When we got started with horses, we had one, Meekah, whose feet had not been handled much. She was a PMU girl and she was a sweetie! Because of her, I began my journey into understanding the hoof and caring for them.
It was necessary to work with Meekah just to touch and pick up her feet. We worked on this daily. We worked with our farrier to take our time getting her feet trimmed at the beginning. Progress was good and she was trusting us.
That awful day we came home to find her down, in the paddock, only to discover she had a nail in her hoof was heart-wrenching to say the least. This began a long process of surgery, aftercare and more hoof handling than you can ever imagine! This timid little girl went from fearful of her hooves being touched to walking into the garage (it was February and very cold), to having an IV in her neck for medicine, hospital plate removal and daily flush and cleaning.
Through this experience, it set me on a path of learning about the hoof. We had an intensive submersion into hooves with Meekah and it peaked a curiosity in me as well as a desire to do better for my horses.
Soon after, I went on to learn to trim my own horses with the help of my barefoot trimmer. She pointed me to resources, I began reading and watching everything I could on hoof care, I was trimming my own 3 horses and began traveling with her to other clients’ to help with their trimming.
I believe anyone can learn to trim their horses if they choose to. This knowledge alone (even if you don’t do the actual trimming) will help you to better understand how to care for your horses in a way that promotes healthy feet and fosters good conversation with your trimmer/farrier!
Here's what you'll learn...
* What to look for in a healthy hoof
* Hoof structure and function
* Vocabulary to converse with your trimmer/farrier
* Tools and how to use and care for them
* Body position when trimming
* Doing a maintenance trim on your horse
* The significance of nutrition and lifestyle on hoof health
* Recognizing problems and how to remedy the situation
* BONUS: You'll get a support community within a FB group to continue to get ongoing feedback and learning opportunities.
"Marta's help has been so rewarding! She gave me the courage to try what my heart was already telling me, but I didn't have the confidence to do! She directed me to some literature to familiarize myself with the hoof and the job at hand. Every trim is exciting for me as I cant wait to see the outcome. And every trim she's right there (virtually), if I have any questions or concerns! She has been a great mentor to me for good care but also becoming more tuned in with my horse and it's needs. I can't thank her enough!"
-Joslin Setterlund
