• Applied Equine Podiatry : About Me •

Through my remedial horse training I came by a lovely little mare called JD. JD is most definitely one of life's natural teaches. I can't say that patience is her forte but she certainly knows how to get her point across! It was JD who led me to look into keeping a horse shoeless. She is the dominant mare of her herd and though she has a sweet nature she has a very well aimed and swift kick. Out of respect for the other horses in the herd I kept shoes off her back feet. Under the care of my farrier I had to get off and lead her over gravel and the shape of her back feet weren't quite right. I just didn't feel that the hind feet were getting the attention they needed. I had always been put off having a horse barefoot due to the transitioning horror stories you hear.

When my farrier moved out of the area I struggled to find another good farrier so I decided to bite the bullet and go shoeless! Within a month JD was sound on nearly all the surfaces that I ride her over. She was coping with more surfaces than she had done while shod.

I was pretty much hooked at this point. My Equine Podiatrist came a very long way to get to me and was finding it increasingly difficult to cover my area. I think it was mainly down to JD's unique charm that he continued to trim her. I realised I had better learn to trim myself, though I knew I'd only be happy with a fully qualified EP trimming my horse. This sent me down the path to study for my Diploma of Equine Podiatry and I will continue to study to become a Master of Equine Podiatry.