The Rockley branch of the Pony Club, or Rehabs can do it too

The film below is a compilation of clips from our Rehabs Reunion last weekend.  There was masses of stuff that didn't get captured on film, which was a shame, so apologies to those who aren't included, but I hope you still find it fun.

All of the horses in it apart from Felix are rehabs, past or current - you can spot Felix 'cos he is the one without a bridle...

For help with orientation I'm including these - if you click on each you can see a bigger version :-)



The film does seem to make it appear far sunnier than it really was, but thats probably not a bad thing(!). As a news round-up for those who were there, I'm happy to be able to report that Soli is on fine form after his Sunday blip, Lainey's finger was only bruised and bashed not broken (and Bailey is back to being a very good boy again) and Dexter seems to have recovered after his plan to take the direct route to breakfast via the neighbour's donkey paddock didn't quite go to plan (!)...

A belated post - Flynn the Second

Poor Flynn arrived late last Thursday night  - here he is looking a bit spaced out in semi-darkness with space-alien eyes, as he was turned out on the track with Felix and Charlie - but as the RRR started the next day he has had to wait till now to get his own blog post.

He arrived straight from 3 months box rest but has been incredibly quick to settle in, particularly given the number of extra horses, vehicles and people who were in and out of Rockley over the weekend.  Perhaps he will find it rather boring now that everything has quietened down!

One great thing was that his owner, Stacy, and her mum, were able to come over and see him on Saturday and meet lots of other rehab owners at the same time.  They had rather an epic journey from Essex but apparently their accomodation in Hotel Disco was an improvement on camping...at least they were dry and warm :-)

Flynn has basically nice feet - though with poor m/l balance currently - which seem desperate to change as fast as possible.  I didn't manage to get photos the day he arrived, and these were taken on Sunday.  Even in that short time (Stacy took photos on the previous Monday) his feet had changed - so I am hoping I will be posting a good update on him very soon.

Like most Irish horses, he is incredibly sociable and he has already introduced himself to all the boys and become part of the gang.  Then yesterday he met Nicky, the QH mare, who took an instant shine to him  and has already bumped Dillon and Taz in his favour - what a minx...(!)

The application of celery and how to tell if your horse "needs" a trim

The post last week where I gave some indication of rehab horses who haven't benefitted from trimming caused a bit of a flurry.

Soli, my celery poster boy, with Lucie at speed

It also gave rise to some really fantastic comments, and I'm sorry I wasn't able to do a proper post in response at the time but the RRR weekend was behaving rather like a tidal wave and carrying all before it. 

One of the very interesting and fair questions was what owners should do with horses whose hoof wall is getting long and who simply aren't able to give them enough work, or on tough enough surfaces, for self-trimming to be possible.  Trimming - when to trim, how to assess whether a trim was necessary, and whether celery was really relevant - were also hot topics at the RRR over the weekend.

One of the comments from Wiola on the blog encapsulates what lots of people were asking: 

"We would happily leave K self-trimming as it seems he copes badly with any intervention but his feet are growing too fast."

As always, achieving optimim hoof health is a based on correct nutrition and biomechanics, so lets look at 3 common situations (with the important proviso that the horse is landing heel first) and how trimming usually affects them:

• Horse A: has long, overgrown hoof wall (feet are growing too fast or are too long) and is on a good diet. This  horse  - if correctly trimmed - will be as sound after the trim as it was before.   That's an acceptable trim, but the same effect could be achieved with a modicum of road work (and we are talking about a few short miles per week) and has the added advantage that there is little danger of the horse being worse afterwards. If roadwork isn't possible, a trim may make hooves look prettier but if the horse is not in work you may not be able to assess whether the horse's soundness is better or worse after the trim.  

• Horse B: has long, overgrown hoof wall (feet are growing too fast or are too long) and is on a poor diet. This horse may well be footy after a trim due to increased sole sensitivity.  This isn't a trimming problem, strictly speaking, but advising on improving nutrition should be within the remit of any competent hoofcare professional.  Either way, making the horse sore doesn't help the situation so a trim isn't the answer. Enhanced nutrition and correct exercise are more likely to benefit the horse.  [FWIW, as with Horse A, there is no need to trim a horse like this as a precondition to work.  Once nutrition and exercise are correct, excess hoof wall will chip away but this won't trouble the horse at all.] 

• Horse C: does not have long hoof wall, is in regular work, is on a good diet and appears to have a flared or asymmetric hoof which "needs to be balanced". This horse may well be less capable on hard, uneven surfaces if that "flare" is removed.  It will then normally take at least 2-3 weeks before the horse is as comfortable as it was on those surfaces.  In my opinion, no good is achieved by trimming in this situation as it compromises the horse's biomechanics and impairs soundness. 

[Of course with some horses you can have a combination of both the problems in the last 2 examples, and if a horse is trimmed and is less capable you won't know for a few weeks whether the trim or poor diet is the main culprit].

Some trimmers and farriers have got pretty hot under the collar at the mention of "celery" but I don't really understand this.  Why would you want to trim a horse if you are likely to make it sore or less capable of performance on tough surfaces?  Isn't it common sense NOT to trim in these circumstances?

I have no problem with trimming  - sometimes I even do it myself - PROVIDED that the trim does not break the golden rule: the horse MUST go as well or better AFTER the trim.  For me, there are no ifs and buts allowed as part of this rule. If a horse does not go better following a trim, then there was no point in doing the trim and it should not be repeated. 

The reason I started advocating "celery" is simply because I was seeing - and hearing about - too many horses who were worse following a trim.

I had calls and emails about horses who were lying down for days after trimming, horses who went from being rock-crunching to being footy on stones, horses who were just not as capable but bounced back a few weeks later.

I was also hearing that owners were being told that their horses "needed a trim to balance their feet" or because they were "too long" but then the horses were worse off after being trimmed.  It was sometimes subtle - they may have been fine on tarmac, for example, but were less comfortable on uneven ground.  But to me a drop in performance means that whatever else the horse needed, it wasn't trimming.

To my mind, its the hoofcare professional's job, not the owner's, to assess whether a trim is going to help the horse, but as owners, please don't worry simply because hooves look "too long" or "unbalanced".  Before you call out a trimmer or farrier, take your horse out, do some roadwork then re-assess whether a trim is a good idea.

"Celery", like anything else, is not a panacea and there may be occasions when a trim is a useful tool (although they are less common than you might think!).

However, if as an owner you decide to have your horse trimmed there is a way to work out whether your horse "needed" a trim - and its really pretty simple:

• If the horse is moving better, more capably, more confidently, with a better stride length, over tougher surfaces after a trim, then it was the right thing to do.  

• If the horse is moving better, more confidently, with a better stride length, over tougher surfaces when its left well alone, then stick to celery. 

But for me, there is NO reason to trim unless to make the horse sounder, and if the best way to make the horse sounder is NOT to trim, well then, embrace your celery.

This post is already quite long enough, and I have masses of RRR stuff which needs to be blogged as well, so I am going to defer the answer to another brilliant question, from Caroline, till another day.  Here is the question, for you to ponder:

"I can't help worrying, though, about those owners who just can't do the work and how they get it right, particularly with rehabs. 

The barefoot horses with caudal hoof lameness that you've had seem to suggest that peripheral loading is to blame. If you can't get the work into the horse because of dark nights and work or school, then there's no option but to trim to stop the peripheral loading ..... or am I missing something?" 

The morning after the weekend before...

The RRR has roared through Rockley, bringing a tidal wave of extra horses, rugs, feed buckets, haynets, headcollars, forks and brushes, 4x4s and tents...

....and by last night was gently receding, leaving nothing but paper plates, empty wine bottles and the odd extra horse in its wake.

There were vast amounts of tea and cake - in fact vast amounts of food full stop, thanks to the catering support of Catherine and Victoria Holroyd, Mel Isaac and Jackie Nelson who contributed wonderful soups, salads, cakes and puddings.  There was wine of every colour, gallons of tea and the occasional can of Red Bull; even the odd cheeky cider made an appearance on Saturday night.

There was thunder, rain, gales, the odd bit of sunshine, fog and mist.  

Frankie saw hounds for the first time...

...and behaved beautifully. 

Charlie, Dexter, Jackie's Harry and both Baileys were out as well...

"butter wouldn't melt"...

There were many reunions of old friends....Pocholo realised Kingsley was in residence...

Storm and his little friend Bracken came back...

as did Paul...

...and Soli...

Taz thinks about posh trotting...

as do Pocholo and Soli. 

There were tears, there was laughter...

there were moments of triumph, 

moments of disaster,

moments of complete confusion...

...all in all everything you would expect of a weekend focussed around horses.

There was highly technical stuff...

...times when we slobbed on the sofa..

...or wondered what on earth was happening elsewhere...

and times spent just catching up. 

  It was a great weekend, with wonderful people and fantastic horses...but it WAS busy...!

There are lots of photos up on Facebook, so check out the RRR page :-)  Wiola has also posted a very interesting blog about proprioception and feel on barefoot horses - and of course its thanks to her that I have my improved leg position in the jumping photo above - cool! - so thank you Wiola ;-)

RRR day one

Nicky and Dillon enjoying the view

Chris and Lex came to show us the way, but  - as always  - the boys were kept waiting while the girls (me, Lea and Nicky) got ready to go - sorry boys :-)  Lex doesn't look very impressed...

Storm and Bracken have arrived and settled in

Cristina and Lucie arrive after a nightmare journey, but Frankie, Kingsley and Soli are on good form.

Its barefoot Glastonbury...only tougher to get the tents up(!)...

Dark, foggy, rainy but the campsite is in place...

Horse of the Week! [RRR is GO!]

With the start of the Rockley Rehabs Reunion now upon us, my Horse of the Week surely has to be Dexter.  Unfortunately Kelly can't be with us for the RRR as she will be working abroad but Mr Dexterity will certainly be making a guest appearance. 

For those who are new to the blog, Dexter came here as a rehab horse in 2008 and it was his vet, Jeremy Hyde at Eqwest, who was the impetus behind setting up "Project Dexter" - the project which now records the progress of all our rehab horses and provides research into how our rehab compares with conventional treatments.

Dexter went home in June 2008 and spent the next few years being a stunning success story, thanks to the hard work and dedication of Kelly and her mum.  He has evented and competed separately in dressage and showjumping and has been an inspiration for many other rehabs.

A few weeks ago Dexter came back at Rockley as a resident and, like all Rockley residents, he was introduced to his new job - hunting.  He seems so far to rather enjoy it, though its hard to say whether his favourite parts are galloping about or watching hounds and eating.

Having just had his 6th day hunting and covered nearly 60 miles on the moor he has apparently (like most horses I take hunting) reached the "I know everything" stage (sigh).  I am hoping nevertheless for immaculate behaviour on Saturday in front of the RRR-ers :-)

Same horse? And how to use celery [RRR -1 day]

Amazing what the start of the hunting season can achieve. Look at the change in Charlie...

...from bored donkey...

...to happy hunter an on a mission 'cos hounds have GONE!

[Yes, it really is the same horse in all these photos, although the last one is from Nov 2010.]

Can anyone deny that Charlie just LOVES his job?!

Briefly back onto the subject of celery, I am in the throes of putting together a much longer post about when its useful and what to do when horses are kept in a way that they can't self-trim, but I won't be able to get that up till next week as the RRR is currently sweeping all before it, rather like a tidal wave...

I have however had the most wonderful email from a lady in the US who hunts barefoot (Jen, I know you do too!) which I wanted to share with you - I had the biggest smile on my face as I read it and she included a fabulous photo of her horse out hunting, which she's generously let me post below; there are also some lovely jumping pics at her blog: http://www.foxhuntingfriesian.blogspot.com/.  

Its an incredibly kind email, but what really made my day was hearing about her horse now being able to gallop over granite - isn't it amazing what can happen when you step back and let your horse have the hooves she wants?! :-)

"Hi Nic,

I just wanted to write and tell you what an inspiration your blog has been to me!  I thoroughly enjoy reading your updates, seeing the progress of your rehab horses, and most recently, considering your take on “celery” in the trimming process.

You see, I have a foxhunter that I now hunt barefoot here in the US.  (I am so jealous of your hunt territory!  We have nothing so grand….)  This season is shaping up to be one of our best thus far, and I really believe it’s all because of the influence your blog has had on me as her trimmer (and primary caretaker).

The past two seasons, despite a robust hoof, I have had to put front shoes on her due to tenderness on rocks at speed.  I hated to do this, but it was not fair to ask her to keep up with the field on “ouchy” footing.  I was a nervous wreck letting someone else go near her hooves, but I had no other choice at the time than to shoe if I wanted to continue hunting her as she was not handling the footing well barefoot.

Last year, she gave me a scare when shortly after being shod for the season, her front tendon grooves filled in (after the first few hunts).  There was no lameness (yet), but she was not moving normally (as her rider, I could tell the difference from bare to shod!) and the swelling in her legs was alarming, so I pulled her shoes straight away.  No joke, the day after I pulled the shoes, the tendon grooves were cold and tight and her movement was back to normal under saddle. 

About that time, I discovered your blog.  I must have spent hours pouring over it, studying and learning what it is you do differently to be able to hunt your horses barefoot.  I thought, if you can do it with your horses, why can’t I?

My mare is not on grass, has 24/7 turnout, access to varied terrain, hacks regularly on paved roads……..and was trimmed at religious 4 week intervals.  Huh.  Here’s where you take on “celery” really hit home….. J 

I have barely touched her hooves with my trimming tools this season (save for a quick run of the rasp over any rough chips for appearance sake) and she has never been sounder or moved better over all manner of rough terrain.  Go figure! 

We’ve been hunting out on the rockiest terrain our territories have to offer and she steps out over the rocks like they weren’t even there.  I am amazed, thrilled, ecstatic that my horse CAN hunt barefoot!  Yay! 

So, I raise my flask to “celery” and to Rockley Farm for showing me that less can definitely be more when managing a barefoot performance horse!"