The Enlightened Equine Podcast

In this episode, Steve's wife Dora returns for a conversation with Steve about her most recent equine education pursuit: "Horses in Balance." After a bit of conversation about classical vs. competitive dressage, Dora describes the benefits of this exciting new trainer program, and then end the episode with a discussion of the contrast between what training so often looks like compared to what Dora is now pursuing.

Steve tackles the subject of explaining the range of possibilities of why some horses don't seem to do well barefoot, even in spite of correct hoof trimming.

In this episode, Steve first talks about some recent experiences with laminitic horses, and then goes on to discuss Degenerative Suspensory Ligament Desmitis - a heartbreaking, currently-incurable condition with apparent genetic links - that results in the fetlock sinking toward the ground and the eventual destruction of the horse.

Because of interest in a recent Facebook Post about a visual & auditory test system Steve has been developing, he decided to give a more detailed description of why he decided to build the test system, what it tests, and why it matters to the horse owner. Steve also briefly describes his background as an electronics engineer and product designer.

After some talk (again!) about the plethora of unscientific information constantly being propagated in the horse world, Steve discusses how the common practice of pointing a fan at your horse's stall and/or using fans in the barn aisle don't/doesn't actually provide any significant cooling. Steve goes on to describe how to properly use fans to actually cool a barn - with far fewer fans, electricity usage, and fire risk.

This podcast finds Steve discussing perhaps his favorite - and most-frequently-lectured-on - subject in the hoof care world, including his description of what the feral horse in its aboriginal environment shows us to be a correct landing. He also describes his own long-term research efforts on the nature of hoof landings. And check out the video he mentions - The Landings Project.

Steve first apologizes for inadvertently upsetting someone, and goes on to discuss the importance of hoof care education that provides what he calls the "why-to" of hoof care.

Steve discusses some of the origins of misinformation in the hoof care world - and why they exist - along with a few hoof care anecdotes.

Steve continues discussing his and Dora's recent Facebook Posts about laminitis, along with some ranting. He then continues his discussion on the causes of laminitis and the characteristics of a proper trim on a laminitic horse.

Steve postponed the second episode on laminitis to discuss some of the common hoof care practices he finds objectionable, along with an explanation of why he feels they're an issue.