4 Tips to a Happy Hoof Care Provider

I often work for new horse owners who aren't familiar with the job of a Hoof Care Provider and aren't really sure the general protocol when having one out to trim, or even things like scheduling, horse handling etc. Hoof Care is a tough job, but you can help make it easier!

Here are ways to be on your Hoof Care Providers (labelled HCP for ease from now on) list of favourite customers!

1. Be Ready 

Try and make sure you have your horse caught, as clean as possible, and ready to be worked with before your HCP arrives. In the winter, mud and rain can make for some very dirty horses.  If your horse has a blanket on that is really dirty or might hang low and get in the way, take it off. And if your horse is in heat or has some runny poop issues, a warning is appreciated before we head to the rear portion and risk various bodily fluids on our heads LOL.

While it's not necessary to have the hooves picked before hand, (we do carry hoof picks just in case! ) it does help keep our tools clean and working more efficiently, and we definitely appreciate getting the least amount of mud and other fun things all over us and our tools.

 Equine Professionals don't have the best reputation for being on time. Your HCP should contact you if things are running late so that you aren’t standing around waiting for your appointment. By being ready to go for the exact time of your appointment helps us stay on schedule all day for our other clients!

2. Be Present

This is something that sounds wishy washy but is very important for our safety.

We are relying on you to keep your horse standing as still and relaxed as possible while we work. .  There are a lot of risks involved with being a HCP, and the more personal injuries to our selves that we can prevent the better we can do our job! Horses know when you are distracted and will often take advantage of your less than present state of mind by being fidgety, rude, or nervous because they need your reassurance or attention to know they are in a safe situation.

 When there is a strange person doing odd things to their feet, some horses are old pros and don't even need a handler, others need you on the ball. What you are doing while this is happening plays a huge roll in how they behave. Many customers are so unfocused on their horse, that the horse is better behaved with no handler, than with a distracted one. When there isn't a human there who isn't paying attention, or isn't calm and confident leader, they relax and focus on the HCP and the job is done calmly and happily... point being, what you are thinking and doing on the end of that lead rope DOES make a difference.

Things like loose dogs, kids running around or distracting you, phone calls etc can all take your attention away from your horse and create tension and safety concerns for the person who happens to be attached to one of your horse's legs. There are a lot of risks involved with being a HCP, it helps us to feel safe and confident when you are present as well! 


3. Ask Questions and Listen to Our Advice

  Don't forget that you are paying us for our knowledge and expertise on the subject and we want to help you have a healthy, sound horse! So feel free to ask us questions! The other end of that however is, please be willing to follow our advice!

There are many methods, products, opinions etc out there, and you may not always agree with what we have to say, however, be willing to give it a try. We are (hopefully) basing our suggestions on experience, research and positive results and will try our best to answer your questions and solve the problems your horse may have but we can't do that if you don't follow our advice. If something doesn't work, or even better, if something does, let us know! We want to know all the hows and whys, and figure out what works best. Every horse is different, every situation is unique and what may have worked for us in the past won't always work every time so it's valuable information for us to know what does and doesn't work with the horses we are working on.

We can't help you, or your horse if you don't follow our suggestions for things like diet, topical treatments, footing, exercise, trim schedules etc. You certainly can't blame your HCP for issues within the hoof if they are making suggestions to correct or treat the issues and you do not follow those suggestions. Things like thrush, cracks, chips, laminitis/founder etc can all be treated or prevented if you follow the suggestions and guidelines set up with your HCP. Healthy hooves are a team effort! We can only do so much, you need to do the rest in between appointments.

You will never see me as happy as when I come to trim a horse, see that a customer has followed through with a plan we put together at the previous trim, and the horse has improved by leaps and bounds. There is a much happier horse and owner too!


4. Enjoy Your Horse! 

By enjoy, I mean, spend time with, train, ride and exercise!  A happy, healthy horse is one that is trained to be easily handled, is happy being worked with, and gets as much exercise as possible. Having your HCP out will be a non stressful, safe, and easy job for everyone if you have a strong bond with your horse, it understands it's job when it's hooves are being worked with, and is comfortable with it's handler and the routine. So start early with young horses so that it's an easy, stress free situation.

Hooves are strongest when they get a lot of exercise, so by all means, exercise your horse! Ride, drive, take it for walks, liberty work, etc or just make sure it has as much space as possible to forge strong, healthy hooves through movement. The concussion, twisting and turning within the hoof capsule, and various surfaces abrading the hoof all around is the foundation of healthy frogs, lateral cartilages and digital cushions, as well as sole depth/concavity, strong lamina connections and callus. Have your horse living and moving a lot on hard, dry and abrasive surfaces like sand, gravel, rock etc (within your horse's comfort level, to be determined by you and your HCP), as much as possible, even just a gravel patch in your paddock can create a ton of positive change in your horse's feet (another topic for another blog post I guess). Above all, exercise is good for the whole horse, so (obviously special circumstances excluded), encourage as much movement as possible.

The stronger and healthier the hooves, the more enjoyable our jobs are, because we are constantly working with happy healthy horses!

Of course there are always exceptions to every rule,special situations that these tips may not apply to,  and we can't always be perfect, but use these 4 tips and you will have one very happy horse and Hoof Care Provider alike!