Want to know more about barefooting and or booting your horse?

GoBarefoot has been invited to present at a mini expo being run by the
BENDIGO BRUMBIES Natural Horsemanship Group at their grounds, Peppercorn
Park, in Longlea Lane, Longlea, on Saturday October 29th, 2011

Trimmers from GoBarefoot will talk about transitioning horses from shoes to
barefoot, how proper corrective trimming helps horses with laminitis and
navicular, as well as demonstrating the latest selection of boots on the
market.

There will also be talks and displays from professional local horsemen and
women including David Mellor of Silversand Horsemanship, Judy McArthur -
independent saddle fitter, and Darren Lynch from Performance Horse
Dentistry.

For further info go to
http://bendigobrumbies.com/bendigo-brumbies-presents-developing-excellence-in-your-horsemanship/

Husband and wife team: Conference MC Dr Adam Richardson and Conference Co-Organiser, Marg Richardson

Australian Conference 2011…we did it!

It was a bit like having a baby. It took nine months to incubate – from the initial conception of the idea over a few too many glasses of wine, through the developmental growing stages and finally on Feb 1st it was born. Out and dressed at Melbourne University’s Veterinary School.

It was the first time my friend and colleague, Tasmanian trimmer and organiser extraordinaire, Marg Richardson & I had attempted such an ambitious event. And as usual we looked at each other part way thru, and wondered WHY we would ever have embarked on something so all-consuming.

The real reason we did it as because WE wanted to hear all the experts speak. And we wanted them to talk to each other to reconcile some of the apparent differences in their research, which are giving trimmers cause to wonder about how to trim our horses.

We had started with something relatively modest…the idea that Professor Robert Bowker of Michigan State University, was going to come to Australia to teach anatomy and physiology, and we would piggy-back on his visit and run him in a public forum.

Prof Chris Pollitt

Prof Robert Bowker, Equine Hoof Lab, Michigan State University

He agreed. Then we thought it would be good to gather together a couple more speakers to make it more of an event. In doing so, we wanted to cover a spectrum of research and thinking about the way the equine hoof functions. So we asked Dr Debra Taylor from Auburn University in Alabama. And Prof Chris Pollitt from Queensland University Vet School. They both readily agreed. So then we got brave and asked a raft of other people who have high profiles around the world in the field of hoof care. To our absolute astonishment, all but two (Pete Ramey and Cindy Sullivan of the Equine Sciences Academy) accepted. Pete and Cindy both suggested Todd Jaynes who has stepped into Pete Ramey’s shoes as a leading trim educator in the US. He too agreed to come. And so it went. We had an amazing array of people with a vast degree of knowledge about a range of aspects of equine hoof care. They included Duncan McLaughlin (Aust) who has done work under the auspices of Easycare Inc on digital thermography comparing shod and unshod and barefoot trimmed horses before and after work; Brian Hampson who has completed his PhD on the Australian desert brumbies, Carol Layton (Aust) who is an independent equine nutritionist endorsed by Dr Eleanor Kellon; Dr Simon Collins from the UK Animal Health Trust who has developed software based on MRI technology to model hoof function; Dr Kerry Ridgway – another American – who has been highly regarded in equine health internationally for many years and who spoke on forelimb asymmetry at the conference; and Dr Melanie Quick an Australian vet who showed case studies of a range of horses successfully rehabbed – one after being burnt in the bushfires, another having pedal bone rotation thru the sole in all four feet and a third which had all but amputated its hoof in a fence.

Dr Debra Taylor, Auburn University, Alabama, left, with conference co-organiser Rebecca Scott in the Pathology Lab at Melbourne Uni during a workshop on setting horses up for hoof X-Rays.

We were fortunate enough to entice all three hoof boot manufacturers to Australia – and it was a huge commitment for them coming as they did from North America pretty much straight after doing a big trade show in Denver. So we had Garrett Ford from Easycare Inc who last year showed what a barefoot and booted horse could do by winning the best managed horse award, the Haggin Cup at the Tevis 100 miler, one of THE toughest endurance events in the US. We had Karen Chaton representing Renegade Hoof Boots. Karen has probably ridden more miles in hoof boots in competition than anybody else in the world – more than 26,000 miles or over 40,000 kms! That doesn’t count training. That is her only her competition mileage! And Carole Herder and Greg Giles from Cavallo in Canada. Greg – an Australian – was one half of the pair who originally developed Old Mac boots, a business which was bought by EasyCare. Greg subsequently joined forces with Carole Herder (now his wife) and together they went on to develop Cavallo boots and a range of comfort products for horses.

Duncan McLaughlin on Digital Thermography

And by way of delegates we had visitors from Norway, Germany, New Zealand, the US and from around Australia. It is a pretty niche market. People who are passionate about horse’s hooves! Most people’s eyes glaze over when you start telling them about how the hoof functions. And so the delegates (trimmers, farriers, vets, academics, student vets and horse owners) were like pigs in mud for the entire five days with disparate groups deep in conversation over coffee before the morning sessions started, at morning and arvo tea, and at lunch. Not to mention the alcohol-fuelled dissection discussions over desert in the local Thai restaurant. They got to talk and discuss not only with each other, but with the guest presenters also, in an informal setting. As one delegate remarked: “I never imagined I’d be able to get to talk to these people, let alone meet them and have access to chat with them all in the one place at the one time!”

Prof Robert Bowker in the dissection workshop

Yesterday – quite by chance – I met a fellow trimmer having lunch in the main street of my local Victorian town (Woodend). He told me that it was the best such event he had ever been to because of the depth of data being presented and the range of knowledge on offer.

Now Marg and I are planning the next one!