How to become a Barefoot Trimmer…
I hope this article remains coherent in the reading – I have reread it and understand it, but then I wrote it! Some – no, a lot – of what I have to say will probably offend quite a lot of barefoot trimmers out there, certainly those claiming qualifications. Those who make their living by […]
A World on its Head
Browsing my Twitter feeds today, I came across ‘tweets’ by two organisations which seem to sum up the equine world and the complete lack of knowledge and understanding of the animal they both claim to represent. The first was a Dutch equestrian magazine ‘Bit’ (@Bitpaarden) with an article on which feed concentrates to give to […]
Deshoeing and is it necessary to boot?
Yesterday, I spoke to the owner of a twelve year-old horse, shod for at least the past six years. She asked me particularly about the transition to barefoot (the conviction is there but the uncertainties about how and when remain…). I won’t go into all the implications of transition here – suffice to say that […]
Cushing Candidate?
As my followers (and detractors) will undoubtedly confirm, I am often dismissive of traces of blood in the white line. Such traces are often the result of a trauma at some indeterminate time in the past and now, often between three and eight months later, neither owner, nor horse, nor hoof have any recollection of anything untoward and at the next trim, the traces will probably have disappeared all by themselves.
Curing the Incurable – the reality of Navicular Syndrome
About this article. Navicular syndrome or navicular disease is a condition that has affected horses throughout the ages. For this reason, numerous studies have been carried out on the subject and it would appear that the conclusions are more or less cut and dried; the experts seem to be of more or less unanimous opinion […]
Defending the indefensible **UPDATED**
Recently, on that epitome of good sense and reasoning known as Facebook, I happened across a post from a ‘friend’ (these days, a very vacuous definition if ever there was one) describing events during a weekend at Aintree with Buck Brannaman. Without wishing to decry much of Brannaman’s work, a lot of which was influenced […]
Safety Shoes and the Toilet
I regularly get asked what is so bad about horseshoes. And why horses are shod, if horseshoes are really so bad. To answer the first question, the easiest comparison we can make is that of safety shoes. Imagine that, day in, day out, twenty-four hours a day, you were to wear a pair of safety […]
The Sting
The Setup Society has always known those that can and those that cannot. And among those that cannot, are also those that think they can! Because of this, “trades” were developed with training and official recognition as a way of guaranteeing a level of competence and to protect practitioners from unscrupulous amateurs. Many trades gained […]
Autumn is in the Air
and with it, laminitis… No, you are not hallucinating! The title is indeed very familiar and refers back to the last available published article, Spring is in the Air. Many people associate laminitis with the spring and it is probably true to say that the majority of (acute) cases and probably the most severe occur in […]
Spring is in the Air
and with it, laminitis… Although we have come down to earth with a bump and, after the extraordinary February of this year, March has turned out to be a (fairly) normal March, spring is in the air. The trees are beginning to show signs of green, the daffodils are flowering and, here at least, the […]