Stone Brook Academy

04/21/2026

This is the same horse from the last two posts.

8 months into rehab… and, crucially, the toe is still there.

Everyone says: 👉 “remove the toe”

And we understand why.

Because you’ve been taught that:

> the toe is a lever
> it pulls on the laminae
> it must be taken back to reduce strain on the soft tissues

So logically…
removing it should make the horse more comfortable?

But here’s the problem with that idea:

👉 We didn’t remove it.

Not at the start.
Not during rehab.
Not now.

And this horse didn’t:

get worse
stay in pain
need ongoing support from shoes or boots

👉 He improved.

So what actually changed?

While people obsess over the toe…
they miss:

👉 The balance. The depth.

This foot was realigned onto his balanced plane in trim one (previous post).

The load was redistributed.
The strain was reduced through alignment, not by removing structure at the toe.

Because when you remove the toe too early:

• you remove the toe support
• you force load under P3
• you reduce comfort
• you risk losing the very sole depth the horse needs to protect himself

👉 which is exactly what had already happened before he arrived for rehab.

Remember…

He was going to be PTS.

Vets and farriers said they had “tried everything”.

But they hadn’t tried this.

So instead of continuing down the same path -
shoes, restriction, and the belief that P3 moves independently of the capsule - we allowed:

• depth to return under P3
• support to rebuild
• the foot to stabilise

👉 even before the laminae had fully repaired.

And now?

👉 He’s moving comfortably
👉 Barefoot
👉 On challenging surfaces
👉 Without the drugs or shoes he was told he needed

So think on this…

If the toe was the problem…

👉 the laminae shouldn’t be repairing.
👉 and he certainly shouldn’t be sound.

So the real question is:

Why are you trying to force a damaged foot to look “normal”…
at the expense of comfort?

You see a long, horizontal “ugly toe”.

We see:

👉 vertical depth returning
👉 comfort increasing
👉 a horse recovering

And alive.



HM.

If you want to know about how to save your horse from P3 'rotation', join our free hoof rehab group >> The Phoenix Way: Path 2 Hoof Health

04/15/2026

Moral of the story is that healing from laminitis takes time. Things will not be healed in a month or even 6 months…

04/11/2026

A “sick” or inflamed hoof is never going to look like a healthy, normal hoof and that’s important to understand. It takes a year or more for a hoof to fully grow out and replace the capsule with new, healthy, well-connected laminae. That only happens when the trim is consistently balanced and supports proper function over time.
As much as we might want to make the hoof look normal right away, we can’t just cut off the laminar wedge. Even though it’s inflamed and stretched, it still serves a functional purpose. Removing it aggressively can do more harm than good. The goal is to support the hoof as it grows out healthier, not force it to look correct in the moment.

As she states in the post, if you look at the anatomy of the hoof it really does make sense. If you were to remove the ugly stretched laminae, you’d also have to remove the hoof wall and this would place all the weight onto the sole. This means the hoof wall needs to stay, so therefore the stretched laminae needs to stay as well, even though it’s ugly. 💕

03/08/2026

What I’ve learnt is this:

So many people would rather see a dead horse than watch one go through rehab.

How many more times do we have to grow out a lamina wedge to prove it doesn’t harm the horse in any way?

How many more X-rays do we have to take?
How many more photographs?
How many more blood tests?
How many more videos?

Apparently that’s still not enough.

People say they want peer reviewed studies so we can be “scrutinised”.

Scrutinised? I’m sorry but I think we are already the most scrutinised rehab facility in the world.

And here’s the part that makes absolutely no sense.

We get called cruel by the same people who worship the scientists who purposely overdose horses with black walnut extract to induce “laminitis”, drill into their hoof walls, and bolt a plate through the hoof wall into the dorsal face of P3. Those horses are kept like that while they are “studied” and then they are killed so their legs can be cut off and examined under a microscope.

Apparently that is acceptable because there’s a peer reviewed paper stapled to it!

But for us to take in horses that arrive already crippled, already carrying the damage and distortion done before they ever came to us, and patiently rehab them while that damage grows out… that is what gets called cruel.

The horses here are offered a life of friends, forage and freedom while they rehab. They arrive in pain and leave comfortable and sound again, often after months or even years of suffering elsewhere.

Many owners actually choose to keep their horses here forever even after they have rehabbed because they are so happy and settled

Make it make sense.

12/13/2025

Another PSA regarding EHV-1: There were approximately 2000 horses at the Waco, TX rodeo event in November. Of those horses, 60 have been affected and distributed acorss several states. Additionally, there have been EHV-1 neuorlogic events in several states, including PA that have resulted in quarantine and/or euthanasia. There is now an order that alll horses coming into PA will require special comments on the interstate CVI. If the conditions for entrance to PA have not been met, such horses may be turned away or quarantined until testing can be completed, at the owner's expense. Please consult your veterinarian if you are traveling.

The Waco outbreak saw 3% of horses affected, primarily due to precautions put into place as soon as the outbreak was identified. I have run several articles recently regarding biosecurity- if you have not read them, please do so. If you have, thank you, but read them again. This is how we stop disease from spreading. it does not mean run and hide, avoiding normal activity, it just means use means at your disposal to limit transfer of disease.

Fox Run Equine Center

(724) 727-3481

www.foxrunequine.com

11/11/2025

10/14/2025

Ever noticed a hollow spot in front of your horse’s withers — that little dip that makes the withers look extra sharp? 👀
That’s not just how your horse is built — it’s often a sign of muscle atrophy caused by restricted movement, and one common culprit is… the tiedown.
Here’s how it happens ⬇️
1️⃣ The trapezius muscle, which lifts the shoulder and supports the withers, needs free neck and shoulder movement to stay strong and active.
2️⃣ When a tiedown limits how far your horse can raise or stretch its head, that muscle is held in a shortened, static position.
3️⃣ Over time, the trapezius loses strength and tone from lack of movement and blood flow — the muscle literally shrinks.
4️⃣ The result? That familiar dip in front of the withers, a tight neck, and restricted shoulder motion.
💔 It’s not just cosmetic — it affects balance, stride length, and comfort under saddle.
✨ Instead of a tiedown, help your horse build true balance and topline with:
Stretching into a long, low frame 🧘‍♀️
Hill work and poles for natural lift 🏔️
Proper conditioning and bodywork
Give your horse back the freedom to lift, stretch, and shine. 🌟
Learn how to massage your own horse and fix muscle issues at Stone Brook Academy 💕 Links in bio