Natural hoof care

A wonderful revolution is happening in the world of equine hoof care. Careful study of thousands of hooves of wild horses has indicated that the shoes we so commonly nail on our horses feet actually cause far more lameness and hoof pathology than they prevent. Careful trimming to restore the natural resiliency of our horses hoofs can often make them much more comfortable and eager to move. Horses now regularly compete in almost every discipline (including endurance riding) with healthy, strong barefoot hooves. Barefoot trim techniques can also rehabilitate horses with founder and navicular and other lameness issues. Simply google “barefoot trim” for all the information you could want, or contact one of the experts below.

Iron Free Hoof
A wonderful resource for any who are interested in natural hoof care for their horses. Simple, clear instructions. (www.ironfreehoof.com)

Gudrun Buchhofer, Certified Natural Hoofcare Practitioner and Field Instructor for the AANHCP and Natural Hoof Advisor for Easycare is specializing in barefoot hoof care and hoof rehabilitation (laminitis, founder, other hoof pathologies). Besides trimming her services include natural hoof care clinics, one-on-one trim training, e-mail consultations, natural horse boarding and sale and fitting of hoof boots. Gudrun lives on Cape Breton, but travels through the Maritimes teaching and trimming feet. Visit her website at: www.go-natural.ca or call at: 902-248-2235 for more information.

Lisa Huhn, another wonderful, experienced barefoot trim advocate and natural horse care expert, lives in New Brunswick, but also travels to teach and trim. Lisa also does email and phone consultations from photos of your horses feet. (www.equinextion.com)

Anne Buteau, a certified Natural Hoofcare Practioner from Virginia, is a highly trained and wonderful resource for any of you living in the Southeast USA. She has helped me trim some very difficult horses, with a patience, gentleness and good humor that astound me! Anne also can offer trimming or rehabilitation advice from looking at photos of your horses feet. Contact her at 434.263.4946

Kelly Snowden and Calloway M’Cloud, we trim horses, barefoot style on Prince Edward Island. We specialize in gentle handling and re-training “difficult” horses. Contact Kelly at 902.838.4195 or see www.quietcompanyfarm.com.

Other natural hoof care links: