Let me tell you my story...

My name is Suzon and I worked in the horse world for about 20 years.  I have worked with sport horses, show horses and breeding horses of many breeds from hot bloods to warmbloods to drafts--horses, ponies, donkeys and mules.

Throughout my career the horse world taught me that the horse's foot was located at the end of his leg. It has a hard outer shell connected to the coffin bone by laminas.  I could, of course, name the structures of the foot, but really had only a rudimentary knowledge of how those structures might function in the big picture.

The horse's foot is considered one of the most important parts of his anatomy.  After all, no foot, no horse.  But the foot was always the mysterious province of the farrier.  The veterinarian might diagnose a foot problem but it was the farrier who ultimately made the decision how to treat it.   Hooves and their maintenance were considered far too "technical" for the average horse person to be fooling around with.  I admit, I bought into that for a long time.

So in the midst of this career, I met a horse whom I eventually came to own.  Her name is Chloe and when I met her she was a 3 year old who had come in for training with some seriously upright feet.  For the next twelve years Chloe lived in a variety of shoes designed to compensate for her "clubbed," contracted feet.  And she had some good farriers.  And I "thought" she was sound.

However, throughout this period, Chloe had a terrible time with the basic gait of canter.  She couldn't maintain a true canter for more than perhaps one pass around the ring on a good day when she was really fit.  We looked at her back, her hocks, her stifles.  Nothing wrong with any of them.  It was a mystery.  She just had a weak canter and tried to canter with her hind legs tied together, after a few strides she would swap or break gait.  I finally gave up cantering because it made her upset and miserable.  She was screaming for someone to understand and no one could see it, including me.

I finally quit the horse world (the horse world and I were going in two different directions) and brought my horses, including Chloe, home to Maine.  I went through a number of farriers, none of whom satisfied me.  It was after I came home that Chloe began to go subtly but undeniably lame in her right front (her worst foot).  Because I was unhappy with the way she was shod, I finally had her shoes pulled but continued to have a regular farrier trim her.  Now not only was she subtly off, she was sore for a week after every trim.

It was around this time that I started hearing about the barefoot movement.  At the same time I was also strapped for funds as I was in the last phases of building a house.  I started thinking that if I did my own horses' feet, I could save some money and maybe Chloe wouldn't be so sore if I didn't touch the toe callus as I'd been reading on the internet.  My farrier then raised his prices and pushed me into action.

With a book in one hand and a rasp in the other I began working on my beloved Chloe's feet.  I  researched barefoot techniques for clubbed feet (thank you Pete Ramey) and applied what I learned carefully and slowly.  I started our journey in the dead of winter and by spring I was more than ready to ride again.  So the saddle came out to see how she felt.  Not too bad.  She was at least even in front.  And then after a week or two of walking and trotting, it happened.  She was very energetic one cold day and I thought to myself that she felt like she "wanted" to canter.  I thought I must be kidding myself but I went ahead and cued for canter.  She struck off in a balanced rhythmic canter...on the bit.  I nearly fell off in shock.

Though she is no longer mine, she is now 19 and still going strong entirely barefoot.  So I have dear Chloe to thank for this journey into the realm of natural hoof care.  

After using my own horses as guinea pigs, I continued my education into the field of barefoot trimming and built a small clientele in my home state of Maine.  But my life continues to change and I have recently relocated to the bay area in California.  It is my plan to continue to build a business as a trimmer and eventually gain certification with the AHA.  The rewards of seeing the horses I work on moving soundly is a truly lasting high.

 

Chloe, age 17

**Chloe canter photo courtesy of Claire Tisdale, New Gloucester, Maine.
**Other photos and text copyright Suzon Murray 2006, not for reproduction
without the express written consent of the author.