About
MY STORY & EXPERIENCE
I have had a horse in my life basically since the day I was born. We lived in Nampa Idaho. My mom and dad had a horse that they boarded at a friends farm outside of town. The horses name was Buck and he was named that for a reason. He would buck anyone off except me and my dad. I was told that Buck loved me from the first introduction! One day my mom hauled Buck down to our house so he could graze in the back yard and help with the mowing. I guess even at 1 years old and barely walking I escaped out of the house and made my way to our horse. My mom was doing dishes and looked out the window into our back yard and saw me under Buck playing with his belly and laughing. My mom was terrified but I was told that Buck just watched me and stood as still as a statue!
After a few years my Mom needed to move back to Ohio because her father had passed on and she did not want her Mother to be alone. I was with out a horse and in a new place. I remember not liking that one bit. By the time I was 7 years old my mom found a barn for me to take lessons. The first lesson I cantered and the riding instructor told my mom I was quite a natural! From that day forward I knew that horses were my life!
By the time I was 8 years old I was working in the barn everyday to pay for my lessons. My mom realized my passion and love for the horses was never going to change. We started shopping around for my first horse. Our farrier had let us know of a horse that was for sale, a Buckskin that had a lot of experience. I was so excited. I love Buckskins! We went to go see the mare, her name was Missy. She was beautiful and had a perfect egg shaped star on her forehead. I loved her from the first hello. I didn’t even need to ride her to know that she was the one for me. I did ride her though and she was great, smooth as could be. Missy’s canter was like a big rocking horse and she listened to me so well. The owner was asking $1500 for her but my mom had only saved $500. My mom approached the owner about making payments. Well we got a great gift that day. The sweet lady told my mom we could have her for $500 because she saw that Missy and I really clicked and that we were a great pair! I was on cloud 9 and so very grateful! We hauled Missy that day to the barn where I worked for my lessons. I then would have to work off horse board and take care of my own horse. I was the best little barn hand, I worked very hard for my horse and with my horse.
I first started training horses for others and giving lessons when I was 10 years old. I loved sharing my knowledge that I got from my trainer and helping others to succeed with their own horses.
I now have over 24 years experience with horses and too many of my own! I have 5 horses (3 Quarter horses,1 Paso Fino and 1 Heinz 57) and 2 Shetland pony’s. I have 21 years of experience training horses and riders. I have had over 6 different personal trainers and I study, Pat Parelli, Guy McLean, Chris Cox, Clinton Anderson, Craig Cameron, Dennis Reis and many others on a consistent basis. I believe you can never know everything and the same techniques do not work on every horse. I do not use draw reins, training forks, spurs, harsh bits, etc……………Over the years I have shown in; Showmanship, Western Horsemanship, Western Pleasure, Western Riding, English Equitation, English Pleasure, Hunter Hack, Equitation Over Fences, and Contesting events. I have succeeded in all of the above disciplines and placed on top. I worked very hard with my horses and put in the time!
BECOMING A NATURAL BAREFOOT TRIMMER!
Everyone I know that has owned horses have dealt with farriers that leave their horses: sore after a trim, not moving correctly, tripping easily, hoof walls chipping shortly after the trim, thrush constantly, heel contraction that never changes, wall separation/flaring, angle differences and much more!
Well after having horses for over 20 years, training many horses, giving many lessons and so on I finally got the courage to learn to trim my horses myself! I had, had enough of dealing with horses that I could not use to give lessons or ride myself for days or weeks because my horses were too sore after being trimmed.
I contacted a great friend of mine who is a farrier who does good work and asked her if she would show me how it’s done. I bought some tools and I went out trimming horses with my friend to learn and get experience. While I was out trimming with her I saw wall separation and all the problems that most horses’ hooves have today that are domesticated. I asked a lot of questions and mostly I wanted to know why they had the issues they did. Unfortunately I got the answer of it just being normal. I was not happy with that. I knew there had to be a better way and have always believed the quote “No hoof, No horse”! I also always wondered what did the horses in the wild do and why do their hooves always look so short and perfect.
The journey then began for me full force! I was obsessed with finding that better way. I researched every source on the internet I could find. Not many telling me anything new that I didn’t already know or giving me the answers I was looking for until I found the webpage hoofrehab.com by Pete and Ivy Ramey! I read all the articles on the site and knew I needed to know more. I purchased the Under the Hoof DVDs I watched those all several times. Pete once was a farrier and felt the problems that were constant and reoccurring were not getting any better with the knowledge he had. He too knew there had to be a better way. He has dedicated many years to research of the horse in the wild, the field and more. I also study and follow other amazing barefoot trimmers. I have learned that it’s not only the trim that you apply to the hoof that makes a healthy hoof but also the diet and the amount of movement the horse gets.
The obsession still continues but not to find a better way because I have found it. I am truly obsessed with the hooves. They are the amazing foundation of each horse and what is needed the most for each horse to survive! The way to trim is what works best for each horse, their confirmation needs to be considered, the health of the hoof when you start the trim needs to be considered also, such as; is the frog thrushy ,thin and stretched forward, is the digital cushion under the frog soft and weak, is there wall separation and if so where, is the sole calloused, bumped up, thicker on one side of the hoof capsule than the other or flaky and dry? Most importantly you need to know and understand the internal structure of each hoof and what is going on with each!
There is not one uniform trim that fits the needs of every horse because of everything I have explained above. Also, everyone truly needs to know and understand that no matter the trim that is applied to your horses’ hooves, if they have a poor diet and lifestyle their hooves truly will never be 100 % healthy and strong!