Barefoot Courses & Seminars

Here you will find information about courses in Barefoot Natural Balance Hoof Care.

INTRODUCTORY SEMINAR - lasting approx. 1 and 1/2 hour´s this is the ideal way to decide if Barefoot is the road for your horse. For a small fee I will come and present the why´s and wherefores of barefoot natural horse husbandry to your Riding school or Club or to a group of like-minded equestrians.

ONE-DAY MAINTENANCE COURSE - this course is designed for owners who´s horse is sound barefoot, or has completed the transition at our yard and they want to maintain a hands-on understanding of their horses hoof.

CERTIFIED COURSES - please click on the diplomas for an overview of each course. They are designed for the owner who wants more information of hoof anatomy, pathologies etc up to the person who wants to qualify as a professional hoof trimmer make a career of this fast growing area of Natural Horse Husbandry.

CLINICAL TRANSITION - is offered for clients whose horses are suffering hoof debilitation like laminitis, navicular etc and for those who are unable to assist in the rehabilitation of their horse. This service provides all necessary treatments as often as necessary, quality forage feed (fibre) available around the clock, quality hard feed to administer natural supplements for the promotion of healthy hooves, daily exercise (according to the stages of transition), livery in a rubber matted stall with micro-spray cooling system, automatic water and daily cleaning, assessment by a qualified equine massage therapist and complete overview of the whole horse, as is our protocol. Radiographs and other veterinary medication or assessments are not included, but as we work with 3 vets that specialise in various areas of equine health there is usually nothing we can´t organise on behalf of the client.

TRANSITION ONLY - is offered for owners who assist with the transition exercise requirements of their horse, for a horse that is only suffering the contracted heels and mild fungal infections associated with shoeing along with inbalances etc. Included are twice monthly treatments, quality forage feed (fibre) available around the clock, natural supplements for the promotion of healthy hooves, paddock care in a secure paddock with automatic water and weekly cleaning. This option does require a real commitment from the owner to attend to their horse at least 3 times a week.

Consider theses statistics below from the American Farriers Journal of Nov .2002, V26 #6 p5. Quote:

"Of the 122 million equines found around the world, no more than 10 percent are clinically sound.

Some ten percent (12.1 million) are clinically, completely and unusably lame.

The remaining 80 percent (97.6 million) are somewhat lame and could not pass a soundness evaluation test".

Do you really know your horses hooves and what´s going on behind that iron shoe?

Two months after arriving at our clinic she was riding him in the sand arena and two months later out on the trail over every kind of terrain.

It took just over a year for his hooves to be completely physiologically correct as this boy was suffering a lot of internal damage due to long term hoof imbalance and very high and contracted heels and frogs. But thanks to our whole horse protocol, which includes his living situation and a healthy natural high-fibre diet, he was sound barefoot after only two months.

The photos show his hooves on arrival and again after only 3 months at the clinic.

One year on this horse has become more physically athletic and his heart stronger. His paces and balance have improved enormously, become more fluid with a proper heel/toe movement which causes less stress to his shoulders and back.