EQUIPOD

Natural Hoof Care Specialists

The way nature intended

ABN: 18 678 184 907

Newsletter

NEWSLETTER August 2010

Date: 23/08/2010

Hi everyone,

 

 The month of August has been very busy so far – lots of travelling and studying. I have been back to Victoria for one week to complete the last block of lectures and practicals for the Diploma course. We also had all our practical and written exams – all went very well.

 

We were very fortunate to have two days of lectures with Mark Curtis who is a vet and a chiropractor, and he also practices in acupuncture. We had a lot of general lameness discussions and learnt more about working together and consulting with vets.

 

 

Mark, demonstrating a stretching move on the front leg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                         This is how to hug a horse…NOT…it’s a special neck stretch

 

We also had some lectures with Renee Pearson on biomechanics. She made us draw the skeletal system on pictures of our horses.

 

Endurance News

 

The Easyboot ‘glue-ons’ are becoming more and more popular, and riders are starting to outperform fellow rider’s with shoed horses. One of EQUIPOD’s clients, Sarah Connor, has been very successful this season, coming First Lightweight and Best-Conditioned in Greenhills (80 km ride) on 17/07/10 riding ‘Paradise Valley Snow in Fire’ in 4 hrs 36 min (which was also the overall fastest time for the day). Sarah came Second Lightweight and Best-conditioned in Pinjarra on 02/07/10 completing 120 km in 8 hrs 38 mins.

 

Success Stories

 

EQUIPOD has been looking after the donkeys’ and ponies’ feet at Landsdale Farm-school in Landsdale for the last year. The Farm-school is continuously improving their animals’ enclosures to provide the best possible care for them. Following our recommendation they have excavated a small area in the donkey paddock and filled it up with pea-gravel (photos below).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They found that the donkeys like to stand in the pea-gravel, it is a comfortable surface for them and it also helps to keep their feet dryer during winter, where they tend to clog up with mud otherwise. Detailed studies of Prof. Bowker have found that pea gravel allows horses (and donkeys) to ‘dig their toes in’, which is providing them with a posture that takes pressure off the Deep digital flexor tendon without any reduction in surface area to distribute their weight across. It can be a very useful tool with laminitic or navicular horses; but all horses tend to ‘enjoy’ standing in it. They also show a slow-down in blood perfusion through the feet when standing on pea gravel, allowing for optimum tissue perfusion, delivering nutrients especially to the bones.

 

The Farmschool offers guided tours for school classes, where the children learn about the different animals and what sort of care they require. EQUIPOD will be providing a picture chart to the Farmschool with information about the advantages of pea gravel in horse and donkey enclosures. Hopefully this is ready to be displayed before the school’s ‘Open day’ in October.

 

 

 

Happy riding!

 

Tanja Hanisch

EQUIPOD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EQUIPOD

Natural Hoof Care Specialists

The way nature intended