Rock Hill, South Carolina Hoof Clinic!

Equine Hoof Care and Nutrition Clinic
August 15, 2009 8:00am-5:00pm, august 16, 2009 8am-?

Dream Equine Therapy Center is proud to host Lauren Gruber here in Rock Hill, SC as she educates us in the field of equine care from the bottom up. Lauren owns and operates her own equine rehabilitation facility in Greeneville, TN and has dedicated the last 10 years to rehabilitating horses from all walks of like using excellent natural hoof care and nutition. Lauren has trained with Steve Dick of the Equine Science Academy, Paige Poss of Ironfreehoof.com, and Pete Ramey just to name a few. Saturday will be jam packed full of lectures and demonstrative trimmings while Sunday will be open to having your horse trimmed, the natural barefoot way. Book your spot early as spaces are limited and we will fill up fast.

Registration fees:
Early registration by Aug 8, $45
Late registration, $55
Aditional fees apply for Sunday trimming

A portion of proceeds will benefit Dream Equine Therapy Center. For more information about their program and mission to rescue horses in need, visit dreamequinetherapycenter.org

For more information about the clinic, contact Courtney Buckley at (803)517-5943 or CBJumper@hotmail.com
Registration fees and contact information can be mailed to
DETC, 3394 Gordon Rd, York, SC 29745

Hope to see you there!

Perfect Horse Health, in the 1800s, w/o Shoes!

I get so many questions about how horse shoes became such a required part of equine care. Back in the 1800s, they were already answering those questions. This link will take you to a book that will show that this barefoot concept is not new.


http://www.archive.org/stream/scienceinstableo00ludl/scienceinstableo00ludl_djvu.txt

If the link does not work, please email me at barefoot.lauren.gruber@gmail.com and I will look into it.

Getting Started with Barefoot

Many people have questions and concerns about their horse's hoof health. One major problem that we see is that people don't really know what a healthy foot looks like. Often times a horse owner knows 'something doesn't seem right' but he or she doesn't know how to articulate what is wrong.

The solution is to study horse's feet in order to train your eye. You need to learn what good healthy feet look like as well as what unhealthy feet look like. Sometimes unhealthy is pretty obvious. But more often than not there is a fuzzy place where the foot is heading in the wrong direction but just how wrong may not become clear for years to come.

For example, this jumper has been chronically lame for some time but the owner never attributed it to his own shoeing job. Other than the fact that the foot is breaking up, now many would attribute the horse's lameness to his feet? The problems are obvious though to a trained eye. This horse is now barefoot... and sound.

Here's a short list of key points to look for in a naturally healthy hoof

• The walls are smooth and straight (no horizontal grooves).
• The coronet band slopes down at the heel and upwards at the toe.
• The weight bearing portion of the hoof should line up under the bony structure of the leg.
• The frog is thick and wide at the heel.
• The horse, in motion, lands on his heels first

It is all just a matter of knowledge. The more you learn, the more information you expose yourself to, the more you have to offer your horse when it comes to his long term health and well being.

Our goal is to help owners along on this exciting journey.