No Foot No Horse Hoofcare

01/08/2023

TOP: Teen mare grazing on track, with free choice grass in hay nets.

BOTTOM: Teen gelding in stall with run, eating loose hay 2x/day.

If your veterinarian or equine dentist is not checking incisor length and angle, jaw mobility and occlusion, respectfully ask for their assessment.

01/08/2023

01/08/2023

12/30/2022

These pictures are painful, these hooves require months of rehab. Like the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure...

10/12/2022

If you can’t sit still for the same time you expect your horse to without any enrichment or entertainment, snacks, or anything to do, then your expectations for your horse are higher than the standards you hold yourself to.

Let’s see you stand in one spot, tethered to a post and do so for 20, 30, 45 minutes and not so much as pick your finger nails. No clicking pens. No checking your phone, just stand there and stare blankly, don’t even take a step.

I am guessing you would struggle to do so without getting distracted in one way or another and seeking external stimulation to make the standing around and waiting less boring.

When we’re stuck in “waiting mode” be it in traffic, or in line at the grocery store, we always seek something to keep us busy. We may tap our foot. We may sing. We may run our fingers through our hair. We may get frustrated and yell at cars on the road or food service employees because we let our impatience redirect into frustration.

We are not any more patient than we expect our horses to be. In fact, in most cases we are LESS patient.

So, let this be some food for thought next time anyone suggests you tie your horse to a post for an hour or two so they can “learn patience.”

Because, my guess is, YOU, the human, still have yet to learn the patience you’re demanding from a flight animal in setting those parameters. If we lack the patience to do things the right way, to empathize with the animal we are training, then we are in no position to be teaching what patience is because the lesson in “patience” will actually be a lesson in IMpatience.

Edit: If you took this post as “all tying is bad” then it’s really time to self reflect on why you can’t see any middle ground between developing more patience and not just leaving a horse to figure out something they’ve never been asked to do before or can’t do well yet.

You can teach patience and good tying habits without making it an incredibly unpleasant experience where your horse violently pulls back until they shut down or digs a hole for an hour until they finally give up

There truly is no shortage of better options and if you’re reading this post as an ultimatum against tying, it just speaks for the lack of tools in your tool box if you can’t understand that there’s better and more patient ways to go about teaching FLIGHT ANIMALS what is an unnatural behaviour for them.

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You can support my work for as little as $1 a month by subscribing to my Patreon. You can get free access to behind the scenes, early video uploads, training help, tutorials and more: http://Patreon.com/sdequus

You can also see my website for more about me, my horses & free learning resources: http://milestoneequestrian.ca

10/08/2022

A Major Cause of Lameness is Statements
Statements are affirmations. They are based on what we have been told and decide to believe. They are not necessarily updated or even accurate. Statements lock us into beliefs of the past and handicap the horse from the benefit of new knowledge. The evolution of knowledge is swift, and not all findings are correct. A statement made yesterday might be outdated or contradicted today. Often, studies are influenced by the investigative techniques' angle and the company's financial interest sponsoring the research. It is always necessary to read several studies on the same subject. If our mind is set on the statement, we will choose the findings of a study that fit our beliefs. In fact, we will interpret the result to fit our beliefs. Instead, if we are a critical thinker, we ask questions, and the horse or a truly experienced rider might direct our mind in a more efficient direction.
Experience is a major asset as long as we ask questions. If we ride submitting the horse to our beliefs, we are making statements and expect that the horse fit our statements. The horse will likely obey. He will execute the move with a dysfunctional physique, and the repetition of minor kinematics abnormalities will lead to lameness. Instead, if we have the intellectual modesty and curiosity to wonder what could lead the horse to such kinematics abnormality, we could identify and correct it.
"The significant problems we face today cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." (Albert Einstein) This is where the culture of statements is the leading cause of the horse's lameness. The level of thinking we are on when injury develops cannot rehabilitate the horse from the injury. The riding technique that did not identify the source of the kinematics abnormality causing pathological damages cannot correct the damages. Stall rest and walking the horse a progressive number of minutes is merely repeating the same thing and expecting a different result.
When a horse tells us, "I cannot do it as is, or executes the move poorly," it is not a statement' It is a question. I cannot do it as is? With a question mark is a demand for help. "as is" is the horse's actual body state that the horse instinctively protects. Our job is to analyze the horse's physique and identify the source of the problem. Our job is to elaborate a gymnastic program correcting the muscle imbalance or other issues. The function is motion and motion educate function. Proper functioning of the locomotor apparatus produces efficient and sound gaits and performances. Repeating the movement in the actual horse's dysfunction does not correct the dysfunction. There is no therapeutic benefit in the judging standards; they are just rules of presentation. The therapy understands the athletic demand of the move and develops and coordinates the horse's physique for the athletic demand. Of course, it differs from our ancestors' views. They did not have the benefit of actual knowledge. Of course, the practical application of new knowledge is immensely beneficial for the horse. Through proper motion, we create or recreate the appropriate function. Of course, the practical application of new knowledge triggers negative statements, but usually, those who feel empowered behind their keyboard can't ride.
Jean Luc Cornille

10/08/2022

Attending the PHCP Conference this weekend? Stop by our booth to get hands-on with new EasyCare products!

10/08/2022

I have an exciting year up ahead!
I’m pivoting away from taking training horses and moving toward specialized postural rehabs only. I’ll be traveling to more states to teach and will be continuing mentoring other trainers to do this important work.
I’m also very excited to be putting together a course for Equitopia Center and my own video library! Stay tuned for details, follow my website for clinic schedule and updates, and don’t forget to get on my email list to be the first in the know!

05/18/2022

This cannot be emphasized enough!

There are a million things I think about when considering a trim for a horse.

Their movement, diet, posture, environment, conformation, past injuries, internal pathology, metabolic issues, their comfort level, their job expectations, hoof wear patterns, what their hoof distortion/pathology is suggesting, etc.

My focus when assessing these becomes giving the horse the best trim possible based on all those factors. Sometimes that means putting the foot down for a second look mid-trim, seeing how they adjust their stance and weightbearing, letting the foot "settle' under weightbearing before making a small change, or watching them move again to see changes in biomechanics or loading, the list goes on.

I can't stress this enough: when horses stand well - meaning they willingly pick their feet up, and hold them up comfortably for extended periods of time - it makes my job exponentially easier.. but not only that, the horse receives a more considerate trim.

If we are spending most of the hoofcare appointment focusing on how the horse stands - or isn't standing - to have its feet done, our focus shifts away from the minute details of the hoof and body and movement that might affect our trim, and instead is centered on keeping ourselves safe and the horse comfortable enough just to finish the trim.

There is a marked difference between giving the best trim possible for that horse's situation, and "making sure we just finish the trim."

Sometimes, for a horse that is unable to stand well, all it takes to make hoofcare appointments easier is the owner working in between trims, picking up the feet and holding them up comfortably. Sometimes, professional training help may be needed. And of course, there's always the possibility of a pain factor that requires some veterinary diagnostics and intervention.

If you're wondering if your hoofcare provider is giving your horse the best trim possible, one question to add into the mix is - is your horse standing as comfortably and willingly as possible? If not, then some work on that might make a drastic difference in the trim outcome.

For those who might need more help with how their horses stand for the farrier, I have two podcast episodes on this topic:

Making Hoofcare Appointments a Positive Experience with Adele Shaw:
https://thehumblehoof.libsyn.com/making-hoofcare-a-positive-experience-with-adele-shaw

Farrier Friendly with Kristin Thornberry:
https://thehumblehoof.libsyn.com/farrier-friendly-how-to-support-your-horse-to-stand-well-for-the-farrier-with-kristin-thornberry

Pictured is a horse who stands immaculately for her trim 🥰

04/26/2022

🤔 Research PROVES keeping horses confined in stables is detrimental to their welfare.

A study by French researchers found that horses stalled with enrichments, such as forage, windows and toys etc, still exhibited signs of stress and depression associated with confinement.

Putting toys, mirrors, hanging balls and bells, windows, more feed, straw bedding in their stalls, DO NOT make horses ‘happier’.

Regardless of their ‘enrichment’, the longer they are kept isolated from other horses, boxed in individual stalls, the longer they are confined, the more extreme the behavioural signs of poor welfare were exhibited.

“There’s this idea that adding toys and brushes and windows and different bedding can make stalled horses’ life dramatically better, but that’s clearly a myth,” said Léa Lansade, PhD, of the French Horse and Riding Institute and the National Institute for Agricultural Research’s behavior science department, in Tours, France.

“This kind of ‘enrichment’ can’t replace what’s essential, which is to give horses the possibility to express the basic behaviors of their species: move freely, have social contacts, and access forage throughout the day,” she explained.

👉 The researchers looked for four distinct behavioral signs of poor welfare:

- Stereotypies - crib-biting, wind-sucking, and weaving

- Aggression toward humans - biting and threats

- Depressed state body posture - neck and back at about the same level, with low ears and poor response to any kind of stimulus

- Stress-related behaviors - such as “acting nervous” with a high neck and excessive alertness or frequent defecation

The team found that enrichment had little effect on signs of POOR WELFARE, said Lansade.

“Our results with these horses showed that these little ‘improvements’ we do in stalls just aren’t sufficient,” she said.

And even more disturbing is that the researchers found the horses’ welfare worsened over time.

“The horse, which has lived in open spaces for the last several millennia with unrestricted access to forage and especially while establishing strong and complex social relationships with other horses, just isn’t made for living alone, isolated in a box, regardless of how well-set-up it is”.

Those final words “strong and complex relationships” and “just isn’t made for living alone, isolated in a box” should make us all shudder :(

We advocate horses live in herds, even if that herd is a herd of two.

They must have consistent social interaction with others of their species if you want them to be mentally, physically and emotionally fit.

It isn’t good enough, is it, to say I have no choice but to box my horse…

… because he is overweight and I don’t want to give him too much grass

… because my livery yard or barn owner insists on me keeping my horse in 12 hours a day to preserve the paddocks

… because she is at full livery and that is just the way they do it

If we put our horse FIRST - then there are always ways around the above…

… because our horses’ welfare is THE most important thing.

We always put horse welfare at the top of our list.

If you are in the UK or Ireland, then come to one of our 3 day horse and hoof care workshops.

Learn why movement is essential for true health.

Learn what causes horses to go footsore when they come out of shoes.

Learn what effect the wrong or the right trim can do to your horse’s hooves.

And best of all… learn how to keep your horse successfully barefoot for the rest of his or her life.

👉 Colchester, Essex - April - FULL
👉 Carmarthen, South Wales - June - Few Spaces left
👉 Dunkeld, Scotland - June - FULL
👉 Crowhurst, Surrey - September - Few Spaces left
👉 Kings Lynn, Norfolk - October - Few Spaces left
👉 Co. Laois, Ireland - November - Spaces left

Go here to find out more about our 3 day horse and hoof care workshops👉 http://bit.ly/BHMWorkshop

And if you can’t get to one of our workshops then do one or more of the following:

✅ Read our 8 part series ‘HOW TO GO BAREFOOT SUCCESSFULLY’ from Issue 26 through to Issue 33

We cover every part of going barefoot - essential reading for starting your BAREFOOT JOURNEY!

👉or SUBSCRIBE and never miss an issue👉http://bit.ly/ANNUALsub

✅ Join our private members group BAREFOOT LIVE and watch live shows every week, plus catch up on hours and hours of shows all archived in the group, all about barefoot hoof care - UNMISSABLE for only £7.50 per month (or equivalent in your currency)

👉Go here to take out a membership 👉http://bit.ly/BFLiveMembership

✅ Go and watch our Editor’s free videos on YouTube on her new channel - great content - covering all aspects of horse and hoof care

👉 Go here to visit our Editor’s YT channel 👉 https://bit.ly/EditorsYTChannel

NOW THERE’S NO EXCUSE to go successfully barefoot with your horse whatever the SEASON!

We’ve got you 💪

The BHM Team ❤️

Read the research here: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/9/621