Wild Soles - Paddock Paradise Track System

07/21/2023

Support our local rescue!
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=652489546909941&id=100064467048686&sfnsn=mo&mibextid=RUbZ1f

Please share:

We've just gotten our FB page back up and running this last week and need help spreading the word about our annual Horse Daze of Summer fundraiser, which is just two days away.

We've received several generous donations from the community which will be featured in the raffle.

Thank you to our generous donors and supporters for helping make this fundraiser possible. We will see you all on Saturday!

07/20/2023

Hooray, hooray for beautiful, local and tested hay! Squirreling away for winter begins now! 😁

**Remember when looking for hay to request this year's analysis or perform a sampling yourself before buying. You want 10% or less ESC+Starch in the dry matter column.**

This batch comes out to 6.28! 🥰The horses love it and I'll be back for more!

07/02/2023

People have been describing the movement advocating for alternatives to metal shoes as "the barefoot fad" in a number of online spheres, which is an interesting misnomer we'd like to discuss

While the ideal goal of the movement is, indeed, to have as many horses walking on their natural feet, a majority of proponents advocate for alternative hoof protection to replace, not simply discard, metal shoes. Examples including but not limited to hoof boots, casting, and composites.

It's easy to call what seems like a new movement skyrocketing in popularity a "fad"; however, the beliefs behind barefoot trimming are based on the scientific understanding of how horses use their hooves, and the hoof mechanisms.

This is how every step begins with the digital cushion in the back, rolls over the frog to pump blood, expands in the quarters to absorb shock, then grips with the toe to push off. Trimmers use that knowledge to shape every hoof closer to ideal function.

Many books written on farriery for centuries describe resting horses' feet from metal shoes due to the damage they do, and, prior to the modern open-heel shoe, many societies used something much more akin to modern hoof boots, the hipposandal being one such example. The newest part of these ideas is the scientific backing we now have.

What we'd like to ask now is how can how horses are born, barefoot, be a “fad”?

06/27/2023

Move it or loose it! 🐎

In their natural environment, horses would be MOVING an average of 20 miles per day looking for food, shelter, and water so it makes sense that horses that MOVE more are generally much healthier than those who are left idle, who tend to be sicker because horses are physiologically designed to MOVE.

MOVEMENT leads to an increase in metabolism resulting in more efficient use of energy consumed, improved nutrient absorption, and increased energy levels. The lymphatic system, which is involved with the removal of toxins from the horse's body, relies on MOVEMENT in order to function because it has no pump, this is why often horses that are stabled can end up with filled legs. MOVEMENT is important for older and/or arthritic horses to help keep their musculoskeletal system as healthy and supple as possible and younger horses need MOVEMENT in order to grow strong bones and develop good balance and coordination.

MOVEMENT is vital to keeping a horse in good health and as owners, we should always be looking for ways to help them achieve as much MOVEMENT as possible. MOVEMENT can be done in a variety of ways such as in hand walking, long reining, loose exercise in the school, ridden work, or simply living on an effective track system.

Pictured here is Harry getting his steps in on our track system.

06/22/2023

Movement is instrumental to well developed healthy feet!

Strengthening and building the internal structures, increasing circulation in the feet, and managing insulin levels in the body are a handful of reasons to get our horses moving.

06/08/2023

I had some great help this morning 🥰

03/27/2023

It's that time of year where laminitis will "come out of nowhere." There are almost always subclinical signs before footsoreness is apparent and many times the root cause lies in unrecognized metabolic issues.
👇👇👇

80% to 90% of all laminitis cases are due to metabolic issues. If your horse, donkey, pony, or mule has laminitis, assume that your equine has EMS/IR (Equine Metabolic Syndrome/Insulin Resistance) and start him or her on the Emergency Diet right away. Blood tests are also in order. Test glucose and insulin for EMS/IR, and if PPID/Cushing's disease are suspected, test ACTH. For details on the best ways to deal with and prevent laminitis, go here: https://bit.ly/2J4ZgYT

03/08/2023

"Nutrition and supplementation isn’t a scam. It’s a science. The problem is that not many people, including veterinarians, are really familiar with the science.

Like physicians, vets are trained in dealing with disease, not promoting health. There’s a difference. Health is more than just the absence of disease and death. Living and breathing doesn’t mean healthy, but when thinking about nutrients many people are inclined to believe that if there isn’t a flat out obvious deficiency state that is threatening to kill the horse, there is no deficiency."

Why is sound nutrition such a hard sell? Image by Dorota Kudyba from Pixabay If you are reading this, odds are you already know the clear benefits of optimizing nutrition, but maybe you have run ac…