As a hoofcare provider, some of the most difficult self-reflecting questions I’ve dealt with are – am I helping the horse as much as I can with the situation presented to me? Am I making the right choices given the circumstances, pathology, environment, etc.? And if so, how can I prove it.. is there a way to track progress that is at least somewhat more objective than our anecdotal stories?
I hope I’m not the only one who has wondered these things. Hoofcare itself can be an isolating job, and it can make us second guess ourselves.
Back in March I was able to attend a clinic put on by HorseShoes Plus in NH, with speaker Pat Reilly. Pat is originally from me area, but now is the Chief of Farrier Services at New Bolton Center, and has seen quite a bit of hoof issues on his journey there. He also has the opportunity to work with some awesome software and technology to track hoof morphology, movement, biomechanics, and asymmetry in the hoof and gait. I reached out to him to see if he would chat with me on the podcast about some of these technologies, and ways we can determine if the horses on our books are moving in the right direction.
You can hear the entire episode on any podcast app under “The Humble Hoof,” or directly at the player above.
Thank you to our amazing sponsors:
Equithrive offers supplements for everything from metabolic health to joint support – get 20% off your first order at equithrive.com with code HUMBLEHOOF
Cavallo Hoof Boots is offering 20% off a pair of Trek hoof boots at cavallo-inc.com with code HRN
And special shout out to Grid as New, Mud Control Grids – they are a game changer for any mud issues, big or small! – mudcontrolgrids.com