Forthcoming workshops, home and abroad!

I've got some (to me!) exciting news that I am thrilled to be able to blog about: new workshop dates including in New Zealand and the US.

Its been great running the summer workshops here, as well as the webinar last month, so its great to already have some new dates to share.  

The first is in New Zealand on 1st December 2018. There are more details in the poster above (click to enlarge) and you can contact Christin  for more information and to book: christin.schetter@gmail.com

Then we have a seminar/workshop at Writtle College in Essex on 9th February 2019. This will be open initially to students but there may be spaces available for non-students. Contact Cloe Lambert for information and to book: cloe.lambert98@outlook.com.

Next up is the US, with a workshop in Long Island, NY on 6th April 2019 - contact Jeannean Mercuri for more information and to book: neanpiggy@me.com

Finally for now, there is a workshop in Aberdeen on 18th May 2019; contact either Julie Bradbury  - juliejcb@hotmail.com - or me - nic@rockleyfarm.co.uk for more information and to book.

I know its early days but I have had queries from a number of people about running workshops on their yards or local area so if you would like to host a workshop for 2019 do get in touch.

Self-maintaining hooves

Following the webinar last weekend I've been asked if I can put up some examples of self-maintaining hooves.

The problem with doing this is, as we discussed in the webinar, that photos are very deceptive without seeing the horse move. Looking at this photo, someone commented that the toe looked long but in fact the horse has a brilliant landing, heel first and with excellent medio-lateral balance.

When you look at a photo of the sole the toe no longer looks long - as always seeing the horse in motion is the important thing. With that in mind, some of the pictures in this blog are stills taken from video. 

 The important thing to remember is that a photo of a pretty, apparently balanced hoof may be a lie - you just can't tell until you see the horse moving whether it is actually sound and moving well.

However all the feet in this blog post belong to horses who are sound and have been in work barefoot for many years. Most have not been trimmed since at least 2009, one has never been trimmed.

They are in varying levels of work, from light to hard to none at all, but the important factor is that changes to their mileage and workload are made steadily and consistently so that feet can adapt and maintain growth levels to match wear.  

I hope you find them interesting! If anyone has questions then feel free to post.