I'm still on baby watch... So now is a great time for me to catch you guys up on some of the stuff I've been reading/learning while I'm waiting for little miss to arrive!

Webinars are such a great way to either get acquainted with new topics or dive deeper into things I'm really curious about! The latest 2 from PHCP have been a fun way to explore groups of equines that I do work with but not a ton. 

The first was with Megan Hensley who is a donkey/mule trimming specialist. I have always known that donkeys and mules are different from horses in many ways and I do have a deep respect and admiration for them, but sometimes I get caught in the trap of thinking that sometimes they just won't ever give in or that they are just stubborn. Megan gave lots of great tips on how to get through to the hard to handle ones and how big the role of affection and care can play in your dealings with them. She brings mindfulness to the table and being intentional to a whole new level! She also gave some great guidelines for feeding and trimming that I look forward to sharing with my own clients. Check out her social media pages - The Donkey Farrier

Then my good friend and sort-of local colleague Kirsten Proctor gave a very helpful presentation on the importance of good hoof care for foals! It was great to hear that she suggests foals stay on a very tight schedule and that changes are made slowly and carefully to respect and nurture the growth foals are experiencing in their first months/years of life. She stressed the importance also of fostering a positive relationship between a foal and the trimmer/farrier from the start to help avoid behavior issues throughout their lives. It's one of the people that will have to work on them the most next to their owner! 

Just a little plug here for the next PHCP webinar - Carol Layton will be presenting "The Smart Way to Feed Horses" for us again and this is a really great one! Carol manages to take the seemingly complicated task of feeding our horses a balanced diet and makes it super comprehensive and easy to understand. If you've taken Dr. Kellon's NRC class or are waiting to, this is a great one to take also to help distill that information to something a little easier to digest (pun intended!). Anyone is welcome to sign up for these, not just PHCP members!

I am also enjoying going back and re-reading Pete Ramey's books as well as Nic Barker's. They have different lenses that they view hoof care through but one thing they both agree on is that the soft tissue in the hoof is often what makes or breaks the soundness in the end. Many of us get hung up on the outer structures or the coffin and navicular bones but the digital cushion, lateral cartilages, deep digital flexor tendon, etc are often where the pathology stems from. Which is good and bad because often times, those structures can be rehabilitated through proper use and protection! 

Also if you are driving a lot or just enjoy podcasts, check out The Humble Hoof! Alicia Harlov has done quite a few really good interviews with interesting people in the hoof care world. I think so far my favorite one she's done has been with Greg Sokoloski who was responsible for taking the Huston Mounted Police Unit barefoot and booted. He is a great story-teller and it was inspiring to hear how this change improved more than just the herd's hoof health but overall well-being.

Let me know if there is anything out there that you find really interesting or think I should look into! I'm always interested in learning more. I'm due in a few days so maybe I'll get some more reading in before then, but if not I'll likely be in touch after my baby is born! 

While I'm taking some time off from trimming to finish out my pregnancy, I've decided now is a great time to catch up on some books I've been meaning to read! Running with Sherman by Christopher McDougall was sent to me by my book-loving sister-in-law and I had no idea what it was going to be about. Turns out, it's a really captivating story of a family in Lancaster, PA that takes in a rescue donkey and not only rehabs him back to health but trains him to race and competes with him and 2 other donkeys in a 15 mile burro race in Colorado! 

There are other parts to the story to keep you interested and made me more curious about other topics that I might like to read more about. The author talks about their neighbor who is a young man who struggles with mental health ailments who is greatly improved by running with the donkeys, his Amish neighbors and their lives, the lives of other burro racers who have found their life's calling in the sport, a group of very tough women who have beat men in the race several times and many other characters that sometimes put the donkey, Sherman, on the back burner. 

I really loved how the author and the other players in the game really respected the donkeys they worked with and realized that in order to make the sport work, they had to learn to work WITH and not against these noble creatures. So many people see donkeys as stubborn or cranky but really they are incredibly intelligent and deserving of respect and dignity! (Please excuse my religious antidote but I can't help but notice that twice in the bible a donkey was the mode of transportation chosen in 2 of the most important times in biblical history... when Mary rode to Bethlehem to give birth to Jesus and when Jesus rode a donkey down the streets of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. They have literally been chosen by God, Just sayin'!) The runners realized that this was as much a joy as a challenge to get to work with these animals doing something that they probably wouldn't choose to do on their own. 

Lastly, I really enjoyed the pictures of the donkeys in the book because they looked so HEALTHY! I trim a fair number of donkeys and I can't tell you how many are unhealthy not because of being fed too much but moving too little. It's a really hard balance to strike when the only option for "exercising" your donkey is to give them more turnout space which in most areas means more grass to eat... which is really not helpful. These donkeys were running 4 times a week with their partners most days 10-14 miles! If I could get my donkey owning clients to WALK a few miles with their donkeys, I believe we'd see a marked improvement not just in their hoof-health but overall well-being (not to mention that most of us would highly benefit for more movement ourselves!) 

If you own a donkey (or a horse or pony for that matter) and one of your goals this year is to spend more time with them and get in shape yourself, I highly recommend reading this book and taking some time out of the saddle to get moving along with them! It has motivated me to hopefully make this something I can do with my horses that I hope to own someday. There are so many benefits besides just getting in better shape - building a deeper bond with your animal, enjoying more time in the fresh air and who knows, maybe you'll be inspired to load up and head to Colorado to see the World Championship Burro race yourself!