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I was 14 when I first started working around horses, I say working around horses because that is what I did. I cleaned stalls, built fence, groomed horses etc. , Occasionally I was able to take a riding lesson.
Then one day I was watching two horses being unloaded, they were both gold in color. The person who owned the ridding stable that I worked at had purchased these horses, a mare and her gelding son. This gelding son was seven years old, registered Palomino and untrained.
I was in love immediately, in the wrong place at the wrong time. Why do I say that, well the beautiful horse that looked like Trigger stole my heart in an instant. He was the wrong horse at the wrong time.
I begged and pleaded with my parents, they bought the horse for me and Sir Tailwind and I began our adventures. My mom was a horse lover since a child and my dad looked at it as a big waste of money he could not afford to pay for at the time. This horse began his training and proved to be as green as the day he was born. He didn't do much of anything when the trainer mounted his back, he just stood there. He didn't seem to have any issues other than his inexperience.
My problem comes in when he bucked me off and I ended up with a broken wrist. Well, I was undeterred, I was upon the back of a horse again in three days. This Palomino and I stayed together for 7 years of good times and bad. He was absolutely bombproof in a parade with bells and whistles, kids and clowns. On trail rides a bird flying out of a bush would cause him to fly out of his skin and we would have a wreck. When Sir was 14, I sold him because I was not spending any time with him and we were not doing each other any good.
Four years later I became involved with the fellow that bought Sir Tailwind, I learned how to team rope from this man. He had spent the last few years trail riding the Palomino and had started roping with him, he found that Pal as he was now called did not have the enthusiasm to be a heading horse, so he turned to heeling with him as well as trail riding.
I ended up buying Pal back. I continued to team rope with him until my job would not allow it. I did manage to continue trail riding all over the state of Wisconsin.
Pal was a horse that had a small pasture of grass he shared with a pony and another quarter horse ( Maybe 1/2 acre total ) and was fed hay year round and senior feed when I noticed he was not maintaining his weight well. I had him trimmed by local farriers and when I asked why he was sore on the gravel got several answers. The most complicated of which involved that he was not a balanced horse on the diagonal, therefore he needed shoes to help balance him. No-one ever mentioned any type of dietary implications. Well, I bought this and had him shod. He still hated gravel, large rocks, etc. . I didn't know any better and I was too dumb to ask more intelligent questions. I always had thoughts in the back of my mind like, How did the wild horses manage to go without trimming? Why do horses truly need steel shoes? I couldn't get any answers I was satisfied with.
All of this had to wait as I embarked on the next adventure in my life. I went to Alaska with my old Pal as he was now known. He was 20 years old when we made the trip. I worked as a assistant hunting guide and horse wrangler. I realized I did not know too much about horses at this point in my life but I did know how to take care of my old Pal. I tried working with several younger horses while in Alaska, my techniques were to say the least a bit rough. But, it is all I knew. I did not accomplish much of anything positive with any of the young horses. My employer was also not a good person for me to learn from either. Why? Well he was a bit like myself, inexperienced in horsemanship, even though he had 25 years experience under his belt.
Working for this man did however afford me the opportunity to start learning more about hoofcare. The shoer that came to the ranch taught me to straighten and reset shoes.
From there I bought a book about shoeing and proceeded to learn about shoeing and some about conformation. But not much about trimming the foot other than balancing the hoof to set a shoe. I returned home after two years in Alaska. My horse and I had some great experiences and some not so great experiences. But, we made it together.
Well, at this point in my life I needed to get a real job again to pay for the last two years worth of experience. I continued to study trimming and attended a clinic presented by a local Strasser Hoofcare professional. This was an eye opening experience, BUT the trimmer did not at that time trim the cadaver to the point of bleeding. It couldn't bleed, It was a dead foot !! I have no Idea if she was aggressive enough to have done the opening cuts at that point in my experience.
I did learn quite a lot from this clinic, I went home and proceeded trimming according to that protocol, and I made my horse more lame than ever. When I asked for help from this clinician, I was told I needed to do this and that and that I was doing the trim incorrectly, That was why my horse was sore. Well, I continued to try , I continued to make my horse lame. I also made some other horses lame with my trimming. This went on for some time, like years worth of time. I noticed changes in my horses feet and they were not good. I had thinned the soles so much they were trying to build tissue back in the thin areas. I would trim those attempted calluses off with each trim. I now know that I was not listening to the horse, I was totally ignoring him and forcing a trim on him that he hated. Why he didn't kick my head off I don't know. I do remember I was too stupid to recognize his discomfort in his attitude.
Well, by now the year is 2003 and I have moved to the Madison, Wisconsin area and found the woman I would marry. I had been working as a mechanic for a small asphalt plant. I HATED my job and was starting to hate my life as I had in the past before I went to Alaska. I knew I did not want to go back to an angry lifestyle. Well, Lori (my wife) gave me the chance to quit my job and start my business in full time barefoot hoofcare. Now from the previous description of my trimming you are probably thinking, WHAT !!! How does this guy think he could trim horses professionally? Well, I was in for a very steep learning curve to begin.
I advertised for business and got it, all the horses no one else would trim...
Now I started seeing a lot of sore horses before I ever touched them. How could I fix them when I made them even more sore than they were before I trimmed? Now the questions started pounding in my head. I spoke with my wife, I needed to learn more. I found Jaime Jackson's website and read everything on it. I signed up for a clinic and attended the Orientation and Booting clinic in late Fall of 2003. This clinic answered a thousand questions and created a million more. I came home and applied for the aanhcp certification program.
I had my phone interview with Cindy Sullivan and then in February of 2004 I went to mentor with Cindy Sullivan and Pete Ramey. Now between Jaime Jackson, Cindy Sullivan, and Pete Ramey I was being shown a trimming method that really would help heal horses and transform my trimming into something very good. I also Mentored with Ruth Green, Charles Hall , Richard Drewry, and Jaime Jackson in my progress through the training program. I stopped laming every horse I touched. However, I still had a lot of learning to do. But, I learned from them how to read the foot, the horse and to be more passive in my approach to trimming.
I became certified by the AANHCP in November of 2004, I also became an instructor.
However, I still would have a sore horse every now and then. I have spoken with Pete and Cindy several times over the last three and one half years. I have attended Pete's clinic a couple of times and have come away each time with more information to obtain faster healing and more tools to help with transition time. I have studied the work of Gene Ovnicek, James Rooney, Chris Pollitt, Robert Bowker, and more. I have researched dietary issues, insulin resistance, thyroid conditions, diet, diet, diet, Cushings, laminitis, chronic founder, navicular, anatomy, etc.etc.etc. Please believe me when I say, EVERYTHING COMES BACK TO DIET, DIET, DIET, ENVIRONMENT, LIFESTYLE.
When I really began focusing on the diets of the horses that were still coming up sore, I found the key to many issues. Improper diet leads to inflammation in the foot, many times I believe this is subclinical inflammation not identified by most other equine professionals. Constant inflammation in the foot will not allow healthy tissue to grow. Therefore, you have a horse that is always sore. Find the key to the inflammation, and you can effect healing.
I feel I now have a very good base of knowledge with which to work. I do not make horses sore any longer, I get them to heal and return to soundness. This is confirmed by a huge increase in my business within the last two years. Most of this increase has come through word of mouth from my customers.
The AANHCP website, Pete Ramey/ Clinton Anderson, and horse fairs also have added some business. I have committed myself to continuing education through many avenues. I will never stop learning !!!! I do not have a "know it all" attitude. BUT, I am confident in my abilities to help horses. I will tell a customer when I am unsure, or do not know the answer to a problem or question. I refuse to BS my way through life. I will research an issue to find answers.
My business now has 200 horses on the trimming list. Many are foundered, navicular diagnosed, or just maintenance trims. I don't know how many horses other farriers in my area are trimming or shoeing, all I know is that I am always booked seven to eight weeks in advance. I continue to get calls for help with lame horses. There is no room for missed appointments.
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