ESA - United Kingdom 

 

 

Why the ESA makes sense 

 

Most hoof care issues do not originate in the hoof.  If you have the education and experience to be able to assess a horse, help determine where the problem originates and recommend the appropriate professional (chiropractic, saddle fit, dental,  etc.) to address the issue, not only will your job with the feet be much easier, but you will gain the respect and trust of your community including other equine professionals.  If you fail to recognize mitigating factors that are adversely affecting the hooves, your trimming skills will be called into question when the feet don’t improve.  The ESA gives you the education needed to properly evaluate and address complex issues in the field, and is the most comprehensive natural hoof care certification program offered anywhere. 

 

.....  Simply learning to trim is not enough. 

 

FAQ’s 

 

If the ESA is based in the United States, how is the training applicable in the UK? 

 

Although our program is based on information we take from the wild horse and the innate, species specific requirements of equines, we do not believe there is “one” wild horse model.  Wild horses living in rocky desert terrain have different feet to those living in soft, wet conditions.  You cannot expect a high desert foot in the marsh.  In addition, one has to take into account the domestication factor and how all the various influences in the horse’s life affect him.   This is true of any climate, region or location.   

 

Whose trim do you teach? 

 

We teach the trim that any given horse needs in his particular situation on that given day.  We do not believe any formula, gimmick or personality has any place in trimming, or that any one person has all the answers.  To ascribe a “correct” trim to a person is to ignore the authority — the horse.  The horse is always working to optimize the health, form and function of his feet and we need to work with him and listen, not impose our ideas and preconceived notions.  While there are some elements held in common, each horse is unique and must be approached with that held firmly in mind.  Again this is true in any part of the world.

PROGRAM 

 

Whatever your area of interest in working in the equine industry, this program is designed to give you a thorough, fundamental understanding of all the key aspects of horse husbandry in today's world, and the tools to apply what you have learned to equine care and management. This knowledge base is extremely important for any given discipline.   

 

The Academy is founded on the belief that the practice of focusing on one aspect of a horse's body, environment, habits etc. without due consideration of the other possible mitigating factors in his life is inherently flawed.    

 

Recognition and assessment of these factors requires a broad understanding of their implications and effects. This can only be gained through study of the "Whole Horse."  (see About Us) 

 

ESA courses are presented in a non-conventional format. Courses are not one teacher and a textbook, rather they are a compilation of information and resources from a wide variety of professionals in the equine world. This format presents students with a comprehensive overview of available information both conventional and non-conventional. Our goal is to guide students to thinking critically as they evaluate and distill information, not to teach any one viewpoint or source.  We do not believe that any one person or organization is "the" source or has all the answers. We believe that knowledge is a dynamic collective work - one we should all contribute to, draw from and share. 

 

Many colleges and universities offer degree programs in equine sciences. The goal of the typical equine sciences degree program is to prepare students to seek enjoyment and employment as trained professionals in the horse industry.  

 

We believe that Equine Sciences, as a field of study, should be available based on the core principles of NATURAL equine management. We envision a day when future graduates in ANY college or university Equine Sciences degree program enter their various careers with a foundation in natural equine management, as opposed to many of the conventional practices now taught in most schools. We look forward to the time when this becomes the "typical equine sciences degree program." 

 

An orthodoxy is produced in regard to all the great doctrines of life. It consists of the most worn and commonplace opinions which are common in the masses. The popular opinions always contain broad fallacies, half-truths, and glib generalizations.  

 

William Graham Sumner, 1906 

 

 

 

 

 

"A good question is never answered. It is not a bolt to be tightened into place but a seed to be planted and to bear more seed toward the hope of greening the landscape of ideas." 

 

John Anthony Ciardi (1916-86) 

American poet, critic