gobarefoot

Now here's a good idea......

Washington Thoroughbred Owners Back Rescue Farms
by: The Blood-Horse Staff
February 21 2008, Article # 11374

Beginning with the 2008 season, horse owners at Emerald Downs can make contributions to accredited Thoroughbred rescue, retirement and rehabilitation facilities through a voluntary $1 per start minimum contribution from their horsemen's bookkeeper accounts.

All contributions to "The Prodigious Fund" will be dispersed at the end of each racing year to approved organizations. Emerald Downs will match every dollar raised by contributing owners.

For the 2008 racing year Emerald Downs has designated two charities to receive the proceeds: Second Chance Ranch of Elma, Wash., and Chez Cheveaux of Monroe, Wash.

The Prodigious Fund is named in honor of the former racehorse that finished his career at Emerald Downs in 2007 as a 10-year-old. He raced 52 times, several of his starts coming in graded stakes races from Emerald Downs to Del Mar, including two appearances in the Longacres Mile (gr. III). He ended his career in a $3,500 claiming event.

Susie Sourwine, vice president of marketing at Emerald Downs, has been the driving force behind The Prodigious Fund. "We've had an amazing early response in pledges from our horsemen here," she said.

"Horses like Prodigious, who have raced past their ability to participate in a second career, others who need to be rescued from extremely neglectful situations often one or two owners removed from their racetrack career, and those others just needing an expert hand to redirect them into a successful second career deserve the financial support of the industry."

To be eligible to receive funds organizations must be a registered 501C-3 charity with a proven track record in the field for at least one year. Charities should be Thoroughbred exclusive or dominant in their efforts.

This story was originally published on www.BloodHorse.com.

What trimming a hoof does to the heart.....

This is a poem/reflection supplied by equine therapist Chrisann Ware. Its

anonymous which is a bit of a shame. But Chris thinks that also contributes to

the power of  it...ie that it was written by an ordinary woman.

I'm not sure that women who trim horses ARE ordinary women, mind. But certainly there's a growing number of them out there....hurray! And let's not forget the extraordinary MEN who are also out there trimming their own horses.

Anyway, here's the poem/reflection for a bit of light ent.

*******************************************************************************************************************

My horses are barefoot. I trim my own horse's hooves:

It seems such a simple statement, but said to other women who do the same, it initiates long discussions of a journey shared, it lights a  spark of recognition, of knowledge gained, of traditional roles left  far behind, of struggles overcome and of empowerment.

I trim my own horses' hooves;

I work in the summer sun and winter cold. I gladly sacrifice precious time that could be spent riding to spend it bent over, my  hands working tools designed for manly hands, my face pressed close  against a warm and shiny chestnut flank.

I trim and the world retreats for a while as I am engrossed in this  special chore.

I trim my own horses' hooves;

I watch the hooves transform under my stewardship, I am guided by  shape and texture and slowly they return to the hoof form of their ancestors, I revel in this accomplishment.

I trim my own horses' hooves;

To utter this simple statement pleases me more than I can say; I have stepped back in time and learned a craft that has till now been  denied me. I have learned how to move the tools over the hard hoof,  learned how to make the steel rasp bite deep and slide effortlessly;  learned how to drive the sharp knife safely, learned how to read  the hoof terrain and follow closely its instructions, and watched  with satisfaction as a shower of dead hoof falls across my boots.

I trim my own horses' hooves;

Because I do, I am at one with my horses. I read the changing  seasons in the architecture of their hooves. I know secret things  about my horses that I would have never discovered any other way. I  have learned patience and strength and to trust my intuition.

And when the job is done I lean happily on the pasture gate and watch  my horses move once more as they did when they were young, knowing in my heart that I have done something very special for them. Repaid a great debt.

I trim my own horses' hooves .......... it's such simple way to thank them for the joy they bring to me.

Trimming to Save Founder Ponies from the Knackery

This is one of my favourite photos. Click on it to enlarge the image. This pony ended up at the knackery because it had foundered. But the legs were saved by Tasmanian trimmer, former farrier, Jeremy Ford, who saw it as an opportunity to show the students on last year's Cert III Agriculture (Hoof Care) course what a difference proper trimming could do for a foundered pony.

What we have here are actually two different front feet (from the same pony). The foot on the right shows the founder, and you can see how the poor pony is pretty much walking on the tip of his rotated pedal bone. But the hoof which has been trimmed, shows that by dropping the heels, the pedal bone - though still at an acute angle (but this is a dead horse, remember) is closer to ground parallel.

However - had this pony been lucky enough to have had the benefit of the trims before it was euthanased, it would still have needed a hellava lot of help to recover.

In my experience a horse like this is so metabolically compromised that it needs a multi disciplinary approach to rehab.

First up it needs its feet trimmed and then it needs to be padded and possibly booted...so it can move about. Movement is critical. Once the acute stage (inflammation) of the laminitis has passed it will need to be hand walked daily.

I have found that when I take the heels down in badly neglected horses, they will often continue to walk on their toes until the tendons and ligaments let down. So I recommend owners of such ponies or horses get a good chiropractor or body worker in to help with this.

And a foundered horse needs plenty of feed but it must be low calorie and high fibre. Speedibeet (soaked) is excellent. Hay should be soaked for ten minutes  and the soaking water thrown out. The soaking will leech out some of the sugars, and therefore the horse will be ingesting a lower calorie hay. A good quality mineral or vitamin supplement, such as HYGAIN SPORTHORSE is also recommended.

The students on the CERT III course at Burnie TAFE also got to trim a live acutely foundered pony. I'll see if I can get permission to publish the before and after photos here. Its a much happier ending.

*************

Blog Entry dated 24/2/08 5:13 PM

Dr Robert Bowker Visits Australia March/April 2008

Dr Robert Bowker comes to Oz...seminar at Werribee, Melbourne, Victoria - April 1 & 2, 2008

The Australian Hoof Care Assn Inc. (www.ahca.org.au) presents this important seminar as part of its ongoing professional development and education program.

Visiting Australia to personally deliver his most recent research into the question of the development and inner workings of the equine hoof, is Dr Robert Bowker VMD – neuro-biologist, Professor of Anatomy, Director of the Equine Foot Laboratory at Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine, and consulting editor to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal.

Dr Bowker has spent the past decade and a half studying the function of the equine foot and has presented papers to the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP). Much of his research has been on the microscopic level, through the dissection and study of thousands of cadaver hooves. His recent research has produced three significant and ground breaking studies.
The first is his hemodynamic flow theory, which proposes that blood flow through the network of tiny capillaries in the heel region plays a vital role in shock absorption of the hoof. The second is his discovery of proprio-receptor sensory cells in the heel region which Dr Bowker now believes may transmit information to a horse’s central nervous system and allow him to “feel” his way across the ground. A third study reveals the differences he’s discovered between a “good” foot and a “bad” foot and why some horses remain sound, and others are more likely to be dogged by various lamenesses as they get older.

At his Melbourne Seminar, Dr. Bowker will:
• Introduce and give an overview of his latest research work.
• Discuss the composition of a 'good' foot, contrasting it with a 'bad' foot.
• Talk about barefooted horses and ground surface.
• Discuss radiographs of the foot
• Consider feral horses and their contributions to the domestic horse foot.
• Look at the adult hoof wall and its adaptability.
• Talk about navicular syndrome (& how this is a man-made problem).
• Inform us about perfusion of the foot - & its variability with different surfaces.
• Cover movement in the domestic horse - by circumstance a sedentary creature.
• Discuss the foal foot & how it changes through life.
• Consider the sole and its importance to the horse.
• He'll also suggest how his latest research can best be applied in trimming techniques

There will be opportunities for participants to question him on all aspects of hoof care

There will also be the chance for participants to dissect cadaver legs with varying bandsaw cuts to give a better 3D appreciation, under Dr Bowker's supervision.

Email me direct for further info <rebeccascott@bigpond.com>

But be quick. As of today there are only five or six (max) slots  left as there has been huge interest from vets, farriers and trimmers both here in Victoria and interstate.

 

**************************************************************************

Getting the Message Out....

Interested in barefooting your horse? This  blog is written for horse-owning clients of mine in and around
Melbourne, Australia, and others anywhere on the planet, who may be interested in  barefoot trimming  - rather than shoeing - as an approach to hoof care 

  I'm a barefoot trimmer. I gave up my day job about two years ago to concentrate on trimming. I liked it better than journalism. A lot better. For a start it got me outside instead of sitting indoors on a computer and phone all day. I liked the physicality of it. But most of all I liked seeing how it could improve a horse's way of going.  

It is not unusual for horse owners to call me up and explain that they don't really KNOW if their horse is suited to barefoot but they want to give it a try because the horse is not going very well. It's stumbling. Or it's going along as if it doesn't want to go. Or it won't canter the way it used to. And they can't find anything wrong with it.....

They've had it massaged. They've had the saddle fit checked. The farrier says the feet are flat because that's the way they are. What do I reckon? ...they ask.  

Well, I cant promise anybody anything. Specially not over the phone. But I tell them (if it's within my patch) 'I'll come and see your horse and have a look'.

So when I get there I aas them to trot the horse out. I need to see (a) that its not lame and (b) how its landing...ie toe first, flat or heel first (front and back).  The horse is lame . But that's OK (for now). Just so the owner and I both SEE and agree where we are starting from.  Then I'll pull the shoes (if its wearing them) and trim it up.  

After I've trimmed it, I run it out again. Sometimes, the horse will go better (I've even had a horse with chronic white line disease and terribly long feet, trot out soundly just by removing the long toes which were acting as a painful lever force!).Those that are long in the toe and too high in the heel usually WILL move better.

But sometimes its pretty much the same. All I've done is set the foot up to heal itself and grow a nice strong laminar connection in from the top, which - as it grows in will provide much better suspension for P3, and suck it higher up in the hoof capsule.  

Often the horse is still landing toe first...UNTIL...we boot it.

Its like magic for many horses. Stick a set of boots (preferably with pads) on the fronts and the horse will move out much more freely because its comfortable in the heels. If it has thin soles, the boots also protect the soles. And then if I want to make the horse even more comfortable, then I will put another set of boots on the hinds. As a vet friend of mine says "that's when you'll see Rolls Royce movement".  

My view is that if the horse is landing either toe first or flat, then without boots to transition it, you are in for a long, uncomfortable haul. Unneccessarily uncomfortable for the horse, and stressful for you, seeing your horse in such discomfort.

Anyway, that's it for my inaugural blog post. Hope you can check back regularly for updates, or better still subscribe to this blog's feed, by clicking the subscription (free) button in the top right hand column.  

 

 

- Rebecca

  www.gobarefoot.com.au   

 

 

This is my daughter, Bellatrix on her barefoot pony Solo, working out for Best Conditioned Junior/Lightweight, after successfully completing 80km at the Bright High Country Endurance Ride in 2006.