About Equine Podiatry

If you are used to regular visits from your farrier, you may find the way I work very different. Although I do apply a trim - which is safe, effective and non-invasive, I am under no illusions that merely trimming the hoof will get it healthy. The trim can achieve balance and remove excess structure, but it can't correct underrun heels or thicken soles, or strengthen cartilage, or take away bruising from the walls or stop growth rings or flare appearing.

This is where equine podiatry comes into its own. Before I touch the hooves, I will carefully evaluate the horse, the owner and the environment that the horse lives in. All of these things provide vital clues to the health of the hoof. I will then evaluate the hoof carefully to look for evidence of good structure and bad before suggesting specific modifications you can make to your horse's management that will improve the hooves - often improving the overall health of the horse in the process. Everything is carefully noted down at every visit so that we can accurately monitor what advice has been given, and how the hooves respond to that advice. These notes are not only used to help your horse, but the information is collated and analysed, allowing trends in overall hoof health to be monitored and learned from.

The beauty of equine podiatry is that it places the owner firmly in control. An EP may provide advice and trim the hooves, but it is the owner who carries out the day to day care of the horse which makes the difference between an OK hoof and a fabulously healthy one. Owner education is a huge part of what we do, so if you don't know your frog from your white line now, you will after a few months of employing an EP.

In order that EP and owner can keep an eye on progress, the hooves are given an overall score at each visit based upon the health of the hooves. This score also gives an indication of the level of work that the owner can expect from their horse's hooves at any time by relating this score to a pre-defined scale of usability. This should keep horse and owner safe and avoid the horse becoming sore because they have done more work than the hooves are capable of given their state of health at the time.

An EP will advise on all manner of things that affect the hoof, including nutrition, hoof friendly topical treatments and subtle modifications that can be made to the horse's environment or daily management routine. They may even recommend that you call in a physiotherapist, saddle fitter, dentist, nutritionist or vet as problems in the hooves are often an indicator of problems elsewhere.