Rach Hemy - Hoof Cares

16/03/2026

Another fab day of catching up, learning and trimming! It started with me shadowing Hattie while she trimmed and I watched, questioned and drank coffee from a client 😂 then we met Kirsty and Sparrow to finish up another case study where I applied what I'd seen and discussed with Hattie in the morning to get an even better trim. I get feedback after every trim for my case studies but these check ins are invaluable so I know I'm still on the right track, for my sake and the horses I trim 😊 onwards and upwards 💪

I had a trim day with Kirsty and Rach on Saturday.

As their mentor it was my last visit for some of their non path case studies. Can’t believe how quickly time flies!

I was pleased to see clear improvements in the horses I saw. Including high-low imbalance and some better caudal function and structural health. Certainly some nice postural changes too.

The thing I love about being an EP is that we are trained and learn to consider the horse as a whole and we trim them as an individual.

There’s always more to learn and challenges to face. There’s always things to consider that can make a difference including how we interact with them and keep them.

This is why having documented case studies is a great way to keep tabs on what we’re doing and how we’re progressing in all aspects of their care.

Well done ladies, great EP’s in the making! Onto your next chapters 😁💪

03/03/2026

Let's take a look at the wide range of horses I have the honour of trimming...
Our muddy Meg is the oldest horse on my books who's looking amazing even in her 30s (she's older and definitely wiser than me!) I say it each time I see her, the old girl's feet are fab for her age and I'm glad to be able to help her stay that way 😍
Then we have boggy Bambi who is just a wee yearling and the baby of my clients 👶 she's still learning how to be a horse and that that includes having pedicures but her family have worked hard with her training and in just 2 trims she's improved so much already (with the help of a bucket of lick too!)

31/01/2026

Well, that's the end of a looooong January and with 2 local trimmers injured and out of action it's definitely been a busy one with helping out where I can! Thank you to everyone for being understanding... with squeezing my diary (and my body!) to it's limits, it may have meant ponies had to wait a bit longer for a pedicure but the main backlog is sorted now 🥳 I've taken it as a good chance to learn even more and realise I need to look after myself too (easier said than done though)
Here's to February being shorter, brighter and drier 🤞

04/01/2026

Something I've never even considered but well worth keeping in mind especially at this time of year when even those who use Faecal Worm Egg Counts to keep on top of worms, will likely be using a wormer anyway! Remember sometimes administering wormers can be a trigger for laminitis too... 🪱

*** TOP WORMING TIP!! ***

As hard frosts hit the UK, those that need worming for encysted redworm will be done in the next week or two, so I thought it was a good time to share one of my top nuggets of worming (de-worming if we want to be correct, but as a “horsey” girl, I’ve always incorrectly said worming!).

Always worm your horse IN THE MORNING! Some horses with high worm burdens/unknown worming histories may colic as the worms start to die off. Some horses may react to a wormer. Some may not eat or drink for hours after being wormed. You need daylight and you need to be able to check your horse, if only at lunchtime and then again in the evening.

As an added tip to potentially avoid an out of hours vet bill, always worm on a week day!

I never advise worming in the evening unless you have cctv and can check your horse several hours later. It just makes sense to worm early morning so that people will always be around for the 12 hours or so after administering a wormer.

My worming posts always attract lots of questions, but this one is only about the ideal time of day to worm, so on this occasion I won’t be answering any questions - I’m having an easy Sunday 😉

For bonus marks, what type of worm is in this poo?

Feel free to share the post, but not to copy and paste as your own.

31/12/2025

Frosty footprints...

And what lovely looking hoof prints they are! Just by looking at what Albie leaves behind when he moves, I can tell the more precise sculpting of his frog that my mentor Hattie introduced me to is keeping them in the right shape even when due a touch up (you can also see his bars could do with a trim too but Christmas and illness has got in the way recently unfortunately!) it's also helped his thrush massively and I'm seeing similar results with client horses too 🐸

Now that winter has finally decided to show up though, we've got to be mindful of the frosty grass for the laminitic prone and to ensure lots of fresh, non icy water for all ponies too ❄️

I hope all clients and their horses had a lovely Christmas and wishing everyone a Happy New Year too ❤️

01/12/2025

A diamond in the rough...

This older gentleman has always had crumbly feet and while his mum was finding someone to trim him, flare, cracks and seedy toe came in to play as well. It's easy to get distracted by the bottom of the hoof and write it off as just bad quality but it's important to recognise what hoof is still to come as well... looking at his, I'm hopeful that they will just keep getting better! After just 2 visits from myself, he's looking fab (and hopefully feeling it too!) and I'm excited to see what is still to come from this chap 🤩

05/11/2025

Remember, remember the 5th of November...

And remember, remember the animals who don't understand a random guy who didn't like the government centuries ago but we still set off fireworks for him now...

Sending calming thoughts to all the beasties out there, equine or otherwise, who have to put up with our bright and noisy nonsense at this time of year! 🎆🎇

17/10/2025

A little idea of what goes on behind the scenes for a Student Equine Podiatrist... In our first year of the course we had online webinars, assignments, practical learning and exams all over the country. To reward us for passing our first practical exams at the end of the year, we get to spend 6 months doing 4 different case studies... no rest for the wicked! Our lovely mentor Hattie spent a day with myself and another student on the course playing with ponies (and the whippets Bubbles and Dobby) while teaching us her wise ways and she will monitor the case studies throughout as well. Check out H&H Training & Hoof Care to see even more beautiful feet!

04/10/2025

Time to introduce ourselves... I'm Rach and more importantly is the main man himself, Albie (or Albert when he's in trouble which is most of the time) He's my cow print Friesian (Friesian x Cob) and started my barefoot journey as I decided to ditch the shoes when he came over from Ireland back in 2023. He's my first (and last!) youngster but he's taught me far more than just about hooves and I wouldn't have it any other way 🥰 Amazing photography from Isabel Pearce Photography who perfectly captured Albie's cheeky nature as well as his beauty (but I'm biased!)

01/10/2025

Welcome! I'm a newly practising Equine Podiatrist training through Equine Podiatry Training Ltd to achieve a Level 5 Diploma (hopefully by 2027! 🤞) I cover a 10 mile radius of Stoke on Trent but feel free to drop me a message to discuss any flexibility. Looking forward to meeting more horses and their humans...