Is it possible?  Can foot form affect a horse’s conformation? 

Yes, it can, and does – in fact it affects much more than that!  The condition, overall shape and functioning of your horse’s feet influence not only his posture, stance, attitude, personality and movement, but also his innate and biological bodily functions such as circulation, lymph function, digestion and muscle development. We will even go so far to say that foot form and function have a great influence on your horse’s 'trainability' and soundness -- physically, emotionally ...

It was July 2012 when I first saw her. I sent love to her immediately.  She was most obviously an old soul.  She was very skinny (like a 0 to 1 on the condition scale)  I wondered about her and her condition...   Whats the condition scale?

I moved to a small acreage in a new community. Being a compulsive observer and a perpetual student of the horse, I looked for her patterns of behaviour as I had to drive by her several times a day.  

She appeared to be grazing regularly, I saw her at the ‘water hole’ and she was gaining weight up until l...

It is estimated that 98% of domestic horses that arrive at the slaughterhouses (and are not bred for meat) do so for musculoskeletal problems easily preventable if we improve the conditions in which they live. 

The horses need more than prayers! Click this link which shows how different parts of the world view North American slaughter houses, in particular in Alberta Canada!

The reasons that horses end up in slaughter houses  have not changed one bit over the decades.  

Several times during the past 20 years I have visited slaughter...

Can YOUR horse get navicular?

     A few years ago I met a friend at a boarding facility where I saw a jumper mare being ridden in the indoor arena. She was being cantered around the large space, jumping two fences on one long side and repeating the mundane line over and over again in an obedient but almost robotic way. She was a beautiful big mare, but I couldn't help seeing the obvious tightness in her body, her toe-first landings, the stoic 'try',  and  felt a loss of participation and joy from her. 

The barn owner saw me watching and c...

I wrote this article over 2 decades ago. It still reflects so many other horse owners' experiences.

          I had an Arabian horse named Sham. He was ready to retire and I was looking for a second horse. I surfed ads for half-Friesians and found a website called Equinextion with some beautiful horses for sale … and some different stuff about ‘Barefoot and Natural’.

          When I’d bought Sham, with his super tall coke-can feet (the fashion in the Arab world), I had him trimmed and shod ever since. I was taught that if I wanted...