And indeed, a horse who bears himself proudly is a thing of such beauty and astonishment that he attracts the eyes of all beholders. No one will tire of looking at him as long as he will display himself in his splendor~Xenophon
But this one is about hooves! First off I just want to say how much I enjoy my job as a barefoot hoof trimmer- it is extremely rewarding job and if I impress the horse with my work then I know for sure that I am on the right track. Hoof trimming for me is a bit like an art form- essentially I have to listen to what the horse wants and help to shape and grow the ideal hoof for that horse and its environment.
And while I do all the horses I trim with the same principles in mind, trims do tend to vary slightly from horse to horse depending on what their feet need. Every time I pick up a foot I am always learning and there are so many variations! I can no longer flip through my horse magazines and look just at the horses- I now check out the hooves as well! Heh, sometimes it can be rather an interesting exercise to imagine what I’d do with some of the hooves I’ve come across if I had to trim them. Hooves are amazing, once I’ve started learning about them its been a snow ball effect and I just want to know as much as I possibly can!
I also want to share some photos from one of my ongoing rehabilitation cases.
Now five weeks ago I was faced with this:
This was the result of an injury and this poor mare was lame, she also had difficulty in in weight bearing when I trimmed the offside fore, so I had to work very quickly to keep the poor girl comfortable, thankfully she was a very nice mare to work with and willing to let me help her.
Five weeks later I visited her again, and I am so excited at the progress she has made, plus she is not lame any more!
Hope you enjoyed reading, and please feel free to leave a comment.
Until next time!
Siobhan