HL Hoof Club

Let's use this topic to brainstorm ideas about the name, and policies of our barefoot horse club.  

Here is the website West River Gals - www.all-natural-horse-care.com - take good hoof photos.

Wow! Thanks to everyone who stopped by the Heartland Ventures and Heart & Sole booths during the Sioux Falls Horse Fair. We really enjoyed meeting and visiting with other horse enthusiasts! It was great to see the interest in natural hoof care and barefoot trimming. We hope to see you at our next hoof club meeting scheduled for April 5th at 6:00p.m. at Heartland Ventures. Refreshments provided!

See you there,
Tina

Thanks to everyone who attended the Heart & Sole meeting this month! We had a great turnout with folks from Brandon, Sioux Falls, Mitchell, and Minnesota.

Lead by Farrah Green, the main topic focused on the wild horse hoof as the model for natural barefoot trimming and differences between the barefoot trim and the traditional pasture trim were highlighted. Other aspects of natural hoof care (housing, nutrition, riding, booting) were also discussed. The varied background and experience levels within the group allowed for a very interesting and informative discussion.

Following the discussion, we headed to the arena to trim horses! Farrah demonstrated the steps involved in photographing, evaluating, and conducting the natural barefoot trim. Sue's horse, WildCat, served as our patient demo horse. Wildcat required a "maintenance" trim since Sue has been trimming her on a frequent, regular basis.
 
Pam and Scott's gelding served as our second demo horse. This horse required a more extensive initial trim to address the overgrown hoof wall, laid over bars, and flares. Despite some rear leg stiffness and muscle discomfort, this gelding did a great job of standing quietly throughout the trim. Afterwards, not only did his hooves look great but his stride looked more fluid and relaxed! Also, thanks to Roy, Deb, and Lexi for bringing their two horses for us to look at!

It was great to meet everyone and share our common interest in natural hoof care and barefoot trimming. We look forward to seeing everyone again at our next meeting on Monday, May 3rd, 6:00-8:00p.m.

For our evening meetings, we'll try to stay within our time schedule and focus on one demo horse per club meeting. Please register on the web site to bring your horse to our next meeting! Please note: Private lessons/trimming sessions can be arranged through Farrah at Heartland Ventures.

Recommended Reading:

Pete Ramey, Making Natural Hoof Care Work For You   
Jaime Jackson, Horse Owners Guide To Natural Hoof Care
Available at Barnes and Noble, www.star-ridge.com

K.C. La Pierrre, The Chosen Road


Thanks for joining us and hope to see you soon!
Tina

We enjoyed seeing everyone at the meeting...thanks for attending and participating!

Farrah gave an overview of the various organizations that offer certification programs in the field of natural hoof care and barefoot trimming. Farrah, along with Brice, are planning to travel to Illinois this September to attend a K.C. La Pierre hoof clinic. This is really exciting news since we'll all benefit from their experience!

Although Brice completed a traditional farrier school, he is interested in further developing his knowledge and skills in the area of natural hoof care. Currently, there are no certified natural hoof care practitioners in the state of South Dakota.

Our hands-on trimming session was super busy and interesting.
While Brice was conducting a maintenance trim on my horse, Farrah used Spellcaster to demonstrate how the bars can become extremely overgrown, laid over, and interfere with the proper weight bearing surfaces of the hoof.
Guided by Farrah and Brice, Bri trimmed her horse Rosie, and Della jumped right in and got some experience trimming Shasta's rear hooves. Shasta's hooves grow quickly which allowed for lots of practice with the nippers - nice job Della!

Once again, thanks to everyone who participated in the discussion and trimming sessions.  Great to have a veterinarian, Dr. Teresa Roster, join us as a new member! 

Please note:
If you are a Heart and Sole Club member and have experience trimming, feel free to trim  your horse during the monthly meetings to receive some oversight and input from Farrah, Brice, and other hoof club members. 

See you next month on September 7th,
Tina