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Post by Dawn Perkins on Dec 7, 2012 10:35:31 GMT 1
Once again, a cracking blog from Nic Barker:- rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/flat-earth-friday.htmlAgain, I apologise for only referring to her blogs these days but I have discovered, along my learning path, that as with any profession, there are good, bad and indifferent practitioners. As I have total confidence in Nic's integrity and the research she has done which is based on many, many successful rehabilitation cases - and the fact that she does not interfere with the horse's rehabilitation by trimming - I am happy to paste in links to her website. This is how Rolie arrived at Rockley Farm:- rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/rolie-and-bar-shoes.htmlDawn Perkins
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Jan 4, 2013 10:30:54 GMT 1
I hope you all had a very merry Christmas and I wish all of you a very happy New Year! It's great that Avril is on the mend and I am really looking forward to hearing about all the latest news for 2013 at MSC. I referred on the other thread ("Backs and saddle fitting but what about the BIT?") on 10th and 13th August 2012 to Legend, a Welsh Cob who went to Rockley Farm with the most incredibly painful feet. The owners had already removed his remedial shoes, which were causing him great pain and mechanical laminitis. His prognosis was very poor indeed. I actually saw him at Nic's on my only visit to Rockley, when we took Cynthia Cooper to meet her. Poor Legend was some way through his rehab but was still unable to turn easily and still had his "flippers". This is Legend now:- rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/the-legend-continues.htmlThe flippers have disappeared of their own accord and his rehab has been entirely due to being allowed constant movement over varied surfaces, the correct diet and controlled exercise. As far as I know - and based on Nic's constant observations on the subject - Nic no longer trims any of the rehab horses because she finds that they do a perfect job themselves if they are given constant access to varied surfaces, so that they can strengthen and re-align the damaged internal structures of their feet at their own rate. Trimming the outside of the hoof to look "balanced" simply puts strain on those damaged internal structures and can itself cause lameness or, at the very least, set the rehabilitation back. Legend was one of the worst cases Nic has had to treat. There are so many horses who face a very poor prognosis because of lameness issues - and some of Nic's rehabs would have been euthanised had it not been for the barefoot rehabilitation. If Legend can, with help but with NO trimming or remedial farriery, get his hooves functioning properly again, how many others would benefit from it? And how many others have been put down because they weren't given the chance? Dawn Perkins
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Jan 4, 2013 19:40:41 GMT 1
Having posted earlier today about Nic's blog today, which was such good news for those who may be considering barefoot - whether for lameness issues or because they would prefer their horses not to have to wear shoes, this was another piece of good news which I missed at the time. Simon Earle (to whom I have referred previously) is a racehorse trainer who, with the agreement of owners, keeps racehorses barefoot. I believe that roughly 50% of them are barefoot. "Red not Blue" is one of the horses he trains:- www.simonearleracing.com/successes.htmlThis report (posted on Sarah Braithwaite's website) shows a recent win:- simonearleracing.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/uttoxeter-another-win-for-red-not-blue.htmlHe has faced a great deal of criticism in the racing world, but he has stuck to his guns and keeps his horses out in herds on as natural a diet as possible and has had a sea-water walker, a cushioned walker and a pea shingle walker installed, in order to produce the healthiest hooves possible. What an amazing trainer. Dawn Perkins
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Jan 9, 2013 9:56:02 GMT 1
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Jan 9, 2013 16:14:42 GMT 1
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Mar 4, 2013 9:35:37 GMT 1
This will be my final post on barefoot rehabilitation because I think that anyone who is interested in taking and keeping horses barefoot will have started doing their own research on the subject long ago! From initially knowing very little about the subject, I have learnt a great deal from the modest bits of research I have done. I thought this blog from Nic which reports a blog from someone else says it all, really, especially as it follows my most recent post about this horse:- rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/word-from-new-blogger.htmlI hope you will all soon be able to enjoy some decent Spring weather and will be able to get out and about in comfort at last! Dawn Perkins
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Mar 4, 2013 11:46:34 GMT 1
P.S. I should like to thank Avril very much indeed for allowing me to witter on for so long on this subject! I know it is not for everyone and I am so grateful to have been given the chance to air the topic.
Although I shan't be posting again and am not on Facebook and only have an ancient phone, I shall still be following the MSC website as avidly as ever, having learnt more about riding and training from Avril in recent years than from any other source!
Dawn Perkins
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Post by nellie on Mar 22, 2013 18:23:19 GMT 1
Hi Dawn,
I hope I'm not tempting fate but my vet and Nic have agreed Mina can go to Rockley Farm. I'll post a bit more on her thread but I wanted to let you know as you were so kind when she went lame last year.
Helen x
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Post by Dawn Perkins on Mar 23, 2013 18:21:09 GMT 1
Hi Nellie, I am so sorry to hear that Mina has gone lame again but am delighted to know that your (very enlightened!) vet supports her going to Rockley Farm. I can't think of anywhere better - or anyone better than Nic - to give Mina the very best chance of recovery. It's interesting that she seems to have gone lame at the same time of year again and that fact may in itself provide a clue as to at least one of the factors involved. Thank you for your kind words. I have wondered at times whether tumbleweed has been blowing through my posts! You have almost certainly seen this recent blog by Nic already but, in case you haven't yet had a chance, it explains hoof deviation - and the horse's reason for growing it - really well. It may have no application in Mina's case but it's a jolly interesting read anyway! rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/flare-deviation-and-does-it-really.htmlI am keeping everything crossed for you and Mina! Very best wishes, Dawn
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Post by Dawn Perkins on May 2, 2013 8:11:30 GMT 1
Although I am no longer regularly posting on this thread, Nic Barker has recently produced some excellent blogs which may be of interest. This one is particularly relevant when considering the drive for symmetry (maybe pleasing to the eye but not much use to the horse) which so often causes soreness or even lameness. It is also relevant to human biomechanics and, again, the misplaced drive for symmetry at the expense of balance:- rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/asymmetry-is-horse-doomed.htmlOne of the comments following the blog is interesting because this person's horse is, as Nic points out, being treated from the outside in (and doesn't seem to be improving), whereas Nic treats them in a way that allows the horse to heal itself from the inside out - i.e. in a more effective way where the results are more likely to be long-lasting provided the correct diet and stimuli are provided. The improvements can begin surprisingly quickly - within weeks or even days - when the horse is left to decide for him/herself what sort of hooves he/she needs! These links are on the same theme:- rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/the-hoof-whole-hoof-and-nothing-but.htmlrockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/lessons-in-normal-from-mustangs.htmlAs I have pasted in the above links, I shall take the opportunity to also paste in this one, which really does help to explain the difference between flare and deviation. However, as Nic points out, it really doesn't matter which it is, provided you leave it well alone and let the horse decide which it is! rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/flare-deviation-and-does-it-really.htmlObviously there are many more blogs of interest and I can't include them all, so I have limited the links to those particularly concentrating on biomechanics. Dawn Perkins
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Post by Dawn Perkins on May 3, 2013 8:07:26 GMT 1
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Post by Dawn Perkins on May 4, 2013 8:13:00 GMT 1
Regarding the H&H article written by a vet (whose practice has recently referred a horse for rehab at Rockley Farm). Despite concluding that some horses work well barefoot, he still appears to support the conventional belief that TBs can't go barefoot and that barefoot horses can't do lots of roadwork!!
Anyone who has followed the Rockley Farm website or who has read my posts will know that, time and time again, Nic has successfully rehabbed TBs and that, far from being a hindrance to keeping a horse barefoot, miles and miles of roadwork are in fact one of the prerequisites! Without this stimulation (together, of course, with correct nutrition and suitable environmental conditions), the hoof cannot be expected to respond as Nature intended it to by building strong, hard growth!
One of the ex-rehab owners (sadly unsuccessful because the horse was an ex-racehorse from abroad who unfortunately had many other health issues which, in the end, could not be resolved by conventional treatments or by barefoot rehab) is an unwavering supporter of Nic and she mentions in her comments on one of the Rockley Farm blog links above that there is a barefoot TB visitor at her yard. I have lifted this comment (made on the Rockley Farm Facebook page) from the owner of that TB:-
"Mine is the TB that M's Mum mentioned as her 'visitor' yesterday - my vet and farrier both told me she couldn't go barefoot being a TB ex-racer. 9mths on and we hack across a variety of surfaces rarely bothering with boots"
It seems that most vets still have a long way to go and it is not surprising since, as I have mentioned before, barefoot management and rehabilitation is not taught at veterinary schools and most veterinary students have only ever seen cadaver feet from horses who have been shod. This means they take those feet as the definition of "normal" and do not know what truly healthy, hard-working barefoot hooves look like, i.e. with far more robust heels and frogs, hard soles and, generally, naturally shorter toes with a steeper angle of hoof growth.
Dawn Perkins
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Post by Dawn Perkins on May 4, 2013 14:40:40 GMT 1
And here is a classic example of why vets seem to believe that barefoot doesn't work and that the reason for it is work on hard, stony ground!!!!!! Who can blame owners for believing that horses can't cope barefoot when they are given advice like this from their vets?!! rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/is-it-me.htmlI have also noticed that shod horses seem to spend more time lying down and taking the weight off their hooves when the rich spring grass comes through. Dawn Perkins
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Post by Dawn Perkins on May 4, 2013 17:25:36 GMT 1
Thankfully, it seems the owner is going to carry on listening to the horse instead of this particular vet. The Rockley Farm Facebook page has more comments from other owners who were equally appalled at this vet's advice. Many of them know from experience that it is sugars and starches - particularly those in spring grass - which are the biggest enemies of successful barefoot management:- www.facebook.com/pages/Rockley-Farm/129496323778726Dawn Perkins
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Post by Dawn Perkins on May 6, 2013 17:24:12 GMT 1
With regard to the other great bar to successful barefoot management - inappropriate trimming - I noticed a comment by lyndac following this blog from Nic:- rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/beanies-8-week-update-or-stance-stride.htmlJulie Highton-Spencer's final comment at the end of that blog is also revealing. I also noticed lyndac's further comment following this blog:- rockleyfarm.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/weekend-news-and-congratulations.htmlIt is clear to see why the myth persists that many horses "can't go barefoot". If there was more understanding of the adverse effects of sugars in the diet (particularly lush spring grass) and of the highly detrimental effects of trimming to achieve "improvement" or appearance, horses would be able to get on and grow capable hooves! This extract from the first blog really does say it all:- "He has made great progress in strengthening his heels, frog and digital cushion already and its important to be patient and let him continue to improve at his own pace without setting him back by changing his foot balance faster than he can cope with." Dawn Perkins
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