regimen off to a flying start in 2025 🙌🏼

With Christmas getting ever so closer, we have some exciting goodies to give away for you and your horse! 🐴 🎅🏼 🎁

Share this post, follow our page, like & comment with a Christmas emoji to be in with a chance of winning the below products from Horse Leads and our favourite 100% British Wool Insoles 🤩😍

Winner announced 7pm Christmas Eve 🥳

02/10/2024

I’m still on the come down from an amazing weekend at the BFBA Focus event, supporting The Hoof Boot Shop on their award winning 🏆🙌🏼 trade stand.
It was fantastic to speak to so many like minded hoof care professionals and encouraging to hear how barefoot and the use of hoof boots is definitely on the increase.
I also had the opportunity to listen to some very thought provoking lectures by Paige Poss and The Hoof Architect and managed a spot of shopping too 🤑 (proud of myself for resisting the very pretty £400 hoof knife 🤯💪🏼)
All in all a very enjoyable and productive weekend 🤩

24/08/2024

After an incredibly busy few months it’s time for some much needed R & R, so my two weeks holiday starts now 🤩

I really need to completely switch off, so don’t intend to read or reply to any messages in this time. My twitchy fingers can’t always help themselves though 🙈, so if you could avoid sending any until I’m back working (Monday 9th September), it would be hugely appreciated! 😘

I’ll also take this opportunity to say that my books are currently closed to new trim customers 🤯
I still have occasional space for boot fittings, but these are limited so please be prepared for the possibility of a long wait for an appointment, dependant on your location.

For anyone who has made an enquiry and not yet had a reply, I promise I’ve not forgotten you and am gradually working my way through the backlog. Thank you so much for your patience.

25/05/2024

I absolutely love seeing my customers out and about enjoying themselves 🤩
Here’s TB ex racer Otis and his fab owner Eliza making amazing memories at a recent pleasure ride and rocking his Equine Fusion Boots - think we can safely assume Otis is having the time of his life!
Then we have Arab Kareem and his equally fab owner Emily storming round a 64km endurance event 🙌🏼. He can turn his hoof to a spot of dressage too and as well as being very talented, is an absolute gentleman to trim 🥰

What brilliant photos - they have been purchased by the owners and I have permission to share, but will try and find the photographers to give credit where it’s due 📸

Feel free to to comment with pictures of your barefoot beasties out doing their stuff - I’d love to see them ☺️

18/03/2024

Ok everyone…well, Yorkshire folk in particular, I need your help 🙏🏼
I'm on the home stretch of my LANTRA Level 5 Diploma course, but I’m in need of 2 more Pathology Case Studies before I can even think about putting in for those dreaded final exams 🫣 and dare to dream of being able to call myself qualified 😬

To class as a suitable pathology case study I’m looking for a horse or pony with any of the following:
🐴 Current/ongoing undiagnosed or unresolved lameness
🐴 Laminitis
🐴 Navicular Disease/Syndrome
🐴 Significant Capsule Shift
🐴 Club Foot
🐴 Severe/Unstable Hoof Cracks
🐴 Significant Loss of Hoof Wall (maybe due to white line disease/seedy toe/abscess)

I also need owners that are willing to:

🙏🏼 Commit to a minimum of at least 6 months of regular trims (and hopefully ongoing thereafter)
🙏🏼 Be on board with a barefoot holistic approach, addressing the cause and not just the symptoms of the lameness/pathology
🙏🏼 Consider changes to diet, environment, workload or the use of hoof boots and pads, if needed to help progress the case

In return you can expect me to be:

✅ Closely supervised by an experienced and qualified EP acting as mentor, who will see the horse at the start and end of the process (and in between if necessary) and who is always available for any advice or support needed along the way
✅ Providing detailed visit reports after each visit with full sets of photos taken to monitor progress
✅ Willing to collaborate with the other equine professionals involved in your horses care to discuss the best way forward
✅ Punctual and Reliable
✅ Fully insured

🤞🏼If you have or know of a horse that may fit this criteria, based in the Yorkshire region, please get in touch or feel free to pass on my details.

Thank you ☺️

25/02/2024

After a lonely month for poor Chico following the loss of his companion to colic (RIP lovely Echo 😢), leaving him with no equine company, last Sunday he came to live with us. He belonged to my mother in law and has now been gifted to me 🥰
He’s nearly 12 but not done much other than a bit of groundwork and has lead a fairly sheltered existence on the side of the moor in Marsden 😬
Loading him was a challenge, but can’t blame him for being scared and reluctant - he went on after an hour of gentle persuasion and once moving, travelled well. Huge thanks to Whitakers Equine Transport for your patience and help 🙌🏼

He walked off nicely once home and has spent the last week getting accustomed to life on a yard with lots more activity than he’s used to 🤯
He’s also had to cope with being stabled which is another new experience (had access to a stable before but could come and go as he pleased which is ideal but unfortunately not possible on our yard).
We are taking introductions to Spencer and Digger very slowly as they can be mean bully boys with horses they don’t know well 😣🤦🏼‍♀️
My first loan pony was lost to a broken hock after rushed introductions with a newcomer so I’m majorly paranoid!

Chico is a superstar though - generally very sweet and well mannered, apart from when he thinks he’s being left alone (again, totally understandable).
He needs to lose weight 🙈, but will be gradually brought into work which will help and I’ll aim to back him over summer. A little on the short side for me at 14hh, but plenty chunky enough to hopefully carry me ok (I’ll be joining Chico on his weight loss mission 🤐)
I’ll feel happier once he’s properly settled with the bigger boys, but lots to look forward to ☺️🌞

04/02/2024

*update* knife sharpening skills not so shoddy after all 👌🏼 tried them out today on some pretty hefty frogs and bars and they felt like new! Particularly impressed with the loop knife that I’ve always struggled to get nicely sharp in the past 🙌🏼☺️

I’ve had a fun morning testing out my new bit of kit - a full tool maintenance system from Londonderry Forge Supplies Ltd 🤩

This job is soooo much easier (and safer!) with sharp tools, but especially where rasps are concerned, their ever increasing price makes it very tempting to keep using them past their best 💸…though my hands and wrists soon start to complain 😣
Regular sharpening should ensure optimal performance for a fair bit longer 🤞🏼

I’ll admit to being a bit clueless on how to go about the sharpening process, with various wheels and coloured compounds 🤷🏼‍♀️ but fortunately the kit comes with really comprehensive instructions as well as links to some great demonstration videos 🤓

I started off trying to breathe some new life into the collection of ‘spent’ rasps piling up in the garage then gave the hoof knives a go 😬
I feel the knives might take some practice so tomorrow will tell if I’ve made a hash of it 🙈…lovely new super sharp knife on standby just incase 🤭😉

19/01/2024

Do I miss my nice warm office 🤔 nah…especially not with views like the ones from earlier this week 🥶
Could have done without some of the white knuckle driving perhaps 🙈 and I can’t deny todays creature comforts were very welcome 🤗