Hoof Care Provider/ Farrier Services

How important is continuing education in hoof care?

Denys Antonenko • August 4, 2022

One Minute Discussions #9


Discussing Natural Hoof & Horse Care


HOW IMPORTANT IS CONTINUING EDUCATION IN HOOF CARE?



Every single day, week, month and year there’s new info, studies and research that’s being put out in video formats, articles, blogs, posts that discuss hoof and horse health. At times its updated information. A lot of times it may totally be a new understanding of a certain topic.

We as farriers try to stay up to date on all the research that’s being put out there.

Why is continuing education so important to hoof care?

Suppose a farrier was applying a shoeing or booting method that he has done for years. It some cases it works, in some it doesn’t but he just goes with the flow. At the same time a researcher publishes an article which states that in order for a specific method or approach to work even better, there has to be some modifications. If the farrier was to read that article and apply the modifications to his booting/shoeing method, then he would help more horses, more productively.

Or take for example the way people understood laminitis a couple decades ago. Many people focused on the trim but not many focused on the diet, terrain and hoof protection. If we didn’t have the research done for us, we wouldn’t have made such a leap in rehabbing horses from laminitis and founder.

So as you see, continuing education is very important.

It’s very wise to ask your trimmer or farrier what she/he does for continuing education.

In some cases, your horses health depends on their knowledge, open mind and their willingness to learn more.

A great source of continuing education is the PHCP (Progressive Hoof Care Practitioners) as well as the AANHCP (Association for the Advancement of

Natural Horse Care Practices). Daisy Haven Farm has online and in-person courses and I can’t recommend them enough! Definitely check them out!

Do you have any continuing education if you’re an equine professional? Share what you do or are planning to do in the future!

https://www.aanhcp.net

https://progressivehoofcare.org

https://www.integrativehoofschool.com

Denys A.

How to build a dry lot

By Denys Antonenko • April 23, 2024
Click on the button below to download the free PDF step by step guide to building a dry lot or scroll to look at the guide below!

Leave or remove the lamellar wedge?

By Denys Antonenko • April 21, 2023
One Minute Discussions #66 Discussing Natural Hoof & Horse Care LEAVE OR REMOVE THE LAMELLAR WEDGE? The lamellar wedge is the adaptation of the hoof to internal problems. And although it’s a sign of inflammation, it may still serve a purpose during rehab. It’s still responsible for “glueing together” the wall and sole, but that “glue” is not as strong as it’s supposed to be. So how do we address it in the trim. Everything depends on the horses comfort level and the condition of the lamellar wedge. It won’t be a wise decision to totally remove the lamellar wedge if it is soggy, weak and not fully keratinized. But in a lot of cases it is safe to remove most, if not all of it, if the lamellar wedge is keratinized, dry and sturdy (especially if we’re putting the horse in therapy boots). In some cases it is a good idea to trim the bottom, flared growth evenly with the well connected top growth in order to reduce leverage on the lamina as much as we can. Denys Antonenko

What causes lamina separation?

By Denys Antonenko • April 21, 2023
One Minute Discussions #65 Discussing Natural Hoof & Horse Care WHAT CAUSES LAMINA SEPARATION Yesterday on my group I posted a question… what causes lamina separation? And although we’re used to hearing the most common things that separate the lamina, such as poor diet, metabolic problems, excessive toe leverage, etc, we don’t often hear about the less common things that can lead to a path of lamina failure without us noticing it. You’ve heard me say it many times before that lamina failure is not a result of just one thing. There’s always multiple factors contributing to the problem. As an example, bacterial and fungal infections weaken the foot, and that can result in lamina separation. Mental and physical stress can increase hormone levels which may result in poor hoof health. Many different problems happening elsewhere in the horses body (skin issues, allergies, dental problems) can be a factor that leads to a weak lamina. Denys Antonenko
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