Saturday, December 12, 2009

Basic Barefoot Trimming DVD progress



Just an update on how we are doing on the DVD.  The packaging is being developed and the title of the DVD is currently:

Discovering Your Horse's Natural Hoof.
Learn to Trim Your Barefoot Horses.

You will be able to purchase the DVD through the Rainier Equine Hoof Recovery Center website.  The original site has been replaced by one I'm working on myself and is still under construction.

And of course, all proceeds from the DVD sales go to the REHRC non-profit i.e. hay for the horses we are rehabbing.'

I'm hoping that we'll be distributing the DVD this Spring.  Just like natural hoofcare, it's a process!  But don't give up...it's just a very busy time of year.

Thanks!
Pat

8 comments:

restoration42 said...

Looking forward to this.

sahara4d said...

Hi Pat, will you have anything about trimming mules and donkeys in your DVD? I ask because I have a mini donkey that had very over grown feet with a lot of white line stretching that I have been working on getting back to normal. I had a hard time finding good pics and info about the differences in the makeup of the different hooves. Looking forward to seeing the DVD. Desiree

Pat said...

Sarah, We haven't filmed any donkey or mule trimming...yet. We're not done yet though and that is something we can consider.

I wonder if we should do a completely separate DVD for that, but I don't know that I'd sell many copies. It's pretty expensive to get one of these done.

But when I start trimming donks/mules whose hooves have gotten long and the white line stretched I trim into that stretched white line and then I look at the outside of the hoof and rasp the to back to the healthiest hoofwall angle that is growing out. As close as possible before I get past the inside of the white line.

It takes time to grow out that healthiest angle, but in overgrown situations, I trim every 2 weeks.

Their heels will often get very high also, which needs to be addressed as well.

Donkey hooves were designed for use on very rugged terrain, so they hold up to wear better than horse hooves. Most mules are born with donkey hooves, rather than horse hooves.

So rather than growing and flaring and breaking off, the heels get very high and the toes long and the hooves will sort of corkscrew around rather than break off.

I've seen very neglected donkey feet get so long that they actually twist around with the toe pointing toward the tail. Very sad and I can't imagine what that does to the coffin bone. An x-ray would have been good in that case. But usually if owners are that neglectful they are not going to pay for something like x-rays.

Can you fix a situation like that? Sometimes you can if the coffin bone is so remodeled that the donkey is in pain.

Thank you for your comment. Great idea and I wish we would have thought of it while we were doing the bulk of the filming.

If you want to email pictures to me, of your donkey's feet, I'll be happy to help you with them as much as I can. patslark@fairpoint.net

Pat

sahara4d said...

Thanks Pat. I'll try to get some pics soon. He's come a long way and I think that we are almost to the point that we need to be. I'm sure we would have been there sooner but I didn't keep to a tight trimming schedule and at first I wasn't sure how much to take off...didn't want to hurt him. A friend that is a barefoot trimmer helped guide me a time or two. The more info I can get the better trimmer I become. Desiree

Solely Equine said...

Hi Pat, I was just talking with my cousin the other day saying someone should suggest a DVD on donkey and mule trimming. i worked on my first 2 mini donkeys a week ago, their hooves are sooo much different I had no idea. I had forgotten you were working on DVD's too, we were going to write to the Pete Ramey camp and suggest that for his That's My Horse series. It's something I would buy for sure.

Pat said...

You know what guys. I'm not sure, since we are basically done filming, if I can add trimming a mule or donkey to the video. I'll see what the production crew thinks about it.
But I have a donkey and mule I'm going to be trimming soon and I'll take pics and do some describing of the trim and add a post here.

Pat

sahara4d said...

A post with donkey and mule feet would be great! It would be hard to add to the video...I'm sure that all of you want to complete it. I'll be trimming my donkey (Charlie) this weekend. I'll get some pics to send to you to see what you think. Happy Holidays to all! Desiree

Pat said...

Donkey trim added!