Excitingly, Sarah and I have been asked to do a 2 day seminar on barefoot horses in Poland! Its at the end of March and it coincides with another exciting development - a Polish edition of "Feet First" (there is ongoing discussion about what it will be called in Polish which is mostly over my head!).
This week I started to put together a skeleton outline of the topics we would cover on the 2 days, and I thought it would be really helpful to get input from you guys about what we should include.
Obviously there will be lots of detailed information about the "holy trinity" for performance hooves - nutrition, environment and exercise - and I'd also like to include a session on biomechanics and rehabilitation, as I think its something many people find interesting.
Unfortunately I don't think people will be able to bring their own horses but we should be able to include some individual case studies by using video and photos. We will also include some examples of horses who already have high performance hooves and compete or work in different disciplines.
Basically, I am looking for any and all ideas and suggestions - we have 2 days devoted to horses and hooves and we need to make the best possible use of it :-)
PS: Guess what - its still raining...Fog has gone, which is a help, but now we have gale force winds. Oh deep joy.
I'm definitely after the " condition of the foot and biomechanics connection", not only because of Kingsley but also because I am curious how many horses never reach their potential because of ill hoof care.
ReplyDeleteI will have a good look around Polish equestrian forums and post some questions on this for you.
I've also emailed more suggestions for the title ;)
Thanks Wiola - and it would be wonderful if you got feedback from Polish riders/owners too about what they might be interested in!
ReplyDeleteThanks to those who've emailed me privately with topics as well - all comments duly noted :-)
In the first seconds of the first video the horse is swinging his right hind in a circular motion, bringing it under his body and then setting it down out to the side. Is this a hoof trimming issue, or something else that resolved separately?
ReplyDeleteLove your new blog pic.
Hi Barbara,
ReplyDeleteGlad you like the photo :-) I decided it was time for a change! You've hit the nail on the head with your comment - Kingsley's whole body was twised right when he arrived - even his tail corkscrewed right, and its I suspect the main reason he couldn't trot a circle - to work diagonally while twisted is pretty much impossible.
He has straightened through his body as his feet have improved, so its definitely a foot balance issue, though I wouldn't describe it as a trimming issue - simply because IME its not something that can be resolved by trimming, you need to look at the whole hoof and the whole body.
Hope that makes sense :-)