If you're in W. Springfield, Massachusetts  this week, be sure to stop in at the 12th annual Equine Affaire www.equineaffaire.com  and visit with our EasyCare Representatives, Chris Freeman, Debbie Schwiebert, and Miriam Rezine. They will be happy to answer any questions and/or demonstrate our hoof boot line for you. Stop in at the Better Living Building Nov12 through Nov15, you will find EasyCare set up in Booth #58. 

There will be a host of clinics, seminars, and demonstrations to cover subjects as wide ranging as natural and alternative therapies, stable management, nutrition, and first aid techniques. Don't miss this great affaire!  

EasyCare would like to remind everyone to take a moment today to say a big thank you to all the men and women both past and present who have served our country to keep us "the land of the free and the brave." The United States currently has 170,000 men and women stationed in Iraq, 26,700 in Afghanistan and another 92,000 in other areas of the world.

If you would like information on how to help our troops you can go to www.uso.org or to www.nationalserviceresources.org.

The Star Tribune has a great article written by Jenna Ross about the decoding of a horse's DNA.

More than a decade ago, two University of Minnesota professors thought the idea of decoding a horse's DNA was  "a pipe dream."  Today, it's a paper published in the journal Science.

Profs. Jim Mickelson and Stephanie Valberg are two authors of that study and part of an international team that has spent years investigating, mapping and now sequencing the genome of the domestic horse. The discovery is being celebrated by a scientific community that says it could change how diseases in both horse and humans are diagnosed and treated. It already has, the professors say. Go here to read more.....

One of the posted comments stated...It is truly amazing how close humans are related to other creatures. We are all creatures. 99.5% identity with chimps, 53% identity with horses, 29% identity with dogs.

Listing of Topics: 

• Natural Hoofcare & Trimming
• Hoof Anatomy & Mapping Techniques
• Whole Horse Health Rehabilitation
• Lameness Rehabilitation Strategy
• Hoof Assessment, Balance, and Correction
• Learn How You Can Trim Your Own Horse

Date: Saturday November 14, 2009 

Time: 1-5 PM.

Location: 1772 South Perry Park Road, Sedalia, Colorado 80135

Clinic Fee: $35.00 for materials, reservations payable in advance

Please make check Payable to: Hoof Squad, Inc.

Mail to: Gail Snyder, 3134 Winnebago Drive, Sedalia, CO 80135

Email gailsnyder@netzero.net  for more information!

Seating is limited so call now, it's fun and informative!

Happy Trails from EasyCare!

Our studs now come in regular (3/4") and long (1"). For the bigger size boots (size 5 and up) you will need to install the longer studs due to increased sole thickness.

So don't let a little ice and snow stop  you - get out and ride!

The Easyboot Facebook Photo Contest for week #2 is underway.  We are looking for a photo that shows the perfect hoof.

The Worthy Horse

equine bodywork

with

Taraba Equine Sports Medicine Inc.

&

Heart ‘n Sole Hoof Care

Present

“Hands-on Wellness: Lameness Prevention”

November 15^th 2009, 9:30 am – 4 pm RAIN OR SHINE

Howlett Park Equestrian Center, Rolling Hills Estates California

Lecture 9:30 am - noon

• Equine bodywork and application of techniques
• Natural horse/hoof care
• Introduction to lameness, how they occur, how they can be detected & treated

Labs 1 pm - 4 pm

• Physical assessment- hands on bodywork, learn on your own horse!
• Palpation Techniques of your horse's limbs
• Transitioning the barefoot horse (hoof boot application)
• Saddle Swap, call for details!

Speakers and Presenters

Keith Taraba, DVM- Equine veterinarian specializing in sports medicine and surgery

Susie Lytal MS, CMT, CESMT- Equine bodyworker, equine biomechanist & skeletal balancing

Vanessa Taraba, MS- Equine exercise physiologist specializing in stress response

Jennifer Reinke- Natural hoof care Practitioner, Founding member of Pacific Hoof Care Professionals

Observers: Pre-Registration $40, On-site Registration $45

Attend all lectures, includes workbook

Lab Participants* includes lunch: Participate in one, two or all of them!

ALL LABS WITH YOUR HORSE, LECTURE, WORKBOOK & LUNCH $225

Lab space is VERY limited to ensure your satisfaction!

• $75 Bodywork & Saddle-fit lab with your horse, $25 without horse
• $65 “Hoof Boots Demystified” lab with your horse, $25 without horse
• $95 Veterinary lab with your horse, $30 without horse

*Lab participants must register for morning session.

We will be unable to accept participants or horses without pre-registration.

He has galloped through young girls dreams, added richness to grown women's lives, and served in war and strife.

The horse, your friend and mine.

Topics to be Covered:

Equine Nutrition, Pasture Care, Hoof Boots, Barefoot Trimming.  They will also cover Safe Horse Handling by Ethan & Lorri Zimmerman, 1* Certified Parelli Natural Horseman Instructors.

Cost:  $90.00 per participant - hands on class is limited.   Auditors are welcome - the cost is $40.00.

Location:  The Natural Horse LLC, Florence

Date:  Saturday, November 14, 2009

Time:  9 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

If interested in attending please contact Jay and Q DeHart for more information at 406-777-1256.

Please Note:  Dress appropriately for handling and trimming cadaver hooves.  Required tools; rasp, hoof knife, hoof pick and gloves.  Recommended tools; nippers and trimming chaps.

She says, "The Brandywine Creek, which actually can get quite deep and   wide, runs through my riding area.  We criss-cross at many spots.  One area which is about 10 city blocks has sand or tiny rocks so we can trot without fear of the horse tripping on a big rock."  Dawn is currently pursuing trips abroad to further educate others on barefoot hoof care. 

Thanks for sharing your photos with us Dawn!

Owner:  Human assigned responsibility for ones feeding

Grain:    Sole virtue of domestication

Crossties:  Gymnastic apparatus

Latch:  A type of puzzle

Fence:  Object in the way of good grazing 

Jumping:  An opportunity for self expression 

Hitching Rail:  Means by which to test ones strength

Horse trailer:  Mobile bear cave

EasyCare Hoof Boots:  Ahhhh...relief for my "ouchy" feet!

  

  
"I just wanted to compliment you and your company one more time. The replacement boot arrived the day before we left for our trail ride just as promised. We rode for 3 days for a total of 25 miles over creek rock, water crossings, and knee deep mud. Never once did we lose a boot, and they offered excellent protection. They were definitely easy to get on and off. Thanks to your helpful service, we were able to take my 9 year old son on his first real trail ride without any problems with his horse's tender feet."
Stacey White

Here's a great way to spend an evening or a day out in our beautiful Arizona desert! It's a family run carriage and horse back riding operation in Southwest Tucson, Arizona, run by Brad and Caroline Cowan.

Click on to their website www.cowanhorseadventures.com and learn all about it. You can head out with family or  friends and take time to see those spectacular views on horseback, or in a horse drawn all terrain carriage. Leave the driving to someone else and enjoy! You pick the start time and also choose from a variety of trails, easy and flat to mountainous and challenging. A variety of gentle horses are offered. Mount selection is based on your skill level and size. Here are a couple of pictures of Caroline and Honey sporting Easyboots and Brad on Lt Go For the Gusto. Where's your boots Brad? The weather  is great folks, so call (520) 883-5529 and make your appointment to get out on those great Sonoran Desert trails with the Cowans! Happy Trails everyone from EasyCare!

Hands on Feet

One-day Clinic on Natural Hoof Care Trimming

Saturday, October 24 and Sunday, October 25 2009

Holistic Hoof Care presents an all-day clinic to learn the basics of natural hoof care and maintenance hoof trimming for the horse owner (or anyone wanting to learn more about the what and how of barefoot hoof management). This clinic will focus on how to interpret aspects of the hoof form and health and get hands-on instruction and coaching on how to do basic hoof rasping. 

For a detailed schedule please click here.  The clinic fee is $160.00 and is due by October 16,2009.

Please send registration to:  Holistic Hoof Care - 939 Wawaset Road, Kennett Square, PA 19348.

Space is limited to 10 participants – please call or email to reserve your spot!

Clinic will be held at the Holistic Hoof Care barn at 626 N. Walnut Road, Kennett Square, PA 19348.  Please call for directions if needed. 484-868-3715 or go to www.lauraflorence@holistichoofcare.com

"I thought you'd like to see that we made it in to the Chinese Wall in the Bob Marshall Wilderness with Easyboot Epics. My one mare fits well in the size ones and we rode the whole way without losing a boot, even though we went through one real nasty bog hole. Here's a couple pictures....

I've had great luck with barefoot and boots, especially once I get the right size and type of boot for the horse"

 

Ove Lind from the Swedish Hoof School in Sweden has been making his way across the United States bringing his knowledge to horse owners, vets and practitioners through his clinics and consultations.  On September 30^th,  Ove made his way to the Central Coast of California where hoof care practitioner Sarah Wiebe of Bare Hoof Trim, Paso Robles, CA hosted him for some one on one consultations with local horse owners. 

Hoof Care Practitioner, Dealer Rep, Debbie Schwiebert from EasyCare attended a full day of watching Ove trim and critique each horse.  Ove had an eager crowd taking in his ideas and comments.  Each horse appeared quite pleased with their trims, moving off happily when done!   It was a great day of discussion and learning.  To find out more about Ove and the Swedish Hoof School be sure to visit his website.

Dr. Eric Carlson, equine surgery resident at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital, explains that there are several suspected reasons why this malformation may occur, though there is little hard scientific proof. "One reason contracted tendons might happen is due to intrauterine malpositioning, in which a mare may be carrying a foal that is a bit too large relative to its size," he explains. Other culprits may be ingestion of locoweed and hybrid Sudan grass during pregnancy, goiter, or a dominant gene mutation in the sire.

No matter what the cause, the end result is the same: a tendon that is too tight or too short for the foal's legs. Anatomically speaking, all horses have two major tendons that run directly behind their cannon bone (the large bone between the horse's knee and fetlock). They are fittingly named the superficial and the deep digital flexor tendon. Since the deep tendon attaches to a bone inside the horse's hoof, if it were to be contracted or shortened, it would cause the horse's leg to curl up beneath itself--which is exactly what happens in a case of contracted tendons.

Veterinarians can correct the deformity in many ways, but each case requires individualized treatment. Fortunately, "the prognosis for a foal born with contracted tendons is good," says Dr. Carlson. While some minor cases may not need any treatment, more severe deformities require intervention.

One of the treatment options veterinarians can try is an intravenous antibiotic. While the thought of using an antibiotic for a problem other than an infection may sound perplexing, "it is thought that the drug prevents the influx of calcium ions into the muscle fibers and brings about relaxation," explains Dr. Carlson. And relaxation is exactly what the doctor calls for if tendons are pulled so tightly that the hoof cannot touch the ground appropriately.

Other options include using toe extensions that help to change the break over point of the hoof and stretch the tendons, as well as splints or casts. In a few rare cases surgery is needed to correct the problem, but that is usually more common with the acquired deformities, not the congenital ones.

It is important to note that if a newborn foal has a difficult time walking, it will need human assistance every few hours around the clock to stand and nurse. Although Dr. Carlson knows all too well that sleeping on a straw-floored stall for a few nights with a newborn foal may not be the most comfortable bed, the reward is priceless. Watching what was once a crippled filly take her first few steps to nurse without human assistance is worth the wait--even if it does happen at two in the morning. 

Next thing you know he or she will be kicking up those bare hooves wanting to try on some new boots. Try EasyCare, we have a great selection to choose from!

"We are thrilled to have the oportunity to work with Pat Parelli to celebrate horses and help find adoptive homes for rescued horses across the country," said Dane.

Throughout 2009, the HSUS and Parelli have been traveling the country to hold Parelli Celebrations in seven different cities.  Each Celebration features an adoptable rescued horse working with Pat Parelli and his team for the three-day event, after which the horse is available for adoption.  The final 2009 U.S. Celebration will take place in Lakeland, Florida, Oct. 9-11. 

 
    
These horses are wearing Easyboot Bare boots and Easyboot Epics on their journey down the road. If you do cart driving, here is some pictures of horses successfully using boots and being barefoot and lovin' it!!!!!

Easyboot Epic hoof boots. 

As told to us by Jennifer Borchard.......

"Thought I would share some pics with you from the Horse Health Fair that Tonya Durden, Sue Laurente, Alicia Mosher and I did on September 12.

Although the turnout was low, the response to our hoofcare presentation and booth was great. We all chose a different aspect of hoofcare to talk about:

Sue talked about the components in a good hoof.

Alica talked about components of a poor hoof.

Tonya talked about boots and when and why to boot.

I talked on diet and lifestyle.

Our booth proudly displayed our Pacific Hoof Care Practitioners banner and the EasyCare banner. Our table had printouts on hoof health and care, specimens of P1, P2, P3 and navicular bone, as well as a Brumby foot. Brochures on the Nibble Nets, info on slow down feeders and Paddock Paradise, lots of books as well as several different types of EasyCare boots and brochures. People liked being able to check out those boots! We kept our info very simple and tried to present a non- denominational look at hoof and horse care with the thought that people are coming to search out info and when they are ready for what we do, they will know that we are available to help them."

  A good rider can hear his horse speak to him.

  A great rider can hear his horse whisper.

  But a bad rider won't hear his horse even if it screams at him!