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Does your horse suffer from
back pain, stiffness when working
on different reins, or difficulty
tracking up? Does your horse
stumble frequently, have a shorter
stride than should be expected or show a reluctance to stride out downhill? Does your horse stand toe in,
toe out, camped out,
have a broken hoof/pastern axis or cracks and flairs in the hoof wall?
Does your horse have behaviour problems such as putting in a buck as part
of canter transitions or not work as willingly as you would like.
Does your horse have obvious area’s of muscle tension or over developed
muscles in some areas, a poor top
line despite work, hollows behind
the withers, or a tendency to
‘sit’ on a hay net or wall in the stable. All of these problems and others beside can be
caused by unbalanced hooves. Some
of the problems result from long toes or high heels, or an imbalance between the inside and outside of a hoof.
Others are signs of pain within the hooves. Whatever work we ask of our horse,
from happy hacker to show pony or 100 mile endurance events,
balanced hooves are essential. If
a horse is suffering from discomfort or pain in one or more hooves it will
normally try to compensate by altering how it moves.
The resulting stresses on joints and muscles will lead to injury or a
reduced working life in the majority of cases. During
this one day course designed for horse owners but appropriate for riding
instructors or anyone working in the equine industry we will look at :- Ø
How to assess the balance of a
horses hooves. Ø
How to assess the shape of a horses
hoof Ø
What a healthy hoof looks like. Ø
How to assess the confirmation and
muscle development of a horse in relationship to its hoof form. Ø
How a healthy hoof functions. Jillina Gardiner trained with the European Centre for Hoof Orthopaedics for 2 years to achieve certification as an equine hoof care professional in 2002. She works with equine physiotherapists, vets and horse owners in South Wales and South West England trimming performance, working and lame horses and ponies. Fee. £100 including refreshments and lunch. This course is eligable for a Lantra grant providing a 50% subsidy for qualifying individuals. Go to www.Lantra.co.uk for further details. |
For more information Contact HolisticFarm@aol.com |