Those of you who are my friends on Facebook already know that I have followed Nic Barker's blog
for a while. The blog includes updates on hoof rehabilitation and information about barefoot performance, very interesting!
It is very easy to be stuck in the world of your "own modality" of rehab, type of riding or style of horsemanship and thinking that it is the only way (dare I say, some people think the best way..) to help or be with a horse. It does us SO much good to look outside the box and see how other people deal with issues we all are bound to encounter with our horses - and then make an informed decison based on this new knowledge we have aqcuired.
I knew nothing about barefoot trimming and its use in rehab until one of my customer's horse Kingley was sent to Rockley Farm in Devon, UK. You can read all about young Kingsley and his struggle with navicular disease here
Here is a video of me massaging Kingsley after he came back from Rockley Farm
As you know, I feel it is our responsibility as owners and riders to find the best information available and put it in practice. Wiola and Pauline - Kinglsey's owners, certainly did that. They did their homework and Kingsley is now on a road to recovery.
One think in particular made me think - kind of one of those paradigm shifts that really makes perfect sense once you hear it - was when I read one of the latest blogs Nic published about hoof balance and landing
Nic starts by talking about how asymmetric hooves land and how horses, particularly with lamenes issues need to be allowed to compensate this way. On the blog there is also a great video where this is shown in slow motion. Nic goes to say: "Here's something to think about - all the horses in these clips grow asymmetric hooves but those hooves load evenly. If you try to trim the hooves to make them appear more symmetrical, you will adversely affect how the hooves load and these horses will become much less capable - or will even go lame."
I do hope it makes you think as much it has made me think :)
Here is another interesting post from Nic relating to the same subject
In this post you can clearly see the difference in the shape of the hoof when the horse is allowed to grow such hoof shape that supports and reflects the current "need" the horse has for that particular shape of hoof.
That relates nicely to other issues with horses crookedness... Why are they crooked in the first place? How to help them become balanced? How to teach horse to move in balance with a straight body? Please do read this article by Dr Deb Bennett
It gives some amazing insight into the issue of crookedness as well as a theory why do horses move crooked.
More about that later!!
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