Okanagan School of Natural Hoof Care

Day 1 of our three-day trimming course ✅✅✅

Lots of hands-on time today! ❤️

A little course prep happening around the farm today. ❤️

It’s been a difficult and uncertain few weeks here in the Okanagan, and we know that many people in our community are dealing with evacuations, displaced animals, property loss, smoke, and so much uncertainty.

With our 3 day trimming course coming up tomorrow, we’ve done our best to simply meet everyone where they’re at. We’ve moved a few participants into later courses who needed to change their plans, while those who are still able and wanting to attend will be joining us this weekend.

So, we’re moving ahead — just a little differently than usual.

Today the horses are getting organized, the barn is being readied, and we’re preparing to welcome a small group of students for a few days of learning together.

Right now, we’re taking things one day at a time and feeling especially grateful that we’re still able to gather, learn, share some horse time, and keep doing work that we love.

Thinking of everyone in our community who is navigating much harder circumstances right now. ❤️

Yes please.

Horse Owners, we need to talk. ⬇️

HOW ARE YOUR HORSES BEHAVING FOR YOUR FARRIER??? 🤔🤔🤔

More than a few times someone I care about has been injured while trimming/shoeing horses and consequently, no longer able to earn any income for several months. Why am I making a fuss about it? Because if the horse owners had been responsible and prepared their horses, the accidents could have been prevented from ever occurring. I know, as an equine professional, injuries aren’t completely avoidable, but in today’s world I feel like farrier injuries are happening much too often. 🫤

🛑 If you own a horse, your horse’s behavior while getting their hooves trimmed/shod should concern you.

Why?

Because horses are 1,000 pound animals that can break an equine professionals bones in the blink of an eye. They can end their career in a snap. They can destroy their only source of income in a heartbeat. That’s just the honest truth. And we all know it. So why are so many horse owners doing nothing to prevent their farriers from getting hurt?

YOU are responsible for your horse’s behavior. Just like when you are raising your children, you are responsible for teaching them respectful behavior. Same goes for horses in your care. You need to prepare your horses to be able to be safely handled by others.

‼️It is not your farriers job to teach your horse to stand still‼️ (Unless you’ve hired them specifically for hoof handling training, in which case, kudos to you!).

Your farrier should not have to jump, duck, dive, or do the matrix (especially multiple times in one visit!) to avoid getting hurt by your horse.

Now, I am fully aware, even the best of horses aren’t always perfect. There are fluke accidents. But that’s not what we are talking about here. We are talking about horses that are always difficult when handling their feet and therefore increase the risk of injury to your farrier tenfold. The horses that misbehave so much during a farrier visit that when the farrier walks away unharmed the owner sighs in relief, apologizes profusely for their horse’s bad behavior, and the farrier gets in their truck and says a silent prayer thanking God for letting them finish the job without getting hurt.

THAT horse needs YOU, their owner, to take responsibility. Either YOU need to teach them how they can be safe for the farrier OR HIRE someone that can teach them to be safe for the farrier. 🤝🏼

🚨 This goes for everyone! Even if your horse just sits pretty in your backyard and you don’t do anything with them, they still need their hooves cared for. Every horse owner should make sure that at the very very least, their horse can be haltered nicely, stand quietly, and allow their hooves to be trimmed. This is the absolutely necessary bare minimum!

Please, as a horse trainer and barefoot farrier myself I am begging you, PLEASE, teach your horses how to be safe for their farrier. I want myself and my associates to all go home at the end of the day to our loved ones in one piece. 🙏🏼

And to those of you that have taken measures to help create safe horses for us to work on, I offer the sincerest of thank yous. Thank you for helping keep us safe and allowing us to continue to provide for our families while serving our horse community. 💛

When your clients stand this well, you send them home in sparkles!

Easyshoe Octos for the win tonight!

It's getting closer and we are really starting to get excited now! Who is going to join us for this clinic?

A few weeks ago, I shared a couple of short reels about this horse, and the comments were fascinating and also quite judgmental lol.

Many people immediately jumped to discussing the trim, what they thought was wrong, or what they would have done differently.

But very few people asked what I believe are the most important questions.

Why is this foot developing this way?

What is the hoof telling us about the biomechanics of the horse?

What information are we missing before making a trimming/shoeing plan?

That's exactly why I made this longer video.

In it, I walk through a bit of the background of the horse, the trim, the composite shoe application, and explain the thought process behind each decision. More importantly, I discuss why hoof care should never be separated from the rest of the horse.

Anyone can learn how to trim.

The harder—and far more valuable—skill is learning how to think and adapt. What can we achieve in the moment, what might we have to sacrifice? Or what needs time to develop...

That's the foundation of every course I teach.

If you've ever watched one of my videos and thought, "I never would have considered that," then you're exactly the kind of student I love working with.

The full video is now available on my YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/Lqsra6cKhgs

If you're ready to move beyond formulas and truly understand hoof function, biomechanics, and rehabilitation, I'd love to have you join us.

I still have a few spaces available in:

• August – 3-Day Hands-On Trimming Course
• September – 5-Day Intensive Hands-On Course

Both courses are intentionally kept small so every student receives plenty of individual instruction and hands-on experience with real horses.

If you've been thinking about joining us, now is a great time to take the next step.

Course details and registration:
https://www.oksnhc.com/hands-on-trimming

If this video changes the way you think about hoof care, imagine spending three or five days asking questions, discussing cases, and working through the "why" behind every trim.

Rain trim and Composites A few weeks ago, I shared a couple of short reels about this horse,...

I'm excited to share that I've been featured in the July issue of Ranch Riding & More!

Thank you to Lynn Forbes for the opportunity to talk about the work I do through the Okanagan School of Natural Hoof Care and the importance of understanding the whole horse—not just the hoof.

We had a wonderful conversation about hoof care, lifelong learning, and why every horse deserves to be treated as an individual. I hope the article encourages horse owners to keep asking questions, continue learning, and become even better advocates for their horses.

If you'd like to learn more about my philosophy and journey, I'd love for you to have a read.

You can read the full interview here:

https://heyzine.com/flip-book/35de94deb7.html

Thank you for reading!

Ranch Riding & More Digital Magazine Created with the Heyzine flipbook maker