STB Equine Services

12/07/2022

It's interesting how the overgrown foot will just peel away easily when given the chance.

All 4 feet came off like this without actually cutting with the nippers. The foot will tell you what it needs if you know how to listen 🎶

11/13/2022

To my winter competition friends! Don't forget that I offer body clipping services for show season! Trace clips or full body clips available just shoot me a message!

10/04/2022

The only difference in his life between the first ~2" of hair and the rest/older growth is the addition of copper/zinc in his diet!

He has crumbly hooves, but you can see the stronger growth towards the top! 2 months on Mad Barn's copper and zinc blend and his coat is shiny, his mane is thicker then EVER and his heel bulbs are finally beginning to develop after years of contraction!

This is a very budget friendly option to help your horse grow better hoof (and help their overall health).

08/14/2022

Never forget where you began 💜

Dear Joey,

You don't count except as my first fall 😆😆😆

Princess,

You made my butt the most sticky thing ever and played hide and seek. Miss you old lady 💜

08/12/2022

Quite a few years ago, I was idling away some time reading the then-current issue of The Chronicle of the Horse magazine (a weekly sport-horse publication). While skimming a pretty dry article abou…

07/21/2022

Open heeled shoes should not be the norm! Caudal support needs to be there whether it be manufactured (if the horse's own system is already collapsed) or naturally grown!

** edit to add**
(In reading some of the responses to my post, I think some are assuming that this is a barefoot vs shod post. It is not. If you read my full post you will see that. I am just pondering why it has taken so long for this shift to happen. I am all about working together with the common goal being to help the horse. That's really all I care about in the end.) ☮️

Bracy Clark published this in 1809. That's right, over 2 hundred years ago. I remember reading about Bracy Clark when I first started studying the hoof. I was stunned to see that a veterinarian had published about the damage that shoeing was doing to the hoof way back then and still, nothing changed. Thankfully, I am now starting to see a shift. More people are starting to prioritize their horse's well being. Owners are educating themselves and seeking out better hoofcare. Hallelujah. I see advancements in shoeing practice and I see more clinics focusing on getting a proper trim under the shoe and shorter shoeing cycles. This is progress. 💪 Keep advocating for your horse and choose your farrier wisely. There are farriers out there who take soundness seriously and continue to learn and better themselves. Seek out these professionals or, better yet, become one yourself.

05/08/2022

Happy Mothers day to all Moms 2, 4 or More legged!
My first kid Silky sends sloppy kisses and hopes you have a wonderful day!

04/03/2022

Something to remember as the grass grows in!! Sugar is a hoof's greatest enemy! Divide your pastures, rotate as they grow and NEVER let them graze super short grass!

Not a joke...

Have you ever wondered why you can have a 15 acre field and part of it is chewed down to nubs and the other part has grass a hand high, But your horse is constantly grazing in the chewed down part?

Grass 6 inches and taller has less sugars than grass under 6 inches.

For every inch drop below 6 inches, the fructan (sugar) content rises.

Grass under 6 inches is stressed like it's a Monday morning with a project deadline. It uses sugar to repair itself.

Stop mowing your fields short.

Stop grazing your chubbys on chewed down grass. (this is why grazing muzzles are so touted...they keep the horse from being able to get much short grass)

(We aren't saying let your fields be 3 feet tall, by the way. The optimal thing to do is keep them 6-8 inches tall and graze them in small areas there)

04/01/2022

This is so true!!
Y

I recently saw a video posted by For Farriers By Farriers with a really cool story attached. I'm not sure how true it is, but I'll paraphrase it here.

Pablo Picasso was having a drink at a cafe one day when a woman recognized him. She approached him and asked if he was really the famous artist Picasso; when he nodded that yes, he was, she handed him a pencil and napkin and insisted he do a quick sketch for her.
After a few minutes of drawing, he handed the napkin back to her, asking for a large sum of money for the sketch. The woman was shocked, and asked him how he could charge so much for something that took him 5 minutes.
Picasso replied, "My dear, you're wrong. It took me 40 years to be able to do this in 5 minutes. If it was simply a matter of a pencil, a napkin, and 5 minutes, you would have done the sketch yourself."

With recent talks of hoofcare pricing, I think the conversation needs to shift away from simply a matter of time, tools, and materials. We need to consider the years of work, perspective, and experience it takes to get to that point. Often, 10% of what you pay is for what is removed from the hoof, and the other 90% of what you pay is for the experience and knowledge of recognizing what to leave where, and why.

02/05/2022

Little does Adam know as the weather gets better I will start his refresher course 😉 in this picture he was just hoping I had another treat 🍎