Big River Equine LLC

08/22/2025

The importance of appropriately timed trimming and shoeing schedules for maintenance and rehabilitation.

As farriers, we often hear: “My horse still looks great — his feet don’t look long. I don’t think he grew much.”

The truth is, a well-maintained hoof *shouldn’t* look overgrown by the end of a cycle — but that doesn’t mean important changes aren’t happening. Subtle distortions creep in whether or not they’re obvious to the eye.

🔬 Dr. Renate Weller’s research showed that every 1 cm (0.39 in) of extra toe length = ~50 kg (110 lbs) of additional force on the tendons and soft tissue. That’s a tremendous amount of unnecessary strain — and a powerful reason why stretching cycles beyond 5–6 weeks may not be ideal for long-term soundness.

The horse below once struggled with chronic, intermittent lameness. Today, with consistent 5-week resets, we’re able to maintain balance and comfort while preventing old distortions from returning.

To illustrate the change during his shoeing cycle I took a series of photos across one full reset process:

🔹 Top Row: Before vs. After Work
- Toe & Breakover: The “before” shows a migrated toe and delayed breakover. After the reset, the toe is shorter and breakover has been brought back, reducing leverage on the dorsal wall and coffin joint.
- Hoof-Pastern Axis (HPA): Alignment is much straighter post-reset, reducing strain on the deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) and navicular region.
🔹 Middle Row: Bare Hoof Before & After Trim
- The “before” really highlights the migrating footprint and distortion beginning to set in.
- After trimming, the hoof is tighter, more compact, and correctly balanced under the limb.
- Heels have been restored to a more supportive, weight-bearing position instead of running forward.
🔹 Bottom Row: Casting Removed vs. Finished Package (Before Final Casting)
- Notice how the hoof capsule has been realigned and stabilized.
- The pink material you see is dental impression material — it cushions the heel bulbs and distributes load evenly under the casting to prevent rubbing while improving comfort.

What you see here isn’t just a neater-looking foot — it’s a biomechanical correction that directly improves comfort, reduces strain, and supports long-term soundness.

What stand out the most to you in this series?

08/13/2025

🌡️ Electrolytes For Hoof Health? Quite Possibly!🐴

In my 30+ years of working with horses, I’ve noticed something I think is worth sharing: when a horse’s electrolyte balance is off, it can affect more than hydration — it can show up in the health of their hooves.

Electrolytes (like sodium, potassium, magnesium, and chloride) aren’t just for hot days when your horse is sweating buckets. They’re vital year-round for:

🩸Circulation — Healthy blood flow delivers nutrients to the hoof.

⚛️ Cell function — Electrolytes help every cell, including those in the hoof wall, do their job.

💪 Nerve & muscle health — Balanced electrolytes support proper movement, which affects how the hoof wears and grows.

🔥❄️Extreme weather — summer or winter — can throw this balance off.

🔥 In summer, sweat loss from heat or work can quickly deplete electrolytes, even if your horse is drinking plenty of water.

❄️ In winter, horses often drink less, which can lead to subtle dehydration and imbalance without obvious signs.

Why this matters for the hoof:
Hydration and nutrient delivery are essential for healthy hoof horn production and growth. Chronic imbalances can contribute to weak hoof walls, slower growth, or difficulty maintaining hoof quality between trims.

✅ Simple ways to support your horse’s electrolyte balance:

Provide free-choice loose salt year-round

Use electrolyte supplements during extreme weather or after heavy work

Monitor water intake (especially in cold weather)

Offer soaked feeds or mashes to boost hydration

Healthy hooves start from the inside out — and electrolyte balance is one of those inside factors we often overlook. Supporting it is a small step that can make a big difference.

07/28/2025

“Sweat Happens—Unless It Doesn’t”

We’re deep in Hot Horse Summer and it’s not just the humans that are melting.
One of my horses is struggling in the heat this week. This 12 day heat advisory is unprecedented and just plain awful. I’ve been through yucky extreme heat with before—with my heart horse, Algernon, who battled COPD—so I know the early warning signs of heat stress and anhidrosis, and the proactive steps to take, but it didn’t stop me from feeling worried… and calling my vet. Just in case.
Because sometimes, sweat doesn’t happen. And when it doesn’t, it’s time to act fast.

🚨 Warning Signs of Heat Stress or Anhidrosis (no sweating):

- Little to no sweat, even when hot
- Labored breathing
- Elevated heart rate or body temp
- Lethargy, weakness, or stumbling
- Decreased water or feed intake
- Dry, tacky skin or gums
If your horse shows any of these, get them cooling, and call your vet.

💡 What You Can Do

🧂 1. Salt is not optional.
Salt drives thirst, keeps electrolytes balanced, and may even help prevent anhidrosis (when horses stop sweating).
👉 Add 1–2 tbsp of plain loose salt to feed daily + offer it free-choice. Check out this Case Study: Feeding Salt to a Horse with Anhidrosis on madbarn: Case Study: Feeding Salt to a Horse with Anhidrosis | Mad Barn https://madbarn.com/feeding-salt-to-a-horse-with-anhidrosis/
🚰 2. Water, everywhere.
Clean, fresh, cool. Soak feed. Wet hay. Add soaked chia seeds to feed. Soaked chia seeds are a great way to support hydration in horses, especially during intense work or in extreme weather conditions. They absorb 10 times their weight in water and retain electrolytes, which helps prolong hydration and support exercise recovery. Think horse hydration buffets.
💦 3. Spray, scrape, repeat.
Hosing helps, but you have to scrape it off since it can't evaporate effectively in this high humidity.
🌬️ 4. Fans & shade.
Trees, run-in sheds, barn fans—anything to keep the air moving and the sun off their back.
🕕 5. Ride smarter.
Early mornings, light work, or skip the ride. Use this Equine Heat Index Tool to check the real-time heat index for your location to monitor the risk of heat stress and safeguard your horse’s health. Equine Heat Index - Horse Riding Temperature Chart | Mad Barn https://madbarn.com/equine-heat-index/
🧴 6. Electrolytes + diet help.
Especially if your horse is sweating a lot. Replace what they lose BEOFRE it becomes a deficit.
✂️ 7. Clip thick coats.
If your horse has a heavy summer coat, Cushing’s, or struggles with temperature regulation in general, consider clipping to help them release heat. For Algernon, I would shave his neck along the jugular and his chest, which seemed to help a lot.
❄️ 8. Get creative.
Frozen carrots. Ice blocks in buckets. Kiddie pools. Misters. Whatever it takes.

🧑‍⚕️ When to Call the Vet

- Not sweating at all
- Not cooling down
- High temperature even after cooling off
- Looking dazed, weak, or off
- Not drinking
- Just not right (you know that feeling)

Even when we know what to do, getting a second set of eyes can make all the difference. I’m glad I trusted my gut this week. 🧡

Stay safe out there! 💬Got a favorite tip, trick, or hot horse hack? Drop it below! Bonus points if it involves a fan and a judgmental side-eye.

A Mad Barn Case study where a horse with anhidrosis (inability to sweat) recovered normal sweating after completing a diet evaluation and increasing salt intake

07/19/2025

🌿 Turning Overgrowth Into Opportunity – Trifecta Acres Style 🌿

Clearing Track A for the horses has been an ongoing project. The overgrowth and brush are a bit out of hand — and once I started clearing it, I was facing two big problems:

1️⃣ What on earth to do with all of this cut brush?
2️⃣ I still need a fence along the interior wooded section, but finding the time and the help for that project is tricky.

Enter: The Dead Hedge. It’s an old-world method of stacking trimmed branches, saplings, and underbrush in between upright posts or stakes into a thick, woven barrier. It gives all that cleared material a second life and solves my fencing issue in one go. Plus, it looks pretty darn cool — rustic, functional, and totally in tune with the land at Trifecta.

I was blessed to have some amazing help today — my good friend Amy, her daughter Megan, and friend Autumn, all came out to lend a hand. With their grit, energy, laughter, and serious brush-wrangling skills, we made huge progress and I am VERY grateful for their time and help.

While we were working on it, my wonderful neighbor Tom came by and asked what we were up to. When I told him he said “In Africa, they call that a boma.”(ya learn something new everyday — a boma is a traditional enclosure made from thorny brush to protect livestock from predators. How neat is that?!?!) He came back over later to give me a bobcat driving lesson and to help make quick work of the interior fence line clearing. (Thank god for good neighbors and friends!)

So now Track A has its very own boma-style dead hedge in progress — repurposed from the land, built by hand, and slowly shaping this place into something really special. Still plenty of work to do, but I’ll take the wins where I can. 💪🌱

07/13/2025

🌿✨ Mullein for Horses — Nature’s Gift at Trifecta Acres! ✨🌿

I’m so excited!! I’ve found TONS of beautiful mullein plants growing here at Trifecta Acres this summer. 🐴💛

Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) has been used for centuries as a gentle, effective herb — and it turns out it has some wonderful benefits for horses, too. Its soft, fuzzy leaves contain natural saponins and mucilage, which can help soothe irritated airways, support clear breathing, and ease dry coughs. The leaves and flowers also have mild antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, making them a lovely addition to salves for skin irritations, scrapes, or even minor swelling. (ALWAYS check in with your veterinarian before adding any supplements to your horse's diet!)

While clearing the overgrowth on Track A of the track system, I harvested many handfuls of Mullein leaves to dry in my food dehydrator. I'll powder some for my horses (and dogs) and this fall I'll use my Levo II to infuse some into beeswax and oil with calendula and plantain to create a soothing skin salve. Last year I made respiratory tinctures that worked wonders for winter ickys.

My dear friend and soul sister Aimée introduced me to Mullein and its amazing benefits not that long ago. I wish I had known about it while my heart horse Algernon was still earthbound - he had COPD (heaves) and I'm sure it would have been a wonderful addition to his supportive care.

I like to think finding so much of it here is a “Welcome Home” gift from Al and Aimee ❤️❤️ and I'm grateful to be able to use what they both taught me to help others.

I'm stoked to put the plants growing right here on the land to good use — connecting horses and healing in such a natural, simple and profound way.

If you’ve ever used mullein for your horses (or yourself!), I’d love to hear about it! And if you haven’t, check your land, you just might find some! 💛🐴

07/11/2025

Big news from Big River Equine at Trifecta Acres!
For well over a decade I’ve dreamed of creating a healing space where horses and their owners could come to learn, find peace and connection, heal and thrive. That dream is FINALLY becoming reality — barn renovation is officially underway at Trifecta Acres, home of Big River Equine.

We’re busy building spaces designed with the whole horse in mind:

🏡 A natural track system to encourage healthy movement and social engagement 24/7
🏡 A calm, quiet and functional barn with loafing areas for horses to heal, relax and shelter if they choose
🏡 Private temporary rehab boarding
🏡 Space for haul-in trimming & shoeing appointments and educational clinics

While there is still a TON to do before we’re fully operational, it’s now within reach and can’t wait to welcome you all to Trifecta Acres soon! With many of the new facility tasks complete I can now focus on sharing more educational content and property updates so stay tuned and let me know if there are any topics on your mind!

I also want to take a moment to thank my amazing community of friends for their generous support and assistance during this process, that community also includes all of you— thank you for being part of this journey with me!

10/18/2024

The Veterinary Postural Rehabilitation course I hosted at GGAA back in July was EPIC! It was INCREDIBLE to be surrounded by such dedicated veterinarians and equine professionals working hard to help and heal horses by looking at, and addressing, the WHOLE horse.

The amount of information given and the time commitment was INTENSE! HOWEVER, they are now offering a downsized version for horse owners!!!!

This is a very good and thorough introduction to the course. I’d really love it if you could check it out.

Here’s the link for info and enrollment.
https://bigriverequine.krtra.com/t/Kuaf7B5Vv8lF

And here’s the link to their page with lots of free info and videos. There’s a fb live this Sunday with my friends and colleagues Rosemary and Dr Gellman discussing the upcoming course.
https://www.facebook.com/PosturalRehabilitation4HorsesDogs?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Here’s a video answering questions about the upcoming course:
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/wUw7zkFxEuZcDfLh/?mibextid=WC7FNe

These guys are absolutely amazing and I’m excited that so many people in Missouri are being introduced to Postural Rehabilitation. This means helping even more horses!!

Let me know if you have any questions and I’m happy to help!!

09/22/2024

Maybe not every horse can be seen by Dr. Judith M. Shoemaker (***secret weapon of many East Coast US elite riders!***), but here is a peek at her methods, which anyone can benefit from! Interested in learning more? PR for Horses begins enrollment on October 3rd!! Get on our VIP waitlist (link in first comment below) to be the first to get access!

09/10/2024

"Wow, you didn't even have to use your nippers! I guess that he didn't really need a trim yet, huh?"

As the summer winds down and we enter fall in this part of the world, we may see a slowdown in hoof growth and these kinds of comments come up every so often. The misconception is that a trim is simply to remove excess growth on the hoof - but that's actually not the case.

Our goal as hoofcare providers is to keep the horse comfortable and sound. We want to work to get the foot to function at its best, so the joints, tendons and ligaments up the limb can stay healthy for years to come. Our trim is about balance, equilibrium, and hoof health, not just removing gross length.

The last thing we want is to wait until the hoof growth is causing detrimental effects to the internal structures to try to remedy it; instead, if we can keep the foot at its optimal balance, then we can get ahead of issues before they start.

That means that often, our trims should even look fairly minimal. Finding a cycle length that allows us to do "less" actually allows for more targeted changes to the hoof capsule. Big changes don't just make for a nice looking before and after photo, they can have knock-on effects every cycle as the horse adjusts to new angles with the adjustments.

I always say one of my favorite things about hoof rehab is "suggesting" to the foot where I want it to be. If every cycle I'm doing two nipper runs to get the foot back to baseline, I'm probably not making much progress over time.

So next time you feel there wasn't much that needed to be done to the foot, consider whether it was truly because the hoof didn't need it, or whether it is actually simply keeping the foot comfortable and in balance with where it will function best. It's not about what we trim, but often about knowing what NOT to trim.

09/05/2024

04/15/2024

This is an amazing offering!!!! You’ve all heard me talk about the importance of normal neutral posture in horses and how much I loved the 6 week intensive PR course I took recently. Here’s your chance to hop on the PR train and learn how abnormal compensatory posture in your horse could be contributing to all kinds of performance and behavior problems. No performance or behavior issues? Great!!! Keep it that way and learn about postural rehabilitation as a preventative measure for long term soundness and health for your equine partner!!

UPDATE!! Rider PR and Professional PR scheduled in next 6 months. Which is right for you? Post your questions below or DM me. Vets, Chiros and PTs-- Live Techniques will be offered mid-July 2025, so get it onto your schedule now!!

Get on the VIP Early Interest Waitlist! PosturalRehab.com

03/13/2024

Just a cute little foot from today that made me happy. I love shoeing this mare and seeing her progress. 🥰