Grand kids!

I just wanted to show you my cute grandkids!

Celebrate The Horse Update.

The event at Puyallup Fairgrounds went pretty well. My buddy, Kim, helped me all weekend (she really came threw for me, Thanks Kim!) and we took the two little mules, Mini Mouse who is on my website and Trudy. They were a hit! Not many mini mules around I suspect.

The turn out was a bit disappointing, but I was glad there weren’t very many people at my presentations, especially on Saturday!

I blocked! Which I blamed it on a lack of sleep the night before. I was awake most the night unable to stop thinking of all the stuff I wanted to say about Natural Hoof Care at the presenation the next day! Then, when the time came, I could not bring a thing I wanted to say to the surface. Panic!

One very kind man began asking me questions. He must felt sorry for me and tried to bail me out. I made a point to find him later and thank him, but I didn’t see him after that. If he should read this, “Thank you so much!”

Sunday’s presentation was better. I was rested, relaxed, prepared, and had my partially thawed cadaver hoof (those always get the crowd) and about half as many people showed up!

The stage was a few rubber mats with some light fence panels around. We turned the mules loose in there as a distraction. The top rail was right at my eye level. So I had to either duck down to peer out at the folks in the folding chairs in front of me, or stand on my tip-toes and peek over the top rail at them. It wasn’t a very comfortable set up.

After my presentation on Sunday, I performed a trim on a pretty Gypsy Vanner mare named Cloud. That was fun!

We talked to lots of nice folks about natural hoof care and I think some were actually interested in getting and/or keeping their horses out of shoes. A few of my customers stopped by and several other hoofcare practitioners, and it was really good to see them all.

At the end of the weekend, we packed up and on the way out, Kim and I sashayed past the Fancy Friesian people with our 2 little mules in tow. “Don’t be jealous of our mules.” I called out over my shoulder. But you know they were. (Smile!)

See you next year at...

Neenah says:

Horses are born skeptics, cowards, claustrophobics and panicaholics - by nature and varying degrees.

Humans can help us become calm, smart, brave, athletic, willing…partners

She got that from Pat Parelli. She's a bit of a skeptic and a coward, but she's athletic and quickly becoming calm, smart, brave,and we'll see about the "willing partner" later.

New Baby Pictures

Neenah - one week old today!

She likes people, is very curious about everything including water, likes to play with the dog, and enjoys lots of good scratches!

New Baby - Neenah

(Missy last summer. She had a secret!)

Saturday morning, May 24, 2008 at around 2am, our quarter horse mare, now 20 years old, gave birth to a pretty Azteca filly we named Neenah.

(Neenah - about 6 hours old)

Missy has been in our family since she was 7 years old. She has always been a sweet, steadfast and compliant horse. She had one foal about nine years ago. Her son, Danny, is a pretty quarter horse, and he is a bit bent that this new little creature has claimed his mother’s complete adoration.


(Diamond Dan! Missy first born, now 9 years old. He's a tank of a horse.)

Neenah arrived on one of the few sunny days we’ve experienced this year and even though she’s only a day old, the story of how she came to be is an unusual one.

It started with an unexpected phone call from Dennis and Ginger Vosburg, owners of Rainey Valley Farm (http://www.raineyvalleyfarm.com )

I was resting after a long day of trimming horses, the phone rang and a wrestling match with the recliner ensued. Dennis Vosburg briefly described the condition that their mare had found herself in after a long battle with a bone infection in her right fore leg caused by a small puncture wound. Their mare, Zamora, was a beautiful Lusitano imported from Brazil.

The Vosburgs took her to the Oregon State University Equine Medical Center. It took months and massive doses of antibiotics to cure the infection, however, during that time, her opposite foreleg had been encumbered with the extra weight her infected leg could not support. Zamora is a large mare and had been in foal all the while to the Vosburg’s beautiful Lusitano Stallion, Saphiro.

(Shaphiro, the sire to Z's foal. He's very regal.)

So even though the wound to her right leg eventually healed, severe mechanical founder set in to her other front hoof. The race horse, Barbaro was afflicted with the identical calamity and at around the same time. After hearing reports about his condition, I thought to myself, if he survives what they are doing to him, it will be a miracle. Sadly, he didn’t survive.

When Zamora’s problems began, the Vosburgs’s had started building a large barn/arena on their property. Nearly everything in their lives had come to a halt and their attention and finances were redirected toward their attempts to save Zamora’s life and the life of her foal.

By the time Dennis contacted me, their financial commitment was topping out at $25,000. He explained that the last option suggested to them was to put Zamora down and perform a C-section for the foal, whose odds of making it, especially after the large doses of antibiotics Zamora had received, were not favorable, but worth a try.

After hearing Dennis out, we made an appointment. I was excited at the prospect of saving this mare’s life when “experts” in their field were not doing well with the race horse worth millions.

My excitement didn't last however, as a short time later, a second call from Dennis came. He needed to cancel our appointment due to a new development. Zamora’s coffin bone had penetrated the sole and they were told that was the end. But giving up isn’t in my nature, nor I soon discovered, were the Vosburgs ready to give up, especially after having come this far.

I turned into the Vosburg’s driveway on a dreary day and slowly passed by the building site for their new equine facility. Tall wooden posts supporting nothing pointed toward the cloudy sky, and the heavy equipment had long been parked. I didn’t allow myself to believe this was a sign of what was to come.

Within minutes of meeting me, Zamora decided that I was not one to be trusted. I figured working with her hooves wasn’t going be a completely painless process -- for me. My first visit involved evaluating her hoof, and watching the careful treatment and bandaging procedure that Dennis and Ginger had been performing on their mare’s hoof on nearly a daily basis for months.

(Zamora, Dennis and Ginger. Me, keeping my distance. Z did not like me much. Probably because I referred to her as "Z.")

It became clear that Zamora would have liked to send me into the rafters, but she was patient with Dennis and Ginger - as patient as this spunky mare could be. And that, I felt, is what had kept her alive this long, pure irrepressible spunk! As well as the baby she was carrying inside her. A mare’s will to protect her foal is stronger than just about anything.

On one of my following visits, we worked with their veterinarian to resection a portion of Zamora’s hoofwall below an area of prolapsed coronary band to relieve the pressure on her soft tissue which was oozing over her hoofwall. Then she was completely sedated so all her hooves could receive a quick and dirty, but desperately needed trim and so I could survive the procedure.

(Zamora's hoof prior to the resection. )

That procedure, along with the Vosburg’s patient ministrations, is what saved Zamora. She was one tough mare to endure months of stall rest, mega-doses of antiboitics, pregnancy and finally birth. Her first born - beautiful buckskin filly, was every bit as tenacious as her mother.

(The miracle filly - Ciarra R)

Zamora survived her long ordeal and is now raising her second foal. But during our visits, I got to know the two stallions, who were in the same barn with Zamora and had been diligently watching over her and the humans who tended her so compassionately. Navarano was their recently acquired stallion – a black Andalusion beauty!

(Neenah's sire - Navarano. He's a fancy boy)

On one of my last visits, when we were all feeling some relief about Zamora’s condition, and after she had just bit me on my arm (which left one hell of a bruise, but was her way of saying thanks, I’m sure.) Dennis announced that he had been testing Navarano’s semen and was excited to discover that they had nothing to worry about in the “potency” department!

But there he was with a few extra vials of this extraordinary stallion’s semen and no uterus handy to put it in. A smile passed between Dennis and Ginger and they both looked at me and asked if I had a mare at home who might be in season.

Well, one coincidence led to another and Missy was artificially inseminated. What I didn’t know at the time was that a crossing a Quarter Horse with an Andalusion resulted with an Azteca. Now I had some research to do!

At her first pregnancy check, however, we learned that the AI did not take. I was disappointed, but realistically we didn’t need yet another horse. Our pasture was filled with rescues!

Months passed and although it was a long cold, rainy, muddy winter and most of my horses dropped much of their summertime fat, Missy didn’t. Her belly was getting larger every month until finally my suspicious nature got the best of me and I wondered if she might actually be pregnant after all.

So about six weeks ago, a second check was done and Missy was in-foal! THAT was an exciting moment!

Even though we didn’t have a long wait for her baby, the waiting was still tough. Thank you Dennis and Ginger, and Zamora, and Navarano and especially Missy!

Only a few hours old and she already knows rocks are good for the feet!


Missy and Neenah!
(That predator's name is Lucy.)

Progress on the Parelli Play Lot

Some of you know that Rich and I started working on, what we call the Parelli Play Lot, a couple years ago. Well, it’s been slowly coming along as we work around weather, time, energy and resources (money). If we could have earned $5 for every rock we picked up, we could pay off our mortgage.

We have all the parts and pieces to build an exact duplicate of a Parelli carwash, as well as a collection of old tractor tires to build pedestals and other obstacles, and some logs.

One large area will be the arena at the road end of the field. There may a water fountain in the pond, we’ll have to see how that goes. And today we purchased a picnic table at Costco!

We’re excited. It should be nearly done by mid-summer! I hope you can come and play!

Tilling the Weeds


The horses are a great help


Bulldozing the pond


Rocks for the pond


Cortez the Pond Turtle that we picked up on Cortez, Colorado on our way home from the 2007 PNH conference


The Sequoia Tree 2007


Rich mowing the field today!

Amado - 11 year old QH gelding.

Amado’s owner called about 6 months ago with his story. My interest was piqued within moments of answering the phone. “…he had been named Parelli when he was rescued at the feedlot…he is shod with very different, very expensive shoes…advised he would need to wear them for the rest of his life…”Loved the name! Had to see the shoes! Uh, for the rest of his life? Let’s just see about that!
Larry, his owner, told me Parelli’s name had been changed to Amado when they got him, which is Spanish for beloved. In his case, this name truly fits this horse.We don't have a complete history on Amado’s, but as best as we know, he’d been with several owners. All, I’m told, cared about him very much. He’s had many hours of training, but when he was 5 years old, he developed lameness and was eventually labeled navicular.As with most young horses going into work, shoes are applied, however, in Amado's case, it's unknown whether a competent or incompetent shoeing job was done. In my opinion, his shoes and the application of them are what started Amado down this path and eventually sent him, (and many other horses in his similar situation) to death's door.After years of trying to restore sound hooves in him with corrective shoeing, he could not walk and was sent to the feedlot for slaughter. That, sadly, is a very common scenario for many horses. Almost as many horses are put down due to hoof issues as all other causes of equine death combined.


(Amado before deshoing)

Amado was rescued from the feed lot by an organization called SAFE. “Save a Forgotten Equine.” He lived in foster care and was put into a natural balanced type of shoeing system that helped him move around again. Although, a corrective boot, such as the Soft-ride Comfort Boots, likely would have accomplished the same goal. Every shoeing cost about the same as one pair of those boots.

Amado shoes were very expensive and he became so difficult for his farrier’s that the last two refused to return and not many farriers are familiar with applying this type of shoe.

Larry’s options for his horse were becoming limited. That when he contacted me.The shoes, which saved his life, also came with a price. His frogs were so over-protected they had simply been rotting away. The entire hoof was taken out of function, other than weight-bearing.

Larry, advised me that Amado didn’t move around much. He spent most of his time standing.That was apparent in his body condition. He seemed to hold himself together with strained muscles.



While I’ve known him, Amado has been very sweet and cooperative. Definitely not dangerous, but then I’m not nailing unorthodox shoes onto his sensitive hooves either.

THE SHOES
Amados rehab shoes. These shoes are what actually helped Amado begin to move comfortably. There was quite a smell of rotting tissue upon removing them.




Before and After First Trim

As you can see from the photos above, Amado’s soles had generated a massive amount of dense tissue. The walls were long, so the sole found a way to keep up with the wall growth. His heels were extremely tender and his frogs were almost non-existent.

After deshoing, as with any navicular horse, he was definitely stabbing his toe with each step. His heels couldn’t take the pressure of a proper heel first landing. He didn’t seem to be in pain as much as just feeling discomfort and protective of his heels.

After a few trims, the reports on Amado were that he was running and bucking and even jumping small obstacles.

FIFTH TRIM
By his 5th trim appointment, his hooves were landing flat as opposed to toe-first, and that dense packed-in sole material had finally let go and sloughed. He was moving so much better and his body didn’t exhibit the tense muscling that I saw originally.

SIXTH TRIM
By the 6th trim, which I term the “magic trim” trim, I could see a dramatic improvement of his frog development and sole concavity. We still have to continue shortening the toes and there is still some white line separation, but that will self correct as he becomes sound again and is landing heel first.

So, here is a lovely gelding who was destined for dog food because of his hooves. That is just about as wrong as it can get for a horse. I’m sure if his owner who lost hope and sent him to be slaughtered could see him now, he wouldn’t believe he is the same horse.
These horses desperately need owners, farriers and veterinarians to at least take a look at the rehabilitative work being done by natural hoof care professionals.
All the excuses for not wanting to see the type of hoof rehabilitation we are accomplishing, and the equine lives we are saving, is simply....inexcusable!
It’s time, my friends. It's time.

Free DVD's and Tickets to Parelli USA Tour Stop

Pat with Pat!

I've recently been accepted as a Parelli Ambassador. FINALLY!

So, among lots of wonderful things, I simply continue doing what I've been doing for years, but I'll be recognized for my efforts.

It also means that I have LOTS of free tickets to give away! The more tickets I give away, the more successful I'll be as an ambassador.

So if you know of anyone who would like free tickets to the Parelli USA Tour Stop, in Redmond, Oregon on May 10, let me know I’ll be happy to send them as many tickets as they want, along with a free DVD, Parelli's Secret, an introduction to Natural Horsemanship.

I’m going to be at the door at the Billings, Montana Tour Stop, greeting attendees!

They give away lots of stuff at these events. Saddles, bridles, halters, leadropes, DVD programs, etc.

Parelli USA TOURWAY

MORE THAN JUST RIDING - A MAJOR EQUESTRIAN EVENT!

Confusing Hoof Care!

I am a hoof care practitioner. My journey into natural hoofcare started in 2002 when my own mare’s hooves could no long withstand the damage shoes were causing her hooves. After tearing a shoe off her foot, she became so lame, she could barely walk on soft terrain.

Unable to find anyone I felt I could trust with my horses, with the help of one or two farriers in the area, I simply started trimming them myself.

A book by Pete Ramey led me down a path to natural hoofcare. I was fortunate to hear about a clinic with Pete and Ivy Ramey that was being held locally and I took one of my owner-trimmed horses to it. Pete was impressed with my work.

So I decided then and there to go to Georgia and train with Pete. Afterwhich he encouraged me to apply for certification through an organization he was a member of, the AANHCP.

In 2006, after a year of training with various field instructors, I was certified and worked as a field instructor training students to trim.

A year afterwards, some rumblings arose in that organization with respect to the level of competency of new practitioners who were being certified, which was addressed by a one-trim-for-all hooves mandate that was generated by the Association’s founder . What followed was a mass exodus of all the practitioners who disagreed with certain new mandates and certain new workshop instructors teaching for the AANHCP.

The AANHCP, formerly known as the American Association of Natural Hoofcare Practitioners was left with only a handful of people who weren’t new to trimming and a few students who seemed to be in agreement with what became termed as the Double "A" Cookie Cutter Trim by outsiders, and a leader who considered himself the Zen Master of the hoof. Scary.

The cream of the AANHCP crop who resigned, as well as a few very successful practitioners around the country, banded together to form the AHA or American Hoof Association. (See Americanhoofassociation.org) This is not an educating organization, but rather one that screens for only the most competent practitioners in the world. I am now a member of the AHA. And have recently returned from their 2nd annual conference which took place in upstate New York. Four days of working around experts in their field, learning about new ways to help make horses comfortable in their journey from damaged hooves to natural hooves. It was amazing!

So I realize that with new associations cropping up, and incompetent trimmers who are learning from misinformed trimmers and the farriers who claim they know natural hoofcare - (it simply means leaving the shoe off - right?) what is left is a great deal of confusion for horse-owners who are seeking what is best for their horses.

Some people are working to perpetuate the confusion regarding hoofcare practitioners claiming that we are all out there massacring hooves for a quick buck, and that we use iodine to cover the blood we cause to flow from the hoof. (I personally have trimmed thousands of hooves and have NEVER caused a hoof to bleed.)

That is such nonsense when you consider the healing that is being done for hooves that have been damaged through neglect and/or traditional hoofcare. However, there are people out there who claim to know natural hoofcare practices, and who are destroying hooves.

So when deciding to try natural hoofcare for your horse, please don’t listen to the BS that is being spewed by the idiots who dominate the horse world. Do your own research. Talk to others who’ve experienced wonderful success with healing trims provided by competent natural hoofcare professionals. Question everything you hear and everyone who you are hearing from. Veterinarians, as wonderful as most of them are, also have incompetent members in their ranks who know what they know and refuse to educate themselves in the research that is taking the hoofcare world by storm.

Learn about the new ways we can protect hooves from terrain that may cause pain, like the latest in boots such as the Renegades and a new product called Equicast.

Find someone who has a reputation for helping, not hurting horses. And remember, the second leading cause of equine euthanasia is hoof issues and there is always going to be those who don’t want the traditional damaging hoof care practices to die. It keeps the “professionals” busy fixing the problems they cause and they know for every horse they put down due to hoof issues, another will take its place.

Today, my mare and all my horses have tough natural hooves that can negotiate the toughest terrain without a care.

I wish you all the best in natural hoof care.

Pat

My sentiments exactly!

And They Call Us Horse Lovers

By Robert M. Miller, DVM

The Nation was shocked when Barbaro broke down shortly after leaving the gate at the Preakness. I saw the repaired fractures in TIME magazine. What I think happened is that the sesamoid bone fractured, a common injury. As a result, the fetlock collapses causing the pastern bone to explode into multiple fragments, probably with the next stride or two.The last time the general public was exposed to a racetrack tragedy like this was when the great filly, Ruffian, fractured; the injury eventually resulting in her death.The news media focuses on great champions like these, but what most people don't realize is that such injuries are relatively common occurrences in horse racing.Part of the cause is that we have bred athletic power into our racing breeds far exceeding what nature requires for the horse to survive in its natural environment. All wild horses need to do is outrun a big cat. We have selectively bred for speeds that the anatomy of the horse cannot always cope with.In addition, we train and race them long before they are mature. The immature are often capable of spectacular athletic performance. Every time I watch an Olympics and I see gymnasts as young as 13, 14 or 15 years of age, I wince at the thought of the damage I know is occurring to some of their bodies. I started a year of gymnastics at 17 years of age, and I wasn't very good, but I still managed to do damage that manifested itself many years later. Fortunately, I was drafted into the Army at 18, which ended my gymnastic career.Half a century ago, when I was cowboying, "colts" were started at four years of age or older. Once in a while, one might be started as a three-year-old. Despite some very hard work, barring accidents, those ranch horses were still sound and working into their 20's.I'm not opposed to racing. It's a great sport and has motivated mankind to produce truly great horse breeds. But I am opposed to any practices which contribute to premature crippling of otherwise healthy horses. Some years ago, the annual convention of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (A.A.E.P.) was held in Dallas. The same week, the national cutting horse futurities were being held in nearby Fort Worth. Three colleagues from Sweden told me that they wanted to see the cutting horses. So, one evening, after the day of scientific lectures had ended, I accompanied the three Swedish vets to Fort Worth.After watching several horses perform, the senior Swede, a professor from the vet school in Upsula, Sweden, said, "This is incredible! It must take many years to obtain such performance from a horse.""But," I answered, "this is a futurity.""I do not understand this word," he said."These are colts," I explained. "These are just three-year-olds."He looked shocked, turned to his companions and explained to them in Swedish and then said to me in English, "I have only two comments: One, it must take great skill to be able to train a horse to do this in so brief a time. And, two, what is happening to their poor legs?"
Today, we have all sorts of futurities - reining, cutting, barrel racing, etc. I have tried many times to get owners to postpone arduous training to give the colt a chance to mature. Most of the time, I was ignored. The lure of winning something or making some money was too great to resist. My strategy when the owner insisted on going ahead with training and/orcompetition that I felt was premature was to say, "That's okay. You go ahead. What you are doing is very good for my business."
Why is it that the protests against over-using young horses come primarily from the people who profit from such abuse - the veterinarians? Is it because we best understand the trauma being inflicted upon immature skeletons, joints, ligaments and tendons?
Just as I am not opposed to racing, if properly conducted, I am not opposed to horse shows or competitive equine events. Horse shows, like all livestock shows, were conceived of long ago to "improve the breed". They were designed to demonstrate and reward the people who were doing the best job of breeding, of selecting bloodstock, and of creating superior bloodlines.
Unfortunately, human nature, vanity and greed have corrupted the horse show industry. We see grotesque caricatures of the original character of each breed. Stock horses, the working ranch breeds, are shown in Western Pleasure classes traveling in a manner that would drive a working cowboy crazy. With lowered heads, going in a downhill manner, these horses greatly magnify the forces placed upon the forelimbs. Once again, good for usvets. It produces income, but the horses suffer.
The wonderful Tennessee Walking Horse is shod and shown in distorted gaits that can only be called "grotesque".If it weren't for the frequent veterinary checks, which are mandatory, can you imagine how many endurance racing horses would die because of their riders' consuming desire to win? I remember the early endurance races. Saddlebreds, with surgically distorted tails, and gingered anuses, are exhibited with the pupils of their eyes dilated with atropine.How many people who sincerely consider themselves to be "horse lovers" wean foals at three months of age, or even earlier, which nature never intended? How many horses, a gregarious species, spend their lives locked in box stalls? How many horses in the U.S.A, like so much of our human population, are damaged healthwise by excessive nutrition?Such abuses exist in ever breed, every discipline, in every equine sport. We need to step back and analyze what we are doing.One of my clients was a prosperous, educated couple. They were very congenial, and they owned three Quarter Horses. One day, they called me to come to their home to worm their horses and check them over and booster their vaccinations. When I arrived, I found only two horses, so I asked where the third one was."Oh, he's in training as a reining horse, with ____________" (a successful and notoriously brutal trainer who also happened to be one of my clients).I said, "Oh, I see." Then the wife said, "We know how cruel he is to the horses, but hewins!" I never felt the same toward those people, again. This same trainer (he's been dead for many years) once said to me, "Doc, why can't you guys cut the tails on my horses? Why do you make me drive 300 miles round trip to get my tails done?"
He was referring to the illicit surgical paralyzing of the tail, common in reining horses so they can't switch their tails. ALL of the horses in his barn had their tails cut.I said, "Were you ever beaten in a show by a horse that you knew had its tail cut?""Oh sure," he said. "Lots of times." "Well," I told him, "I didn't cut the tail nor did my partners. We won't do anything against the association rules."This same guy, a world-class competitor, kept every horse in his barn on Serpecil, a tranquilizer not approved by FDA for use in horses. I have no idea where he got the drug, but somebody was selling it to him.
I believe that a conspiracy exists in the horse show industry. The trainers are judges, and the judges are trainers. Too often, they scratch each others' backs.If Western Pleasure horses were shown as they were 50 or 60 years ago, a good amateur could turn out a champion. But it takes a real pro to produce the freaks seen in today's Western Pleasure classes. And, after the horse goes back to the owner from the trainer and is no longer winning, it has to go back to the trainer for a "tune-up".A few days before I wrote this article, I got back from Bishop Mule Days, a unique event I attend every year that has no equal anywhere in the world. I had the pleasure of seeing Western Pleasure mules that WERE NOT "peanut rollers".
The trend began some years ago, but the mule people balked at it and ruled it out. GOOD FOR THEM! You see, to be a mule lover, you REALLY gotta love horses!