The Barefoot Blacksmith ® Clinics Programme
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SOUND HORSES..............................................................NATURALLY
Advanced Hoof Trimming Workshop
This workshop aims to not only refresh and consolidate your basic maintenance trimming, but also to take your hoof management knowledge and skills to the next level, exploring both the subtleties and variations in equine hoof balance. We aim to help you to solve any problems you may be having - either with your horse handling / tool skills / trimming or your horse's progression as a barefoot mount. We will also update you with recent developments in the continuing evolution of equine hoof care.
Pre-requisite: Previous attendance at our Standard Workshop.
ADVANCED WORKSHOP SUMMARY >>
Learn How to Maintain Healthy Hooves - Hoof Management Workshops
But why learn to maintain your horse's feet ?
Trimming horses' feet is hard work. Why not leave it to the professionals?
Horses' feet evolved over millions of years in a harsh regime that had them constantly abraded by many miles of movement over rough ground. Maintenance trimming (a little trim every 2-3 weeks) mimics the natural situation and is undoubtedly the ultimate hoofcare for your horse.
The most practical and economical way for horse owners to achieve a maintenance regime with their horse is to undertake the trimming work themselves.
Even if you ultimately have no desire or are physically unable to trim your own horse's feet, attending one of our workshops will at the very least show you what healthy feet are and why it is so important for your horse to have them. You will then be able to make informed decisions about your horse's hoofcare.
If you don't know the basics of equine orthopaedics, how can you possibly know if your horse is receiving the right treatment?
..and not forgetting that there are always those little emergencies that call
for a rasp or a loop knife!
How
can we possibly teach hoof balance at a short workshop?
I have had to labor half my working life up
till now to "master" the farriery trade. This is because hoof balance taught
within traditional parameters is subjective (meaning learning that is based
on an interpretation of facts based on an individuals own partial viewpoint).
Subjective learning is wide open to trial and error.
The barefoot 'pioneers' - however - developed parameters that are tightly
linked to functional anatomy and this makes hoof balance objective (meaning
learning that is an impartial transcription of facts).
Maintenance trimming basics are now easy to learn, because the basics can be
taught with a recipe that encompasses a set of parameters which are tightly
linked to landmarks visible and measureable (to the trained eye) on the exterior
of the hoof capsule. It takes the guess work right out of the job.
The basic recipe is easily 'tweaked' to cater for individual variation.
Please note - we definitely do not teach or prescribe a 'one size fits all'
recipe.
Why choose our workshops?
There are plenty of players in the marketplace,
so why choose our workshops?
Not only are we well trained in functional anatomy and equine bio-mechanics,
but we are out there at the 'coal face', down under horses and practicing what
we teach. We have years of experience with barefooting and we know what works
and what doesn't, especially in Australian conditions.
In addition, we are fully aware of safety in the workplace - we only teach safe
methods at our workshops.
Please note that our workshops are tailored for owner trimmers and are in no
way designed to produce 'experts' and this is made very clear from the
outset. Whilst it is easy to reduce basic hoof trimming principles down to an
easy to learn recipe, there is a huge amount of variation between horses. It
takes many hours of learning as an 'understudy' to gain the necessary experience
to develop the knowledge of how to trim correctly in all situations.
For those who have more than just a passing interest and want to turn hoof trimming
into a career, our workshops are just the start. Commencing in 2008 will be
a new course that aims to take equine hoof trimming up to a new level: the Diploma
of Equine
Podiotherapy.
Standard One Day Trimming Workshop with
The Barefoot Blacksmith (scroll down for dates)
An intensive one day workshop that is informative and hands on. Learn how to maintain your own horse's hooves yourself or just come along to learn the science of healthy feet so you can make informed decisions about your horse's hoofcare. Workshop emphasis is on safety, ergonomics and how to make a hard job easier. Tools, aprons and hoof stands are provided on the day. Find out how to trim your horses' feet from a master farrier who's been "down under" horses full time for 20 years.
STANDARD WORKSHOP SUMMARY >>
