Archive for the ‘Hoofcare’ Category

As Natural Horsecare becomes more and more understood and more widely implemented it is important that we re-educate our children as well as adults in the new and yet age-old practice of natural horse care.

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My Natural Horses  (by Anne Louise MacDonald) is a unique introduction to creating exceptionally healthy, happy horses.

This full-color photo-illustrated book is the first to show young readers the principles of Natural Horse Care, taking an entirely positive approach by following two horses, Isabelle and Prince, through all four seasons of the year.

Designed for ages seven and up, this book includes 150 exceptional photographs to delight everyone from the child who dreams of ponies to the active equine owner.

Larger text allows younger readers to get a basic understanding of Natural Horse Care, while smaller text gives more details to entertain and inform an older audience.

My Natural Horses is a joy just to look through, and an eye opener to an option in horse care that many horse people know little about.

Here is a Video Preview of Anne Louise’s book. Anne lives in Eastern Canada.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VySnYyV-dk[/youtube]

My Natural Horses is available on AMAZON. Click here: My Natural Horses

How to Transition Your Horse to Being Barefoot…

Taking any particular horse from shoes to barefoot can take some time.  A few horses will trot off barefoot on rocks and you  will wonder why you ever put shoes on them. Many horses will be tender on rocks and hard ground at first. 

The most important part of the transition to barefoot is getting an appropriate “barefoot trim” done on your horse. The typical “pasture” trim will not keep a barefoot horse sound.

Barefoot horses should NEVER have the toe callus trimmed (area of sole between the tip of the frog and the toe). Most farriers thin this area when placing shoes.  Read the rest of this entry »

Hoof Words

 “Wild horse” shape vs. typical long-heeled style

Barefoot works best when the horse’s foot is trimmed to a fairly short-heeled shape. The drawings below of a short- and long-heeled shape (not accurate in details) show what happens to the coffin bone when the heels are long. Read the rest of this entry »