The Enlightened Equine Podcast

In Part 1, Steve gives some insight into laminitis by sharing a few of his experiences in 20+ years of successfully caring for laminitic horses.

Steve decided it was time to (briefly) describe what happens at the Comprehensive Hoof Care Workshop in some detail, so in this episode, he goes through the entire schedule and talks about most everything that happens during the Workshop.

In this episode, Steve leads off with a bit of ranting about the idea of a lack of respect for the hoof care provider, including an anecdote about possibly the worst offender he's yet experienced. He then goes on to talk about sheared heels, and how they often relate to a misunderstanding of what a properly-balanced hoof actually looks like versus how balance is often taught. From there, the discussion then details visual and auditory methods of identifying whether or not a foot is properly balanced while the horse is moving. There are also some audio examples of landings.

After a couple of news items and some reminiscing about past success stories, Steve discusses the idea of breakover: what can, and cannot, be done to successfully affect the time it takes for the horse's foot to leave the ground.

Steve continues his discussion of the positive and negative aspects of horseshoes, including correction and enhancement, and explains why - all considered - horseshoes aren't really the better option for your horse.

Steve weighs in on the advantages - real and alleged - of horseshoes, and explains what actually can, and can't, be accomplished with them. He also discusses lacks in the typical farrier's education, as described by Dr. Deb Bennett, and finishes up with talking about the idea of horseshoes providing protection to the horse's foot.

In Episode 15, Steve explains a bit about why he believes many of the current approaches to hoof care are flawed and moving in the wrong direction, and uses the common idea that feet are "supposed" to land heel-first as an example. He also describes how Enlightened Equine Workshop's science-based approach to hoof care requires a fairly simple, yet very specific, set of knowledge to enable all types of feet to be successfully trimmed.

Steve discusses an extremely common, yet rarely recognized and often misidentified, source of lameness in the horse, along with advice on how to identify and treat it. You can see Steve & Dora at Art of the Cowgirl in Wickenburg, AZ this week!

Steve brings Dora back for a discussion about some of her thoughts and experiences in dealing with asymmetries in the horse - their causes, consequences, and how to go about identifying and addressing them.

This episode finds Steve discussing what, for him, makes a client that he wants to have a long-term professional relationship with.