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Just over 12 months ago I decided to forego shoeing my horse Caley as it was just too difficult to find a good farrier and if I did, then it was a problem getting him to come and shoe Caley when required. This decision resulted in a huge learning curve for me.
A friend of mine had already begun investigating barefoot trimming and I was willing to go along for the ride and what a ride it has been. After much listening to others and reading books such as Pete Ramey’s ‘Making Natural Hoof Care Work for You’, I decided this was the direction I wished to go, although I was a little hesitant about doing Caley’s hooves myself.
In January this year I armed myself with knives and rasp and set about trimming Caley’s hooves. My friend Suzanne and I worked together and by following Pete Ramey’s instructions, we managed to achieve a reasonable result. Caley did not have big problems with her hooves but Suzanne did have a problem with her young horse, so she emailed Jaime Jackson for help and he put her in touch with Jenny Lomas. We are so pleased he did.
Jenny gave generously of her time and came down south to help put us on the right track as by now we had a group of 10-12 people wanting to know more about natural trimming. Her seminar gave us all so much to think about regarding hoof mechinism and natural care and we all came away determined to make our horses happier through natural trimming and care. I am pleased to say that we all have grown in confidence in trimming ourselves and our horses are reaping the benefits. On Jenny’s second visit we had plenty of new faces wanting to learn this method.
Suzanne and I are pleasure riders and ride mainly at weekends hacking around some of the lovely countryside we have here and both of us are looking forward to seeing the result of our efforts when we begin riding again. Our horses are all doing well and if Caley’s antics in the paddock are anything to go by, then we will have very keen, energetic horses to ride.
Thank you Jenny for giving us the ‘tools’ to keep our horses happy and healthy and we look forward to your next visit south.
Gail Graham
Southern Natural Hoof Trimmers
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