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Post by Dawn Perkins on Jun 16, 2016 11:14:47 GMT 1
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Jul 13, 2016 12:09:46 GMT 1
What an absolutely brilliant blog from Rockley Farm today. Once again, the question has to be asked as to why the majority of vets resolutely refuse to acknowledge the success of correct barefoot management, both in the rehabilitation of so many cases of lameness (often where the prognosis with conventional treatment is "guarded" or poor) and in follow-on management:- rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/reverse-engineering-barefoot-revolution.htmlPerhaps this blog from 2009 provides part of the explanation:- rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/what-progress-means.htmlDawn Perkins (with huge thanks to Avril for so graciously allowing me to continue posting links regarding my alternative view on hoof management: her kindness speaks volumes)
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Jul 13, 2016 12:27:33 GMT 1
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Jul 13, 2016 14:24:57 GMT 1
...and I've just read Nic Barker's comment that detailed data on her rehab horses has been submitted to - and rejected by - three academic institutions. Even more astonishing is that one of the reasons cited is that her results are "impressive but unbelievable"!!! Words fail me.
Dawn Perkins
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Jul 15, 2016 11:36:16 GMT 1
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Jul 17, 2016 12:03:06 GMT 1
There are, thankfully, a few very enlightened equine vets in the UK. One of them has just become President of The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons! This blog (which I have posted the link to before) from Rockley Farm contains an extract of an email from him to Nic Barker in September 2015:- rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/one-vets-view-of-self-trimming-horse.htmlI am so hopeful that a few more vets may be encouraged to look at correctly managed, self-trimming (wherever possible) barefoot management. Dawn Perkins
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Jul 28, 2016 14:07:25 GMT 1
There is a comment on the Rockley Farm Facebook page following yesterday's (27th July 2016) posted blog. It is from someone who used to be a claims adjuster for a "reasonably well known UK horse insurance company." Her comment really says it all - and it's depressing. Enlightened vets like Chris Tuffnell are like gold dust - no wonder his clients think so highly of him.
Dawn Perkins
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Aug 2, 2016 11:27:23 GMT 1
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Aug 19, 2016 15:56:09 GMT 1
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Sept 6, 2016 14:34:09 GMT 1
The annual Rockley Farm Rehab Reunion takes place shortly and Nic Barker has posted a blog featuring the three previously filmed reunions. I have posted links to them individually before but it is quite helpful to view them all together, for anyone who is interested:- rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/less-than-3-weeks.htmlObviously, not everyone whose horse has been successfully rehabbed can make the reunions but I hope some of the more recent ex-rehabs and owners will be able to attend this year and I certainly look forward to seeing the 2016 slo-mo film footage. I am pasting in the rehab results as at 2015 again, as it gives some helpful background to the video footages:- rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/rehab-results-and-research-2015-update.htmlDawn Perkins
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Sept 7, 2016 8:45:06 GMT 1
Following the above footage of ex-rehabs horses who are still barefoot and sound, some of them after years, this old Rockley blog explains why Nic believes that trimming and remedial farriery are not the answer. Having trimmed her own horses and rehabs in the past, she found some years ago that allowing the horse to find its own balance and to trim its own hooves (with correct nutrition, diet and movement) is much more successful in the long term. She believes that the horse knows best what shaped hooves it needs (however odd-looking they might sometimes be to human eyes). I have read so many times on various forums that a horse will persistently grow back a "flare" or deviation which has been removed by the owner's trimmer/farrier. Maybe they should listen to what the horse is trying to tell them:- rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/hoof-imbalance-how-it-affects-parts-you.html(Again, I have posted a link to this blog before but, over time, they get a bit lost!) Dawn Perkins
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Sept 8, 2016 12:12:45 GMT 1
I always tend to post links to the Rockley Farm website because I have total confidence in Nic Barker's integrity and abilities regarding barefoot rehabilitation, whereas I don't know how much I can rely on other sources, some of which may be highly authoritative, others of which may not be. I have just come across a website for a magazine intended for owners and riders who are interested in barefoot, bitless, reiki and zoopharmacognosy, amongst other topics. I don't have a horse, so don't have any first-hand knowledge of the publication. However, it may be of interest to those who wish to find out a bit more. Because I have recently become interested in the wild, moor-bred Exmoor pony herds, zoopharmacognosy has become a particularly interesting topic. The herds range widely (some over thousands of acres) and the mares have access to a very wide range of potentially medicinal or balancing plants and herbs. The knowledge is passed down through the generations to their filly foals, who usually return to the moors after the annual gathering. Horses kept in domestication usually lack access to a wild "medicine cupboard," so zoopharmacognosy may well provide another resource for those who would like to learn more:- www.barefoothorsemag.co.uk/The_Barefoot_Horse_Magazine/The_Barefoot_Horse_Home.htmlThere may well be other similar publications but this is the first one I have found. Dawn Perkins
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Sept 8, 2016 13:17:43 GMT 1
...and this is the article on Cynthia Cooper's website which first drew my attention to the practice of zoopharmacognosy:- naturalhorseworld.com/newsite/applied-zoopharmacognosy/I have no first-hand knowledge as to its efficacy compared to unlimited self-selection in the wild but it is an interesting concept. Dawn Perkins
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Sept 8, 2016 16:44:22 GMT 1
There is a lovely recent video post on the Houston Mounted Police Patrol Barefoot Smash Facebook page. I hope I have copied the link correctly because it just shows how incredibly enlightened Officer Greg Sokoloski is. He was not only responsible for taking (and maintaining) all of the patrol horses barefoot but his bitless training of the new recruit horses is a joy to watch. Since they were all taken barefoot, the horses have experienced far less disease and illness, which has saved the huge amounts which used to be paid in veterinary and farriery fees and which has now been able to be re-routed into improved facilities for the horses. He was also responsible for motivating local people to raise funds to keep the patrol horses going. The horses all look so relaxed and happy:- Dawn Perkins
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Sept 9, 2016 11:19:52 GMT 1
Nic Barker has posted a link on the Rockley Farm Facebook page to a Dutch(?) article on the disadvantages of shoeing. This includes one of Nic's own photographs and also mentions a point which I don't believe I have read before, i.e. decreased lateral flexibility. This would explain a lot of lameness due to damage to internal structures. The other points have been mentioned many times before but it is interesting that almost all of the points against shoeing were raised, it is claimed, in books by traditional and well-known farriers:- paardenhoeven.info/blog/2016/09/06/10-disadvantages-of-horse-shoes/I have often read that Dutch Warmbloods are known for having problems with their hooves and short working lives but I wonder whether some of this may be attributed to their management, i.e. diet and lack of free movement, and not just shoeing. Dawn Perkins
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