Savior’s Hands Whole Horse Care & Horsemanship

03/26/2026

Confidence is built past 22 feet.

A little change of pace today. This is going to be more horsemanship based. Someone wise once told me this (my mentors lol) and it’s stuck with me ever since. If you have a minute I’ll tell you a story.

I owned a horse I named Pal, an off track thoroughbred with a ROUGH history. He was beaten, abused, and neglected to the point of emaciation. That horse was afraid of living in his own body. I worked so hard to help him gain confidence but we hit a plateau. I took him to a clinic hosted in Kentucky at my mentors home facility, and that’s where we learned how important it is to play at the end of a 22 foot line or push limits with a 45 foot line.

They put a piece of tape on my line and I was told to attempt everything from the tape or further. Obstacles, flat work like lunging, backing, side passing, serpentines etc.

What this taught me was that at that distance and further it takes away your ability as the handler to micromanage. You pitch all this line to your horse and ask them to perform a task which they may then do or not do lol. However the key to this is allowing your horse to make the mistake and not getting upset when it’s not perfect the first time.

Micromanaging your horse creates a horse reliant on you for everything and they are unable to think for themselves. Therefore in technical, high pressure, and/pr unfamiliar situations asking those horses to keep their composure most of the time is directly influenced by your ability to keep yourself together in those situations.

Building a horse to be a partner is so much fun, and so important. Helping them become an independent thinker and problem solver is amazing to witness. You can the ask these horses really challenging questions, and even if they don’t totally understand they have the emotional capacity and the self confidence to trust that this might not be a bad idea.

Most people don’t own horses like this because it’s difficult. Humans micromanage even when we think we arnt. Practicing things like this keep you accountable as a horseman, and also will shed light on a lot of holes in your training which at times can be humbling. Two things the majority of the horse community isn’t ready to admit and face.

Challenge yourself, challenge your horses. Give them and yourself some grace when mistakes are made, it’s not the end of the world. These creatures are here to enjoy not constantly fight with.

Do better, be better.

03/18/2026

Screaming posture from the roof tops!!!

Pleassseeeeee pay attention. It does not matter the age of your horse. If you notice them standing like a goat on a rock consistently something needs to be investigated.

Using my personal horse again as a teaching prop. Nitro is a 3 1/2 year old cutting bred quarter horse. He just went through a huge growth spurt and is a full hand taller that the hip then he is at the withers. He has roughly 16 rides under saddle. I do not ride when my horse is downhill. That’s a topic for another day. However I was taking a picture of him to document said butthigh-ness and I realized the posture I was seeing from him was less than ideal.

I txted my vet and asked a few of my trusted peers how concerned I should be about this posture on a growing horse. Is it because he’s now suddenly 4 inches taller behind, do horses get growing pains like humans? Etc.

I got mixed responses from everyone as to be expected. I did my own little routine of diagnostics on him which gave me some insite but not enough to be confident in what route I want to take him. Luckily my vet is amazing and got us seen the following week for a set of lateral radiographs to see the orientation of his boney column.

I did not have high hopes I expected ground parallel or slightly negative, what I didn’t expect was the extent of negative….. if I had to guess without measuring I’d say his worst foot, his hind right is probably a -5° (+/-) that’s not great news. He’s at least -1° or more in all of his feet, which will create the visible compensation in his posture. This is a prime example that even though the outside of the hoof may not look like its world ending terrible the exterior markers are really just that, markers. You will never truly know the pastern axis alignment without a proper x ray.

Good news is he’s still young, a lot of his skeleton has not matured yet. And because I made the choice to not ride him as early or as heavily as most people would (quite literally for the fact I was not sold on the quality of his feet) I have saved myself a lot of headache. I may get called paranoid, or hyper vigilant, however I was applauded by my vet for said hyper vigilance, as she wishes warning signs like posture in young horses was taken more seriously in the industry while their bodies are still pliable.

Outwardly to most trimmers/farriers/vets, Nitros feet would be considered pretty dang good. He’s got fabulous wall thickness, adequate sole depth, and concavity I wish he would share with a lot of other horses lol. He’s sound across #2 stone and literally floats over the ground. To me and my eye, I was not thrilled with the lack of substance in his frog and digital cushion. As well as how narrow and forward his heels run. Those were my warning signs to put a halt on riding plans.

Had I continued to ride him and put him into a hard program in the upcoming summer months without further addressing his feet or just thinking they are good enough, I would end up doing irreversible damage to my partners body. It would create more undesirable compensation patterns in his body, pain, and run the risk of developing many other ailments from prolonged poor posture. Hock arthritis, navicular, kissing spine, muscles that are chronically exhausted become atrophied or hypertrophied, tendons and ligaments becoming strained or inflamed increasing risk of injury… That is a risk I am not willing to take.

Please, please, please, be mindful with your young horses. If they are in work please make sure you are supporting their bodies appropriately. They will grow through their 6 year old year sometimes into 7. No matter how big they are at 2/3/4 years old they are not even halfway developed skeletally…. Give them some grace and just be intentional, don’t ignore signs of body soreness, or “hmm fluffy is standing odd today.” It all means something, if you care about your horses longevity you will be a horseman/horsewoman first and put competitions and ribbons aside and protect your horse’s body.

Going forward for the next couple trims I will devise a plan to put Nitro in a package that supports him and encourages the weak structures to grow and widen into the strong robust foundation a horse of this caliber will need for his career 🫶🏼❤️💪🏼

This is the WHOLE horse approach. Let’s transform the performance horse world, I want to see these horses competing well into their 20’s again.

02/05/2026

I take helping these animals very seriously ❤️ this isn’t a job I’m in for the money, I dedicate myself to the trade, to learning, and bettering my horsemanship to in turn be able to offer top tier care for all my clientele. I care deeply about each and every one of the horses, donkeys, mules I come in contact with, as well as being able to make lasting connections with their owners who often times become very good friends 🥰

Mockingbird farm always goes above and beyond to provide the care their animals need.

It’s a refreshing site to see in a world where many people slap the label sanctuary on their farm that’s borderline an animal hoarding case and are hardly providing bare minimum care for the animals.

01/04/2026

Took a quick trip to the middle of PA yesterday, on a Saturday, to help an old client out before she moves away.

Diamond had been on my schedule for a few months back in 2023 as his owner travels a lot for work. She would drive to meet me and we would do shoes on Diamond in the driveway at our halfway point.

Since she left NY shes been in GA, NC, and PA twice. Now their journey back to NC begins for hopefully a more extended stay. As you can imagine trying to find good consistent hoof care when traveling with your equine partner is not easy. I did my best to try and set her up with like minded people in my circle as she had traveled up and down the east coast but even then no two people trim or shoe the same even if they were trained the same. She has always kept in contact with me to try and brainstorm and keep tabs on how Diamond is doing. After the last trim I received photos and I told her that before she moved we should meet, or I’d drive down to try and get him back to a more functional place to buy them some time once they arrive.

So that’s what I did!!!

***This is not to bad mouth anyone that has worked on this horse at all. This owner has done and exceptional job trying to advocate for her horse, it’s just hard to find folks with the experience, and confidence with composites. I even offered that the girl who had been trimming him could come watch if she wanted to learn a bit more about the application of the glue ons as I knew she didn’t have much experience with them. Unfortunately she was busy and couldn’t make it.***

Not only was it lovely to catch up after not seeing them for so long, I love working on Diamond, and sharing helpful information with his owner to help her make better informed decisions about his hoof care when I’m not around to help them.

Needless to say Diamond was extremely thankful for his new shoe package. 4.5° added to an easy shoe One. I suggested she try the Triple D which has 3° built in, for her next reset once she’s in NC, to help fool proof application but keep Diamond in a positive course. She has gone above and beyond for this horse, and has already set up appointments with pre established vets/chiro/massage to have Diamond seen once they arrive. No stone goes unturned and I will absolutely be letting her know if I’m traveling down the east coast any time soon 🥰🤩

Diamond is once again a great example of how hoof balance can throw the entire body into poor posture and create compensation patterns and pain that become a difficult cycle to break unless properly addressed

12/12/2025

I’m so beyond thankful for my clients!!! Thank you to everyone who entrusts their horses with me. It’s been my goal from day one to always bring the absolute best to the table no questions asked.

After some continuing ed in Michigan a few weeks ago with the amazing Yogi Sharp, The Equine Documentalist, I realized on some of theses horses my approach had been to soft. After talking game plan, budget, and ex*****on with the owner I got the go ahead to be more agressive with the approach.

Aggressive not meaning bigger more invasive trims, agressive meaning time is of the essence and I need to intervene and put these horses into a positive posture right now. This horse in particular has been on my schedule a while and I’ve been feeling underwhelmed with the progress so it’s time for a change.

I’m not in the business of bandaiding and crossing my fingers. When we struggle to have good diagnostics from vets chasing “mystery” lameness, it’s my turn to trust my eye, my education, my field knowledge, and go with my gut to help these horses. Hoof care cant stop at the coronary band. To be the most effective you need to look at the entire horse.

Next step is body work to finish rebalancing and help retrain the body and nervous system to the new posture for optimum results.

11/28/2025

Can you spot the difference??

Fascia in the body is so powerful. The left photo is before, the right photo is after about an hour or so of body work strictly targeting working on fascial restrictions through the body.

Moses was a fox hunting “throw away” he’s young. I believe maybe 9 years old. He has intense pathology through his entire body from being ridden hard and not maintained. He has been on my trimming schedule for a while now, And was purchased with rehab in mind. By addressing the imbalances in his body as well as his feet in the same day we hope to help encourage his body and nervous system to start the process of breaking the pain cycles and the improper movement patterns he’s been stuck in for so long.

His owner expressed he seemed uncomfortable with his saddle fit recently and after looking at him it wasn’t hard to understand why. He’s not out of the woods yet he will need regular work to continue retraining his posture so he does not revert to old patterns, but this is a fabulous start for just one session ❤️

11/04/2025

For anyone wanting an update on the GIANT glue on. They stayed on flawlessly with minimal wear for 10 weeks!!!! I’d say that’s an extensive trial on a big horse. Welds held up perfect, and I still had to break a sweat trying to take them off.

Although I don’t recommend leaving shoes on for that long, the big mares feet were in great condition considering how incredibly worn and short they were when the shoes were applied. Just goes to show if done correctly these shoes CAN and WILL Stay put. Sometimes things happen and life gets in the way, but never fear, for if your horses have been maintained one long cycle isn’t the end of the world. Plus peace of mind knowing in an emergency situation their shoes will stay on until you can schedule to have them done ✅ 🙂🥰

09/08/2025

I may be a little biased when I say it, but glue ons are probably one of the most versatile shoes on the market!!

My most popular shoe is the versa grip by EasyCare Inc. Protective Hoofwear I love them, and all the horses I have in them love them as well. Weather it’s for sport, leisure riding for ease of owner to not put boots on, or therapeutic reasons, these shoes will have your horses supported in all the right ways.

Glue ons have just as much stay power as any other shoe, atleast when I apply them. If I’m being honest, I despise taking off shoes that I’ve glued on because they just simply don’t come off easy 😅 so pleaseeee don’t think that these are out of the question for you and your horse!

I have so many clients competing at all levels of their disciplines in these shoes, myself included. I have spent years perfecting my craft to set you and your horse up for success without worry during competition.

Barrel racing, endurance, competitive trail, extreme obstacles, ranch horses, cutting, dressage, hunter paces, showmanship, western pleasure… you name it, I have horses doing it… IN COMPOSITES!!!!!!

I truly believe this is the way of the future, and I’m so glad to be a part of it. Thank you everyone who has entrusted their animals under my care, it’s an honor to continue to supply everyone with the best quality money can buy ❤️❤️❤️

Below are just a few photos of clients/friends/ and myself putting my shoes to the ultimate test 👏🏼💪🏼

08/24/2025

This is a topic I don’t take lightly. And it’s soooo true. Fitness will mask a lot of things until it’s too late and you end up with an injury that could be career ending. Educate yourself, give your horse adequate time off, a good legging up and fitness program, and the help the rest of their body needs to be successful. It’s cheaper and less heart breaking to be proactive than in rehab.

𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒊𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒍…

Preventative maintenance is the key to long-term success. Notice I didn’t say the key to success… but the key to 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜-𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢 success. Anyone can get a horse to make one great run. But can you keep them competing at that level consistently?

Highly competitive horses are hard to maintain — but they’re a lot easier to maintain than they are to fix. Once a horse gets hurt or has been running sore, it’s hard to get them back to where they were before.

Just because your horse is doing well doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be investing in all the preventative maintenance you can. If you don’t keep up on things, it becomes death by a thousand paper cuts.

-Olivia Train

08/21/2025

Locomotion

I’ve always been infatuated with biomechanics and how the body moves and functions. But as I have dove deeper down the rabbit hole of fucntuonality I have more questions. The more horses I see, feel, touch, the more I wonder how can they help them be more functional in their body as a whole.

I use my personal horses as my experiments, all of them are expressive, sensitive, willing, and most importantly forgiving if I mess up.

I have dedicated 2025 to learning more about the body above the feet. Rewiring the brain, breaking pain cycles, establishing new posture patterns, developing strength, increasing mobility, working toward achieving the most balanced body possible. Myself included in that, seeing if I balanced my horses but not myself then rode them crooked it would negate the other hard work I’ve done as their body compensations often mirror the compensations in the rider.

I am using balance through movement techniques assisted with KT tape, cupping and blading techniques, tensegrity rebalancing also sometimes aided by KT tape, and water therapy to achieve more balanced functional animals.

Retraining the body is a process. Especially when habits have been instilled for years and years, and may also be correlated with pain. Be mindful of that if you are working with your horses. Posture work is not easy. If they offer a little take it. A little, often, goes further than trying to push your horse into a long sessions exhausting them to fall back into poor posture.

Sometimes it’s not about duration. It’s about the INTEGRITY of the movement being performed. Quit while you’re ahead, let your horse know that was correct, thanks for trying. Again 5 or 10 minutes of good quality work is more beneficial than 35 or 40 with a horse that has tried and physically can’t anymore because they lack the strength to continue correctly without compensating.

This is not an easy journey, it’s extremely demanding mentally and emotionally. However it’s so rewarding when you start to see positive changes. It’s truly incredible what the body is capable of.

As always, you are your horses biggest advocate, you are their voice. Don’t settle. Do better. These creatures are a gift.

Picture of ace demonstrating his fabulous extended trot with impulsion, engagement, and a lifted spine.

Note: if your horse can’t do it without you riding them, they sure as heck can’t do it with you they have to be able to carry their own weight before they can carry you too.

07/09/2025

Thank your farrier!! Please, it really does go a long way to know we are appreciated! 😀

July 6-12 is National Farriers Week! In celebration, we’re taking time to appreciate those skilled individuals who take care of the hooves on our equine friends. Your work and skill keep our horses healthy and moving well! Thank you for all you do!

02/18/2025

✨Nutrition & Consistency = Results!! ✨

Thrush is always a topic I get questions on. There are a lot of factors that contribute to thrush and how it heals.

The biggest contributing factors to success in healing any foot comes back to how involved is the owner. A biomechanically correct trim is my responsibility, and that plays its own role in maintaining a healthy foot. However, when the foot is not comfortable or healthy enough to perform as it should because of other factors it is out of my power as a trimmer who influences once every few weeks.

Having a correct, consistent protocol for treatment is key; but an even bigger factor is nutrition. If the horses nutritional needs are not being met, their body is not supplied with what it needs to heal in a timely, efficient fashion!!

I always suggest forage based diet, with added trace minerals on top. For our area I suggest Custom Equine Nutrition and their products, Vermont blend, Vermont blend pro, added copper and since, and vitamin E. (If youre interested I have a link with a discout 😘) For horses that may be picky there are other options such as KIS trace, California Trace, and Mad barn. If your horse is on a balancer I suggest reaching out to the company and asking if their product will be okay to top dress with whatever balancer you are feeding.

Topical protocols can vary on the severity of the thrush, and what stage of healing you are in. Sometimes I will suggest soaking once or twice in clean tax or a product of similar composition. I most comonly suggest “today” or “tomorrow” cow mastitis treatment administered into the central sulcus. Pete’s goo! Which you can find a recipe for. Copper sulfate and desitine, Red Horse products like artimud and hoof stuff, no thrush powder, or if youd like to support another her small buisness Hot Dirty Barefoot Trimmer Hoofcare Products and Services makes an equivalent hoof clay thats amazing! 😍

Onto the story!!!

This is Rose 🌹
Rose is a 16 year old QH who has an extensive history in lameness. Her owner informed me that she has battled with lameness issues since Rose was 4 ultimately leading to the early end of her career in the reining world.

Her most recent battle in 2024 was with a broken coffin bone. She was under vet care for the majority of the year until she was cleared to have her shoes pulled. When I was called to pull her shoes what we found underneath was very disheartening.

The thrush in Roses central sulcus was so deep and so painful, I have not personally seen many cases as bad as hers. My worry was that the thrush had eaten through the frog spine. (internal structure of the frog) I made it known to the owner that this would be a long recovery and we have a lot of rehab ahead to get in front of the damages done from the previous shoe protocols.

However although the news wasn’t the best I encouraged Rose’s owner that this is 100% something we can help!!! I gave her suggestions on products I would use for daily treatment, and suggested reaching out to custom equine and inquiring about adding Vermont blend and the added copper and zinc into Roses diet with her balancer.

At our last appointment I was completely floored at the progress that had been made! Rose’s thrush treatment journey began in October of 2024. I knew that her progress would be slow, but she blew my expectations out of the water!! I give all credit for her progress exceeding my expectations to her owner taking every suggestion and treating it with 100% commitment. Diet was dialed in immediately, Protocol was in place and consistent, and trims were done on time.

I truly believe from experience that without the immediate diet intervention this case would still have thrush to the severity seen on day one. It is SO important, and I believe it’s a huge missing factor in a lot of treatment plans. Topicals can only get you so far if the body isn’t supplied with the right nutrients to heal.

Im glad to say Rose is so close to being thrush free, which will allow us to continue in her rehab to comfort ❤️❤️ I’m so proud of her owner!! Despite the setbacks and feeling overwhelmed, let down by previous professionals, like she’s missed opportunities, and questioning if she’s doing right by her animal she has persevered and is now really able to see the results of her hard work!!!

Well done Kristine and Rose!!! Thank you for entrusting me with Roses rehab 🤩🥰👏🏼