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Post by Dawn Perkins on Mar 22, 2017 9:36:05 GMT 1
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Mar 23, 2017 17:36:20 GMT 1
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Mar 25, 2017 22:51:52 GMT 1
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Mar 28, 2017 16:55:59 GMT 1
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Apr 3, 2017 10:33:12 GMT 1
This is a link to the wonderful Madison County Mounted Police Patrol (in the US) Info/Training page:- www.madisonmounted.org/infotraining.htmlWhat is interesting is that most of the principles of keeping a horse working barefoot and sound are so similar to those applied at Rockley Farm. The only difference is the routine trim, which Nic Barker does not do. The conditions on Exmoor and in most of the UK are generally wet and it may be that by not trimming, the horse has a better chance of adapting the growth of its hooves to the changing conditions. By trimming, even non-invasively, the horse may have less opportunity of adjusting the growth rate over a short period. However, Madison County Mounted Police Patrol is another beacon of light, showing that, given the right conditions, horses can manage their own hooves rather better than we can. Dawn Perkins
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Apr 3, 2017 13:56:33 GMT 1
It is worth dragging this video out once more because it shows so convincingly why trimming is the least important aspect of barefoot hoofcare. When Dexter, this horse's hooves were trimmed, he went repeatedly lame. He knows he needs these peculiarly shaped hooves to achieve and maintain soundness and that is why he keeps growing them. With them, the loading is stable and he can perform as he does in the video. Without the hooves he chooses to grow and with human interference to make them look "pretty," he is lame. Before going to Rockley Farm, the prognosis for him was a 5% chance of ever returning to work. The terrain on Exmoor is extreme: steep hills, wet, windy conditions, very stony tracks. Hunting requires long periods of fast work over this kind of terrain, hence the jerkiness of the film. Nic Barker is filming with a headcam on her own horse, Felix. Freya, a veterinary student, is wearing the grey, flapping jacket and is on Dexter, the chestnut ex-rehab:- rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/ugly-feet-in-action.htmlDawn Perkins
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Apr 10, 2017 8:53:30 GMT 1
Nic Barker had been trying to keep the cost of her new book to buyers as affordable as possible and arranged an on-line version which is particularly affordable. The content is excellent and challenges the conventional wisdom by way of examples and gives an explanation of how the hoof actually functions in relation to the rest of the body and not just as a pretty, sculptable, vulnerable fingernail at the end of the leg. However the quality of the Amazon publication has been disappointing. She is now arranging for it to be re-published by the company who produced "Feet First," if anyone is interested:- www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1406658979395781&id=129496323778726rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/Dawn Perkins
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Apr 17, 2017 15:09:00 GMT 1
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Post by Dawn Perkins on May 12, 2017 9:31:42 GMT 1
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Post by Dawn Perkins on May 12, 2017 17:25:35 GMT 1
Not a barefoot connection but what a wonderful update on Purdy! What a wonderful preparation he had with Avril for his duties as a steady, unflappable police horse. (I've now adopted Zoe Jane Sharp's and Emma Hanwell's terms for the horses new to MSC: BA (Before Avril) and being "Avrilled!" both of which are so true. So many horses over the years have been fortunate indeed to have been Avrilled Dawn Perkins
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Jun 25, 2017 17:02:37 GMT 1
This worrying article recently appeared on the Horse & Hound Facebook page:- One of the reasons I stopped going to my local (excellent) riding school some years ago was that I didn't enjoy the downhill trip down the lane to the track which led to the Common. The horses were shod. They slipped and picked their way gingerly down and, in icy weather, it was impossible for me to relax. Shortly after I stopped going, I heard that one of the lovely horses I used to ride was being led in from one of the fields and had slipped on the road. He had broken his pelvis and had had to be put down. He had just been found a wonderful retirement home with his pair bond friend. I have pasted in the link to this video (made by Sarah Braithwaite, who co-wrote "Feet First" with Nic Barker) before but it is still interesting to see how confidently healthy barefoot horses can tackle cantering on roads, even in snowy conditions:- vimeo.com/9438805The only proviso I can think of (as well as the need for the hooves to be healthy and sound) is that hot conditions can cause tarmac surfaces to melt and this can cause problems for bare hooves, although boots can be helpful in such conditions. Dawn Perkins
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Jul 13, 2017 13:05:04 GMT 1
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Jul 16, 2017 8:33:36 GMT 1
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Jul 25, 2017 11:03:01 GMT 1
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Jul 26, 2017 22:54:04 GMT 1
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