Archive for January 2017

On the Hay Trail

Horses need free-choice grass or grass hay 24/7. And they need movement around the clock. It’s in their genetics. So we make sure our guy and gals have fresh grass and/or Bermuda grass hay (quantities of each dependent upon the time of year) around the calendar and around the clock. After every feeding, morning and evening, the hay goes into the Gator and gets distributed in what we call a hay trail, small piles strung out across the pasture, where the horses can play musical hay piles to their hearts’ content. During the winter, Read More→

10 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Barefoot Trimmer

Taking your horse barefoot is more than just pulling his or her shoes. If your horse doesn’t move 8-20 miles a day on the hard dirt and rocks of the American west where the horse evolved for millions of years, your task becomes: to replicate what the horse would be doing for himself if he did live in the wild of the American west.

When we lived in the high desert of southern California and our horses were moving at least 8-10 miles a day they were almost taking care of their own feet. Not quite, but almost. They were trimmed every eight weeks and it was generally just a “maintenance” trim. Especially during the winter when most of their protein was going to their winter coats.

Mother Nature is growing that hoof to be able to deal with the wear and tear of 8-20 miles a day on that American western terrain, so if the horses are living in middle Tennessee, where we are now (or anywhere other than the American west actually) they need assistance (trimming) to reach that level of wear and tear they would be getting in the American west. Because Mother Nature doesn’t know they’re living in middle Tennessee. She prepared them genetically for the American west. Read More→