Hoofmatters in Upper Corindi, New South Wales, Australia | Pet service

Hoofmatters

Locality: Upper Corindi, New South Wales, Australia

Phone: +61 427 001 694

Address: Pine Gully Upper Corindi, NSW, Australia

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25.01.2022 ** Dressage Issues: Jaw and Poll Problems ** A VERY common problem in dressage horses (and other disciplines) is that there is a reduced mobility of the poll (C...0-C1) and jaw joints which results in a bend at C1-C2. I have crudely circled them in the images. The yellow circle shows the incorrect forced pivot at C1-C2 and the red X is indicating the reduced mobility of the poll (C0-C1) and the TMJs. The bend at C1-C2 is incorrect and will be causing not only discomfort but inhibit performance and mobility. The motions of the poll at C0-C1 (where the head is attached to the top of the neck) includes flexion and extension as well as sidebending. The motion here is very reliant upon local structures such as the immediate bones ie Occiput (C0) and Atlas (C1) as well as local joints such as the TMJs. It is even affected by distant joints such as the sacro-iliacs. Reduced motion of these related joints will reduce the mobility of the poll (C0-C1). One such cause is excessively strong bridle and bits as well as training methods. This puts a huge strain on the poll and TMJs. As a result of reduced motion of the poll (C0-C1), the next joint C1-C2 (made of the Atlas and Axis) begins to flex. This joint should rotate. Flexion and extension here is incorrect. You can see in the two images randomly taken from Google that the neck is flexing at C1-C2 and NOT C0-C1. C0-C1 (the poll) is clearly not moving in either image. Unfortunately this is an all too common finding within the equine world. It causes a lot of discomfort in the horses and hugely affects performance. This discomfort can even lead to gastric ulcers. Improving the mobility is key but since there are issues distant within the body it is incredibly important to mobilise the entire body not just the poll and TMJs. If you notice this on your horse you would be wise to investigate it sooner rather than later.

24.01.2022 Horses in pain are no joke. It’s not attitude or dominance. She doesn’t have bad manners. She’s not spoiled. She isn’t trying to get out of work. ... She has ulcers Cinderella has never so much as pinned an ear at someone, so when she started acting a little different- agitated, grumpy, ‘sticky’ in her feet... I knew something was up. She would be the last horse I’d guess would develop ulcers. She’s calm and steady, great minded, not heard bound at all, a good eater/drinker, settles quickly anywhere, trailers great. She’s never given me a problem about anything. I mean, I don’t think I’ve even ever seen her spook- honestly. We started her on Gastroguard the day I took the first two videos. Two days later, she bit my hand so hard when I asked her to step over that I thought she had broken it. The next day, I was gently brushing her belly and she squealed and spun around and kicked me in the leg, then turned around and tried to bite me again. The last two videos were taken today, 10 days into treatment. Thanks to my wonderful team of friends and vets (some are one and the same ) she’s almost back to her normal self. (...and so am I, phew...) Thank goodness I’m posting these videos in hopes that even one person might rethink their horse’s behavioral issues and explore them further as possible pain or physical issues.. I’m fortunate enough that Cinderella’s symptoms were so acute and extreme that I had no choice but to see them for what they were, but not everyone is so ‘lucky’...

23.01.2022 Aloha Desert Jewel - Arabian Racehorse of the Year 2018 - and forever BAREFOOT Her owner, trainer, trimmer and jockey then proceeded to become National Cham...pion with her barefoot Arabians over 3 consecutive years... ....being awarded Australian Arabian Racehorse of the Year in not just 2018...but in 2019 and 2020 too! Is there any stopping them? 7 year old Aloha Desert Jewel was just the start! She had been barefoot and bitless all her life. Jewel’s bare hooves coped well with the training and galloping at speeds up to 55 kph...her bare hooves handled all types of tracks Jewel was the ONLY barefoot runner in her races and was able to easily out run the other shod competitors. Jewel earned the reputation of a ‘giant killer’, when, in a 1400 m race on a heavy track, we beat the French stallion, Djelhbi, who was otherwise undefeated in his stellar racing career. I felt so proud when AHSA (Arabian Horse Society of Australia) presented my barefoot Jewel with the prestigious award of Australian Arabian Racehorse of the Year (2018). Read the FULL STORY in The Barefoot Horse Magazine - all about this truly amazing horse and her pioneering owner...in our latest issue 28 OUT NOW! ORDER the latest ISSUE 28 in PRINT or DIGITAL NOW: http://bit.ly/BHMIssue28 or SUBSCRIBE and NEVER miss an issue: http://bit.ly/ANNUALsub Barefoot horses are competing and WINNING all over the globe...all we have to do is open our eyes to SEE The BHM Team

18.01.2022 "The barn hose adorns the same place every day. When it's moved a few inches, no one notices except the horses. Some of them only cock an ear toward the change;... others go goggle-eyed and giraffe-necked as they scoot past with their bellies arched sideways like bows. Annoying, isn't it? They walk past that hose every day. But there's a very good reason that horses notice tiny differences that we miss, and it's called categorical perception. Human brains operate on the basis of categorical perception-the natural tendency to organize sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches meaningful groups. We hear the same word spoken by a hundred different people-male or female, horse or smooth, high or low, children or adult, foreign or local. Every version sends a different acoustic form to the ears, but the brain's categorical perception tells us they're all the same word. We taste cheddar, jack, brie, limberger, chevre, and mozzarella, but bind all of them into the category of cheese. We see doors from different angles all the time, yet we group all of them together as doors. In fact, we are so accustomed to the brain's automatic grouping of different instances that we rarely notice it. Equine brains don't have much categorical perception. And that's why horses notice minor discrepancies among items within what we would a the same group. To a horse, a different view of a familiar object is the equivalent of a new object. When we see a barn hose, our neural networks are firing simply for "hose." We take a glance, and yup, it's a hose. There's no need for human brains to specify further. But our horses' neural networks are firing "new hose," "faded hose," "muddy hose," "green hose," "black hose," "hose wound in 24-inch loops," "hose wound in 14-inch loops, "stretched-out hose," "hose stored by sloppy human," or "hose stored by OCD human." Because they look different, to a horse they *are* different." Horse Brain, Human Brain #tweQuote #csFinn @averynicolephoto See more

17.01.2022 A little pearl of wisdom from Equitation Science 2nd Edition

14.01.2022 I've finally put in place over the last few months a feeding station as per the recommendation from the renowned Sharon May-Davis. In earlier learning sessions... with Sharon, she has suggested high hay at wither height to promote good posture whilst eating, giving the horses body a break from their usual habit of one leg forward one leg back to graze. This unfortunate habit of horses leads to high heel- low heel syndrome, where the horses front feet become mismatched. The ridden horse will develop body problems over time. Sharon suggests the horse eats hay at wither height, and even higher on occasion (not all the time). Her experiments with this then led to her trying feeding on a float ramp. This, however, needs the float to be hitched for safety each day for feeding, which can become tedious and lead to non-compliance. A further improvement involves the use of a platform, so that the horse has his front hooves higher than his back hooves. An even further improvement is encouraging a stretch through the back and withers by placing the food lower and forward. I will go into why shortly, but you can perhaps modify your stable by putting a platform on one side of the horse safe solid half door and feed on the other. Failing that, a sturdy horse safe gate can be used as the partition. It may take a bit of lateral thinking, but any of these scenarios will aid your ridden horse, and here's why: We ride the horse by placing our weight just behind the withers. This location is not so strong, though supported by ribs there is surprisingly little muscle mass under the saddle. Any help the horse gets will aid his comfort here. A properly fitting saddle, preparation for riding via good lunging, in-hand, pole work without a rider, free jumping, handwalking, liberty work, or similar. Kissing spine is a painful condition where the spinous processes under the saddle area come in contact with each other. This may cause fits of bucking, suddenly shooting forward, napping or rearing. As a therapist I think every effort should be made to help prevent kissing spine. So what can we do? Building the cybernetic, or postural muscles of the spine, ie the smaller muscles like the multifidi, is an excellent idea. They stabilise the spine and give it strength, and when strong allow the long muscles of the back to strengthen and supple as well. When weak they tire quickly and cannot hold the spine up, so the horse hollows and braces the back. We can use this simple feeding regime daily to strengthen these muscles in tandem with the horses exercise program. The horse stretches and opens the spine up. This is the key - opening the spinous processes, stretching the spine under the saddle area to relieve crowding which may result when the horse travels in a hollow frame - the horse simply can't hold its back up any more. Why not use the daily feeding time to help with this? Every little bit helps. I've had people say oh but I strengthen the back in the ridden work, which is wonderful, but what if you don't know how? Or what if your horse is untrained or ridden in poor posture prior? Or what if he's just being backed or coming into work after a rest? I started Pablo on just one pallet height. He has now graduated to two pallet height, which is adequate. The pallet is covered with plywood and rubber, with added bracing underneath. The trough is angled so that he has to reach down and out. The hay net is above the trough and is very effective in itself to strengthen his back. Pieces drop out which are then collected in his feed bowl in the trough. He can rest at any time, which he did in the beginning, but he now can eat his whole meal like this. Allow your horse to get off the platform if he needs to at any time for a rest, then ask him to get up again. Pablo's back is slightly too long. He has had much rehab over the years but always manages to injure himself or become sore. He is coming back into work and I have to say this is the most comfortable in his body that he has ever felt since incorporating this feeding system along with his usual carefully monitored gradual increase in work. It's a simple thing to do which may help your horses overall comfort. Jodie Halton Equine Massage ~Release the Potential~

12.01.2022 Yep, I say this all the time

12.01.2022 As hoofcare providers, we have a tough job. I don't know of many other professions where you can literally die, even if you're as safe as you can possibly be, f...rom one wrong move. Even the kindest, calmest horses can have a moment- a fly lands on their stomach, for example, and suddenly a hoof is all too close to our head. I am in a lot of farrier Facebook groups, and I don't think a day goes by without a post asking for advice about rehabbing an injury incurred from a horse on the job. It's sobering, to say the least. I'm sure there isn't one horse owner that would say they don't care about the safety of the equine professionals in their life. That being said, I think many owners aren't sure how to best support their horse and help appointments go smoothly. How can we help horses to feel comfortable and stand well to get their feet done? When picking out a horse's hoof, you need the foot up for less than 10 seconds. When trimming a foot, you often need the foot up for multiple minutes to do everything you need to do to get the foot balanced and trimmed well. Many horses aren't used to that, and as prey animals can become quite anxious that they don't have the ability to leave whenever they want. A horse that is having trouble standing for appointments is exhausting for us. They can tweak our muscles and our back and even mentally exhaust us as we try to complete a job that can be difficult even when a horse DOES stand well, imagine how exponentially more difficult it is when they are fighting us the entire time! With all this in mind, I talked to some hoofcare providers on how to best prepare horses for their appointments- to ensure we are safe, the horse is safe, the owner is safe, and to also make our daily appointment more enjoyable. No one wants to go to a job where they dread they may get hurt! I spoke with Kristin Thornberry, a hoofcare provider and trainer in Arkansas, on some practical ways to help horses become "farrier friendly." You can find the interview on your favorite podcast app under "The Humble Hoof," or at this link: https://thehumblehoof.libsyn.com/farrier-friendly-how-to-su What are some ways YOU help your horses to stand well for their appointments?

06.01.2022 Are you driving your horse crazy? It's an honest question that horse owners need to consider if they 'board' or 'keep' them at a facility where the horses must ...be kept in a stall for more than just a small part of the day. Some horses will tolerate being stalled for a third of the day but those who are confined to a cage (sorry, stall) for great parts of the day - every day - often suffer from some sort of neurosis or mental illness. No doubt that you would never knowingly or intentionally want to cause this but it is what happens when you keep a horse in a way that is completely opposite of the way that nature designed the species and created its natural life and habitat. The optimal situation is to give your horses the freedom to choose to be wherever they prefer - in the shelter, out in the rain or snow, sleeping in a pile of sand with some herdmates (while another keeps watch), grooming a buddy, browsing through some bushes or eating hay along the track (etc.). You don't have to spend a lot of money to create a track. It is an ideal way to keep your horses safe, healthy, moving and simulate their natural habitat. "...horses are social animals and experience a number of behavioral problems when isolated and confined. They also have a strong need to exercise and can become increasingly frustrated when not allowed daily free exercise. Many behavior studies have found that the prevention of movement (exercise), social interaction with other horses and grazing causes horses to develop behavioral problems such as weaving and cribbing. If you stall your horse, consider the effect this situation might have on his general health and emotional state." ~ Dr. Thomas R. Lenz, Past President of the American Association of Equine Practitioners Courtesy of #AQHA #thenaturalhorse #greatbasinhorses #paddockparadise #fourpillarsofNHC #naturalhorsecare #nhc #aanhcp #isnhcp #jaimejackson #thenaturaltrim #americanmustang #tracksystem #barefoothoofcare #horseofintagram #horses #horse #horsepicture #picoftheday #hoof #stall #cribbing ##hoofcare #thenaturaltrim #herd #equine #equinephotography #equinelife #equinelove

02.01.2022 The art of seeing your horse. Do you know the orientation of your horses pelvis? Here is just over 3 minutes to help you see SOME of the things that would be affected by pelvis postion