Posts by Steve
Santa Fe Bound!
I’m headed out to Santa Fe, NM for a few days to do some one-on-one trimming training and to begin the process of transitioning a number of horses to being without shoes. I anticipate an interesting weekend in one of my favorite parts of the country! These are always very rewarding experiences because they allow […]
Mistaken Identity
Over the past several years, I’ve seen a considerable number of lame horses that have been diagnosed as having one problem or another but in reality have a very different one. And a visit a few weeks ago was no exception. I went out to trim a horse who’d been diagnosed with sidebone – the […]
A Closer Look at Breakover
If you’re around the horse world long enough, you’re bound to hear people talking about breakover. What, you may ask, is breakover? Well, there are two definitions. The first, as defined by Dr. Hilary Clayton in The Dynamic Horse, is – Terminal part of stance phase during which the heels of the hoof rotate around […]
In Better Form
This is just a quick post to share a couple of photos of one of my client’s new horse’s hooves. Both hooves started out looking like the one on the left (his right front), but the one on the right has now been trimmed. It’s always great seeing a beautiful hoof form emerge! With respect […]
Happy Holidays!!!
Andy and I just want to say “Thanks, and Merry Christmas” to all of our wonderful clients and friends! It’s certainly been a very busy year. Between caring for clients, teaching 25+ classes at Ohio State, and visiting Annie in Massachusetts, I’ve barely had time for anything else. Still, I was able to get this […]
The Shape of Things to Come
One of the many benefits of proper natural hoof care, as I’ve touched on in the past, is the way the hooves tend to retain their shape as they grow. The majority of my clients comment that before beginning natural hoof care, they knew when their horse was due for a trim by the presence […]
Laminitis and Pumpkin
The title of this post may seem as if I’m about to reveal some connection between the laminitic horse and a common vegetable, and, in a weird sort of way, that’s correct. But it’s not what you think… Some months back, one of my clients took on the care of a very sweet donkey who […]
A Matter of Conscience
This started out as what I had envisioned as a fairly straightforward post, written in response to some comments made by a reader and by a local horse owner. Instead, it turned into an extremely challenging one to write – I suppose because I have so much to say on the subject that the difficulty […]
Chipping Away
I’m always trying to better understand, and therefore help clients understand, the horse and hoof issues that cause them (the horse owners) any sort of stress. So when I received a call from a client the other day who was concerned about a chip in her horse’s hoof, I decided I’d take the opportunity to […]
Natural Hoof Care Revisited (or “Promises, Promises”)
Some further reflection on my last Post, coupled with conversations and comments from several readers and clients, has made me want to add a few other thoughts regarding what constitutes genuine natural hoof care. In this case, I think it’s important (and, given the plethora of folks pretending to provide natural hoof care, becoming increasingly […]