Page 2 - Natural Horse Care

F-Bomb

Friday, February 24, 2012 by Amanda Washington

There are certain words that you just DON'T say around certain groups of people. We don't say "steak" in front of a group of vegans, don't say "Ford" at a Dodge dealership and you don't drop the F-bomb in front of a bunch of "natural barefoot hoof care providers." By F-bomb, I mean the word "farrier." What did you think I meant??? Sheesh I am a lady.

Oh my Gosh is that a FARRIER touching your horse?!?!?! Yup, a tall farrier.

I generally am not a purist when it comes to the barefoot thing. While I fully believe in the benefits and advantages in a properly trimmed barefoot horse, I am around enough of a variety of owners, horses and disciplines to understand that maintaining a bare foot horse isn't ideal for some situations. Unfortunately, forcing the matter in a less-than-ideal situation is a recipe for disaster and sure isn't good for the positive image of natural hoof care, nor is it in the horse's best interest. As I think most will agree, 100% commitment is necessary for success. When people get all high and mighty about it, I tend to roll my eyes. So when I hear someone touting that they are a "natural hoof care provider," it makes me roll my eyes a little. NOT because I disrespect those who have dedicated their lives to truly learning and bettering the lives of the horses we love, but because of all the rest who have seen it as a way to make a quick buck off of sweet, well-meaning horse owners all over.

Short little back and long, long legs. Chant tends to forge if he's not trimmed with a short enough break-over. Sometimes the owner does have good information that should be taken into consideration when trimming horses. But we'll get to that.

Last fall, I took my young gelding, Chant (or, ironically, F-Bomb as we *lovingly* call him) to a friend in a neighboring state for some remedial education. If you recall, I received a big, beautiful white horse in trade, who would be coming to me to transition to competing in Easyboots and receiving a bit of fine tuning. I was expecting Nero to be a great blogging subject throughout his "transition," but was a bit miffed when we pulled his shoes, touched up his otherwise beautifully trimmed and balanced hooves and haven't looked back. So much for blog fodder! Anyway, I had planned to drive over to ride and trim Chant every six weeks or so, but of course life got in the way and before we knew it he was overdue.

Life as he knew it was about to change.

Now we all know how incredibly cool and laid-back I am about things. I didn't freak out about having someone else trim my horse, no way! (Um, right. I was totally freaking out). Having been the only trimmer of my horses for the past five years, I felt stuck and helpless 300 miles away. I resorted to the internet and quickly realized that there isn't much of a database for trimmers, nor is there any standardized certifications to at least give an idea of a trimmer's education. It wasn't easy to sift through all the pretty pictures and the right phrases, but there wasn't much to chose from either. I made a decision based on a few emails and an appointment was set for Chant.

Little Chantley is cursed, er, blessed, with a very short back and very long legs. As result, he forges terribly if his break-over isn't just right and I made sure to state this several times- "Please back up his toes!!" No matter, not much was addressed in the trim. I was sent several pictures afterward that literally made me cry. All the sudden my horse looked weak in the pastern and looked as though he had long toe/low heel syndrome in all four feet! I was devastated because this is the horse who has very low maintanence trimming requirements and has been the easiest of any horse I've ever had to maintain. What went wrong? How could this trim fail to address the issues I asked about and leave him looking worse than before? I don't hold anything against the trimmer, I know it's a tough profession and difficult way to make a living, but the trim left much to be desired and I began to better understand where the common lack of respect for the term "barefoot trimmer" came from among other equine professionals. If this is what you get, no wonder veterinarians are leary of working with these individuals to fix and improve normal, not to mention pathological hooves. Of course this is only one trim on one horse by one person, but is this more the norm than the exception?

Front feet after the trim.

The heels were taken down, and the toes were squared, which doesn't make any sense to me. His coronary band was pushed up and the toe pillars were not backed up. His right front makes me wanna cry- long toe, anyone?

Not quite the look I was going for.

The hinds were also bad. Heels taken down, toes not addressed. Definitely a different style than I am used to.

Luckily for us, my friend's farrier was due two weeks later. I spoke with him over the phone and told him a little of what was going on. Not only was he hilarious, he was honest and upfront. He said he would take a look and get Chant fixed up and would call me after he was done. Wouldn't you know the FARRIER gave my horse an incredible trim and I have absolutely no qualms about continuing to have him trim while the horse is there. I even wish he was closer so he could save my aching little back and trim all my horses!

(His) Right front after the F*&^%$R trimmed it.

Finally the toe is addressed. One can argue he used his rasp higher up than ideal, but it is exactly what I would have done and got Chant's feet back to where they needed to be.

Beautiful bevel and nice short toes.

Should it matter who trims the horse, as long as it's a good trim? I don't think so. Should the hoof care provider listen to the person who *knows* the horse, and make adjustments to their trim accordingly? Absolutely. A friend of mine is passionate about education and feels that vets, trimmers and farriers all have something to offer, and that pooling the resources will lead to better performance on all fronts. Keep an open mind and see things for what they are. My point in all this is don't let verbiage and titles rule your decisions. Talking the talk doesn't mean anything if the results don't leave your horse walking the walk.

Chant enjoys a 15-mile loop from Oregon's Prineville ride with trainer Darlene Anderson. He did the loop barefoot with ease two weeks after his trim. I'll go ride him next weekend and get his boot situation lined out. Maybe even touch up his trim if he needs it :)

Trim on!

~ Amanda

NATRC and Easy Boot - A Buzzing Success

Thursday, February 23, 2012 by Sabrina Liska

Submitted by Kandace French

As a NATRC rider and ride manager, I have often heard in the last year that “NATRC now allows hoof boots in competition.” This isn’t quite an accurate statement, but the recent changes in boot requirements in NATRC have created a more enthusiastic outpouring of competitors with barefoot equines. Effective at the beginning of the 2011 ride year, the North American Trail Ride Conference (“NATRC”) amended the rules of competition to include hoof boots over the coronet band, including boots with straps, gaiters and keepers, provided the attachments do not extend above the pastern.

This opened up the opportunity for riders with barefoot horses to use boots with gators and keepers during a NATRC ride without having to glue boots. This was especially welcoming to the rider that was only riding one day, or less than 50 miles. How wonderful to slip on an Easyboot Glove, tighten the gator and go! What amazing transformations are taking place in the competitive trail ride venue! Since this rule change, I am excited to see the representation of barefoot horses increase exponentially at the NATRC rides. While NATRC has long allowed glued boots, the rule change seems to have brought a real camaraderie and supportive environment for barefoot horses in competitive trail rides.

Knowledge of the benefits of barefoot equines and natural hoof care is increasing. Horsemanship judges and veterinarian judges alike are asking excellent questions, looking at the change and seeing at all the ways that boots can benefit both the horse and rider in competition. On February 17, 2012, I was the ride manager of the Second Annual Bumble Bee NATRC Competitive Trail Ride in Bumble Bee, Arizona.

This desert environment was challenging and the footing varied, including rocks, sand, water, climbs and hard packed flats. The increase in booted competitors entered at this ride was exciting. Over one-half of the horses were booted or barefoot and the largest representation of hoof boots was Easy Care brand.

Prior to the ride, I was thrilled to be asked to glue boots on two of the competitors’ horses. One of those entered horses went on the win the first place Novice Lightweight Horse division and the Novice Sweepstakes Horse. The other horse placed 3 in a field of 14 entries. I was also encouraged to overhear one of the long time NATRC veterinarian judges check out a horse and rider team at the end of the ride and answer questions for the rider about her hoof boots and correct hoof boot fitting. He was educated and supportive of the Easy Boot Gloves and knowledgeable about the benefits of Power Straps.

The number of barefoot horses entering competitive trail riding (“CTR”) events is growing. Booting knowledge is increasing. The number of booted competitors winning in NATRC is growing as well. Not only are more horses entering competitive trail rides, but the attitude and general acceptance of booted horses in CTRs is changing. Booted horses are no longer looked at with curiosity, but admiration instead. More riders are asking intelligent questions and more information is available. As the choices in Easy Care booting options increases, booted horses in NATRC competition increases as well. The pairing of NATRC and Easy Boots at the Bumble Bee NATRC CTR was a buzzing success.

It is just the beginning of another great opportunity for the benefits of barefoot and booted horses to strut their stuff. The proof is in the boots.

Kandace French

February 2012: Crossing a Hoof Boot With a Racing Shoe

Monday, February 6, 2012 by Newsletter Archives

Garrett Ford offers a sneak peak at the latest collaboration in the EasyCare stable. Prepare to be excited.

There's a sneak peak into the biggest hoof boot launch of 2012: the Easyboot Glove Back Country.

Dawn Willoughby writes about the successes of managing Thoroughbred feet.

Natural Horse Magazine gave us permission to reprint two fascinating articles written by Gail Snyder on managing and preventing thrush.

Dealer of the Month hails from South Africa: Easyboot SA owners know and love the sport of endurance.

Customer Photo of the Month is Phyllis Mattox. An avid boot user and tireless promoter, Phyllis uses two types of boots on her horse.

Have you applied to be a member of Team Easyboot 2012 yet? Have you filled out our Ultimate Boot Survey yet?

Do you need support in making boot choices or troubleshooting? You can contact us at the EasyCare offices for free advice.

Please keep in touch: our goal is to help you succeed with EasyCare products and your booting needs.

Crossing the 2011 Tevis Winning Hoof Boot With The 2011 Preakness Winning Shoe

Wednesday, February 1, 2012 by Garrett Ford

What do you get when you cross the hoof boot that was used to win the 2011 100 mile Tevis Cup with the polyurethane horse shoe that was used to win the 2011 136th running of the Preakness?

A new tool for farriers and hoofcare professionals. The new glue-on urethane shoe is a collaboration between EasyCare and No-Anvil. The combined efforts have produced a new urethane hoof protection device that blur the lines between boots and shoes. The urethane hybrid device absorbs concussion, is held securely in place for a shoeing cycle without nails, is lighter weight than most all nail on shoes and allows the hoof to expand and contract as nature intended.

Shackleford wins the 2011 Preakness in Burns Polyflex shoes

Shackleford at the 2011 Kentucky Derby in Burns Polyflex Polyurethane Horseshoes.

Jeremy Reynolds wins the 2011 Tevis Cup in Easyboots

Jeremy Reynolds wins the 2011 Tevis and Haggin Cups in Easyboots.

Below you will find a couple photos showing the collaboration between No-Anvil and EasyCare. The freshly filed patent includes some of the following features.

1. Glue-on urethane hoof protection.
2. The urethane shoe has an internal moldable skeleton for structure and shaping.
3. The integrally molded cuff increases the gluing surface area.
4. The urethane shoe and cuff allow the hoof to expand and contract.

EasyShoe. Half Easyboot, half Burns Polyflex

The EasyShoe. Half Burns Polyflex and half Easyboot Glue-On.

Initial EasyShoe prototypes getting some hard core testing.

Stay tuned for more updates and news on the collaboration.

Garrett Ford

President & CEO

I have been President and CEO of EasyCare since 1993. My first area of focus for the company is in product development, and my goal is to design the perfect hoof boot for the barefoot horse.

Thoroughbred Feet are Just Fine: Meet Garwin

Wednesday, February 1, 2012 by Dawn Willoughby

When you peruse 'Practical Horseman', 'Equus' or 'Horse Illustrated', you may find a professional saying, "Well barefeet might work for some horses, but never Thoroughbreds. They just don't have good feet." Or, "We've bred the feet off those Thoroughbreds." If your friend described her new horse's hooves as flat soled, long toed, with thin, shelly walls, don't you immediately think, "Thoroughbred!" I know I do.

With the natural trim, EasyCare boots, good turnout, some body work and a saddle that fits, my friend and former client, Lyndsay, an owner-trimmer brought Garwin back from the brink. This handsome and talented thoroughbred was a few strides short of becoming a lawn ornament.

If Garwin can make a come back, I think you will agree, almost any Thoroughbred can!

Garwin, 2008.

When he developed debilitating subsolar abscesses in both front hooves, the vet excised the soles. His owner followed the vet's directions for Garwin's daily bandaging. When I met him, Garwin had been on stall rest for 3+ months and remained lame.

"I think the abscesses are the least of your troubles," I said, walking into the barn.

Still shod in back, Garwin had about an inch of good connection between the coffin bone and the hoof wall on the front hooves. You can easily see that steep growth right under the hairline. As the wall grows out, the angle will lessen.

The remaining, severely flared wall is disconnected hoof wall. It is the wall that "rotates" (to use traditional parlance) away from the coffin bone; not the other way around. Without knowing anything more, you could assume his feet are flat. Not congenitally flat as so many folks say but flat because the feet are a mess. The hoof capsule is disconnected and too high; the boney column of the leg too low. Nothing is where it should be. Nothing's working; there is no correct function. You could also assume that the bottom periphery of the coffin bone has become 'moth-eaten'. Coffin bones are not suppose to be on the ground!

If this is all Greek to you, check out Learning to Evaluate Your Horse's Feet (page down to the July 2011 post) for more information.

Why remove of the soles? The vet's concern was that the coffin bone could become infected. Wouldn't removing his soles also opens him to infection? And it appears that the primary cause of the problem, severely flared feet, aka chronic founder, was not being addressed. When I met Garwin in October, he was sore on any surface. And his owner was understandably frustrated.

Right Front Hoof and Leg. Left Front Sole Growing Back, Slowly.

With flare like this, Easyboot Epics are hands-down my top pick. They are very forgiving to get on when dealing with deformed hoof capsules. And the Epics will take the half inch pad that Garwin needed. He walked and trotted off sound so we turned him out in the pasture. First time out in months, Garwin was delerious.

Lesson: Remove shoes before checking for lameness. (YouTube forces the other "related" videos. Not my choice.)

He was a happy guy for sure.

On a weekly basis his owner maintained the mustang roll. The well connected wall grew in, as expected. In my view, having the owner do weekly trims on a horse like this speeds rehabilitation and avoid the set backs of waiting too long between trims.

December, 2008: Looking a bit better.

Garwin progressed nicely. By rolling the bottom of the wall, the mechanical forces ripping apart the wall from the coffin bone have been eliminated. This then allows the well connected hoof wall to grow down the foot. In one full growth cycle of about 9 months, a decent foot is grown. It will take another year or two to get adequate sole and wall thickness. The owner routinely soaked his front hooves in White Lightning as a way to deal with what must have been a large amount of necrotic tissue in these rehabbing feet.

Because Garwin was an extreme case, the owner consulted with a more experienced barefoot trimmer, my good friend Laura Florence. Laura gave her additional insights on rehabilitation: how long to use boots for turnout, when to begin riding, tweaking the trim. She also introduced Garwin and Lyndsay to Zarna Carter and her bodywork, Equine Positional Release.

Lyndsay began to see the light at the end of the tunnel. There was still concern about Garwin ever competing in combined training events - dressage, stadium jumping and cross country jumping. Garwin's feet remained "freakishly flat". Laura invited her back to the Center to have radiographs. The vet was not hopeful. She pronounced Garwin laminitic and recommended shoes. Laura's concerns were allayed as there was nothing on x-ray that she didn't expect to see. It just took an incredibly long time for the bottom of his feet to recover. But he did recover, without shoes of course.

Over time, Garwin transitioned from padded Epics - a different size for each foot! - to Gloves. His sizing has since normalized although I must say they are pretty small feet for such a big guy. This is due to early shoeing of racehorses. The coffin bone on most horses develops until they are 4.

October 2011 at Burgundy Hollow Event

Cross Country Jumping Course in Gloves.

Garwin Attacks the Stadium Jumping Course in his Gloves.

Back Home, during a dressage lesson. Check out the spiffy transmitter!

All he needed was barefoot care from his thoughtful, patient owner. And boots from EasyCare of course.

January, 2012
Lyndsay reports that Garwin has developed concavity all around. Like most Thoroughbreds his wall thickness is about 1/4". The outer horn is strong. Frogs are stellar. He has grown a nice wall to coffin bone connection. What more could you ask for?

One On-Going Challenge
Rules in eventing do not permit the use of EasyCare boots in the dressage competition. If you are not familiar with this combined training, you might think Garwin should be able to go barefoot in a ring.

But unless you are competing at the highest levels, the surface of the rings are far from stellar. Some are made of stone dust which over time is like riding on cement. Alternatively the organizers might put up a fence somewhere in a field. Unfortunately Garwin does suck back on these surfaces. He needs his Gloves.

I hope an eventing competitor will step up to the challenge of having the rules changed. In the meantime, I am hopeful that Lyndsay can compete in the Glue On Glove. I have learned that in Australia, they are trimming down the outer portion of the Glue On Glove and just calling it a Glue On! (Better to ask forgiveness than permission?)

Better to change the rules!

If you would like to see more photos of this great team, go to Lyndsay Poole's Facebook.

In March, I will feature another story of the Thoroughbred racehorse, Chance and his friend, 2 year old Zola. Check them out at The Racehorse Experiement.

Happy Trails,
Dawn Willoughby
Proud Owner of a rehabbed OTTB

Thrush: Restoring Hoof Health Naturally by Gail Snyder

Wednesday, February 1, 2012 by Kevin Myers

Gail Snyder recently wrote an interesting two-part article for Natural Horse Magazine on the best practices for managing and preventing thrush.

"Thrush is as controversial a topic as any in the equine world. Everyone has a tried-and-true remedy with free advice for you. If you doubt that statement, type "horse thrush" into an online search engine. In this two part series, I'll cover the topic of thrush in detail."

Natural Horse Magazine graciously gave us permission to make the article available to our readers. Simply click on the links below to download a PDF version of the articles. Note: this function requires Adobe Reader to be installed on your computer. If you don't have it yet, you can download Adobe Reader by clicking on http://get.adobe.com/reader/

Here are the downloads to the articles:

Thrush: Restoring Hoof Health Naturally - Part 1
Thrush: Restoring Hoof Health Naturally - Part 2

Let me know what you think of them.

Kevin Myers

Director of Marketing

I am responsible for the marketing and branding of the EasyCare product line. I believe there is a great deal to be gained from the strategy of using booted protection for horses, no matter what the job you have for your equine partner.

Minerals Are Good for the Hoof

Saturday, January 28, 2012 by EasyCare Customer Service Team

Various minerals are important for a healthy horse, and healthy hooves. I read a really great article in the Horse's Hoof, Winter 2012-Issue 45, written by Marijke van de Water. Marijke is an Equine Health & Nutrition Specialist, Homeopathic Practitioner and Medical Intuitive. She is also the founder and owner of Riva's Remedies.

Horse hooves are very much a reflection of the whole horse, and the treatment of the hoof should always consider the whole health of the horse. Healthy hoof horn produced by a healthy, well-nourished horse is smooth, strong, and free of horizontal or vertical cracks. Taking care of the whole horse will always benefit the hooves.

You need to take in to consideration the diet, proper horse hoof trimming and regular exercise to insure good, healthy blood circulation. Blood circulation is how the hoof receives oxygen and nutrients to keep them at their best. We all know that old saying "No Hoof, No Horse".

The Trim

Movement

A few of the important minerals talked about in this article, were sulphur, selenium and silica. How they contribute to really healthy hooves. There are organic varieties that are absorbed and utilized much more effectively than the inorganic form. Natural horse products can be easier to assimilate in the body as in nature, horses eat weeds and vegetation out there that is good for them. It just comes natural to them.

Silica promotes bone health, strengthens collagen and hardens the hoof wall, while selenium and sulphur contribute to collagen production and strengthen the cross link bonds in the keratin.

For a good read and more knowledge, check out this article and then check your horse's hooves. What are you seeing?

Nancy Fredrick

EasyCare Office Manager

As the office manager, I make sure the general operations of the organization run smoothly and seamlessly from A to Z. I have been on the EasyCare team since 2001 and have first hand product knowledge as my horses are barefoot and booted.

Procrastination

Thursday, January 19, 2012 by EasyCare Customer Service Team

Pro - cras - ti - na - tion (proh-kras-tuh-ney-shuhn) - the act or habit of procrastinating, or putting off or delaying, especially something requiring immediate attention.

I'm sure nobody really needs the definition of the word procrastination spelled out, I know I don't - this blog was due two weeks ago! Everyone procrastinates sometimes, over 20% of people are chronic procrastinators. Did you know that procratination and perfectionism go hand in hand? Here are some reasons for procrastination:

Fear of Failure
Because we are too busy
Over-or under-estimating the degree of difficulty the task involves

Does any of this sound familiar on reasons why you have not tried to take your horse barefoot? There is so much information available today regarding natural horse care, using hoof boots and barefoot trimming, it can get overwhelming. EasyCare has a whole section of our website devoted to articles to help educate you and get you on your way.

Ways to overcome procrastition:

Get a buddy to do the barefoot transition with you.
Challenge your myths regarding shoeing and do some research.
Get a new attitude.

So, take a deep breath and dive in. Remember the worst form of procrastition is reading an article about it, feeling the guilt and not doing anything about it. (I will have to remember this when my next blog is due.)

Shari Murray

Customer Service

If you call the customer service help desk, you’ll probably get me on the phone! I process repairs, returns, credits and exchanges that come into EasyCare.

Transition Tuesday: Wait That's the Wrong Guy!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012 by Amanda Washington

Everybody know that transitioning a horse from shoes to barefoot is supposed to be hard, and taking one that's already barefoot should make for a seamless transition. NOT. If you've been around horses for any length of time, you will know that there are never any "givens" when it comes to horses!

Back in November, I brought two new horses into our herd. The first was Breve, a big old moose of a 7yr. old Shagya, who had been barefoot for years. A few weeks later, we introduced Nero, a 10yr. old Arab who has been in shoes for the "on" season since he was a youngster. Naturally, he was going to be the difficult to transition where Breve would seamlessly continue in his work with no issue.

Can you really call taking a barefoot pasture horse to a barefoot performance horse a transition? I think you can. There are major differences in a "pasture trim" and a good barefoot trim, and unfortunately many people don't understand these differences. Does your trimmer understand it? Breve had been recently trimmed prior to coming to Idaho, but came with too long of wall, too long of toe and some serious imbalances in all four feet, it was obvious some major adjustments were necessary. Because I knew his feet would be making some serious changes, I waited a while to order boots for him, planning on trimming conservatively and letting him do some natural wear during our frequent rides through November and December. I backed his toe up some and balanced him, but was not aggressive in his trim. Even so, after about a month of riding twice a week, he started to hesitate over the rougher, harder and rocky ground. I wrote a few weeks ago about fitting him for boots. Since we've gotten his boots, I've alternated riding barefoot and booted in the last month. About a week ago, I attacked his feet and am very pleased with how they look at this time. Look at these changes!

From this...

... and this

To this...

... and THIS!

We're well on our way!

Now for Nero. Nero, Nero, Nero. Wouldn't you know it he hasn't taken a bobble? I don't even have anything to write! After pulling his shoes, I rounded the walls and left him for a week. Truthfully, I was afraid to do too much and have the ground freeze, leaving me with a sore footed pony. He just has his shoes pulled for gosh sakes! Of course until now, we've had perpetual fall, so no frozen ground to battle with. That is all changing tonight. But I digress. Nero looked great, and when I started to ride him the first part of December I was shocked! This guy doesn't miss a step! After almost a 600 mile endurance season in shoes, he hasn't skipped a beat. I really appreciate this guys toughness and inherently beautiful feet. While I am not foolish enough to expect a completely seamless transition to competing in boots, I am pleased with how things are going. I have also come to fully respect a good farrier, because I am certain our transition wouldn't be where it is today had Nero been shod poorly. Barefoot or shod, a good trim is imperative, and we should appreciate it when we see it.

Poor Nero's transition has been so unremarkable the only pictures I have are of his ridiculously perfect little face. I guess that's the difference in getting a horse from someone who cares for them as you yourself do! No crazy physique changes, no dramatic before and afters, just an easy pony to love. I have been enjoying our weekly gallops to keep me sane and Nero legged up without pounding out too many miles.

He is spoiled with us! Never a dirty bed, dinner on a silver platter, and a mint on his pillow at bed time. Oh wait. He really hates mints.

Here shortly, I will be fitting Nero for his own Easyboot Gloves. I anticipate needing a very good fit in the front as I have watched him carefully and he appears to twist a bit in both fronts as he places his foot down. Luckily, he has beautiful wall quality, absolutely no flaring and appropriate heel height. If we have problems (and stating this as public record guarantees we will), they will be my fault. I plan to be prepared!

That face!

How are your transitions going?

~ Amanda Washington
SW Idaho

5 Ways To Sharpen Your Knife

Monday, January 16, 2012 by Christoph Schork

Sliced or squished, how do you like it?

Dull knives are dangerous, no matter how you slice it! Whether cutting vegetables, bread, meat or trimming hooves, you need to use a lot of strength. A dull instrument can bounce and deflect, causing bloody hands for the operator. Sharp knives can be controlled with minimum force: they do their intended job with ease. For natural hoof trimming and barefoot trimming, a sharp hoof knife is a must. Dirt, sand and mud left on the bottom of the hoof will quickly dull any hoof knife.

An often heard question at the different natural hoof care clinics has been "which is the best way to sharpen hoof knives?"

Below a list of some of the most common sharpening devices.

1. Bench Sander
Bench sanders and grinders can be used for many purposes and they work great for sharpening knives. They are more cumbersome to haul around and require electricity.

The blade should always get sharpened from the inside (the rounded side) only.

Advantages: fast results, the spinning wheel does the work.

Disadvantages: difficult to sharpen the curved tip; easy to tilt the knife blade, resulting in an uneven blade. A very skilled and delicate touch is required. Doesn't work for Loop Knives.

2. Diamond Sharpener
Always sharpen from the curved side only. You can pull the sharpener towards you or turn the knife around and push the sharpener away from you, as the two images below show.

Advantages: easy to use, forgiving, curved tip can get sharpened as well.

Disadvantages: requires more strokes to achieve a sharp knife.

3. Chainsaw Sharpener
Normally used to sharpen the links of chain saws; a good tool for hoof knives as well.

Again, you can pull or push the instrument. As you can see, it fits nicely into the curved tip.

Advantages: works fast, you achieve a nice sharp tip.

Disadvantages: It is easy to dent the blade if not careful. The round file, especially when new and sharp, can cause some waves in the blade when not being worked diligently.

4. Swissistor
This tool was specifically developed for sharpening hoof knives.

Advantages: easy and fast results.

Disadvantages: tightly curved tips and loop knives can be difficult to sharpen evenly.

5. Sharpening Stone
The oldest knife sharpening tool. Works best when wetted with water.

Advantages: ease of use, safe.

Disadvantages: often hard to get the tip sharpened.

After sharpening the curved side of the knife, it is necessary to deburr the flat side of the knife. The stone is most suitable for that task.

Best sharpening results are achieved by holding a 30 degree angle between the blade and the instrument. For deburring, a 10 to 20 degree angle works well. You can now move the blade towards you with a light slicing movement.

When sharpening the knife, it is best to hold the knife still and move the sharpening tool across the blade. When deburring, you hold the stone still and move the knife across the stone.

Here they are all together one more time, for size comparison:

What is my favorite sharpening device? The Swissistor.

A sharp hoof knife makes the job of horse hoof trimming a lot easier.

Your Bootmeister

Barefootin' in the Ozarks

Saturday, January 14, 2012 by Debbie Schwiebert

Horse trainer, barefoot trimmer and EasyCare dealer Mike Daniels isn't shy about how he feels about barefoot. The Raymondville, Missouri resident frequently presents clinics in the surrounding areas and gives his attendees a lot more than horsemanship to think about.

Mike at one of his clinics. Photo from the Houston Herald, Houston, MO

Photos from the Houston Herald, Houston, MO

A man of faith, Mike weaves his clinics with horsemanship and life lessons. Coinciding with all this is stewardship of the horse and talk about natural hoof care and what means for the horse and owner. Mike has found many people don't give a lot of thought to their horse's hooves and he wants to change that.

Mike's story begins as someone who kept his horses bare simply because it was practical. If and when he needed to ride somewhere rocky, he would end up shoeing his horse for the trip. The expense for a one-time shoeing didn't really add up for Mike and he began searching for other options. He picked up a pair of EasyCare hoof boots and became a barefoot and booted fan for life and hasn't looked back.

Mike believes providing your horse with a natural lifestyle encompassing diet, exercise and barefoot hoof care is as close as we can come to giving them the life nature intended.

Mike also contributes to the blog at the Houston Herald in Missouri.

Mike Daniels, displays a barefoot trim. Photo from the Houston Herald, Houston, MO

Will you be hosting a clinic in 2012? We'd love to tell others about it. Please drop me an email at dschwiebert@easycareinc.com with details.

Debbie Schwiebert

Vet Dealer & Hoof Care Practitioner Accounts

I manage the hoof care practitioner and veterinarian dealer accounts at EasyCare. An integral part of my job is to stay current in all areas of barefoot hoof care, which enables me to serve this vital group of EasyCare dealers at the next level.

Tex and His Easyboots

Wednesday, January 11, 2012 by EasyCare Customer Service Team

The first time I heard from Renee was a very desparate telephone call saying that her horse, Tex, had foundered.

Renee and Tex with the Easyboot Rx.

Since that time, Renee has transitioned Tex to barefoot and he has gone through a lot during his transition. We started with the Easyboot RX and ended up with the Easyboot Glove.

I recently heard from Renee: "I can't thank you enough for all of your help and guidance through this. It has been a long hard road (7 months). Thanks to you and EasyCare and all of the information you provide, the natural trimmer list that is on the website, the Easyboot RX and the Easyboot Gloves - I have my horse back!

Dee Reiter

Customer Service

When you call EasyCare, I’m one of the folks that will answer. I’m also one of the cowgirls in the group. (Heck no, I don’t show, I Rodeo!) When it comes to life’s adventures – never pull back on the reins, and remember: the world is best-viewed through the ears of a horse!

2011: The Biggest EasyCare Natural Hoof Care Moments & Changes Of The Year

Wednesday, January 4, 2012 by Garrett Ford

2011 is a year that I'll remember for acceptance of natural hoof care practices, hoof boots and barefoot trimming.

Yes, natural hoof care has been around along time and many people feel it's the only way to keep a horse. There are also many people who believe all horses must wear iron shoes. I think the thing that I noticed most about 2011 is a broad, mainstream acceptance of barefoot hoof care. Horse owners that have had every horse shod for years now have one or two going strong barefoot or booted. I've noticed a change in thinking, it's no longer a debatable topic but a successful tool in the bag of tricks of the equestrian trade.

Here is my list of why I believe natural hoof care made a big step forward in 2011, why it will continue in 2012 and where EasyCare needs focus in the future. I'll start with #1 and cut right to the chase.

1. Pete and Ivy Ramey release a monumental book about natural hoof care called "Care and Rehabilitation of the Equine Foot". Pete and an incredible group of contributing authors (Robert Bowker, Hilary Clayton, Brian Hampson, Eleanor Kellon, Kerry Ridgway, Debra Taylor and Kathryn Watts) lay out the importance of hoof care theory, nutrition and the hoof, trimming different parts of the hoof, laminitis management and feral horse foot studies. The book is incredible and a must read for equine professionals, horse owners and anyone who cares for the equine hoof. If you believe in the phrase "No Hoof, No Horse" this book will bring your knowledge to a whole new level.

Care and Rehabilitation of the Equine Foot

2. Tevis Cup 2011. The toughest 100 mile horse race in the world tests horses, riders and hoof care management techniques more than any other venue in the world. Jeremy Reynolds wins both the Tevis Cup and Haggin cup using Easyboots on a barefoot horse. In addition to Reynolds impressive results, Easyboots were used on the 3rd place horse, 5th place horse and an additional 6 horses in the top twenty. In total 28 barefoot/Easybooted horses finished the 2011 event. The Tevis Cup continues to show that barefoot/booted horses care compete and win at the highest levels of equine sport.

Reynolds racing wins 2011 Tevis Cup in Easyboots

The Reynolds Racing Team accepting the 2011 Haggin Cup. Marvel is wearing Easyboots.

3. Horse Journal names the Easyboot Glove as Horse Journal Editor's Choice and the Easyboot Trail and Horse Journal Best Buy. Horse Journal is a cool equine magazine that does a great deal of product testing and reviews. They don't take advertising dollars so their reviews are usually very good and on target.

The Easyboot Glove on an early testing run. EasyCare's hopes for this boot have come through.

4. EasyCare has promoted the $10,000 Hoof Boot Contest since 2005. Although the Hoof Boot Contest has been very successful and has helped promote hoof boots and barefoot horses in one of the toughest equine sports, 2011 will bring an end to the successful $10,000 Hoof Boot Contest and we will soon launch the inaugural 2012 International Transition Challenge. The Transition Challenge will showcase horse owner and hoof care professional horse transitions. The new contest will highlight the importance of routine hoof care maintenance, proper nutrition and exercise. The change of direction will take our contest focus off long distance racing and put money and energy into a contest where improving the lives of horses will be highlighted and rewarded. More information will be coming soon.

Before and After transition photos showcased in That's My Horse #2.

5. Advancement, another area of focus for EasyCare in 2012. It's 2011 and in many areas of the equine industry we are still using products and methods developed hundreds of years ago. Why do other sports like cycling, skiing, climbing, and running continue to advance? If you look at a bike developed 20 years ago you would think it belonged in a museum. If you looked at a saddle developed 20 years ago you would think it looks just like the saddles being made today. One of EasyCare's goals moving forward is to borrow technology from other industries and bring it into the equestrian industry. Time to look at things differently.

Garrett Ford

President & CEO

I have been President and CEO of EasyCare since 1993. My first area of focus for the company is in product development, and my goal is to design the perfect hoof boot for the barefoot horse.

January 2012: Epona's Natural Hoofcare Services

Wednesday, January 4, 2012 by Dealer of the Month

If you've ever met Natalie Herman, you will know her to be dependably positive and honest. Since she started her business in 2005, she believes there has been an explosion of booting options, both in the growth of new boot brands and within EasyCare itself.

Natalie attributes her success to her burning desire to learn. She finds she can learn something from everyone. Even if she does not agree, there is always something that might cause her to approach a problem from a different angle. She credits her reputuation to the power of word of mouth and her conscientious approach to customer service. "I do some marketing, but it is a fairly tight community around here. If you want to be successful, you need to have people talking about you in a good way."

Natalie says Easycare makes working with their dealer networks and boot users a pleasurable process. "They have a friendly, helpful, knowledgeable staff; they have favorable return policies, and when a product is shown to need improvement, they modify the product instead of sticking with the same old thing."

She uses the same philosophy in her own business: "I am very helpful and giving with my knowledge. If a client has a question, they never hesitate to call or email me with it, and I try and help them. A good trim is just the tip of a large iceberg." She studied horseshoeing first, and credits that time with learning the principles of anatomy and a balanced trim. She feels strongly that evolution is just as important in hoofcare as it is in the boots that protect those hooves.

Natalie is quick to compliment EasyCare: "I love how inovative Easycare is, always trying to come up with new solutions to existing boots, or totally new boots when the need arises. Instead of insisting that the user is at fault, or the trims are incorrect, EasyCare tries to find a solution to boot failures by either modifying the boot design, or coming up with a design that fits the activity of that user. She says she's still waiting to see a sliding plate boot, though. "It just amazes me how fast things are changing in the industry," says Natalie, "and I am loving it."

Natalie currently owns three horses: a 13 year-old Morgan/Quarter Horse mare that was her first horse and, she says, her best horse. "I tried about everything with her, and she is currently being leased to a friend's daughter. Together they won the state championship for CSHA Trail Trials in their division this year, bare and sometimes booted with Gloves. She was also her experimental horse for getting into barefooting. She always needed shoes with pads in the front, having long toe/low heel issues, and wore the outside branches of her hind shoes to nothing in six weeks. Natalie was skeptical of taking her barefoot. "Her feet became so much better that I decided to completely convert my farrier business to natural hoofcare." She has never looked back.

Natalie and Storm.

She bred the mare to the top AERC mileage and Hall of Fame stallion, DR Thunder Bask, and this year her six year-old daughter completed her first endurance season. She has been bare her entire life, and performed wonderfully in Gloves, Epics, and Glue-ons at rides throughout 2011. "She is also my 'thinking outside the box' booting horse. I have had to modify boots and how to apply them to the hoof with her, as she tends to have a lot of torque on the hind end." Having a challenging horse in booting has helped her help others.

Natalie also has a 13 year-old Kentucky Mountain stallion. "He is my 'soul horse' and I love everything about him."

Natalie & Eowyn.

As a small business owner, Natalie keeps a minimum stock for clients, and appreciates the fact that Easycare does not have a minimum order policy amount. Her best-seller is still the Easyboot Glove and Glove Wides. "Most of my cients love them as they are so simple to use. The next best-selling models are the Epic and Easyboot Trail, as both allow a greater range of fitting for clients unable or unwilling to keep the hooves trimmed as frequently as the Gloves require.

Her most rewarding experience as a trimmer was treating her first founder case. "I knew the theory, and had trimmed a few mildly laminitic horses, but not a really bad case. When I called the vet for a consult and to go in and see the radiographs, the vet had basically written the horse off and told me to expect to see the coffin bone coming through the sole." She never did get sole penetration on that horse, but there were months of abscessing. Today the horse has textbook hooves. "This case got me started on the path to working on laminitic horses and it boosted my confidence in the barefoot method."

Natalie's most memorable hoof boot success story is the 2011 XP 2,000 mile ride. "There were a good number of barefoot and booted riders already, but there were also many shod horses competing." The barefoot horses proved to be most of the highest mileage horses on this ride, with over 1,000 miles each during the two-month span. Riders with shod horses discovered the benefits of barefoot/booted protocols, and many of them solved lameness issues during the race by pulling shoes and applying boots. "So much for an extended transition from shoes," said Natalie ironically.

Natalie's calling card.

Natalie's prediction for the future? That a barefoot and booted lifestyle will become the norm instead of a fad. "More and more vets and long-time farriers are becoming interested in it. As boots become easy to use and effective as hoof protection, more people see barefoot and booting as a viable option for their horse's hoofcare.

For more information on Epona's Natural Hoofcare Services, visit Natalie's new Facebook page. For more information on becoming a dealer, visit the Dealer's Corner on the EasyCare website.

Easyboots And The ICU

Thursday, December 15, 2011 by Sabrina Liska

This blog was hard for me to write. It is very personal to my heart but I feel the direction in which hoof boots are taking natural hoof care is nothing short of revolutionary.

A few weeks ago, I have a friend who, with her beloved horse Yankee, completed their first 75 mile endurance ride. She competed in Glue-Ons all around and vetted out with straight A's. She and Yankee were on top of the world! Once home, she left the boots on. With a heavy work week and the holidays coming up, it was safe to let the boots be for a while and pull them the following week.

A week after the ride, Yankee was rushed to the local equine hospital. Yankee was in dire straights with a serious intestinal bacterial infection unrelated to the ride. I wont go into details, but the situation was not in favor for Yankee. On top of everything else, due to the tremendous amount of toxins and edema in Yankee's system from the infection, laminitis was a huge possibility and probability.

When Yankee was admitted, the vets were curious about the Glue-Ons, how they were applied, and why Yankee was still wearing them. After a thorough explanation in detail regarding the boots, (they weren't familiar with them, but loved them after a description of what was on his feet, how it was done, and why) the vets all concurred it was better for Yankee's feet to have the support of the Easyboot Glue-Ons and to leave the boots on. They were hopeful that the added padding from the Goober Glue and the overall boot support, would aid in the prevention of Laminitis and Founder. Whether or not it would actually help is moot. The fact that the vets were on board and supportive of the Easy Boot hoof boots aiding in health issue is huge!

Yankee is finally home and on the mend after spending eight days in ICU, and he appears to have avoided that dreaded laminitis! Did the Glue-Ons help in warding off the Founder? I don't know. I'd like to think that they did.

Thank you KF for permission to post this.

An Adventure in Glue-Ons

Wednesday, December 7, 2011 by Kate Saunders

I have made my Easyboot Epic love affair known. I have successfully infiltrated a southern Louisiana racehorse training center and sprinkled Epics throughout the grounds, from Barn D where they can be found in droves, all the way down to Barn M where a few people have heard of "that barn" that trains their horses barefoot, and that one horse in their barn (M) wore Epics to sooth his aching feet.

With a little encouragement, I decided that it was time to step away from the Epics and try my hand at something I'd never done before - Glue-Ons. Because I'm a virgin gluer, I invited my mentor, Marie Daniels, and her replacement apprentice to join me in my attempts to become more... sophisticated. After all, now that Garrett Ford has developed an EasyBoot Race prototype, this "practice run" would be the first step towards racing Louisiana thoroughbreds in glue-ons instead of metal shoes.

We had two horses lined up for this little project: My star, Lil' Rick's Gal, who was scheduled to race in just over a week from that day, and Banfish, the two-year-old who was in light work at the track.

We began with Banfish. Right from the beginning we had some real challenges. His feet, still in the early rehabilitation phase of natural hoof care, did not fit any of the Glue-On shells as well as we would have liked. We finally settled on one 0.5 wide and a regular 1, however there was some bulging at the quarters that was definitely not ideal.

We fitted the shell and cleaned the top of the hoof.

Goober glue was applied to the inside of the shell and Adhere was lathered on the hoof wall.

After waiting about five minutes for the shells to set, Banny was allowed to go back in his stall.

He was walked, trotted, and cantered each morning for about half an hour over a 7 day period. He was worked in straight lines, circles, and serpentines. The rider said that Banfish was working very well in his "slippers", and that he hadn't even noticed the first few days that the horse had the glue-ons on his feet.

However, Banfish had already lost one of his shells after only 7 days of light work. Would these shells have stayed on the characteristic 10 to 14 days if the fit had been better, or if we had prepared the hoof better before application? Possibly we did not brush the top of the hoof enough. We didn't put rubbing alcohol on the hooves at the time of application; maybe this extra step would have made the difference. Or maybe the shell fit was just not good enough. We will never know exactly how he went about losing that first shell. Nonetheless, 7 days seems like a terribly short time when you consider how many horses keep these shells on for weeks, all the while going through sticky mud and knee-deep rivers.

Someday, I would like to be a Glue-On guru like so many of you. Today, however, I'd love to hear what you think. Should Banfish's boots have stayed on longer than 7 days? Is there something that I could have done better, or did Banny just not fit well enough in those shells? After all, he did have the worst feet in the barn!

Next time, I'll let you in on how well Ricky faired in her Glue-On "slippers"!

Natural Hoof Care in Europe

Monday, December 5, 2011 by Christoph Schork

Dresden, a pearl a the river Elbe in Germany, was the first stop of a 4 week Hoof Care Tour last month conducted by me, The Bootmeister from Global Endurance Training Center.

I have been going to Europe now for the last two years, sharing some gained hoof care and hoof protection Knowledge with riders, horse owners and farriers. The demand for more knowledge is high, people are eager to learn about Natural Hoof Care and the newest Hoof Protection products on the market. EasyCare is the undisputed leader in the world with research and development of hoof boots of all kinds. R&D is of utmost importance to the EasyCare staff. Horse owners worldwide know that. Hence, it is only logical, that EasyCare boots stood in the lime light of my presentations.

View from the Frauenkirche over the Castle and the Elbe.

After an indoor anatomy session and PowerPoint presentation, the 20 participants had ample opportunity to train their eyes during conformation analysis sessions and study first hand how conformation affects hoof growth. Afterward, the riders who brought their own horses, in total over 10, could practice mapping out the sole and rasping the hooves of their horses. I placed a lot of emphasis on developing the skill of reading the sole. Aspiring hoof trimmers generally fare well when following the principle of trimming a hoof no further than to the live sole. It is a safe approach and everybody can learn it quickly.

The second day was devoted to Hoof boot selection and application. I explained and demonstrated the usage of Easyboot Edge, Trail, Glove and Glue-On and afterwards everybody could practice. It is important to actually do things. We humans all learn most by doing, we easily forget when just watching and listening.

Demonstrating the use of Vettec Glue gun and application of Adhere to the Glue on shells.

Finished gluing job.

These coaches in downtown Dresden provide visitors a feeling of stepping back in time. After looking at the hoof protection of these carriage horses, we all agreed that they would travel much more comfortably with Easyboots.

Next stop was Hannover. Well known for the Hanoverian breed, this city has a long horse tradition.

The on-site organizing committee had invited over 45 Hoof Trimmers, farriers and veterinarians. After my initial presentation about the different Natural Hoof Care schools and philosophies in the USA and Europe, we discussed NHC and trimming techniques as well as hoof pathologies and remedies. I presented the thesis and studies of Dr. Brian Hampson of Australia, who did the most thorough studies on the hooves of wild horses so far.

If someone were to conduct a study, for example, on the hooves of one herd of wild horses in Nevada or Utah, the two driest states within the USA, where horses have to travel many miles over rocks and sand to find water and food and then propose to use that feral hoof as a benchmark model for healthy hooves for all domestic horses in the world, would that be a realistic and fair conclusion?

Hampson studied and examined hooves from various areas in Australia, wild horses living in arid areas and others in wet areas with lush vegetation. The hooves of the wild horses living in the wetter areas looked a lot like the average domestic hooves. Does that mean the hooves adapt to the environment or are the hooves shaped by the substrate the horse travels over?

An answer to this question might be obtained by looking at the following photos, provided by Brian Hampson.

The left hoof has the appearance of a typical domestic hoof. Recessed frog, under-run heels, flares. Yet, it is a wild horse hoof. After moving several horses with these hooves to a different (drier) area, the hooves were remodeled by the ground the horses traveled over. The hoof on the left is void of any mustang roll. Does it not need it? Within 16 weeks the rocks and dry ground reshaped that very same hoof. The mustang roll is clearly visible now. The question might be asked, how important is the mustang roll then, when we as natural hoof care trimmers applying it to all horses, yet only a small segment of wild horses worldwide even display one in the wild?

The study also showed that only three hooves out of 100 assessed were free of abnormalities. In fact, he found a 67% incidence of chronic laminitis within the horses living in the dry climate and the hard substrate. When the majority of the wild horses display this pathology, is it still a pathology or is it physiologically normal now? Who makes these decisions?

Not everything wild is necessarily good solely because it is wild and natural. The wild horse paradigm model of desert horses' hooves may not be applicable across the board to all horses worldwide.

The discussions were very interesting and we were only scratching the surface of all the ramifications of the Hampson study.

Discussions of Natural Hoof Care in Hannover.

On I went to Kassel, stop for the next seminar.

Similar to the USA, Germany experiences also a shortage of farriers who are willing to offer services beyond the traditional iron shoes. Many do not know about bare hoof trimming and alternate hoof protection like plastic shoes and hoof boots. Therefore, more and more riders and horse owners want to learn to trim their horses' hooves themselves.

I set up several stations, where people could work on their horses hooves simultaneously. That way, everybody had ample time to practice and learn.

Working at stations.

Onwards to Belgium. near Brussels, I conducted the last clinic. My French is very rusty, to say the least, so everything was translated by Leonard Liesens, a famous and successful Belgian endurance rider.
I learned to speak slowly and to include only essential information in my sentences. And I got my message across as well, without lengthy and repetitive wording. An exercise in disciplining speech.

The historic Market Place in Brussels.

Leonard Liesens checking the fit of the Easyboot Glove he had just applied.

At all the seminars, I also showed slides of the Tevis ride. With all the Europeans now coming to the Tevis next year, we better all put our entries in early to avoid being placed on the waiting list.

The Europeans were all very eager to learn and try new trimming techniques. They are pragmatic and want to use the trimming and hoof protection that works best for their horses. They do not believe that Natural Hoof Care and Bare Hoof Trimming is an ideology or a mantra. For them, it is not an absolute, rather a better and healthier way to take care of their horses' hooves. They do not want to listen to self righteous statements of cult-like organizations. The welfare of their horses is important. That is a reason why Pete Ramey stands in such high esteem in Europe, his open mindedness, his tolerance, his knowledge and non judgmental approach to hoof care puts him in a class of his own and a big step above everybody else.

I did stress the importance of looking at each horse as an individual. The trimming procedure that works for one horse, might not be the best approach for the horse right next to it.

Europe has many more horses than the USA. Per capita, Germany has 70% more horses than the USA. Horse owners and riders want to learn and improve and use modern and better hoof protection methods.
Already now, I have booked several more clinics for next spring, this time in addition to Germany also in France and Switzerland. Natural Hoof Care, Barefoot Trimming and Easyboots are on a roll and gaining ground and popularity throughout the whole equestrian world.

Golden statue of August Der Starke (August The Strong), former King of Saxonia, in Dresden.

A special Thank You goes out to my liasons and support persons who organized the events on site. Without them, it would have been very difficult to impossible to conduct the seminars:

Dresden:     Veit Koppe

Hannover:   Patricia Nastoll and Kathrin Ewen

Kassel:        Martin Boesel

Brussel:       Leonard Liesens

The Bootmeister, reporting from Europe

Solving the National Debt Crisis One Forest Service Horse at a Time

Wednesday, November 2, 2011 by Kevin Myers

Submitted by Kris Goris

Catchy title huh? Let me explain how we are going to make this work: here in the Southwest (New Mexico and Arizona), the average price for a shoeing is around $90, a trim around $50. Let’s say your local Forest Service district has eight animals: horses, mules and in some cases a few donkeys.

These animals are shod on average every eight weeks. Let’s call the first four to six months a wash, since a proper trim needs to be applied every four to six weeks and we have to supply a pair of boots. After the transition period, however, we should be trimming every ten to twelve weeks.

Projecting out, we find that over the next 12 months, the savings amount to about $350 dollars per animal, times eight makes $2,800 per year per district, times 45 (the approximate number of districts in the Southwest region) makes for $126,000 in savings per year.

Alright, enough about figures. Bottom line: it’s all about the horses.

By way of introduction: I used to shoe horses in New Mexico up until about seven years ago when I made the switch to natural hoof care. As a horse lover I do what I do for the sake, health and well being of these noblest of creatures. Unfortunately, there are no twelve step programs for people like me: we’re on our own.

I tried for a number of years to get a (booted) foot in the door with the local Forest Service districts. Having ridden with them on a few occasions I knew there was work to be done. As some of you know: it's tough enough here in the Southwest to convince a rancher or cowboy to go the barefoot route. A governmental agency is a whole different story altogether.

Last winter, I was given the chance with a few of the districts here and so I went to work. The general consensus, of course, was that it couldn’t be done. Be aware that we ride on granite here throughout the Gila Wilderness.

Marro's rears.

I knew that the initial skepticism would give way to acceptance and recognition, provided I could transition their stock properly. To start, most horses were on stilts, meaning hoof capsules twice as long as what they should be, lots of side bone, deformed capsules, cracks, laminitic grooves, traces of founder and rotation: nothing unusual. The nice thing about these service animals is that they get most of the winter months off, so the initial transition period was to be easy on them and gave them time to heal up some before spring. The second trim was applied four weeks after the first one, then six weeks, then we were able to go a full eight weeks and now we are on a ten to 12 week trim cycle in two districts.

Some of these horses have logged between 200 and 400 miles over the summer months, no boots anymore either during the latter stage. I knew I had believers after the first three or four months since each and every one of those stock managers invited me over to their home to start their personal horses barefoot as well. Then a few of their neighbors started asking questions.

Well there you have it: if you want to grow your business and help out a bunch of horses badly in need: go talk to your local Forest Service rangers and stock managers.

Applying Boa Boots.

Winter is coming real soon. Set up a meeting where you’ll find that three or four people will attend, sometimes even their local farrier. Prepare a solid outline and make sure to have concise written material with pictures to leave them with after your presentation. Don’t forget to take a pair of Boa Boots as well as Trail Boots with you: show and tell has never looked this good.

Below are before and after pictures of three of the Black Range district horses.

Bear: before & after.

Songbird: before & after.

Crickett: before & after.

Hint: equine feet will adapt to the terrain they live/work on and the workload they are subjected to. Nature proves this time and again and shows us great examples to follow. All we really need to do is help out a bit in the beginning and during the transition period. Thanks to EasyCare we have the means to what we do: the Boa Boots and now the new Trail Boots are tools we need.

My heartfelt thanks go out to Jaime, Pete, Tom and a few other pioneers in the natural foot care movement who have willingly given us the means to do the necessary research and due diligence, shared their knowledge and expertise, thus enabling us to educate ourselves and hone and perfect our craft.

It is not an exact science after all: it is an art. Horses remain our best teachers since they are all different and require a unique approach; it truly is a spectacular journey!

Kris Goris

Frog Obsession

Wednesday, October 19, 2011 by Amanda Washington

A few weeks ago, Dawn Willoughby posted an entry called "If I Only Had Four Frogs." I read and enjoyed it without thinking too much about it, until later in the week when the realization that it was AUTUMN hit. Autumn is great, but unfortunately it means winter is just a blink away. I started getting antsy like I always do before winter, trying to get everything done that I needed to and trying to enjoy the last of the beautiful weather. I am still hoping the gorgeous weather holds until, oh, March.

Because I am obsessive by nature, I tend to obsess, er, focus, on one thing at a time. For most people, I'm sure they just think I'm weird. For those who love me, it's endearing, or so they say. For some reason Dawn's post hit a chord. All of the sudden I was focused on my little herd's frogs. For whatever reason, I never really thought about them before. I always assumed that considering we live in the desert, we really didn't have to worry about such things. Thrush here, at most, consists of a little bit of gunk and a stink. We don't generally get the black goo and mush that other regions might encounter on a regular basis. Of course that does not mean the horses here aren't affected by a more internal form that attacks the frog deep down. Eek! Something must be done!!

I decided to channel my focused nature toward paying better attention to my horses' foot care. While I am diligent about trimming and feel that things are going pretty well in that department (I chose last year to obsess about achieving a shorter toe, which was the easiest yet most beneficial adjustment I've ever made) I definitely could work a little harder at helping the horses develop a better frog and, in turn, digital cushion. Dawn's solutions seemed simple and I assembled my own little kit consisting of antibacterial dish soap, a long-handled brush-scrubby-thing and a bucket. Because we're not yet dealing with any obvious problems, I chose not to add any tea tree or other disinfectants to my kit at this time.

The dish soap I had on hand, the scrubby brush and my sad purple hoof pick.

So far I am on week two of scrubbing frogs. This is one of those statements I make sure I am not in mixed company when speaking, as I am sure it would cause some pretty funny looks! I figure, realistically, I can scrub feet at least twice a week and after only three scrubbings, I can already see a difference. Is this possible? Is this simple solution truly responsible for the visible change in my horses' feet? I am definitely not sure of that answer, but I also definitely like what I am seeing.

Prior to scrubbing, I can see the filling-in central sulcus!

I have noticed change in Replika's frogs the most. I started the day I pulled her glue-on boots from Owyhee Canyonlands, which I think was a very smart decision. I scrubbed and soaked her feet with the diluted dishwashing soap and by the third scrubbing, I was shocked to see the smoothest and healthiest frog tissue I have ever seen in her feet. The central sulcus, or crack that's responsible for the butt-crack effect, has started to fill in and is now just a divit and not a crack. I am seeing this on all three horses. Could I have been neglecting something so easy to remedy (or at least assist healing) all this time?

The Top standing patiently while his foot soaks. I have just been soaking for a few minutes, only enough to really saturate the frog and get into the frog area. They don't seem to mind at all!

Top's foot after a soak and scrub. Pedicure day! Topper loves it.

I have decided to combine the scrub with antibacterial soap into my "regular" foot care routine which consists of very regular trimming, riding with and without boots and lunging in the sand barefoot. Today was groundwork day, which was the first time I incorporated the addition of scrubbing to my regular routine. I estimate the thorough cleaning, scrubbing and few minutes of soaking to add *maybe* ten minutes to my day. I decided to do the cleaning prior to the groundwork, which seemed to work well.

The above is Topper in the middle of his session. I usually add a surcingle and side-reins to the horses' lunge work for the added benefit. Like scrubbing, it's a simple step that adds only minutes to your routine, but the benefits are so very worth it! I encourage those who may neglect arena work (like I tend to do anymore) to work your horses a couple times a week in a manner focusing on building toplines and developing balance. It's a win-win! Chant is below displaying a bit of a temper tantrum and eventual softening. I would rather him fight himself than me and our rides after such a session are usually much more pleasant!

Because I went right from horse to horse in the arena, I soaked and scrubbed Chant's feet quickly after our session. Getting the foot so clean allowed me to see the bar I missed and all the sole that is preparing to exfoliate. This is definitely something I will continue to do.

I don't think I could ever thank Easycare enough for continuing to educate all of us through the extensive experience offered by the various blogs and articles. Without this, I would have had to focus on something benign like which winter blanket to buy or to braid manes or not to braid manes for the winter. Yes, you have enriched my life. Thank you!

To everyone else, keep scrubbing. It certainly cannot hurt and most likely will help!

Amanda Washington
SW Idaho

Barefoot in the Mountains

Friday, October 14, 2011 by Team Easyboot

A group of riders has been growing out here in the mountains of Colorado. I am an endurance rider who rides with Easyboot Gloves or Glue-Ons. This summer I have found quite a following of trail riders that are or are interested in the barefoot horse and natural hoof care. As a barefoot trimmer, I have been very excited about the interest. There are six of us now who ride together. All of these newbies will be trying their first endurance ride at Moab this year.

I have found such joy in bringing these new riders into the world of endurance and the barefooted horse. We have almost all types of terrain out here, everything from extreme rocks, sucky mud, water, hard roads, and everything in between. We also have the challenges of, the wide hoofed, the club hoof, the shallow soled, and the mule footed. The Easyboot Gloves have done great in all circumstances. I own the wide hoofed horse and have been so happy with the new Glove Wides.

My first endurance ride with them was at Turkey Creek this year. I can't tell you how happy my horse and I have been with them. As the ride season is drawing to a close, I just wanted to share that some great things are happening out here in Eagle, Colorado. I hope to bring these newbies along for the 2012 ride season.

I hope this finds you all enjoying the cooler weather and those beautiful animals we all love so much, the horse!

Leah McCombs-Cain

Natural Horse Care