Small Blurb on Founder

As I continue to trim our horses here at the farm and complete trims for clients I am beginning to realize how little the average person in the horse world knows about their horse's feet. Today due in large part to the snow coming down and the general cold outside I am going to pick on founder.

Founder is by definition the weakening of the laminae structures causing the coffin bone which would normally sit parallel to the ground, to tip forward. This change in angle can go unnoticed until something in the metabolism of the horse changes (toxins, overfeeding of sugars/ starches for example grain). The laminae become inflamed and are weakened. This change causes the coffin bone to drop to an even steeper angle and sometimes in severe cases protrude through the sole. The horse will experience severe pain, difficulty walking and overall stiffness.

When a horse/ pony founders, often the heels are too high as seen in the photo here. These high heels are contributing to the problem, while the bars are preventing the foot from opening. This foot is essentially suffocating, very little blood is flowing in and out. Note the differences in the frogs between the two feet. The upper photo is actually a healthy foot with a full sturdy frog, while in the lower photo the frog is atrophied, and soft. This pony's founder was actually caused by a lack of movement and an influx of rich grains. While founder is often blamed on the metabolic stress that triggers it, it is often the trim that is received prior to the stress that is the root of the issue.

In my opinion the trim should be the first thing we are looking to if we are aiming to solve the hoof issues that the horse world is experiencing. Through work in the equine community I have discovered that 9 times out of 10 the issues that cause us the most distress are often caused by discrepancies between the trim the horse needs and the trim the horse is receiving from the hoof care professional. Not all trims are created equally!! It is the responsibility of the owner to do the research and investigate the type of trim and credentials of the professional.

In the mean time we should all continue working towards healthy feet will have to develop our skills and knowledge accordingly to provide the best trim possible for the horses under our care. I hope you found this little blurb helpful. Best of luck in your journey to happy healthy hooves, your horses will thanks you for it!!!

Trimming for Tomorrow

~Marie~

Winter 2009-2010

As we wound down to a lower gear late in the fall, the horses earned some well deserved time off . Some of our students were lucky enough to get their first horses, a process that we were happy to be a part of. We found Johanna a lovely little Halflinger mare named Serena, who is well versed with her Natural Horemanship games. The two of them hit it off right away, and it was worth the drive to go and see her. Serena's previous owner was thrilled to have her go to a N.H. home. Marissa fell in love with a beautiful black Canadian mare Fancy, who had no previous N.H. experience, but is one of those been there done that horses. It was so exciting to go through the process of helping these girls find their perfect partners. The girls continue to have Kate coaching them with their own horses.

In December, it was time to get out in the community and start promoting our Spring 2010 Program. What beter way than to enter the parade in Barry's Bay, where we decorated the truck in a western theme. Trinket, Phoenix and Minuet joined in the parade with their riders too. Our efforts won us an honorable mention and a nice little cheque. We had so much fun that we decided to enter the parade in Killaloe too.

January 15th we attended the morning session of a playday at Tabitha's, and went home very inspired. They day was so perfect we came home and played with our horses in the afternoon!

As the winter progresses, things are fairly quiet here on the farm. Kate and Marie continue to see clients in the valley and beyond, and are quite happy with the temperatures as they have been reasonable. But, Oh the things we will be able to do when we get an indoor arena!