Pea Gravel - Touch It Up for the Winter

We touched up our pea gravel this weekend. Put down about 4 more inches on top of our old gravel. The area is 48' x 6' wide and only took about 3 yards of gravel. It is located under the overhang of our barn, so the horses have to walk through it to get to water, and in the winter, they spend a lot of time in the pea gravel to get out of the wet weather.

Why pea gravel? Because it is malleable, it fills in the voids in the hoof where healthy tissues would be and increases blood circulation by 90%, which in turns speeds up healing and new cell growth dramatically (study by Dr. Robert Bowker, MSU). It supports the coffin bone of the hoof and relieves peripheral loading by distributing weight over the whole hoof. Pea gravel makes great footing for areas horses spend a lot of time standing around in. It gives the horse a malleable area to stand or lay and gives the hooves a drying out time during the winter and wet season. Standing on pea gravel is like a good foot massage for the horse. It's like standing on foam pads for horses!

Interested in reading more about pea gravel, peripheral loading, and the effects it has on hooves? Read this: http://www.thehorseshoof.com/Art_Pad.html

If you have a horse with "flat soles" and would like to develop more concavity, start an area of 4-6" of pea gravel and see if that helps!

Wanted: Demo Horse

Wanted:

Demo Horse

FREE

· Shoe Removal

· Boot Fit (boots not included)

· Barefoot Set Up Trim

Clinic for Pacific Hoof Care Professionals

Saturday, October 31, 10:00 am

Must be located on the Georgetown Divide,

or trailer to Cool Olmstead Loop

Contact Tracy Browne at 530-885-5847

tracy@hoofhelp.com

A Letter To My Clients...

Dear Clients,

I love taking care of horse’s hooves and seeing my clients have success with their barefoot horses in different venues. For years, I have stayed injury free and haven’t had any physical limitations to helping you with your horse’s hooves. However, I recently received a whiplash type injury that I have been very slow to recover from and with a full client load, I have been unable to set aside time to heal. I believe everything happens for a reason, and I think I have to cut back on my work load. I am really sorry, I love each of you dearly and I hate to do this, but I want to continue trimming for years, and I am afraid at my current workload, I will not be able to. Because of my injuries, I cannot trim more than six horses a day, no draft horses, and no miniature horses. I am sorry.
Ideally, I should cut back on the over all number of horses that I trim. I cannot decide who – I love you all - so I am letting you, the clients, decide. I am going to raise my prices starting June 1. The prices will be as follows:
Maintenance Trim (Under 6 weeks or longer with client trimming) - $70
Overdue Trim (7 week plus without client trimming) - $85
New horse initial trim - $100 – includes shoe removal and boot fitting
Thanks to the price of gas, I also need to charge a travel fee. The schedule is as follows:
Cool/Pilot Hill/Greenwood/Georgetown – No Charge!!
Cool Staging Area/ Cronin Ranch – No Charge!!
Coloma/Kelsey/Auburn Area - $10 per location
Placerville North of 50 - $15 per location
Placerville South of 50 - $25 per location
Loomis/Applegate - $25 per location\
These charges apply to horses in a specific location, so the more horses in one location, you can divide the travel charge up to lower the per horse charge. If I trim in a neighborhood where everyone is close, like Arrowbee or Luneman, then I will split the charge between neighbors. Also, feel free to trailer your horse to Cool or Cronin for me to trim there if you would like to avoid the trip charge and get a trail ride in as well.
I will be offering training clinics to help my clients learn how to trim in between my visits. Someone must trim every 3 to 4 weeks with a rasp – I can tell this the way a dentist can tell if you have flossed. That should empower to you learn more about your horse’s hooves while lowering the affect of my price increase on your budget. If you are interested in this, the pre-requisite reading is: Making Natural Hoof Care Work for You by Pete Ramey. Also, his DVD set is outstanding and can be purchased at www.hoofrehab.com . Totally worth the money if you are serious about maintaining your horse’s hooves. Please let me know if you are interested. For tools, purchase a new rasp with a rasp handle, a loop knife or hoof knife, gloves, and a hoof jack. You should not need nippers if you trim every 3 weeks or so.
The month of July will be a recuperating month for me, so please take this opportunity to practice trimming on your horse, or make other arrangements for hoof care. In July, I will not be trimming, but I will be riding the Pacific Crest Trail and the Tahoe Rim Trail. I am also in the Extreme Mustang Makeover and will be working with a wild horse. I am offering coaching sessions for horses and their owners and I am now taking in horses for starting and trail training.
I would love to be able to refer someone to you for trimming, but I cannot. You have quite a bit of knowledge yourself from listening to me trim, the reading you have done on your own, and the questions you ask, and I have faith that you will be able to care for your horses hooves in between my visits.
Warmest Regards,
Tracy

Radio Interview

I'll be on the radio tomorrow morning from 8 to 9am on a segment called "Horse Talk". I'll be talking about hoof boots and the natural hoof trim. The radio station is out of Georgetown, KFOK, http://kfok.org/. If you go to the web site, you can here me live over the internet anywhere you are. Cathy Rohm will be interviewing me, she has won the Tevis Cup and Haggin Cup. Call in and ask questions! 530-333-4300

Boot Fitting And Shoe Removal Clinic

The clinic was a success! We had 6 people from the PHCP - Pacific Hoof Care Practitioners - out to the ranch to learn about correctly pulling shoes, why to boot horses, what hoof boots are on the market, advantages, disadvantages, comfort pads, customization, repairs, foaming, equithaning, etc. We discussed most all the major brands on the market, including the Easycare boots, Renegades, Simple Boots/Deltas, Soft Rides, etc. I had a diverse audience from someone who had not put a boot on a horse's hoof to advanced trimmers that boot horses daily. It looked like some people went home overwhelmed while others were satisfied. All in all, a great day!!

Barefoot Article in Horse and Rider Magazine

An excellent article on barefoot horses is in the December, 2007 edition of Horse and Rider magazine. Pete Ramey was extensively interviewed for the feature. This is a fantastic information source for anyone who is thinking about pulling shoes on their horses. The benefits of barefoot are discussed, this is a must read for anyone wanting more info on barefoot horses.

You have to purchase the December magazine at a store, the article is not online.

But, an article that first appeared in the February edition of Horse and Rider can be seen here:
http://equisearch.com/horses%5Fcare/health/hoof%5Fcare/barefoot%5F112507/

Thinking About Going Barefoot?

I know pulling shoes and keeping your horse barefoot is the best thing for your horse, but you need to come to that conclusion on your own. I cannot convince you of that, but if you educate yourself and look at all the successful booted and barefooted horses on the trail, the results and performance speak for itself.

I encourage potential barefooters to do more research about natural hoof care, in particular, Pete Ramey and Jaime Jackson's studies. The both have books available, Pete Ramey's "Making Natural Hoof Care Work for You" is an excellent introduction to this way of keeping your horse. Available from Amazon.

Also, visit web sites:
http://www.easycareinc.com/education/whybarefoot.aspx
http://www.easycareinc.com/education/articles/barefoot.aspx
http://www.easycareinc.com/education/links.aspx
http://www.pacifichoofcare.org/ Pacific Hoof Care Professionals
http://www.hoofrehab.com - Pete Ramey's Site
http://www.jaimejackson.com - Jaime Jackson's web site
http://www.tribeequus.com - Cindy Sullivan's web site
http://www.thehorseshoof.com
http://www.easycareinc.com - info on Barefoot and Boots
http://www.renegadehoofboots.com - Renegade Boots

These information sources will answer most of your questions and give you a greater understanding of what natural hoof care is about.

If you have specific questions, please call or email me. I really like to see my clients get educated in natural hoof care first, before we pull shoes, so that the horse can benefit, there is much more too it than just pulling the shoes and trimming.

Good luck!

Pacific Hoof Care Professionals

I am now a certified professional and instructor for the Pacific Hoof Care Professionals. This is a new organization dedicated to natural hoof care education.

PHCP - web site - http://www.pacifichoofcare.org/

Our Mission: To provide a supportive network and educational foundation for hoof care professionals and horse owners based on a holistic and progressive approach.

Our Model is the outer form that allows the inner form to function optimally. Each hoof is a unique force which expresses itself to best serve that limb, on that animal, in that environment, at that time. The role of the trimmer is to support this natural process.

What I Learned from Dr. Bowker and Pete Ramey

Soundness is dependent on the development of the inner structures in the back part of the hoof, digital cushion and the lateral cartilage.

We must develop the inner structures of the hoof, like the digital cushion and lateral cartilages, over time by growing in a better hoof from the coronet band down by:

1. Lots of movement with a correct heel first landing (Paddock Paradise - no stalling!)
2. Pea Gravel - 4" placed everywhere we can in the horse's environment - this is very important
3. Ride with boots with FOAM PADS. Do not periphally load your horse (shoes, or a hoof in a boot without a pad). The dome pads work great for this.
4. Get rid of all signs of thrush - 50% Neosporin 50% Athlete's Foot Creme
5. Nutrition - grass hay and balanced minerals - low sugar and low starch

When trimming the horse:
1. It is about growing in a healthier hoof from the coronet band down. I can not affect what is already there, but I can grow in a better hoof.
2. Trimming from the top is cosmetic 90% of the time.
3. Place the mustang roll bevel underneath the hoof, and just lightly finishing from the top - I want a thick hoof wall and too much rasping from the top is counterproductive.
4. Long toes are very common in domestic horses and affects optimal movement. Work on taking toes back by setting breakover and bevel from under the hoof.

Oh, I learned so much, but these were the biggies. I am really going to be looking at hooves with new eyes, with the focus being on what is happening on the inside and how the horse's hooves are adapting to other influences in the body (saddle fit, injury, imbalances).

Radiographs really help with figuring out what is going on internally and I encourage all horse owners to ask their vet to take a set of lateral radiographs if you are specifically concerned about long toes or hoof development.

Thrush

The Pete Ramey clinic really helped me realize how nasty thrush is. It will prevent the horses from landing correctly heel first and will through their landing forward on the toe. Not good for the internal structures of the hoof!! Do not rest until you have rid your horse's hooves of thrush. Once a healthy hoof is established and your horse is landing heel first, and has plenty of movement and a good natural diet, the thrush should not come back. Keep treating the central sulcus until it is closed up and there is no slit to get the syringe into.

The best cures for thrush:

1. 50% Neosporin and 50% Athlete's Foot Creme mixed in a 60cc Syringe - squirt the central sulcus. **** this is the quickest and most effective ****
2. White Lightening soak
3. Clean Trax soak
4. Lysol All Purpose spray
5. Dynamite Trace Minerals
6. 50% water, 50% Apple Cider Vinegar, a few drops of Tea Tree Oil
7. Usnea
8. Tea Tree Oil

Avoid commercial thrush remedies that destroy and dehydrate tissues.

Don't rest until you have beaten thrush - it makes the horses very ouchy and changes their correct locomotion.

Off to the Pete Ramey Clinic

I leave for the Pete Ramey and Dr. Bowker clinic in the morning and won't be available until next Wednesday. I can't wait to see Pete again and get the latest and greatest in natural hoof care. I have seen him lots of times before, and each time, I pick up more and more in the details. This will certainly help my trimming! I don't know what to expect from the Dr. Bowker clinic, except maybe an exploded head from information overload!!!

Pea Gravel

I spent the weekend adding 4 inches of pea gravel to my horses' shelter. We did an area 48' x 8' with 4 inches. It took 3 yards, and a lot of shoveling. The horses love it, their feet sink in nicely, and I know they are getting a wonderful hoof massage on every step. The manure is easy to clean, the pea gravel falls through the fork, like big kitty litter. Actually, pea gravel is very therapeutic for a barefoot horse, especially horses suffering from founder or navicular. It helps the blood perfusability in the hoof, as does comfort pads. Here is a link on an article on the Easycare web site : http://www.easycareinc.com/Education/articles/pad_effect.aspx .

Change In Weather

We have been receiving quite a bit of rain lately, and the ground is moist. So are the horses' hooves - they are transitioning from dry, hard rock-crunchers to softer, moister hooves. Unfortunately the rocks didn't get the memo and they are remaining just as hard as before the rain. I am using boots again on my training rides to give a little extra protection from the hard rocks, and I suggest if you are noticing any new sensitivity, just go ahead and use your boots. That's okay, that's what you have them for. I have been getting a few calls, "My horses were okay 2 weeks ago, now they are sensitive. What should I do?" Answer: Use boots.

Back from Maui

I am so glad to be back - I think the best part of vacations is realizing how perfect home is!

The people I met were so nice and all want the best for their horses - I loved meeting them and working with them. I will get to see many of my new Hawaiian friends next week at the Savvy Conference. There is no better way to see a new place than to have locals drive you around, tour direct, and tell you where to stay and where to eat. The ranches were out of this world gorgeous, lush green grass, coastal views, I wish I was a horse.

So how were the horses feet? Well, it wasn't about the hoof, it was about the rich green grass that they all lived in 24/7, most all horses were very plump, and many were chronically laminitic. So I spent most of my energy on educating owners - grazing muzzles, dry lot, soaked hay, add movement, get the horses off grass, paddock paradise, calories in/calories out....

It was definitely a reminder to me to make sure I "step away from the hoof" and look at the other variables that may be contributing to hoof growth.

Oh, the ocean and the beaches, they were just the most perfect ones you have ever seen. I'll post more photos later.

Long Toes and Lack of Movement

Some of my trimming horses have long toes when you view them from the top... no where to go if you look at the bottom of the hoof, the white line is right up to the toe. I keep taking a big mustang roll from the top and I try to remove as much flare as I can, but the overall hoof shape is not changing with the trim alone. I have been analyzing what is going on here, what is the common thread, and what I see in just about all of these "long toed" horses is lack of use and lack of movement. They don't get ridden adequately and their environment does not encourage enough movement. I even have owners tell me their horse used to have short toes (years ago, when they were ridden daily), and now they have a funky hoof with long toes (since they stopped riding their horse and retired them)... I see this everyday now. The moral of my story is that movement is so important, and the trim perhaps a smaller variable in the success of rock-crunching barefoot horses. If you want to have more appealing hooves, ride, ride, ride, ride ride. Set up a Paddock Paradise in your pasture - this is a 20-30 foot perimeter fence where you keep the horses on a track and feed them all along the perimeter so that it encourages movement while they are pastured. What fun!

Thrush

I am trying out a new product for thrush called "Usnea". It is a herb, and I bought it over the internet from a herbalist. It comes as a tincture, alcohol based. I am just dropping a few droplets on the frog every other day or so. I'll let you know what I think! Feather has a tenancy to get a tiny bit of thrush so I'll be interested to see if it keeps her frogs hard.

Laminitis Success

Nemo is a 9 year old Haflinger that foundered. His owners saw an ad in the local paper for "Free Horse, has founder". They went to look at him, and took him home. The before photos are taken the first day his owners brought him home. Nemo was turned out in a 100 acre field of grass, and he ate way too much green grass. He could hardly walk. His new owners identified this variable, put him in a dry lot, fed him grass hay exclusively with LaminaSaver, and I trimmed his feet every 4 weeks for about a year now. They look fantasic! He is sound, and running so beautifully! This goes to show that with a proper diet and good hoof trimming, there is hope for laminitic and foundered horses!

Boot Sales

I get a lot of inquiries about selling just boots, especially the Renegades, without trimming. I do not do this anymore. The boots are designed to complement a natural hoof care program... including proper nutrition, adequate movement, big 24 hour turnout space, and of course, a proper natural trim. If one of these variables is not right, often times barefoot does not work for you... I want my clients to be successful, and if I am not there regularly to check in on each of these variables, then I cannot stand behind the boots I sell. I have run into situations where I go out to fit horses in boots, and they have a very interesting trim where their toes have been squared off exageratedly.... I can't fit a square hoof into a round boot. Also, the Renegades are being distributed through Natural Hoof Care practitioners exclusively and they are in high demand and low supply. The manufacturer suggests we sell the boots to committed natural hoof care customers. We want these boots to work for you, but there is so much more to successful barefoot or booted riding than just popping the boots on and going, as much of you already know there is a learning curve involved with the boots. Sometimes it takes quite a few rides to get the boots working perfectly, and often folks get discouraged at this time from the boots and end up putting on peripheral loading devises again. I don't want that to happen, I want to help as much as I can....

So the bottom line is the boots complement a natural hoof care program, they are not a stand alone product that I sell.

Aloha Clinic

I am leaving on the 23rd of August to give a natural hoof care seminar on the lovely island of Maui... I will be talking in a clinic format and then working with people one on one showing them how to trim their horses. I will be checking their current boots for proper fit as well as selling the newly popular Renegades. I am very much looking forward to the vacation afterwards, I have heard nothing but wonderful things about the island and how peaceful the beaches are. Logan will be coming too, acting as a boot fitting assistant or playing golf while I am trimming. I hate to leave home for a week, I'll miss my dogs. I bet the horses will like their one week break from me too :-) Anyway, I won't be scheduling any appointments from August 23rd through Labor Day.

Pete Ramey Clinic

Want to see Pete in person? Come with me to his clinic in Valley Center, CA on November 10 and 11. He will discuss the latest on barefoot hoof trimming, research on navicular and laminitis, and you can watch him trim live horses. Stay and extra 2 days and see Dr. Bowker present new research on the equine hoof, including the gel pad and equine shock absorbers inside the hoof. I will be there, with lots of other trimmers, including Tamara Cisek!