Balanced and Barefoot

09/26/2025

The Body's Connection to the Hoof

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in hoof rehab is that the hooves never exist in isolation. We can trim, balance, and protect the feet all we want, but if the horse’s body isn’t healthy, the feet will always tell us.

Sometimes, improving the hooves truly does improve the whole horse. Better movement leads to stronger muscles, improved circulation, and reduced strain. But the opposite is also true: if we don’t address systemic health, with considering things like nutrition, metabolic balance, inflammation, or even pain elsewhere in the body, the feet will never fully heal, no matter how skilled the trim.

The truth is simple: fix the body, and the feet will typically follow. Ignore the body, and the feet won’t hold.

Hoof care is never just about the trim. It’s about seeing the whole horse.

A huge shout out and thank you to SURE FOOT Equine for sponsoring our SOLD OUT Humble Hoof Podiatry Clinic happening at the end of October! Sure Foot Balance pads help us so much here at our rehab facility to get horses to feel better in their body and improve their hoof health, and it fits in perfectly with our podiatry clinic topics of how the body affects the feet and vice versa. While our in-person attendance is sold out, we do have video recording options available to still see the lectures and sessions by our amazing clinicians.

09/26/2025

Every year around fall, many horse owners, hoofcare providers, and veterinarians see an uptick in laminitis cases. Why might this be happening, and what can we do to prevent this?

I reached back out to Dr. Eleanor Kellon, Dr. Fran Rowe, and Dr. Ana Mesa to chat with me about laminitis, how sugars in the grass affect hooves, what the fall means for PPID horses, and more.

You can hear the entire conversation on any podcast app under "The Humble Hoof," or directly at this link: https://thehumblehoof.com/2025/09/26/fall-laminitis/

If you're interested in laminitis research and prevention, you can register for the ECIR No Laminitis Conference taking place in October 2025 at nolaminitis.org !

(Side note: the horse in this photo was successfully rehabbed back to full soundness and even light riding, despite being in her 20s with having lost 1/4 of her coffin bone by the time we met her!).

A special thank you to Mad Barn for sponsoring our sold out Podiatry Clinic next month! Use the code "thehumblehoof" to get 5% off your first order at madbarn.com

Thank you to our amazing sponsors:

Cavallo Hoof Boots is offering 15% off a pair of Trek hoof boots at cavallo-inc.com with code HRN

A special shout out to Grid as New, Mud Control Grids – they are a game changer for any mud issues, big or small! – mudcontrolgrids.com

Also be sure to check out Hay Boss Feeders – haybossfeeders.com – for all your slow-feeding needs. I get my Hay Boss feeders from Mountain Lane Farm in NH!

07/21/2025

05/24/2025

We all have seen the horses that have mismatched feet. I've even heard people say "wow, it looks like the farrier trimmed the feet completely differently!" as if the high/low appearance came from the trim or shoeing alone. I've even seen that appearance blamed for lameness. But the majority of the time, mismatched or "high/low" hooves are a symptom of something going on the body.

A few weeks ago, I started interviewing for a series of "case study success stories," of hoof rehab cases where things went right. Because we all need a little hope now and then! For this week's podcast episode, I reached out to Rachel Thompson, a hoofcare provider in Georgia, about her interesting journey with a high/low case. We chatted about all the diagnostics and approaches she tried, what they ended up finding in their investigation, and how the horse is doing now.

You can hear the entire conversation on any podcast app under "The Humble Hoof," or directly at this link: https://thehumblehoof.com/2025/05/23/case-study-high-low-and-not-quite-right/

Thank you to our amazing sponsors:

Cavallo Hoof Boots is offering 15% off a pair of Trek hoof boots at cavallo-inc.com with code HRN

A special shout out to Grid as New, Mud Control Grids – they are a game changer for any mud issues, big or small! – mudcontrolgrids.com

Also be sure to check out HayBoss Feeders – haybossfeeders.com – for all your slow-feeding needs. I get my Hay Boss feeders from Mountain Lane Farm in NH!

05/24/2025

If you work your horse on hard dry ground, they will be acclimated to hard dry ground.
If you work your horse on uneven ground, they will be acclimated to uneven ground.

If your horse lives in a stall and only works on perfectly manicured, cushy, perfect depth, perfect moisture content footing, they are not acclimated to anything else.

Horses can be ridden on the road if slowly built up to it.
Horses can and should be worked on hills and natural terrain.

03/13/2025

Well put and definitely worth being angry about!



Navicular Rehab and Hoof Adaptability

Looking at these photos, which are of the SAME FOOT by the way, you think I’d be ecstatic with the change in the back half of the foot (and corresponding progress to soundness for this horse).

But to be honest, I almost get a little angry.

I get angry that so many navicular cases like this case are given up on or told to be euthanized just because they have such a weak foot, without attempting to strengthen it or take the time to grow in a healthier hoof.

I get angry that the navicular bone damage or DDFT/collateral ligament/other soft tissue damage is blamed for lameness, without the health of the frog or hoof capsule taken into account.

I get angry that people constantly blame genetics or conformation for things like low heels, long toes, thin soles.

I get angry that people say that the digital cushion and back half of the foot “can’t improve” once it has atrophied.

I look at these photos and see this beautiful gelding trotting by soundly, rehabbed back to ridden work last year walk/trot/canter after so many gave up on him, and want to scream it from the rooftops: diet and movement can mean the difference between crummy feet and rockcrunching feet, proper hoof rehab can mean the difference between, quite literally, life and death.

That’s my drama post for the day.

Photos both show the same untrimmed foot mid-cycle (first was after shoe pull, before hoof rehab), which was the previously lame foot on a navicular case with bone damage and corresponding soft tissue damage, as well as other body-wide compensations. Apologies for the dirty mud season foot 🙃

(If you want to learn more about how we rehab navicular cases, I have an entire ebook on it here - print copy is sold out and on backorder currently) - https://thehumblehoof.com/product/navigating-navicular-disease-an-optimistic-guide-for-a-pessimistic-diagnosis-ebook/

02/28/2025

Another great episode/conversation!

We all know the phrase "No Hoof, No Horse." If a horse has poor quality feet that lead to lameness issues, the results can be career-ending. But is it all up to chance? Do we just hope we bought a horse that has "good genetics" and leave it up to fate? Or are there things we can do as owners to ensure that we are doing all we can to help our horses grow healthy feet?

Dr. Priska Darani, the Director of Research and nutritionist at Mad Barn, and Dr. Fran Rowe, veterinarian and nutritionist at Mad Barn, discuss nutrition and the hoof, dietary help for winter laminitis, and more.

You can hear the entire conversation on your favorite podcast app under "The Humble Hoof," or directly at this link: https://thehumblehoof.com/2025/02/28/equine-diet-for-healthy-hooves/

For more information, see madbarn.com; use code “thehumblehoof” for 5% off your first order.

Thank you to our amazing sponsors:

Cavallo Hoof Boots is offering 15% off a pair of Trek hoof boots at cavallo-inc.com with code HRN

A special shout out to Grid as New, Mud Control Grids – they are a game changer for any mud issues, big or small! – mudcontrolgrids.com

Also be sure to check out HayBoss Feeders – haybossfeeders.com – for all your slow-feeding needs. I get my Hay Boss feeders from Mountain Lane Farm in NH!

02/09/2025

This sweet rescued horse got a much needed trim in the snow. Needless to say he's a lot more comfortable now. 

01/11/2025

This pony has come a long way with frequent trims. He is much more comfortable in his "new" feet.

09/09/2024

I love fall in every way except for this.