Spotlight on Trimmers: Martina Ottardi Dr.med.vet.

 PROFESSIONAL INFO:  

Martina Ottardi  Dr. med.vet.

Switzerland +41 (0)795 522 28 02    [email protected]

Certified EQAT /MT  Congratulations 

What is your present trimming status?

I only trim my own horses but I am open to helping others.   

What was the reason you started learning to trim?  

I started trimming nine years ago with the help of the Donatella, the trimmer who used to come to the barn where I grew up.   All the horses at the barn had already been unshod years earlier, but Donatella was the first person to show me the basics of trimming and teach me how to keep the hooves in shape in between trims. 

I became passionate in trimming and I kept trimming all the horses during my university years. Unfortunately, at the veterinary university the topic of barefoot is still very limited so I felt the need to investigate this world to be able to offer this kind of help to interested people on a professional level as well. I believe that as a veterinarian it is important to know the horse's foot on a natural level and not only in the traditional form of shoeing.

How many horses do you trim per month on average?  

What is your Equinextion Connection?  

When I started to trim the horses at home, I also started to research and inform myself online about barefoot.  I found the Equinexiton Facebook page and took the online course in 2021.  As soon as I finished my work at the university, I took the opportunity to attend the Trim and Train working student program course in Canada with Lisa (and her equine dentist daughter Terra. It was  was enlightening and inspiring, not only at the level of trimming but also a new level of management, nutrition and training, which Lisa calls 'Elevated Horsemanship'. 

What is your favourite thing about trimming? 

I love that trimming is not limited to the tools and the work, but that it is a much broader concept that leads to looking at the horse as a whole unit.  I find it interesting how the work done on the hooves affects the whole body. 

 As a veterinarian, my goal is always the welfare of the animals and trimming gives me the opportunity to take preventive action on different health issue affecting the whole body.    The hooves and their health and balance are connected and can affect the whole functional health of the horse.

If you could give horse owners one piece of advice what would that be?  

Do not be afraid of change, of moving away from the traditional idea that the horse belong in a box and that hooves should have a precise shape that is the same for everyone.  One thing I was able to observe and learn during my time at the EQ Centre,  is that many problems can be solved simply by encouraging a more natural lifestyle.   Dr. med.vet. :)

Martina Ottardi Dr.med.vet : Certified EQAT/MT  

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