How much can we cover in a day...?

I am putting together the seminar I an running with Helen Spence on 8th March and thought it might be worth putting up as a blog post what we want to try and cover in case there are comments or requests for topics that people want to highlight here.  All feedback is welcome, whether you are coming to the seminar or not ;-)

•   Assessing hoof health and basic biomechanics

We'll work with a variety of horses with differing standards of hoof health. The aim will be to learn to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each hoof, how hoof problems may be affecting the rest of the horse and his movement (or vice versa) and what the causes of those problems might be. 

• Troubleshooting and owner power

Of course multiple factors can affect hooves, from conformation to diet, from tack to teeth, from the surfaces the horse lives and works on to metabolic issues. 

Diagnosis of illness or lameness is strictly a veterinary remit but once a diagnosis has been made there are many ways in which owners can use these factors to influence hoof health and biomechanics for the better.   

There are also some very simple ways in which owners can monitor their own horse's hooves and whether these are improving or not. 

• Nutrition

We'll cover some nutritional essentials and its also a great chance to brainstorm about what does and doesn't work for different horses in different areas of the country. 

• Management

We'll spend some time talking about practical management techniques which can enhance hoof health - using tracks, yards and "dead" areas, how to increase movement, reduce boredom and give horses the best possible management system with what you have available.

There are many ways in which the work our horses do impacts on their feet and we'll look at what types of exercise is useful in rehabilitation as well. 

We may even get onto the question of trimming  - when it can be helpful and when it may not be! Hope to see you there :-)